It’s debatable whether the Rome quartet known as Zu should even be considered metal. True, they have a song on The Way Of The Animal Powers called “Tom Araya is Our Elvis.” Their album sports illustrations of gorillas, a bird’s head in a jar and an exploding volcano. The similarities end there. Zu openly admire […]

When Brian Danilowski isn’t plucking his bass in Baltimore math-metallists Trephine, he straddles the time/space continuum with his experimental/noise solo project Darsombra. 2006’s Ecdysis only hinted at what was to come from this creative soul, as the new Eternal Jewel wraps the listener around sheer volume, both layered and frayed. “Auguries” resembles a classical-styled (with […]

Listen, as much as I try to wrap my head around sheer ambient, noise acts like Japanese Comedy Torture Hour, Zweizz, Einsturzende Neubauten, Diagnose: Lebensgefahr, Merzbow, Namanx, (James Plotkin produces this release for you fans out there) and such, I simply can’t do it. Though this French trio utilizes traditional instruments (guitar, drum, bass), mistakenly […]

While I enjoy a certain few instrumental bands such as Pelican, Keelhaul, Electro Quarterstaff and Tides I generally like my music with vocals. But Trephine presents a rather interesting take on instrumental mayhem, with a rather eclectic style of instrumental metal. Forsaking the norm of expansive atmospheric droning, Trephine, like Dysrythmia, takes a more spastic, […]