Füneral Rain Press Cörps

Genre: Black Metal, Depressive Black Metal, Post Metal, Post Rock, Shoegaze
Labels: ATMF

The crushing beauty of shoegaze and post metal combined with the savagery of raw black metal make up the first track off of Everything, “Forever Never Fails”. It’s like a year of pure urgent emotion turned into a five minute and thirteen second long song. And it alone is worth the money for the album.

“Formlessness” comes next, with very My Bloody Valentine sounding music and Sargeist/Craft vocals. If this doesn’t get your heart moving, you’re probably dead. It differs from “Forever Never Fails” primarily in the bass work, lending it less of an urgency and more of a solemnity. Oddly enough, it is also exactly five minutes and thirteen seconds long.

“Absence of Contrast” contrasts nicely with “Formlessness”, it’s piano lines and bass setting off a nice throb to inhale opium to. “We All Fall” takes a more post rock feel despite the savagery of the vocals. Spoken words make an appearance as well, an interesting and nice change up. “Nothing/Everything” takes a more depressive black metal via shoegaze feel. The keyboard work here is exemplary, taking more of a lead then a coloring overlay.

“Her Dress as a Poem, Her Death as the Night” flows with a deep melancholy, deep bass carrying you through an ocean of keys with waves of guitar crushing you down, under. This is utter depression in musical form, and it’s beautiful and cathartic, another song worthy of being worth the album’s price. I just wish it was longer.

“I am the Veil” would feel like an indie rock song if it weren’t for the key drones in the back and the blackened vocals. The keys come forward as pianos and make it even less indie rock and more post metal/depressive black. “Cold Spring” is totally the opposite, going straight for post metal/shoegaze from the start, a heart stopping vocal performance that upon repeat listens continually drags you through varying emotional states.

Despite “Cold Spring” being a great song, the final track “Rain” trumps it easily, and is one of the best songs on the album. Guitar feedback and keyboards blend over a slower, higher pitched bass line, with sung vocals making a brief appearance. The song as a whole has a feeling of a triumphant ending, which it is for the album. Wonderful.

As a whole, Everything is a gorgeous album that takes the listener through many parts of the emotional spectrum. There is joy here, there is sadness, there is anger, and there is even love. But it all takes on a melancholic darkness that is hard to shake off after listening. I highly recommend getting this, especially if you’re a fan of My Bloody Valentine, Autumn’s Grey Solace, Jesu, Darkthrone, The Cure, or Cry.

10 out of 10.

An Autumn for Crippled Children on Facebook.

Genre: Shoegaze
Label: Projekt

Every so often I check out Projekt’s site and see what’s new and what’s coming up, as well as read the newsletters that Sam sends out pretty much weekly. And so when I found out that Autumn’s Grey Solace was going to be putting out a new album I was pretty stoked.
I first head AGS on a Projekt sampler way back like ten years ago or so and I fell in love. So did my wife. So when the video for “A Soul Ensnared” came out, I watched it, and got even more stoked. I ordered Eifelian shortly after, as well as a couple other CDs. Eifelian has been played over and over in the car, and I’ve come to not just enjoy it, but to outright love this album. It’s so full of emotion, taking me through a journey through happiness, sadness, and anticipation. Thankfully, it doesn’t enter pure depression territory, but even the best emotions are tinted with a fair amount of melancholy, in a way that only Autumn’s Grey Solace can perform.
The guitar is very chordal and heavy effected; leads that are a mile long, and so beautiful with a bass line that has a groove deep enough to lie down in; the drums are full of poppy toms and snare and cymbal crashes. Erin’s voice is used quite differently compared to many other shoegaze bands, being more of an instrument than a vocalization. Some songs it doesn’t seem she even sings lyrics at all. But when she does (“Halfway Underground”, “A Soul Ensnared”) it is just beautiful, and I like these songs a little more than the rest.
It’s probably not ‘essential’ for some, but for me, I’m in love. Eifelian takes a big win.
8 out of 10.

Autumn’s Grey Solace on Facebook.

Genre: Shoegaze
Label: Hydra Head Records

I grabbed Jesu’s Silver E.P. on a whim one day. I’ve heard tons of great things about the band, and Justin Broadrick in general, and the CD was a 2 for $30 at HMV, so I grabbed it. And wow, I’m so glad I did, and so is my wife.
The album reminds us of My Bloody Valentine, which is a very good thing, as both of us are huge fans of MBV. I thought it would have been a much harder listen, but apparently the two albums that came before this one were, with Broadrick taking a more poppy approach this time.
The songs have a simplistic bass riff, with swirling guitars that are distorted and heavy, but the true weight comes from Justin’s voice. He’s a great singer, and he really knows how to use what he has for maximum effect. The lengths of the songs themselves are all six and a half minutes or longer, with “Wolves” at 8:27, but like good, well written longer songs, they don’t feel overwhelming or begin to drag on.
I’d recommend this gorgeous E.P. for fans of Broadrick’s other work (Godflesh, Final, Napalm Death), shoegaze fans, and fans of Pelican, Isis, Cult of Luna, etc., as well as fans of Nine Inch Nail’s The Fragile album. There are definitely elements inside of the song “Wolves” that remind me strongly of The Fragile.
9.5 out of 10.

Jesu Official Site

Genres: Ambient, Metal, Rock, Shoegaze
Label: Independent

A CD that was unexpected in my mailbox, Auternus was not unwelcome. Their soundscapes are very much reminding me of a cross between A Perfect Circle, whom they cite as an influence, and My Bloody Valentine, with some Isis for flavor.
According to their promo package, they’re playing a lot of shows, getting distributed, and just all-around trying to get their music out there. These guys are working their asses off, and I’m sure that if I didn’t review this CD, you’d still hear about them in time.
If you’re into ambient that’s not boring, or metal-edged rock that makes you think a little, check out Auternus.
7 out of 10.

Auternus 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.