Tag: Blackgaze

  • ALBUM REVIEW: shed – if heaven is real

    ALBUM REVIEW: shed – if heaven is real

    Written by Nikolai Dineros

    Batangas just left a mark in Filipino shoegaze, a scene that is already defined by the formidability of many growing talents and its steady embedding into OPM ubiquity. Cementing the region’s place this time around is the Lipa-based, emo- and grunge-adjacent shed, with the release of their debut album ‘if heaven is real’.

    Following their self-titled project and a few singles here and there, a template to the band’s overall sound identity is traced. ‘if heaven is real’ serves as the band’s proving ground, an opportunity to bury the nail planted by earlier songs like ‘mahika’ and ‘forgotten song’—songs that exemplify the band’s penchant for a certain blossom in their sound, where the viscous rhythm section envelopes the bright, manic wails of the lone guitar riff.

    The challenge for their debut album was not to exceed what was first established, but rather to prove that the ingenuity in their earlier releases was not a sleight-of-hand trick you cannot show the same audience twice.

    shed overcame this challenge on ‘if heaven is real’ thanks largely to the variety of execution throughout the track list. Given their proclivities for roughness and sonic punching power, depth is no longer a question in shed’s toolbelt. And instead of trying to reach greater heights with their sound, the band focused on expanding their emotional range—more specifically, the applied use cases for their already honed affinities.

    As a result, we get pent-up anguish expressed in a smorgasbord of ways. For one, an unwitting listener may pass off “easy” and “tangerines” as blackgaze, while “relapse” and “susi” are more akin to the classic shoegaze sound of the mid-’90s. Though genre influences and mood are intermingling, the unrelenting attitude is the glue that holds every element in place.

    But most notable of all is ‘blue’, a returning track from a past project that serves as the album closer. This song takes the best trait from every song in the album and amplifies them to great heights: dense layers of heavy guitar riffs at odds with each other, a tempo of almost breakneck speed, the hope-filled ecstasy of a well-executed melody, and themes of endless yearning that rival the tragedy in tales of old. This is easily a highlight not only on ‘if heaven is real’, but in shed’s journey thus far.

    In contrast to the band’s dead-set dedication to carving their identity through loudness, songs from ‘if heaven is real’ derive their thematic shoegaze melancholy from the unmoving. Songs like “moths,” “easy,” and “heaven” share this common thread, usually depicting human trepidations that are rather still than tumultuous.

    For instance, “moths” plays around its own metaphor in its depiction of the tragic paradox of affection and avoidance; “easy” reads like a lullaby sung by a seemingly grieving narrator; and “heaven” is a claustrophobic sketch of a narrator trapped in the stasis of loss. The tone of shed’s overall pen work in the album stems from this decaying monotony that blossoms into a dissonant harmony to the unyielding chaos that is their sound. This can only be achieved by shed’s innate ruthlessness, which they have proven time and again.

    ‘If heaven is real’ is best described as a storm. Its relentless pressure lays waste to everything it touches, having gathered plenty of force from shed’s past projects and coverage through the band’s persistent experimentation. Yet through it all, shed remains steadfast, unmoving, and in full control amid the chaos.

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  • SOUNDS OF THE SEA: Asunojokei (Japan)

    SOUNDS OF THE SEA: Asunojokei (Japan)

    Within the populated stretches of Tokyo, Japan, lies the flood of acts and bands that start by crafting music, pursuing their own identity that continues to grow year by year. Coming from such a place is a band named Asunojokei, a four-piece blackgaze band that was formed back in 2014. Takuya Seki (bassist), Kei Toriki (guitarist), and Seiya Saito (drummer) were close friends since their teenage years, only meeting up with their vocalist, Daiki Nuno, through social media after watching a video of him covering a Converge song. Since then, they stuck together, starting their musical journey that will continue to break their limits.

