The Rock Blogger

Natural Snow Buildings. The Centauri Agent. 2010.

Yet another epic masterpiece from this prolific French duo. The Centauri Agent further develops the mystical psychedelic folk from their earlier work and stretches it out into an otherworldly dimension. Whereas their previous records incorporated chants and other organic accents, their latest work pushes into deep space, with sparse guitar work, airy drones and feather-light vocals that hover in the distance. An immense work that reveals more beautiful secrets with every listen.

Ulaan Khol. III. 2010.

Guitar driven space rock from Steven R. Smith that buzzes with intricate, psychedelic detail. Wild noodling, with breaks of ambient reverb, trace paths across an arid, sun-baked landscape as everything solid slowly melts. This is the desert, drenched with acid, then cracked and covered in dust.

Yellow Swans. Going Places. 2010.

A fascinating collection of drone pieces that takes oscillating synths, distorted guitars, and bursts of static to make something that sounds as natural as running water. Within the garbling, electronic chaos of this record lies a pulsating heart, providing a strong direction for each eclectic track.

Magnog. Magnog. 1996.

Extensive, fuzzed-out space-rock that weaves between cymbal crashes, ambient noise and shimmering tremolo riffs. Magnog were ahead of their time, finding a cosmic bridge between free-form interstellar jamming and the structured post-rock meditations that are commonplace today. Many wonderful moments, both sublime and cataclysmic, to be found here.

Selections for exploration, meditation, and self-imposed exile.

Fell Voices. Fell Voices 2009.

A terrific and obscure band from California whose members also produced the trance-inducing Sleepwalker project. Fell Voices’ stunning percussion, serpentine guitar work and cosmic drones provide for a deep and intensely rewarding listen. Finding a mystical space between the post-rock crescendos of Godspeed You Black Emperor and the raw catharsis of Wolves in the Throne Room, Fell Voices push black metal to transcendental heights. It encompasses everything great about black metal.

Negură Bunget - Vîrstele Pămîntului 2010.

A grandiose black metal album with progressive and folk elements that honors the pagan history and lore of Romania. Epic songs slowly build from sweeping acoustic melodies to dense tremolo riffing, accompanied by airy synths, cascading percussion and heartfelt vocals (both sung and screamed). An immensely detailed effort with eclectic uses of traditional folk instruments, densely layered progressions and a strong, romantic atmosphere.

Кrоdа - Towards the Firmaments - Verge of Life. 2005.

Ukraine’s Kroda provide spirited celebrations of nature and aggression with bombastic compositions full of caustic drum rolls, folk-tinged instrumentals and ghastly howls. Despite being more symphonic and upbeat than your average black metal band, Kroda are just as warlike as their country’s contemporaries, launching into their dirges with barbaric urgency.

Forgotten Woods - The Curse of Mankind. 1996.

An underrated classic of atmospheric black metal, The Curse of Mankind features gritty lo-fi production, wintry blast beats, maniacal shrieks and long, winding guitar passages. The kind of album that you can just leave on as you drift off into a trance, letting its organic texture seep into your brain.

Lönndom - Viddernas Tolv Kapitel. 2010.

Traditional and nostalgic acoustic folk from Sweden that holds a candle to Ulver’s Kveldssanger. The medieval melodies are hynoptic, coupled with crisp production and sublime vocal work. The sound of the mountain wind and the babble of rivers can be heard between the pristine ringing of guitar strings.

A beautiful short from Belgium by Dwid Hellion, Tine Guns, Ture and Stephanie Van Houtte-McLimans music by Stephen Kasner

Things here will pick up with greater frequency soon, the seasons are changing.

Maeror Tri - The Beauty of Sadness. 1996. 5 stars.

This an exquisite and emotional drone/ambient album from this now defunct German trio. Deep bass lines and subdued guitars underlay the brooding moans of synths which lapse over each other in densely layered compositions. Jangling riffs are contrasted against airy ambiance, evoking desolate spaces broken only by soft pillars of light.

While many experiments in the genre have crafted moody atmospheric pieces, they cannot compare to the fluidity of Maeror Tri’s progressions as they slowly build around shimmering motifs. The cascading waves of sound, the resigned melodies against buzzing effects, is musical transcendentalism at its most refined. The Beauty of Sadness avoids the tedium of minimalism and the harshness of hard noise to find the golden mean between experimentation and tragic catharsis. Like a Mark Rothko painting set to music, Maeror Tri chart the landscapes of sleep and find hollowed ground. If you are familiar with Labradford, William Basinski, and Stars of the Lid you will certainly appreciate the fine nuances of this record.

Oren Ambarchi - Intermission 2000-2008 . 4 stars .

Intermission is a meditative compilation of drone and ambient pieces from this prolific Australian artist. Consisting mainly of subtle guitar and bass tones, these plodding tracks are drawn out over long periods of time to the point where they loose their deliberate instrumental quality and become natural background noise. While the gradual processes of the record take their sweet time, the effect is quite stunning once it sets in - evoking calm ocean waves or a placid morning sky. Pieces like "The Strouhal Number" are weightless pieces of ambiance, only punctuated by the low rumble of bass tones and the sleepy crackle of static.

While the album passes through an otherworldly atmosphere, it avoids the symphonic excess of most ambient records - these are meticulously crafted experiments in sound manipulation that sift through your memories, rather than just lulling you to sleep. It is certainly a challenging collection, and it is not as forceful as the psychedelic drone of Birchville Cat Motel or Natural Snow Buildings, but it still carries on a deeply cerebral undertaking with care. Anyone interested in experimental music will be fascinated by its many crevices.

