(This is Part 2 of a 3-part series written by Austin Weber about noteworthy January releases and a few from the end of last year. Find Part 1 here.)
While the quantity and quality for label-released metal in January seems a bit sparse as far as my tastes go, the underground never disappoints and 2017 is already off to a fantastic pace due to plenty of lesser-known acts dropping killer new material. Just recently I came across a number of new releases (and a few largely unknown ones from 2016) that you just might want to check out — presented here in three parts.
THEORY IN PRACTICE – Crescendo Dezign
I’ve already reviewed this elsewhere, but since it’s a self-released effort, I felt it was worth sharing here for anyone who didn’t catch it when it dropped last week without much media attention. These legendary Swedes have a long and rich history in the death metal and technical death metal scenes dating back to the mid-’90s to the early 2000s before their initial hiatus. Since returning in 2015, Theory In Practice have deftly proven that they’ve lost none of their initial spark, with an inspired two-song EP we covered here called Evolving Transhumanism.
On Crescendo Dezign, the band have given a slight facelift and some new tweaks to their iconic sound, but nothing that strays too far from their well-established pattern. If you were a fan of the band’s prior material before they split, or caught their 2015 EP, Evolving Transhumanism, you absolutely must check out what Crescendo Dezign has to offer.
https://www.facebook.com/theoryinpracticeband/
https://theoryinpractice.bandcamp.com/album/crescendo-dezign
ANTIPSYCHOCIRCUMSEPTEMSOMAMBULATION – From It Pours What Some Call Emptiness
While the band obviously wears the super-long and weird band name thing on its sleeve, Antipsychocircumseptemsomambulation at least have really cool and out-there sounding music to pair it with! If you enjoy Jute Gyte in the slightest, and can handle or somehow perversely enjoy the strange sounds of microtonal metal, then you’ll probably dig From It Pours What Some Call Emptiness.
In fact, while this is somewhat more grind and experimental than Jute Gyte, the black metal-gone-microtonal framework here is similar, except Antipsychocircumseptemsomambulation sound like Jute Gyte on a bad acid trip; this is absolutely fucked-up sounding music.
The songs have a strong minimalist nature in their structure and flow that lends itself to dense, disturbing soundscapes unfolding within all the mechanical buzzing and hallucinatory blur of sour notes that the music consists of. It’s all downhill and downward spirals from here on as soon as you hit play. Still, some fans of weird, out-there shit can probably appreciate what From It Pours What Some Call Emptiness has to offer.
https://antipsychocircumseptemsomambulation.bandcamp.com/releases