Originally printed in Now Then Magazine issue 87 

MYTH OF A LIFE
ERINYES
SELF RELEASED

Slashing a hole in musical tranquillity with a searing blade, up to the bloodied hilt through the emblem of peace and quiet that once flagged its colours before we pressed the almighty play button, Myth of a Life surf into action on a wave of what was once a Children of Bodom iconic whip, now a staple part of all modern, in-your-face thrashings. Once more, echoes of previous legends reverberate in the melodic guitar work and the sheer determined aggression of Pissing Razors is evident in their style.

The key to making decent metal is that it has to ensnare you in its fury and drag you through its tantrum of dissonance to musical culture with each track, and Erinyes does this by simply not stopping. Every bar is saturated with aggressive, forthcoming and musically enticing energy. It doesn’t put you off. It’s not unsightly. It’s epic and enchanting.

Skills are apparent. No music like this can be of any resounding quality without the push of experience. The well-scripted thinking of a student of the guitar is essential when making exciting and rageful music that works. Every one of the four tracks that make this neat little EP is just enough to show us the business and prepare us for something new. It moves well, and original riffs and melodies continue to sweep the rumbling holler along, framing the cursing and challenging vocal.

Erinyes is not for those who like to drink lemonade with a book, unless they want a moment to escape from that scenario. Intense music doesn’t always do its job. It can become nonsensical and violent, but for me Erinyes teeters well on the positive side of that line. Remaining skillful and with a flow that suits the pace, I enjoyed this snappy record.

Rowan Blair Colver

Originally printed in Now Then Magazine issue 86

JACCO GARDNER

HYPNOPHOBIA
FULL TIME HOBBY

If you just give me a moment to comb the daisies from my hair, I’ll tell you about this record. The summer of love has returned with an acid folk flavour that just wants to be listened to. The sound that trickles from the stereo flows deliciously like a musical custard, and on our wafer boat we set sail into realms of dream. Sunny, bouncing echoes of yesteryear frame a modern yet nostalgic whimsy into far flung tribulations and posery. It’s all rather cool.

‘Another You’, the first track in the order of chapter-like songs, grants us a hazy stripe of keys that in a childish way remind us of the psychological title of this record.  As Jacco begins to sing, the melody immediately hits us as influenced by yesterday’s sounds, but a cheeky, modern-sounding drum fill reminds us we are listening to a newly released record.


The pretty yet haunted melody of ‘Grey Lanes’ cuts deeper still into the soul of this journey. I am overwhelmed by a sudden urge to go back to my childhood and ride my Wildcat bike. 
With the Art of Garfunkel’s prowess and the Incredible from said String Band’s misty sounding tunes, we’re given a gradually unwrapping gift of light, magic and musical geometry.

Hailing from Zwaag, near Amsterdam, this multilingual musician has demonstrated his diversity by fusing the sounds of many instruments acquired through his career so far. Perhaps in this way Gardener is able to recreate the folk landscapes often associated with holey jumpers and pipe smoking and, while celebrating their once-sovereignty, is able to combine modern elements to make a fantastic record for the 21st century.

Rowan Blair Colver

Ethereal Shroud

They Became The Falling Ash

Grimoire Cassette Cvlture Records

Northern Silence Productions

The nightmares that boil in the darkest crevices of our neural gyri, those passions and feelings of sensational power, epic fusion of self, wisdom and vibration bring forward the reality of human shadows. Ethereal Shroud takes us to that dark and golden world of forces, fates and enchantment. A mirror image of the post rock scene, matched in the progressive flow and delivery yet reversed in the draw to self. Lengthy tracks encapsulate the drive and reverberation in stages, score like symphonic passages of musical time. As the record plays, the energy builds. As the energy builds, the feeling of inner satisfaction grows. As we continue on the path, the dark yet mysteriously beautiful compositions haunt us, teach us that not all is suffering when in the shadow of the heart.

Look Upon the Light, a track of inner depth and visions of horror, a doomsday themed ode that opens much like My Dying Bride but soon changes gear and leaves the funeral procession behind. Excellent use of scale and timing bring each section into a new layer of presence, the drums and the keys wrap the riffs in neat, precisely notated sandwiches. As we near the end of the track, we find ourselves holding the mother of all sandwiches, eyes watering, mouth open wide and ready to shove it all in.

As the music persuades us to envision ourselves running along the top of jagged rocks, perhaps on a hill, we can feel the predatory eyes in the backdrop waiting for us to get comfy. Extreme music loves to make us jump and this album will do this. Desperation Hymn leaps from the pristine shimmer left behind  after the first twenty four minutes of track number one and launches us into a powerful assault of smashing snare drums, raging guitars and lyrics about utter hopelessness. Potent stuff indeed. This track has an Emperor feel about it, taking light of the harsh but consistent and eventually appreciated guitar-drum delivery.

Track three, the final opus on this deceptively lengthy record starts like it sounds. Echoes in the Snow reveal a cold and desolate sonic landscape which slowly fills with the elements of life and then finally a melody cuts in, bringing soul to the original chaos of near silence. Perhaps the most progressive track on the album, after being bathed in a tranquil moonbeam of storytelling bars, we are thrust again into the poltergeist that is feeding on the light, feasting on the knowing of self. The coldness sucks life away yet, we as the audience are treated to this opera of intent and battle, this tragedy of music. Art doesn’t always leave us feeling all gooey inside. This leaves us feeling raw, sensualised and ready to make some changes to our own source of winter.

They Became The Falling Ash is available on bandcamp for download and limited physical versions. 

Rowan Blair Colver