OPM: Minimal Metal Mashups

wordsSHIFTminds – Memento Mori

Intense multigenre mixture of synthwave, DnB, breakbeats and more, delivered with a uniquely present production aesthetic. This is an album that not only refuses to color in the lines, it seems likely it doesn’t see those lines. Rollicking breaks are paired with funky horn lines; synthwave pulse sits alongside fuzzy chillwave instrumentations; sleepy downtempo meets obliquely abstract synth. What really sets it apart, tho, is an almost hyperreal “in the room with you” production sound. 

Whereas so much electronic music in general, and synthwave in particular, has a pristine, crisp and bloodless sound, this seems to somehow inhabit the real world – the sounds are synthetic, yes, but they feel real in a way that synths often don’t. It’s a cool aesthetic that pairs well with the variety of electronica on offer.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Nathan Plante – Electric Forest

A welcoming blend of ambient, orchestral and field recording that invites you to lie down among its titular trees and soak up the ample vibes. Warm synth tones fill in the spaces between hyperreal field recordings, occasionally making way for snippets of distorted voices. Drones and wobbling tones move thru impossible spaces in fascinating shapes. 

Things don’t stay bucolic and chill the whole time, tho – it gets gnarly, glitchy and digital-forest-gone-weird thru the middle (notably on “Undergrowth”), then takes a turn for the unearthly and uncanny in “Faerie Circle.” After that, we return to the light for the final two tracks, and a pleasantly friendly finish. Intriguing and accomplished work.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Unknown Pseudoartist – Third Placeholder

Fascinating mashup of metal and videogame music spiked with bits of prog, folk and more. It’s an intriguing blend of genres that’s cinematic and engaging and full of surprises. I can see it not sitting well with metal purists – it’s pretty electronic on many levels – but it’d be a shame to dismiss it because it doesn’t fit in a neat box. 

Indeed, the fusion between dungeon synth-style material, thrash-inspired riffing, and cinematic/prog elements (like that lovely mellotron choir!) consistently yields moments of beauty and kept me wondering what I might hear next. A great find for open minded metal fans, or electronic music fans who aren’t afraid of some riffs.

(Listened to the entire album)

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beth sines – sisterhood/night flight

Minimal dungeon synth/kosmische crossover that boils the two genres down to their least common denominators for a hypnotic listening experience. The album opens with a bit of field recording that is quickly manipulated into synth tones that lead directly into the first “main” track. That track, “sisterhood,” clocks in at 14 minutes; the other “main” track, “night flight,” comes in just under 20. 

In between a four minute interstitial track separates them. Both the main tracks are barely there constructions of pulse and vibe: just enough there there to qualify as music. Slowly evolving synth lines, occasional burbles of “bass,” splashes of tone and color in the margins and over the top. Mesmerizing and minimal; not to be missed.

(Listened to the entire album) 

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Leafall – Sine Anima

Powerful melodic metal in a post-thrash, post-grunge vein – tight, angsty, and technical but not flashy, with an emphasis on the songs. I’m certainly no metal expert – this probably fits into one of the genre’s many, many subdivisions – so I can’t offer a detailed map of where this fits in under the metal umbrella. 

I can tell you the vocalist has digested everything from traditional, first-wave metal belters thru Alice in Chains and Soundgarden and beyond – his voice is melodic and powerful, but with a ragged edge that would feel right at home in the ‘90s/early ‘00s. The guitars chug at times, soar and scream at others, and offer some surprisingly chill melodic arpeggiation in between. THe rhythm section is suitably heavy and locked in, too. 

(Listened to the entire EP)

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