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EP: Curbeaters - Time Is Unforgiving

Band: Curbeaters
Album: Time Is Unforgiving
Label: Golden Antenna Records
Year: 2017








Tracklist
01. Code Of Faults
02. Phreatic
03. Bitter Flood
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Curbeaters are/were kind of like “the father you never saw and didn't know was there, but suddenly he knocks at your door“. At least that's kind of like the case to well-known German acts Black Shape Of Nexus, Ira, Planks and Ultha.

The history

In 2002 all members of the project spent a lot of time on a German message board for underground DIY punk/hardcore/metal and they mutually knew each other from shows and festivals. Several ideas for projects were founded by memebrs of that board – non ever really gave birth to a record. Tom, Andy and Geb met for one weekend to practice and record a few ideas. Ralph was supposed to play bass but couldn't make it to that weekend. So the remaining members recorded the three tracks on this very record. There was never another proper rehearsal or plans to commence the band, but the instrumental tracks made their way through various channels and always got great feedback. The originally intended singer never made it to record vocals, so the whole thing just kind of faded to a distant memory and all members went on to play in some of the most well-known acts in German DIY metal/doom.

Fast forward to 2016

Andy and Ralph both ended up in Cologne, playing together in a black metal band called Ultha. Andy is a professional recording engineer and always kept up hope to actually finish the songs at some point. After an initial push by Timo (Golden Antenna Records) a few years back, to have Ralph record the vocals, the idea popped back up in 2016. Andy just opened his Goblin Sound Studio and Ralph is fairly well known for his trademark lyrics and vocal performance in now defunct Golden Antenna Records act Planks. Ralph wrote some lyrics and tried out the vocals – it turned out to be a perfect match for the three doom laden sludgy rock songs. Now hell froze over and Andy's persistence paid off: 'Time Is Unforgiving', a three song EP and the result of more than 15 years in the making. Limited to 300 records on vinyl distributed by the label which played a major part in why this thing came together after all these years.

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Streaming: Lights & Motion - Dear Avalanche

Band: Lights & Motion
Album: Dear Avalanche
Label: Deep Elm Records
Year: 2017








Tracklist
01. This Explosion Within
02. Feathers
03. Silver Lining
04. Anomaly
05. Pandora
06. Perfect Symmetry
07. Everest
08. Lucid Dreaming
09. DNA
10. Anamorphic
11. Exhale
12. As They Sleep
13. All The Way
14. We Only Have Forever
Streaming / Buy

The latest offering in a discography often described as the ultimate symmetry of music and emotion, Dear Avalanche is the most accomplished and fully realized expression of sounds to date from cinematic post-rock powerhouse Lights & Motion. Although many claim he is a magician, the band's braintrust, Christoffer Franzen, is a storyteller...and a masterful one at that. From the majestic climax of "This Explosion Within" to the hopeful build of "Silver Lining" to the delicate innocence of "Anomaly", every Lights & Motion track tells its own story by transporting the listener through tenor and tone to a place where anything and everything is possible. This astonishing interplay of soul and sound is truly a work of art as it connects with the listener in a way that transcends the music itself. Franzen's ability to elicit emotion on a universal level and touch the heart without words, is simply beyond the limits of all imagination. With this expertly crafted collection of rich new soundscapes, Lights & Motion not only again delivers but also elevates the architecture of cinematic post-rock to awe-inspiring new heights. 

"I can safely say that this album was a big challenge and undertaking for me. I spent roughly two years writing it, and in that time I experimented a lot with trying to push myself outside of my comfort zone. By the end of it, I had written more than twenty-five songs and from them I chose fourteen to be featured on the album. I did things that I have never attempted before, such as recording a ten piece choir and incorporating a lot of vintage synthesizer sounds and electronics. I was determined to find new areas of my music that I hadn’t discovered, and looking back I think I did just that. The album is filled with lots of different textures that I created, like running choirs through distorted guitar amps or taking beautiful string recordings and processing them to sound otherworldly and ethereal. Every song brought with it a large canvas which I filled with interesting new sounds to help bring each composition to life," says Franzen. 

Franzen continues, "The album title just came to me and I instantly connected with it. While it may sound paradoxical because an avalanche is so dangerous, it reminds me that there is always a precious silver lining in everything that happens. Events in your life will threaten to overpower you, but there is strength in facing them head on, accepting them for what they are and choosing always to look for the positive message in all the hardship and struggle. I hope people listening to this album will feel like they've been taken on a journey, as I worked hard at creating a world of sonic panoramas to get lost in. Looking back, I think this is my most diverse album to date. The melodies are still very much present, but the sonic identities change as the album ebbs and flows. For me, the experience of making albums is a very solitary one. For several years I have lived with these songs, first in my head and then in my hands. Now I am ready to release them into the world. Getting to share them with everyone is the ultimate payoff after all this work, and one I'm really looking forward to." 

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Recommendation: Anomalie - Visions

Band: Anomalie
Album: Visions
Label: Art Of Propaganda
Year: 2017








Tracklist
01. Vision I: Towards The Sun
02. Vision II: The Wanderer
03. Vision III: A Monument
04. Vision IV: Illumination
05. Vision V: Starless Nights
06. Vision VI: White Forest
07. Vision VII: One With The Soil
Streaming / Buy | Mirror

Anomalie is an Austrian atmospheric black metal band founded by mastermind Marrok (live-Harakiri For The Sky) in 2011.

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Video: Explosions In The Sky - The Ecstatics