Big|Brave played a show that took their latest album (which they played in full) to a different level. Earth shatteringly heavy at times, with lovely, textured sounds at others, the sheer volume and dynamics the band command take their live show to another dimension.

A new vocalist has breathed some new life into the band and at the same time brought back the short, sharp and aggressive sound from their earlier work. It’s a fun album. It would be good to see this band get some more exposure and a band that I am looking forward to seeing live.

Conan have proved themselves to be a force to be reckoned with in the doom/sludge scene. Consistent but not dull and they continue to produce albums that are not only familiar but also move the genre forwards and keep things interesting for the listener.

Alpha Male Tea Party have used the pain and strong emotions they undoubtedly felt and ran with their emotions to create something that is familiar but different. Heavier than their previous work but also creative musically, mature and well-executed. 

It’s a finely crafted, frankly, very good album. It shows a band on a journey and not afraid to experiment. There is everything from heavy as hell, thick riffs to melodic piano and brass. I truly hope there are some music venues to go back to hear this music live

Beneath a Steel Sky is an interesting album and they touch on a variety of different styles and emotions in a short album. I hope the band can build on the work they have done here and really explore and build on the roots of what they have created. There is depth to their music and despite the isolation some mutual understanding of each other.

The album is wonderfully recorded, there are not many places to hide with only a nylon string guitar and vocals but the warmth comes across and it’s very intimate. Might not be one for everyone as it is very different from the bands previous work, however, it is an interesting and very personal peek into Magnus Pelander’s soul.

Rosy Finch deserve to be far more recognised than they are, their lineup have breathed new life into the band and their take on sludge, stoner and grunge is expertly done and although the listener is probably reminded of their many influences their particular sound is quite unique.

1692 is an excellent debut, the band have taken from a wide variety of influences to create something quite unique. This is music to get lost in, it is passionate but restrained and probably best listened to in a dark, possibly haunted, castle, during a thunderstorm.

A patient listener will be rewarded with dense and wonderful soundscapes and some genuinely exciting and emotive music.

I can’t imagine many bands would like to follow Birds in Row but Alcest managed it with ease; they played a varied set with a good balance of old and new, showed some versatility and somehow, after all I have said, remained slightly understated. Highly recommended.

Silence is an interesting, innovative and ambitious EP and it will be really interesting to see where they take the music in the future.

Human Intricacy is an interesting album, worthy of a place amongst the various modern, British, heavy bands.

Arka Morgana is an ambitious piece of work and the band should be applauded for trying something a bit different. In places, the band create a stunning and wonderful soundscape. In just under an hour the band range from sparse to melodic to frantic and heavy.

It’s flawlessly carried out and a refreshing change from a lot of, shall we say, predictable, more of the same old, same old that passes off as heavy music recently.

A delayed appearance for part V of The Round Up, for a huge number of reasons, chief among them being straightforward editorial incompetence. In addition to this, we’ve had some technical issues, there’s been some work and some children to look after, …

Swiftly following yet another amazing Dunk! Festival in Belgium, which is hopefully to be written about on these here pages soon (so I’ll say no more for now) we then had the line-up announcement for the second instalment of what can probably already b …

James, Anya & TIna from Sœur spoke to Echoes and Dust before a live show at Soup Kitchen in Manchester, March 15th 2019

Sœur are an unconventional band (dual guitars and vocals and drums with no bass) with an unconventional approach to songwriting; however, it just all sits perfectly together.

As we have discussed already this year, 2019 is turning out to be nothing short of remarkable regarding the huge quantity of noteworthy post rock and post metal records so far. As I only made it to the beginning of February releases flying solo on the …

Suspended in Reflections is a really stunning piece of work, it’s dense, multi-layered and full of twists and turns. Patient in pace, occasionally exploding but it’s never overused. The band really show some musical talent, adding organ, strings and piano to what in places might be more straight forward post-metal.