Füneral Rain Press Cörps

Genre: Progressive Depressive Black Metal
Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records

For most people, hearing this album might result in a big “what the fuck?” Literally, there is trip-hop on this album. Mixed with depressive black metal. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this.
This is definitely the most unique BM release I’ve heard in awhile, and it’s something that I’m going to be listening to for awhile too. Things being as they are, I honestly don’t know if this is a good review, simply because I’m still trying to digest the album.
Either way, what I’ve heard so far I love. It’s actually something FRESH and it’s actually BLACK METAL. Two things that don’t always go hand in hand unless you’re a fringe band on the furthest reaches of black metal, and this definitely is one such band.
If you think you’ve got the balls to try something really new and you’re a black metal fan, check out Netra. Mélancolie Urbaine is a fucking win. For fans of Alcest, Ausserwelt, Les Discrets… wait a minute… these are all French bands! Hm. Maybe there’s your hint.
8 out of 10.

Netra on MySpace.

Genre: Doom, Drone
Label: Conspiracy Records

A band name never fit so well with the music they produce. After listening to Ausserwelt for about ten minutes, I felt like I was trapped in a pitch black sub basement of some abandoned saw mill for at least a year. Needless to say with my state of depression brought on by Year Of No Light, I didn’t actually want to finish listening to Ausserwelt.

The next day, I gave Ausserwelt another shot. And yet again, it brought me down with it’s heavy droning doom. I guess it goes without saying that this is one powerful piece of metal! I know that music in most if it’s forms can affect the people who listen to it, but Year Of No Light must of discovered some sort of top-secret endorphin draining frequency or something.

As for my actual feelings towards the album go, I’m a bit mixed. Yes, it’s as I said, powerful. And I’m no stranger to droning, depressing doom (thought it isn‘t one of my favorite genres). But there’s something about Ausserwelt that’s just a little… off. And not like a “trendy” or “ultra protools” off. More like an, “I’ve heard this before almost exactly but I couldn’t tell you where from” sort of way. Ausserwelt isn’t bad by any means, it’s just a little reminiscent/familiar for the wrong reasons. For me at least.

Overall: Year Of No Light built a flip switch in your emotional core, called it Ausserwelt and decided to dick with it until you need to come back to it like a drug crazy homeless person, scrambling to score another hit of depressing droningness. Just don’t expect anything ground breaking and you’ll do just fine.

7/10

Year Of No Light On MySpace

Genre: Post Rock, Shoegaze
Label: Conspiracy Records

I started listening to Ausserwelt not knowing what it was, or who Year of No Light are. I was immediately impressed with the cohesiveness of the music, how they seemed to be taking elements from several different musical directions, and putting them all together.
I think this falls under the Post Rock category of music, sounding like Wintersleep and My Bloody Valentine, with some drone doom elements and even some atmospheric black metal elements. Shoegaze also fits the description too.
I would love to see this band live, to bring this kind of big sounding music onto a stage. And it really is big. The drums aren’t LOUD, they sound HUGE. Like a five foot tall man playing drums built for a  twenty foot tall man and succeeding. The guitars are ungodly massive, a set of stacks reaching to the sky. Yeah, I’m full of metaphors today. But that’s how this music is.
And the song lengths themselves are epic. The shortest song is the second one, “Perséphone (Coré)”, sitting at 9:37, and it’s really just an extension to the first track “Perséphone (Enna)”, which is 11:56 long. The other two, “Hiérophante” and “Abbesse” are both clocking in at 13 minutes and change.
This came out late April, so it’s available now. I’d look in to getting a copy if you’re into post rock, shoegaze, doom, or just instrumental music. It’s awesome.
8 out of 10.

Year of No Light on MySpace.