Conan – Evidence of Immortality

With the release of their fifth full-length instalment, one thing about Conan is abundantly clear: It exists as a powerhouse of doom metal that embodies a distinct stubbornness. A stubbornness almost equalling the unstoppable forces of geology which created our very existence. Evidence of Immortality exhibits the staunch refusal of Conan to let the quality of their music slip below the commendable standard fans have come to expect. Containing monumental, crushing doom riffs, faster, more bellicose sludge passages and a desperate sense of mounting tension, this album can be considered somewhat a summary of the material comprising the preceding four albums all neatly packaged into an incredibly satisfying 50 minutes of apocalyptic doom metal bliss. Get comfortable and whack that volume up!

Immediately, the humongous opener “A Cleaved Head No Longer Plots” fast-forwards a simulation of the formation of Pangaea (a supercontinent which began to break up again roughly 200 million years ago at the start of the Jurassic period to form the arrangement of continents we know today). The robust sound dominating the album is impressive for a three-piece and atmospherically speaking, the sense of foreboding projected is nothing short of remarkable. The listener is transported to a medieval and geological war zone where all hope for survival rapidly evaporates. It’s just a question of whether you will succumb to a horrific wound from Jon Davis’ battle axe or if you’ll be swallowed whole by the…

Chat Pile – God’s Country

A mere three days before the end of July, Chat Pile’s debut release became available to the masses after having been the subject of much hype. After the initial listen, God’s Country leaves one feeling like a corkscrew has been inserted into each ear and violently twisted. What has one just experienced? The answer, a savagely exasperated assault on a broken western society, transported to the ear canals with unprecedented levels of rage. While lyrical content concerning the failings of society is a well-trodden path with each new endeavour having potential to project yet another rehashed and redundant message, God’s Country does anything but.
You might ask what prevented God’s Country from falling into the rehash trap. It all comes down to the earnestness with which the message is delivered – no generic “fuck the government” material can be found here. Vocalist Raygun Busch launches a wide-ranged and carefully calculated attack on several aspects of modern American society which is both unapologetically scathing and depressingly accurate with its content. Amongst the themes of homelessness, mass meat production and the disgraceful condition of the environment are pockets of truly harrowing material in relation to the ongoing mental health crisis but rather than giving off the impression of wallowing, the overall message is one of downright rage, giving the record authenticity and ultimately, lyrical relevance.
While there is nothing overly complex musically speaking, the genre-fusion on offer…

Artificial Brain – Artificial Brain

Of all the bands I love, Artificial Brain is the one that has taken me the longest to wrap my head around. As someone who prefers the more freewheeling skronkfests of avant-garde death metal, Artificial Brain’s steadier, more nuanced approach to the genre was lost on me. Yet it always felt like I was missing something obvious with the band, like a lost puzzle piece smothered between couch cushions. When premier single “Celestial Cyst” dropped, I had an epiphany: Artificial Brain are playing at a scale far beyond human comprehension. The band’s music feels like depicting galactic warfare, but there’s no glory found in the destruction. Its view is a top-down perspective, where fiery explosions appear as minor blips, and all that’s left to do is pray for the loss of life both corporeal and mechanical. 

Examining their album covers gives clues to how their world building manifests sonically. Labyrinth Constellation’s grimy robotic skirmish on floating rocks is a perfect representation of Artificial Brain’s hectic yet laser-focused songwriting; it’s as fully realized a debut as you can find. Infrared Horizon depicts the aftermath with a robot cradling the decapitated friend of the same model, foreshadowing the black metal influence creeping forward. For their newest record, depicted with a rusted spider mech covered in moss, the production has gotten a lot murkier and muddier than previous outings. While it might not have the same frayed electrical…

Gospel – The Loser

There was never an intense desire for The Moon is a Dead World to finally have a sequel. In the realm of screamo or screamo-adjacent music, one-offs are par for the course, with the genre littered with classics delivered by groups that endured for a handful of years at best. These titans gradually generate their own mythology, and they transform into stories told ‘round the campfire by weathered stalwarts—tales of triumph we must strive to recreate. Of all those predecessors, however, it can be reasonably asserted that Moon was the most irreplicable of them all. The scene at large didn’t dare to take a stab at it; observing the trajectory of Gospel’s associated music influences reveals how few, if any, tried to capitalize off their work. It was equal parts the daunting critical reception, the eclectic grab-bag of genres, and the stunning musicianship required to tie it all together. It’s not likely for that drumming performance to reappear, nor is it probable for progressive rock sensibilities and keyboards to reunite in a category seemingly adverse to them.

