A.A. Williams conjures a heaviness that is gloriously emotive, and jaw-dropping majestic.

A mere half-week remains before Barcelona is to host the triumphant return of the sweet, heavy and blissful sounds of AMFest.

Already making waves, Blodet promise to be the next big thing in post-metal with their latest EP, Vision, out now on Church Road Records.

A.A. Williams has been on our radar for a while now, so all the more reason to ask her about 3 releases that have influences her musically.

Umeå’s favourite sons return to round out A Dawn To Fear era with their usual skullcrushing panache. Perhaps not vintage Cult of Luna, but an enjoyable post-metal romp nonetheless.

One of post-rocks finest bands continues its evolution with Oscillate. Huge walls of atmosphere keep the momentum rolling from the ground breaking Versus.

The talented A A Williams debut album Forever Blue is a masterclass in achingly beautiful, swooping melancholy.

“It didn’t feel like a long hiatus. I mean, we did the album with Julie Christmas and that kept us busy for a couple of years. We have never been a band, for many years that practised all the time, it’s kind of a semi-intense thing . . . Writing this album, I felt like it – and I don’t write all the songs – was getting the machine restarted, I think it went as fast as it could.”

What I really like about COL is how well they play the quiet before the storm, the steady rise and the heavy drop, the brooding swell and the tidal wave – in other words, the essence of the post-metal sound that they laid the foundations for.

Another stunning release by Cult of Luna that doesn’t quite get out of the shadow of its previous two releases.

Cult of Luna, Caspian, Meshuggah – ArcTanGent’s superb if soggy Saturday line-up was nigh on exhausting. Gaz Cloud donned the wellies and squelched his way through a muddy but magnificent 11 bands in 12 hours.

Here’s the lowdown on all the main players, plus a few recommendations from around the site, for the third and final day of this year’s ArcTanGent festival.

Sander van den Driesche was at this year’s Roadburn Festival and shares his thoughts about the bands and artists he’s seen.

Benjamin Bland gives his thoughts on this year’s Roadburn Festival edition, in the first part of our Roadburn coverage.

An evening of otherworldly voyages, preceded by some experimental hip hop and loud, obscene noise rock.

Bruce Cowie reports back from another successful Damnation Festival in Leeds. Which includes a few words by Sander van den Driesche as well.

Sander van den Driesche sat down with Johannes Persson from Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas when they played at Damnation Festival in Leeds recently.

Our metal editor Sander van den Driesche gives you his preview for this year’s Damnation Festival in Leeds.

Sander van den Driesche and guest contributor Stijn Van Hees were at Roadburn Festival and they wrote this extensive review for your reading pleasures. Included are some great photos taken by Paul Verhagen from Achrome Moments Photography.

With the introduction of Julie Christmas, Cult of Luna seem reinvigorated, shaking off the more sterile aesthetic of their recent releases and embracing once more the spirit of ‘Somewhere Along The Highway’ in order to produce an album that is varied and always engaging. – By Lachlan R. Dale

A short yet explosive release that will leave you salivating for more. – By Thomas Laycock