The Rock Blogger

Krallice - “Dimensional Bleedthrough” Review

Damien Van Vroenhoven — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:20:57 +0000

Krallice. Dimensional Bleedthrough . 2009. 4 stars. When I saw Krallice open for Wolves in the Throne Room earlier this year, my friend (a stranger to black metal) said that they created "emotional texture". This, to me, was entirely accurate and sums up Krallice’s latest epic, an exhaustive, unrepentant and complex textural experiment. Its easy to [...]

Blood in the Ground Linking Us All

Damien Van Vroenhoven — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:53:44 +0000

addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.therockblogger.com%2F%25e6%25a2%25b5%25e9%2590%2598%2F'; addthis_title = 'Blood+in+the+Ground+Linking+Us+All'; addthis_pub = '';

Converge - “Axe to Fall” Review

Damien Van Vroenhoven — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:11:43 +0000

Converge. Axe to Fall. 2009. 4 stars . Boston’s Converge has been a mainstay on the hardcore scene for well over a decade, blending mathematically precise riffs with the guttural emotion of extreme metal. Their unique sound is fast, gritty and immolating while still taking measures towards experimentation, be it with post-rock atmosphere or abrasive [...]

An ear to the Earth: Organic Drones

Damien Van Vroenhoven — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:10:04 +0000

Natural Snow Buildings. Shadow Kingdom . 2009. Another masterpiece (if not their finest achievement to date) from this prolific avant/drone duo. Delicate, ethereal folk songs are interwoven with wispy psychedelia, eastern-tinged guitars and mysterious, ambient noises. A soundtrack for levitation. Shadow Kingdom is an incredibly exhausting and expansive album (over 2 hours) that is full of [...]

Francis Bacon

Damien Van Vroenhoven — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:11:06 +0000

Francis Bacon (1909-1992). Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion . 1944. Below is a fascinating documentary about one of the most influential figurative/surrealist painters of the 20th Century. His work contains overwhelming dread, transmogrification, and decay. He once described his paintings as the residue of life, like the slime behind a snail. [...]

Sleepwalker

Damien Van Vroenhoven — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:03:43 +0000

Sleepwalker. S/T (?). 200?. 5 stars . Sleepwalker is a mysterious project out of Santa Cruz California that I know little about. I do know that it incorporates the stark post-rock of Slint and the droning black metal/ambient of Velevet Cacoon to produce one of the most mesmerizing records of its kind. It’s mostly raw, lo-fi instrumentals [...]

The Red Knights of Autumn

Damien Van Vroenhoven — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:13:06 +0000

Three dollar anarchist poetry Reminds me of the leaf-strewn paths And lonely quarters where I used to rest The spark was found there And the fire, the godly warmth, the godly risk Around my hands The ecstasies of fear and joy, so wonderful, so necessary For everything that’s bright and rare. So much of that mysterious place… The greatest parts, didn’t look so great on [...]

Laika

Damien Van Vroenhoven — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:08:17 +0000

addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.therockblogger.com%2Flaika%2F'; addthis_title = 'Laika'; addthis_pub = '';

A Place to Bury Strangers - “Exploding Head” Review

Damien Van Vroenhoven — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:04:01 +0000

A Place to Bury Strangers. Exploding Head . 2009. 4.5 stars . Brooklyn’s A Place to Bury Strangers deliver an incredibly stylish sophomore effort with Exploding Head , a slick and dynamic tribute to everything post-punk. Taking fuzzed out cues from The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine and Joy Division, APTBS [...]

The Twilight Sad - “Forget the Night Ahead” Review

Damien Van Vroenhoven — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:04:10 +0000

The Twilight Sad. Forget the Night Ahead . 2009. 4 stars . A solid sophomore effort from this underrated Scottish band. Like its brilliant predecessor Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters , the music on this album evokes cold, rainy and grey spaces, where traumatic childhood memories collide with the fractured relationships of adulthood. The lyrics [...]