Post Posting: Heave Blood & Die, Sarin, Cult of Luna
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL… themed post-metal ratings? Three excellent releases today, what are the odds! No, tell me, I need more things to bet on.
Heave Blood & Die – Post People | Fysisk Format | February 5th, 2021
I really wanted to write a full review for this album solely on the strength of the first single, but I ended up not having a ton to say about most of the rest of the runtime. Their experimental noise rock leanings are very much not my thing, but these crafty Norwegians also add in some post-rock grooves that very much are my thing. If you happen to like both of those things, you are going to be in heaven. If you’re like me, just listen to “Radio Silence”, “Continental Drifting”, and “Post People” over and over again and also be in heaven. Heave Blood & Die excel at creating all-enveloping grooves. Some are hypnotic and others are in that krautrock tempo that creates deadly anxiety, which I really don’t need more of, but am still eating up anyway. Gorge with me, on this feast of pain and comfort.
4 Field Goal Posts out ov 5
Sarin – You Can’t Go Back | Prosthetic | February 5th, 2021
I’m a little upset that I let Sarin get three albums in before I found them. You Can’t Go Back shows a complete understanding of how to write exciting material in the post/sludge genre. You’ll get a few hints of references from ISIS and CoL, but they fall well outside of just being a copycat band. Instead of slow builds, Sarin opts for delicate melodic respites that explode into these unique heavily distorted grooves that remind me of something you’d hear in gazy black metal instead. “Reckoner” is essentially a perfect 5-minute burner that sets up a crushing rhythm, which gets cut through by a fantastic melody, then settles down for just long enough for the finale to hit extra hard. My only critique is that they didn’t lean into the post-ness enough to allow some of their more excellent ideas to linger a bit longer or even just repeat them for a few more bars.
4 Post Routs out ov 5
Cult of Luna – The Raging River | Red Creek Recordings | February 5th, 2021
The Raging River is the coming-out party for CoL’s new label, Red Creek Recordings, and a great party it is. It’s truly astonishing that a 20-year-old band is still putting out their best material every time they hit the studio, and not even that, I’d say the best music in their genre. Most of the tracks are a logical extension of 2019’s A Dawn to Fear, which is fine by me, as it was my favorite album that year. There’s also an interlude track featuring Screaming Trees’ Mark Lanegan for some reason, which is neat. The deranged dissonant meltdown in the middle of “I Remember” is one of the wildest things I have heard recently, check it out.
4.5 Post-Game Confettos out ov 5
