The Fermi Paradox...Out Of This World Metal Reviews

  “The Sleeping City,” AN ABSTRACT ILLUSION’s  third full-length album, utilizes their unique blend of progressive death metal and black metal with arpeggiating synths, wistful drones and vast soundscapes, harkening back to the era of 80’s sci-fi soundtracks. Being the band’s most atmospheric and heavy work to date, the album explores the depths of the human psyche and suffering. A decrepit yet monumental landmark, the sleeping city awaits ahead. Will you enter?  The album has seven songs, and  “Blackmurmur”  is first. Fat keyboards notes roar forward with a will, and purpose, followed by a stern riff, with melody in tow. What a grandiose opening song, and the early feeling is momentous. The balance between a biting aggression and warm melodies is like two weather fronts clashing in the atmosphere with neither gaining any ground. They stalk each other with the impeccable vision and movement of a mongoose and a cobra, and I love the keyboard rich sound. “No Dream...

  From Bandcamp, “The philosophical concept of  "Solastalgia"  can best be described as a form of emotional or existential distress caused by negatively perceived environmental change. The German purveyors of soaring post metal work their way to their innermost core and deliver what is easily their most vulnerable and accessible record to date.  "Solastalgia”  describes the grief over the loss of the natural world, the environment and our concept of home," the band explains. The very existence of such a term brutally exposes our alienation from this planet – easy prey for these uncompromising analysts of human misery.  HERETOIR  has always been pure emotion. The pain of modern life set to music. And yet the desperate beauty of  "Solastalgia"  proves to be an unlikely source of comfort.” The album has eleven songs, and  “The Ashen Falls”  is first. The sound out of the gate is thick, rich, and toned with somber leanings…it almost sou...

  FLOATING   from Sweden are finding increasingly impressive ways to enrich death metal music with progressive and post punk influences. While their previous release turned heads, this new one is far more refined, confident and accomplished. The primary elements have their place in the music with none of it getting dislodged by the dominance of the other and that's where the beauty lies - there's a subtlety, an emotional fragility that comes through in death metal music, which usually sounds too tough and overbearing for the most part.   "Hesitating Lights"   is a thoughtfully composed, beautifully tempered album of bold, refreshing death metal music, which in these times, is no mean feat.” The album has eight songs, and  “I Reached the Mew”  is first. The opening bass lines dance with the energy of an 80’s song, but the riff that follows is a hardened slab of Post Metal. The devastating harsh vocals mix in and give the song an oil on water quality. The Pro...

  From Bandcamp, “French band  CREATVRE  are back with a new and exciting work,  "Toujours Humain."  As sole member  Raphaël Fournier  says, "the album bears witness to a world where humanity is one of its own relics, a vestige drowned in silicon. It’s a cyber-industrial journey, navigating between collective collapse and the pulse of resilience, each song a visual capsule drawn from this bleak tableau. It’s an allegory of self-erasure for individuals, as programmed by those who set the agenda,"  Fournier  explains. "The shame of still being biological. A lucid awareness with no escape, submerged in a world that operates without us. It’s the exploitation of hope. The commodification of salvation. A false light sold to those who were plunged into darkness. The album is a dystopian soundtrack where violence is cold, almost surgical, and where the only possible utopia is an inner and collective revolt." The album has nine songs, and  “Syntr...

  American black metal act  ABIGAIL WILLIAMS  returns with its sixth full-length album:  "A Void Within Existence,”  released July 18th via Agonia Records. The follow-up to  "Walk Beyond the Dark,”  this new chapter pushes the band's sound to even greater extremes - bleaker, heavier, more atmospheric than ever.    Produced by  Ken Sorceron,  mixed by  Dave Otero,  with drums by  Mike Heller  and cover art by  Eliran Kantor,  “this is a journey into disintegration. Where the self ends, the void begins,"  Sorceron  comments. The album has seven songs, and  “Life, Disconnected”  is first. The opening tones are weighted and dreadful. I feel like I stepped into a nightmare that is full of harrowing creatures and a lot of blood. The room suddenly went dark and there is no escape. The harsh vocals nicely compliment the frightening landscape you have uncovered.  “Void Within”  has ...

  From their official website, “Sixteen years and five albums into the Pennsylvania band's career, progressive death metal progenitors   RIVERS OF NIHIL  are upping the ante with the self-titled album. Traditionally, a self-titled record can signal a return to basics and/or a fresh beginning, and in 10 powerful songs, it's clear that both those factors are in play. The album deserves the 'self-titled' treatment. “I feel like these songs are the perfect blend of all our albums, with all the fat cut away," says founding member/guitarist   Brody Uttley . There are more technical songs, but with a more mature understanding of pacing. There's a fair bit of experimental stuff, but with a more refreshed perspective on those styles for the current era of the band." “The Sub-Orbital Blues”  is first, and I am immediately struck by a shift in their sound. The power of the harsh vocals and sheer weight of their sound is still there, but the clean vocals bring some me...