Who else to perform Gospel again than, well, Gospel themselves? From the obscurity they once disappeared to, they decided to return in what could be the most shocking comeback witnessed in the industry. It’s impressive not only for the absurd waiting period between releases, but also due to its quality; The…

Denzel Curry – Melt My Eyez, See Your Future 

Denzel Curry’s work has always been a bridge between the old and the new, between the precise cuttings inherited from his influences and the exuberant energy of his contemporaries. It resulted in highly conceptual albums that also worked on a purely anthemic level. Now, Curry is ready to slow down. Ditching most of the roaring basslines and dynamic 808s to favor softer and jazzier hip-hop, Melt My Eyez, See Your Future is the rapper’s most suave album. Not that it induces somnolence, but rather that the Floridian’s other influences are more strongly felt than before: you can hear jazz, R&B, funk, soul, and even a bit of that punk energy Curry has always had.

And while some might regret the absence of a banger like “Ultimate” or “Ricky,” it’s gratifying to see Curry’s personal growth reflect his artistic maturation. The album ends with “The Ills”, where he states how his introspection drives him to take bold creative steps. It’s a powerful final thesis, illustrating why Denzel Curry felt it was time for him to take a new direction. He remains true to himself but still dares to venture into different spaces – proving that he is indeed the most artistically interesting Southern rapper these days. He constantly tests himself, opens up his possibilities, and manages to raise the bar with every album. Whether Melt My Eyez, See Your Future will be his definitive…

Musk Ox – Inheritance

Is anyone else surprised to see a classically-influenced instrumental album win this month’s AOTM? Granted, the month of July was no fall of ‘91 but this is Sputnik: ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’ has less votes on this site than Asking Alexandria’s 2017 self-titled release (yes, they do still make music.)

I don’t know what neofolk is. Ulver’s early work sounds like shit to me. What the fuck is a wooden grouse? Why am I listening to this neofolk album with literally a grayed out picture of a deserted railroad track on its cover, in the middle of July when it’s 110 degrees out? Why? Because it sounds metal as fuck.

Nathanael Larochette, in addition to having the most pretentious sounding name in all of neofolk history, serves as the group’s classical guitarist and co-composer, next to Raphael Weinroth-Browne. Larochette is also a member of the instrumental progressive metal band, The Night Watch, and boasts credits on Agalloch’s final album, while both Larochette and Weinroth-Browne have appeared on Woods of Ypres records. Musk Ox has appeared on compilations next to big-time nature metallers Empyrium, October Falls, and has shared the stage multiple times with the aforementioned, Agalloch.

So, in much lesser words, Nathanael Larochette is a metal guy who likes to make the metal musacz. And while much of this album sounds like the backdrop to a serene cabin in the middle of bumfuck Oregon, its dense and occasionally frenetic-sounding climaxes…

Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend

Given that the album offers little in the way of questions — by serving up the same indie-lite standards: trite lyrics, helium vocals and nothing new whatsoever — Blue Weekend still packs a punch where it counts, because the songs themselves still ‘mean’ something to this listener. The rhythm on “Delicious Things”, the throwaway pop of “Play the Greatest Hits”, and the build up and soaring crescendos on “The Last Man on Earth”; they all converge to create an album that offers up more than it ever intended to, and in doing so, means so much more in the process. – zakalwe

iosonouncane – IRA

Up-and-coming Brits Black Midi and uber-revered Sweet Trip both release an album. The “Album of the Month” section was all set to celebrate either of these indie juggernauts. No chance that hundred minutes long Italian album snatches the trophy.

And yet it did. Despite deserving all jabs thrown at its overreliance on certain metal and/or folk genres, Sputnikmusic still allows itself to embrace some detours from its well-established flagship genres, the latest deviation coming from IOSONOUNCANE – Italian for “IAMADOGGO”, and stage name of Jacopo Incani. After eight minutes of relative calm split between the first two tracks, “ashes” allows tension to rise to never let it decrease: from then on, mad and reflective moments take turns to instigate a mood always content to frighten the shit out of you, whether your tripes are tightened because of an eerie tribalistic passage or because post-industrial razors cut through your guts (RIP Kentaro Miura). Fortunately, IRA never crosses the Rubycon of ugliness, even in its most unnerving moments; rather evoking how extreme beauty can be. This attitude to offer the most bizarre art possible also shows itself in the lyrics, a hotchpotch of Italian, English, Spanish, and French, without any sense of continuation; “rising el rajul oublié” being an authentic-and-absolutely-not-modified excerpt of the album.