    While they started with a two-track demo release back in 2015, it is through their first EP in 2016, ‘A Bird in the Fault,’ that informs the start of what soundscape, melodic tone, and writing style they’ll keep building up into. Howling screams; pummeling streaks of blackgaze, post-hardcore, and other metal stripes; and numbed melancholic poetry are immediately attached to this band’s palette. Songs like “Silent Tears” go through their post-metal motions with these solemn guitars, just before Nuno starts shrieking and the wail of blast beats and stormy riffs that come afterward. And “Easy” tips the line within depressive black metal, most notably with the gloomy first few minutes, cultivating this downbeat atmosphere that continues getting more cavernous and stinging.

    Two years later, their 2018 debut album, ‘Awakening’, amplifies what the band showcased beforehand and expands upon melodic prowess that caters to more potent songcrafting, with writing that consists of pushing past dour emotions despite feeling hopeless and lonely within a momentous city. Leaner cuts like “Double Quotation Mark” and “Ugly Mask” indulge within thunderous black metal passages on the former and shimmering rock tones on the latter, carving out Nuno’s ability towards spoken word, singing, and screaming. “Bashfulness of the Moon” and “Thin Ice” maximize their post-rock structures to a different level, where lilting cooldowns lead to explosive blackgaze turmaturges, with Nuno sounding guttural and snappy in his wails. 

    After releasing a couple of EPs throughout 2019 and 2020, they eventually took a bit more time before putting together ‘Island’, their sophomore record, which took a different direction in the way they compose their tunes. Said direction comes in the manner of implementing J-rock progressions to their post-hardcore and blackgaze roots, a blend of sound that this band manages to synergize in a big way. “Chimera” and “Diva Under The Blue Sky” simultaneously sound harrowing and magnetic all at once, bleary riffs and crushing screams become a bit brighter amid the accompanying J-rock melodies. There is happiness and company that’s worth looking forward to: A sign of forward momentum that is essential to the album’s songwriting, gently realizing that, despite the internal gloom that the protagonist is overwhelmed by.

    That is not to say the straightforward blackgaze tones are left behind, as cuts like “The Forgotten Ones” and “The Sweet Smile of Vortex” sound more ferocious with the band’s refinement across production and songcrafting. Nuno’s howls and spoken word are crushing and emotive as ever, clawing across frigid blast beats and melodic crescendos that kept building up into a punchy resolution. A characteristic that carries the momentum of this album from front to back, allowing compositions to sound heftier and stickier than ever.

    The seeds that came from that specific direction paved the path to their recent record this year, ‘Think of You’. Even moving further into that J-rock and J-Pop influences and leaning more into concise melodic structures, formulating a shorter, winter-themed album where the production and composition refinements are on full display. Said influences overall strengthen their signature blackgaze and post-hardcore bread-and-butter, crystallizing phenomenal melodic earworms that this band lands with gusto. “Magic Hour,” “Angel,” and “Stella” are invigorating as it is showstopping, with Nuno pulling out all the power into screams and the rest of the band pulling off dazzling melodic throughlines. “Dogma” still shows that, despite going in this direction, the band doesn’t forget their roots, with that blackgaze wall of sound combusts through its roaring riffs. So does the rampant rhythms of “In The City Where Cobalt Falls” with the soaring guitar passages and blast beats piercing through the skies.

    This level of vigor proceeds to how frosty and brighter the album sounds, a tone that complements the yearning, thoughtful sensibilities that are plastered on its songwriting. Always finding hope and confidence, an uplifting energy that echoes through “The Farewell Frost” and “Tomorrow is Your Day”. Utilizing gleaming atmospherics, cavernous vocals, and fiery compositions to drive that tender optimism higher.

    With each passing record, Asunojokei keeps flapping their wings and gradually crafting their own unique identity amidst Japan’s historic background towards its circulation of black metal and post-hardcore bands. Never leaving behind what they used to be in the past, just taking new steps to find a space that is their own. With an optimistic thoughtfulness being embraced that keeps shining brighter, the way that they’re going is up, flooding the skies with howls that put everyone awake.