YOGA. Megafauna . 2009. 4.5 stars.

A fascinating drone album that oscillates between airy dark ambiance and raw experimentation. YOGA’s mystical surrealism opens up a sonic space punctured by bursts of distorted guitar noise, warbling synths and martial percussion. There are no voices echoing across this landscape, only the chirps, grunts and groans of unknown animals (cryptozoology).

The atmosphere is dense and absorbing, lulling the listerner into an eerie dream, or worse, repressed memories. Megafauna is nothing short of vision quest, using organic textures and subtle progressions to trace paths in the forgotten forests of the mind. While some of YOGA’s noisy bursts are odd, if not unsettling, they are used to light up the caverns they plunge into. Megafauna is a unique piece of psychological terror that challenges the listener to go beyond melodic structures and stand in a primordial clearing.

Ulaan Khol. I and II. 2008. 5 stars.

Glorious psychedelic drone music from the prolific Steven R. Smith (of Hala Strana). Both of these albums are largely guitar based, sending distorted space-rock riffs through hazy ambient mist. Loose, jangly melodies crackle in the arid and ancient atmosphere, sounding like weathered field recordings from Mars. Light noise hovers above the drawn-out instrumentation, painting a beautiful autumnal skyline for the music to dance against. Chords warble and twist like the pitched lure of the snake-charmer.

Ulaan Khol manages to be epic and absorbing without building up steady cresendos or crushing finales - this music deserves meditative patience much like the venerable Natural Snow Buildings. These albums should not be described as walls of sound but more as bubbling streams of consciousness. The expereince is a deep and mysterious one, full of texture, nuance and cosmic wonder. Smith’s compositions wander and haunt like specters over a vast alien landscape, never reaching their destination, but content in their long, winding journey. Simply masterful.

Njiqahdda. Yrg Alms. 2009. 4.5 stars.

2009 ends on a high note with this dense and highly immersive album from the prolific Njiqahdda. The duo delve further into their mystical aesthetic, merging the oppressive atmosphere of black metal with dark ambient textures and cascading post-rock guitars. Yrg Alms is easily their most refined and creative effort so far, pushing their heavily layered compositions to hallucinatory limits. Lyrical content here is void, leaving the listener to meditate on drawn-out and distorted vocalizations that rush over the music like gusts of wind. At other times, like on the sorrowful “Sombre Fortu”, something vaguely human creeps in, though the voices are unintelligible (but emotionally stirring) mantras.

The guitars are intricate and complex, either pulsating through fluid arpeggios or rumbling under ominous noise. They provide the album with a surprising cathartic energy that provides consistent momentum across its lengthy duration. While portions of these epic tracks do meander (like in the extended droning bridge of “Yrg Alms”), the serpentine guitars always manage to bring the journey back to a cognizable path.

A fitting companion for the harsh winter months, Yrg Alms is an intense effort that compensates for its less cohesive sections with its raw, creative and uncompromising vigor. There are few albums within the already diverse metal subculture that push against convention quite like this, though its sheer density will likely leave casual listeners puzzled. Nonetheless, there is a compelling artistry that Njiqahdda possesses that is consistently evolving into a stronger and deeper creature.

Natural Snow Buildings. Shadow Kingdom . 2009.

Another masterpiece (if not their finest achievement to date) from this prolific avant/drone duo. Delicate, ethereal folk songs are interwoven with wispy psychedelia, eastern-tinged guitars and mysterious, ambient noises. A soundtrack for levitation. Shadow Kingdom is an incredibly exhausting and expansive album (over 2 hours) that is full of awe-inspiring moments. It may take dozens of dedicated listens to unearth all of its riches.

Oceanus Procellarum. Amidst Nature . 2009.

Low, rumbling drones and minimal acoustic accents run through this deep and challenging album. Subtle transitions lumber in the caverns of these five evocative pieces, sounding like lost requiems, left to rot in the woods.

Starbird. Nanook of the North. 2007.

A very unique piece of drone/ambient/free-folk music inspired by the famous Canadian documentary about the Inuit in Quebec. Strange percussive instrumentation, chimes and woodwinds grant this album an authentic, indigenous atmosphere. The sonic landscapes may be sparse, cold and foreboding, but Starbird’s eclecticism also makes them strangely inviting, finding a primordial connection with the open North.

Radical drone, imploded wonder, insomniac trudge, clearing by fire, the blinding light of morning.

Birchville Cat Motel. Our Love Will Destroy the World . 2006. New Zealand

Harsh, dissonant noise coupled with pulse-pounding drums make for one of the most caustic and powerful albums of its kind.

Menace Ruine. Cult of Ruins . 2008. Montreal

Blackened drone, oppressive and mystical. Creative use of both male and female vocals, wailing from the dark tower.

Boris. Feedbacker . 2003. Tokyo.

A classic drone doom record. Long, stoned dirges that slowly build into monolithic walls of sound. The band’s most patient and celestial album.

Jesu. Infinity. 2009. The U.K.

The newest release from Justin Broadrick. One 45 minute track that encompasses both digital experimentation and guttural throwbacks to his industrial (Godflesh) days. Not nearly as gripping as Conqueror but still a finely crafted and hypnotic work.

Corrupted. El mundo frio . 2005. Osaka.

A tour de force, bringing togehter steady post-rock arpeggios, lumbering bass drones, gritty sludge guitars and a haunting, desert atmosphere. One mesmerizing 71 minute track that lurches menacingly across an arid landscape. A massive effort that rivals the best of doom metal.