July 2020 Feature Release - The Fallen Edition
It's now July which of course means that we'll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we're asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We're really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don't be shy.
This month's feature release for The Fallen is 2007''s classic sophomore album "Weighing Souls With Sand" from US husband-&-wife drone metal duo The Angelic Process. This artist possessed a unique sound that harnessed the power of unadulterated noise in a way that was quite different to anything I've heard previously & I've always struggled with the drone metal tag to be honest. It feels more like post-metal to me & I'll be interested to get your opinion on that (plus your votes in The Hall Of Judgement). Sadly, the subsequent suicide of K.Angylus (the male component) in 2008 put a swift end to this project which has only added to the mystique surrounding their music. Let us know what you think of the album.
https://metal.academy/releases/1063
If I could describe this record in one word, it would be disappointing. Their are some excellent ideas on display with this record and the drone tag might seem disingenuous; their is some much needed groove on this record where the droning atmosphere could work. Unfortunately, it's bogged down by some terrible metal production, in which the guitars are so poorly mastered that it's nearly impossible to hear anything else. The softer sections do sound beautiful, but the transitions between loud and soft are really disjointed that it almost gives me a headache when sitting down and listening to this whole record.
6/10
My feelings aren't all that different to your own but I've probably spent more time trying to understand the appeal of "Weighing Souls With Sand" & it's resulted in my eventually finding it to be a decent (if a heavily overrated) listen. I think the thing that draws me back is my intrigue in the fact that no one else on Earth sounds like this. It's definitely not like any drone metal release I've ever heard & I refuse to settle on that as the correct genre tag. I honestly can't imagine how people are finding a 5/5 rating in this though as it's so fucking abrasive & is very much a one-trick pony.
Here's my review:
https://metal.academy/reviews/15885/1063
3.5/5
Weighing Souls With Sand is a heavy album. Heavy in emotion, heavy in distortion, heavy in feel and style. Even though it feels like I'm echoing Daniel's exact thoughts here, it's definitely a one-trick album with a solid premise but not that much exploration. It appeals to a very niche audience that can milk its style for all its worth, finding some sort of deeper meaning and, in the process, evoking some sort of crushing primal emotion. I'm not one of those people either, so this record falls pretty flat after the first track. It's beautiful, it's certainly unique in the way that it uses abrasively loud distortion to layer in other sounds to create something admittedly beautiful, but it all just sounds the same after the first ten minutes. Even the more minimalist percussion sections get played out by the end, despite sounding amazingly echo-y and vast. This is just one of those albums where I can admit that I see why some think it's a masterpiece, but I certainly think it's overrated as well.
3.5/5