IRA is the ultimate testimony of the richness of the current musical catalog. Sure, fodder albums will still be thrown at us, bands will continue…

Manchester Orchestra – The Million Masks of God

The Million Masks of God came at the perfect time. Overall, the record’s musicianship is as tight as ever, Andy Hull is at his most ambitious, and the overall songwriting is possibly the best it’s ever been in a Manchester Orchestra album. However, it’s the album’s themes – the feeling of grief and guilt, emotional and spiritual crises, the moment where you lose a loved one – that make this album so great. Just about everyone can relate to this album in some way. I’m not saying that hypothetically of course; just about all of us here has had to deal with some horrible experience over the course of a year, including me. 2020 was a fucking horrendous year, it was depressing, traumatic, and incredibly scary. Yet at the same time, The Million Masks of God isn’t an album that reflects on those horrible experiences, it doesn’t toy with or exploit your emotions in that way. If anything, it’s more of an acceptance to what happened – that in spite of all the shit that we’ve gone through, it’ll all be okay. It’s hopeful, optimistic, and at times, happy, and right now, I think all of us could use a bit of that in our lives. We’ve been stuck at home, grieved and cried for far too long. It’s unsure when all of it will end, but it will at some point, and…

Arab Strap – As Days Get Dark

Rarely in Sput’s illustrious history has the Album of the Month been this closely contested. While some recent favourites such as Krallice’s supposedly “listenable” Demonic Wealth were blown aside with the weight of a brief fart, albums such as Dvne’s Etemen Ænka stood strong, beat only by the sheer magnitude of quality on this album of the decade contender. Okay…

“Meanwhile, at a bar, a Drunkard muses“ is a Strap song penned on 2003’s A Monday at the Hug & Pint – it’s a cracking song, on one of their best albums, but it’s also a powerfully symbolic title representative of that confessional blend of post-rock and slowcore that is so uniquely theirs. Over the course of their career, frontman Aidan Moffat has mastered the art of such musings, forming a collection of legitimate poetry like a laureate of Sunday’s spent hungover reminiscing of the night before in brief flashes. Tales of lost-love, shags, infidelity, booze, boredom and the mundane beauty of a head in the gutter – at times these are hilarious, at times they’re jarringly honest in recollection. Eighteen years separate As Days Grow Dark from that one, sixteen since the last Arab Strap release. Make no mistake, their return was never a given. It was evident that the duo had grown unsure in their output. Making a step braver than many artists unfortunately take, the duo placed their art on hold, taking…

Ad Nauseam – Imperative Imperceptible Impulse

If Sputnikmusic’s “Album Of The Month” series has taught us anything over the course of last year it’s that not all records are created equal. Fairly, a statement like that could easily be considered hyperbolic if not for the sheer vastness which Imperative Imperceptible Impulse commands, surging out of the realms of disso-death and into the hearts of those fed a full serving of Ulcerate, Gorguts, Deathspell Omega and early 90s Demilich. Yet, Ad Nauseam’s sophomore is a beast, a behemoth of ingenuity – taking the very sequencing that made those groups named above what they are and defining their own individual take. Imperative Imperceptible Impulse crashes through the simple boundaries of what traditional music is, crafting devastating compositions with unique experimentation, something mostly credited to the band’s ‘do it yourself’ approach. It’s this meticulous design that articulates the very essence of Ad Nauseam’s central make-up. 

 
By itself, Imperative Imperceptible Impulse is not an easy listen by any means. In fact, these tracks ‘demand’ attention, repeats and introspection. Whether it’s the tempo breaks, jarred rhythms, breakneck shifts in dissonance…there’s something to enjoy for all fans of extreme music. The unpacking of such a record comes with great reward, you just have to take a deep breath and fall in face first. – Robert Garland

