Mare remains one of the enigmatic entries in the Hydra Head roster
of artists, as this eponymous EP represents the band's one and only recording. This Canadian trio consisted of vocalist / guitarist Tyler Semrick-Palmateer, Rob Shortil on bass, and drummer Caleb Collins. The band had a short run from 2004 to 2007, emerging out of Toronto's death / tech-metal community with Semrick-Palmateer had cut his teeth on vocals in The End. On the five songs of Mare, the band assembled a menacing composite of styles and forms -- sludge-metal, math-rock, classic prog idioms, and the diaphonic harmonies from Bulgarian chorals. Film and musical theatre also work into chimera of influences with the band mentioning that both 2001: A Space Odyssey and Jesus Christ Superstar had been in heavy rotation during the writing and production of the album. Sonically, Mare concentrates on monolith of trudging rhythms and densely packed riffs squeezed through numerous time signature changes and sudden shifts in velocity. Semrick-Palmateer's vocals are a unique feature to Mare's aesthetic, throat-scraping with bellowing howls and harrowing screams before gliding into the form of a silver-tongued crooner such Jeff Buckley or even Chet Baker. "They Sent You" and "Tropics" situates the beatific facet of the vocals in concert with gilded arrangement for French horn before the trio locks into a formidable post-hardcore groove of dissonance and crushed chord progressions.

On The Healer, the new full length from Northwest-based trio SUMAC, consisting of guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, bassist Brian Cook and drummer Nick Yacyshyn, the group deepens its multi-faceted exploration into the parallel experiences of creation and destruction. Over the course of 4 tracks in 76 minutes, SUMAC presents a sequence of shifting movements which undergo a constant process of expansion, contraction, corruption and regrowth.
This musical methodology reflects the thematic nature of the record - narratives of experiential wounding as gateways to empowerment and evolution, both individual and collective. The group's interpolation of melody, drone, improvisation, and complex riffing becomes a transmogrifying act embodying the depth of human experience. In its highest aspiration it mirrors our ability to endure mortal and spiritual challenges, through which we may emerge with an increased capacity for understanding, empathy, love of self and others. Dismal though the subterranean pits of “The Healer” may at first appear, from them can be felt the unwavering determination to embrace life, acknowledge interdependence, and honor the gift of existence. Source: <a href="https://sumac.bandcamp.com/album/the-healer" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>

"HIDDEN is the 10th album of Ufomammut and it marks a shift in the band's musical composition, aiming for a more intense and heavy sound, and it’s the third release featuring Levre as the band’s new drummer.
The title, HIDDEN, reflects the concept of the presence of everything in our existence and the ability to bring to light what lies within us. With HIDDEN, Ufomammut delves into a sonic journey that traverses vast expanses of space and time. From the crushing heaviness to the hauntingly melodies, from the textured compositions to the otherworldly atmospheres, HIDDEN testify the neverending evolution of Ufomammut and their mastery of creating immersive sonic experiences: a fitting celebration of their 25 years of sonic exploration and experimentation." Source: <a href="https://ufomammut.bandcamp.com/album/hidden" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>

DOODSESKADER (“death squad”) is the new brand of sonic terror from the minds of Tim De Gieter (Amenra, Every Stranger Looks Like You,…) and Sigfried Burroughs (Kapitan Korsakov, The K., …). Source : <a href="https://doodseskader.bandcamp.com/album/year-two" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>

'Adrift / Tending the Embers' marks Pelican's first new music since 2019 and the first songs written with the band’s original lineup since 2012. The EP marks both a reunion and a departure, eschewing the caustic bombast of 2019’s 'Nighttime Stories' for more delicate and nuanced territory that imbibes their pastoral Midwest post-rock tendencies with triumphant riffs that feel indebted to the classic Dischord pantheon. Source: <a href="https://pelican.bandcamp.com/album/adrift-tending-the-embers" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>

If patience is a virtue, Love Sex Machine might as well be saints; albeit saints with a taste for the filthiest sludge metal riffs offset by down-tempo, post-metal grooves and a fiendish sense of lyrical humour. ‘Trve’ is 10 long-awaited tracks of revitalised righteous indignation, wry social commentary and, of course, unspeakably disgusting heaviness. Source : <a href="https://lovesexmachine.bandcamp.com/album/trve" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>

Inspired by classical music, free jazz and drone the two classically trained brothers Benjamin and Guillaume Colin have been creating lo-f experimental post-doom epics in the vein of Year of No Light, Dirge and Omega Massif since 2016. “WuW is the sound wind makes when it blows on a hot night,” explains the band, “It’s a low-end murmur that grabs you by the guts, a blast of air rushing through the mountains and the oceans.” Their upcoming third album Orchaostre is an anthem to a restless journey, a fve-part doom symphony that creates a shroud of oppressive atmospheres with only a pinch of light. Source: <a href="https://wuwmusic.bandcamp.com/album/lorchaostre" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>