Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

Hypaethral Records

Album Reviews

Album Review: Absorb – Smog [EP]

Hamilton, Ontario’s ABSORB bashed out two respectable full-lengths between 2015 and 2018, then poof (or puff?)! Like ‘The Smokeman’ himself, the band were in the mists until last year’s stench-ridden return by way of the EP. And now, just over a year later, the Smog be upon us… What shouldn’t also escape notice here is the sense of Confessionalism found in the lyrics of the band, especially prevalent in “I still think it’s 2020 / I never really dream / Circling the drain / I’m moulting – alone / On a dog day afternoon in the middle of summer / […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: QAALM – First Light Of The Last Dawn [EP]

QAALM arrived seemingly from nowhere in 2022, a quintet who kicked up its share of interest with debut Resilience & Despair. Now trimmed to a three-piece (Family Size to Snack Size…maybe I’m just hungry…), drummer Dave Ferrara and guitarist/vocalist Henry Derek join forces with guitarist Minsu Dylan Kim to “usher in” what purports to be “a new era” for the band. A droning intro, populated by sparse fingerings and even more spacious bass, QAALM never in the greatest rush to get anywhere. This can harm some bands more than help, as a good many just don’t know how to give […]

Music News

QAALM: First Light Of The Last Dawn EP From Los Angeles-Based Atmospheric Doomsayers Out Now On Hypaethral Records

First Light Of The Last Dawn, the new EP from Los Angeles-based atmospheric doomsayers QAALM, is out on Hypaethral Records. The follow-up to the band’s critically lauded Resilience & Despair debut, First Light Of The Last Dawn ushers in a new era of QAALM, introducing influence from black metal and progressive rock and ultimately pushing their new material beyond the boundaries set by their earlier work. Even the production, graced by the skillful engineering of Paul Fig and expert mixing and mastering of Zeuss, two powerhouses who have collectively worked with the likes of Slipknot, Hatebreed, and Municipal Waste, displays […]