There are so many neoclassically-influenced dark ambient artists in this world.  Hell, I’m one of them.  It doesn’t mean we’re all good.  In most cases, the results of this hyper-used genre title are muddy disasters at best, no more than long-held keys and repetitive, boring drones with shady, indiscernable titles and more conjecture and theater […]

“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” –Bansky Chicago-based experimental doom metal ensemble Drug Honkey are among those artists whose musical legacy has echoed verily with the above-stated quote of Bansky. Ever since their inception in 1999, they have veered into uncharted territories and have developed an unorthodox modus operandi which has distinguished […]

Electronic fluctuations, an asperous guitar and cheap Casio-tones create what might best be called outsider alien synthscapes. Well, that’s not the only thing these ten tracks could be called. One might want to tag this cassette as discount minimalism, or file it under one-man with a four-track drone. However, I keep returning to the term […]

There is design and there is art. Design is the effective visual organisation of information, whilst art is the creation of something which evokes an emotion. I am aware of this on a daily basis in my professional life, and I cannot help but carry this kind of thinking across to my appreciation of music. […]

Those of you who are familiar with the immense Russian underground have surely, at some point, reached the very interesting drone / ambient label Vetvei. It was an initiative signature for its really nice and minimalist packaging and raw but atmospheric music that was mostly inspired by nature. However, at some point it simply disappeared, […]

Collaboration and ego can be incredibly tough to balance. If the musicians involved are overly paranoid about sticking out too much, restraint will overshadow the strengths of shared musical creation. On the other side of the spectrum, meetings between improvisers can easily turn into shouting matches with blaring attempts at being noticed eliminating the possibility […]

Finland’s October Falls have taken a different journey from many. Starting out with making acoustic albums, from their introduction to the musical world in Marras, and onwards for most of their earlier career, the acoustics were always the primary substance. Later on, mastermind Lehto added a bit of metal to the folk, along with some […]

Today I want to take a few steps back and review some recent releases which, for one reason or another, have yet to see review here at Heathen Harvest. First up on the chopping block, Trash System by Tar Pit, released 2011. Tar Pit is one of several aliases used by Midwesterner Sam Hooker. That […]

This had to happen, and many in the world of metal are not going to be happy about Between Days. Some fans of Sigur Ros and Godspeed You! Black Emperor caught wind of the burgeoning interest of Metal being adopted into popular culture, and created a band. As expected with such a mix, it sounds […]

Germany’s Sacred Steel are, by all outward appearances, stalwarts of the modern power metal scene, boasting a career that spans more than a decade and a half, during which time they’ve put out eight full-length albums including this one. For all that output however, they seem to have made little impression on the international power […]