germany

Speaking of The Ocean, I’ve reviewed their album Precambrian at Pitchfork. It came out last November, so it didn’t make many year-end lists (if I ran a label, I would finish each year’s release schedule by October for such purposes). Precambrian would have – or should have – dominated them. Sadly, there’s no critic herd […]

In the dirtbag tour of the year, Kylesa are hitting the road with The Ocean, Lair of the Minotaur, and Withered. (I think I grew chest hair just typing that.) These stars will only align for a few dates – see below. However, they’re also touring separately or in smaller combinations; for schedules, click the […]

I can’t evaluate modern power metal objectively. Most of it sounds the same to me, which probably just means I’m ignorant. But it doesn’t have many qualities that make me want to learn more. I like epic ambition; I don’t like gloss masquerading as such. Freedom Call are in here this week only because (a) […]

If The Cure and The Sisters of Mercy got together and made blackened doom, they’d be Verdunkeln – the former for guitars, and the latter for atmosphere. Einblick in den Qualenfall (Ván, 2007) oozes ’80s in its rubbery clean tones and reverbed, compressed drums. The guitar intro to “In die Irre” recalls the chewy outro […]

Endstille are quick to point out their origins in Schleswig-Holstein, as opposed to the rest of Germany. This northern state abuts Denmark and is home to the annual Wacken Open Air festival. Schleswig-Holstein’s disposition is evidently more Scandinavian than German, which helps explain Endstille’s near-perfect take on black metal. Among Our Glorious ExistenceEndstilles Reich The […]

If you follow black metal, follow Ván, a German label that’s quietly building an envelope-pushing discography. Last year, the Ruins of Beverast record (review) turned quite a few heads, the reissue of Nagelfar’s Virus West (review) was most welcome, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around Verdunkeln’s Einblick in den Qualenfall, which recasts […]

One of the funnier interview questions I’ve seen was asked of German brutal death metallers Defeated Sanity: “Why are movies on German TV not subtitled? It is so irritating to hear Robert De Niro speak German.” The answer: “I don’t know. I guess most Germans are too stupid/lazy to learn the English language.” Stoned then […]

The current Decibel has a quote from artist Matthew Barney (Cremaster-mind and Björk squeeze) about Pig Destroyer: “I’ve never experienced a think tank, but Pig Destroyer records make me feel like I’m inside one. One which is functioning and positive – where ideas attack from all sides, with new ones replacing old ones before the […]

The Principle of Cosmic Instability (Autopsy Kitchen, 2007) is probably the harshest recording I’ve ever heard. The music is plenty scathing, but the sound is an icepick in the ear. Imagine inverting metal’s usual scooped EQ into a “frown,” then boosting the midrange until something bleeds. This shit is painful. Wolf Among SheepThe Principle of […]

At first, Long Distance Calling seemed like another NeurIsis clone. They had long songs, organic rhythms, and soft/loud dynamics. Even the artwork seemed derivative of mid-’90s Chicago post-rock. But one night, their brilliance floored me. I fell in love. I found this year’s Year of No Light, the band that does the NeurIsis sound even […]