March starts with quality over quantity: 5 Highlights for this Release Week!

The first time I heard about Melbourne-based post black metal act Suldusk was last year when Emily Highfield’s ethereal vocals graced the song ‘At Dusk’ on Heretoir’s stellar “Wastelands” EP and I’m glad that put them on my radar, as their new, second album “Anthesis” was released last friday and I immediately jumped at the opportunity to check it out. And was not disappointed in the slightest. Originally Highfield’s solo project, now a full band, their sound is quite Scandinavian despite their Australian origins. At least the black metal and dark folk portions of their sound. The ‘post’ touch is not necessarily though and Hayley Anderson’s violin adds further depth to both harsh and mellow passages. I even mistook her relying mostly on the lower registers of her instrument for a cello’s higher registers, but for that Canadian maestro Raphael Weinroth-Browne comes in last minute for a nice little guest solo on the final song, aptly titled ‘A Luminous End’. Executed to perfection on the album’s title track (with the other 8 songs not trailing too far behind, just some swaying more towards the heavier side of the equation, some to the opposite side), Suldusk establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with among their sonic peers like Myrkur, Helga and Sylvaine. Not to be missed for fans of this particular merging of sounds. Dario

Being the brainchild of Dutch guitarist and composer Mark Bogert, Magoria was set to bring historical stories and myths to life musically using the fitting format of Metal opera. With their second project, they take us deep into the mystical events around “Hollingsworth Mansion”, told by seven wonderful singers and a great cast of musicians. The center point within the narrative is the miraculous house servant Selina, who is 3 centuries old, neither alive nor dead, and the connecting element between former and current residents. The songs are accessible and well done, coming along in a kind of Heavy Musical style, with great guitar solo parts, often cinematic background orchestration, and of course the spooky soundscapes are not missing either (even though they could be a bit more present here and there considering the story). If you’re up for an Ayreon-like multi-singer concept album, this is definitely an entertaining listen. Katha

Apart from their beautiful dark violet color theme on their cover artwork (or rather in addition to that), the new Norwegian Cloud People have a lot to offer musically on their debut album “Simulacra”. Jazz, post and prog all play a role in their influences, as much as repetitive patterns in electronic music, krautrock and psychedelic forms of musical expressions. Saxophones atop gorgeous synth patterns tell instrumental tales about conspiracy theories, while the drums’ hypnotic rhythms try to convince you about their truth at the same time. Or something like that. Mysterious and straight forward at the same time, Cloud People is definitely yet another excellent addition to the roster of Apollon Records and further proof of the neverending supply of excellent Norwegian (prog) music. Dario

After 6 long years, Australian blackened death metal artist Convulsing are back with their newest offering coming out of nowhere! This is a solo project from lead composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist, Brendan Sloan, who you may know as a current member of Altars. “Perdurance” was released independently, only available as of now on their Bandcamp site, and the attention this release is already receiving without any press to hype it up is astounding! But what is the hype all about? Well, this third full-length record presents truly what Brendan Sloan is capable of. The production stands out from the moment you hit play, with everything so clear yet aggressive, and the riffs have never been so memorable. How about those drums though?? Wow, do they ever sound tasty. This, for me, is pretty easily his best release to date, throwing in lots of dissonance and prog into the sound to top it off. I couldn’t recommend this one enough for anyone remotely into the extreme side of things. Go give it a spin! Colin

An Italian Neo Prog band I’ve never heard of re-recorded their 1988 debut “Heartquake” you say? With that particular subgenre notoriously under-represented here on our website, my interest was piqued somehow and stumbling into a sonic universe familiar from bands like IQ, old-school Marillion or Genesis evoked a certain nostalgic feeling in me. Without checking out the original recordings for comparison though, I must say these six songs sound fresh and crisp though, never dated or dusted in the slightest, and with engaging songwriting from start to finish, I find myself drifting away into the Michael Holmes/Steve Rothery-esque guitars atop Martin Orford synth lands. Welcome back, Leviathan! Hope to hear more from you soon! Dario