August 2020 Album of the Month: Two People – Second Body

Second Body could not have come out at a better time. After keeping myself from checking out most of the singles prior to its release, I pressed play on the album for the first time as I started my morning walk through a picturesque valley in the Swiss Alps. Allowing Two People’s music to adorn my quest for breakfast was nothing short of perfection; from the peppy beats of ‘Loud’ and ‘A Taste’ to dreamier cuts such as ‘Been a Little While’ and ‘Under the Hood’, each aspect of the record capitalises on the band’s newfound sense of immediacy in the best possible way. As I exited the local bakery, however, it was the second chorus of ‘The Line’ that completely floored me. It’s not an obviously grandiose moment, not one of directly distinguishable beauty, but rather one of astonishing subtlety in a song that still manages to retain [i]Second Body[/i]’s instantly gratifying nature. A simple drum beat, some low piano notes and Phoebe Lou’s heavenly croons: everything fits, everything feels right. It’s the moment that solidified Two People’s second body of work as something truly special, connecting the organic beauty of the album with that of the mountains towering over me as the replay button and a paper bag filled with fresh croissants and yoghurt accompanied me on my walk back. – JesperL

When we consider the amount of big releases being pushed back because of the coronavirus, you can scarcely tell there’s a shortage of quality music when you look at the number of albums being put forward for April’s Album of the Month. In spite of this eclectic sprawl of candidates though, in my heart I knew Ulcerate’s uncompromising return was going to resonate the most with Sputnikmusic’s userbase. Jacquibim’s hype-fuelled review was a telling indicator that we were in for something special, but to fully understand what was on offer here you had to listen to the unrelenting behemoth yourself. Stare Into Death and Be Still is a career-defining marvel, and it’s clear Sputnikmusic recognises and embraces their efforts.

April 2020 Album of the Month: Ulcerate – Stare Into Death and Be Still 

“What Ulcerate have done here, very successfully, is create a tech-death record with huge crossover appeal. The melodies are layered in such a way that picking them out is no chore, much in the same way that a lot of post metal would approach the task, and yet, the familiar trappings of unbound technicality are ever-present. It’s almost uncanny. A beautiful, sludgy, catchy behemoth that punches hard and cuts deep but applies an ample amount of anaesthetic first. A great deal of its success can be attributed to the production, which has been handled exceptionally well. It reveals the music in layers, each element distinct, but unquestionably integral to the whole.…

March was jam-packed with great releases, but one album in particular really captivated music lovers on Sputnikmusic. For even those who aren’t privy to country music, there’s no denying that something feels invigorating about Starmaker and the way it presents its music. Despite a broad range of albums being selected for March’s AOTM, Honey Harper’s Starmaker won by a comfortable margin – which certainly speaks volumes about the quality found within this brilliantly executed LP.

March 2020 Album of the Month: Honey Harper – Starmaker  

“A challenge for country fans: Take a shot every time you hear, “I listen to pretty much everything. Well, except country. I can’t stand country.” The objective? Survive.

 ~

Country isn’t the only victim of misconceptions fueled by a disliked mainstream personality. Yet, it seems to be the most popular genre to voice a displeasure of, and it seemingly emerges not from a thorough exploration, but rather a few choice singles that garner airplay. Saying that Honey Harper’s Starmaker is the exception to the rule implies a rule was in place to begin with, and such is not the case; this is the product of evolution in a category that features plenty of hits behind its radio-biased appearance. There are no trucks on this album, nor blue jeans, dime-a-dozen break-up stanzas, beer cans, and so on and so on. Instead, it is something much more genuine and closer to the heart.

However,…

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from these monthly voting sessions, it’s that you can expect an eclectic mix of albums, and, sometimes, the unexpected. Though Sputnikmusic is notorious for favouring post-rock music as its dominant preference, and even though I had good money on Envy’s The Fallen Crimson taking February’s crown, it didn’t stop the poll from being a surprisingly fierce one. Fighting tooth and nail with Spanish Love Songs’ Brave Faces Everyone, Envy’s trailblazing return just in so garnered the votes for February’s Album of the Month win. After a turbulent decade for Envy, the band have clearly delivered an album the fans can rejoice at, and the results speak for themselves.  With that, Sputnik user Sniff will shed some light on why it’s the obvious choice.

February 2020 AOTM: Envy – The Fallen Crimson

“Here’s a short list of random, great and memorable comebacks:

– Super Bowl LI. You know, the year Patriots tricked us all into believing they wouldn’t win it that year.
– Tiger Woods – The Masters. 3955 days and a whole bunch of problems (both on and off the golf course); later he went and won another major.
– Liverpool in the Champions League final of ’05 – the 3 fast goals that took it to extra time will never be forgotten.
– David Bowie – The Next Day. After 10 years and out of “retirement”, he drops another acclaimed album.
…