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15 results for “BassCan”
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SA cannabis market: licensed operator bets on compliance as regulation tightens
Bassani Health Moves to Bring Regulatory Clarity to South Africa’s Cannabis Market In a sector that’s spent years feeling its way through the dark, one company is doing something quietly radical: it’s actually following the rules. South…
https://pressportal.co.za/agricultural/story/b9e355da004e10d4-2026420.html
#pressrelease #AfricaNewsroom #bizcommunity #publicrelations #africa #southafrica
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Cathedral Candlelight in Cork
A beautiful brass candle stand in St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork. When Helios was on display in the Cathedral, I visited there with Blarney Photography Club and took the opportunity to photograph other parts of the cathedral’s artistic heritage.
The inscription above reads, “Ní mar is toil liomsa, ach mar is toil leatsa”, which roughly translates as, “Not as I will, but as you will”. A reference to the Biblical quote, “Not my will, but thy will be done”.
St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, completed in 1879, is the Church of Ireland cathedral of Cork and is renowned for its French Gothic Revival architecture and exceptional craftsmanship. The cathedral contains numerous examples of fine metalwork, woodcarving, and stained glass, much of it created by Irish artisans.
Apertureƒ/8CameraILCE-7RM5Focal length23mmISO640Shutter speed1/6s#2025 #BlarneyPhotographyClub #brassCandlesticks #cathedralInterior #churchCandles #Cork #CorkCathedral #GaelicInscription #Ireland #IrishChristianity #IrishLanguage #Photo #Photography #prayerCandles #religiousArt #sacredSpace #SaintFinBarreSCathedral #SonyA7RV #StFinBarreSCathedral #StainedGlass #votiveCandles
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In This Episode You'll Learn
・Why Squarepusher's music feels different from conventional electronic music
・How Tom Jenkinson's bass playing shaped his production style
・Why the bass can function as a lead instrument
#Jazz
#Breakbeats
#IDM
youtu.be/daEV6fyvOYU
Why Squarepusher Plays Electro... -
Il giardino dei Finzi Contini. L’Italia e le leggi razziali
Dal romanzo di Giorgio Bassani l'ultimo capolavoro di Vittorio De Sica
https://www.lasinistraquotidiana.it/il-giardino-dei-finzi-contini-litalia-e-le-leggi-razziali/#ilgiardinodeifinzicontini #giorgiobassani #vittoriodesica #linocapolicchio #shoah #giornodellamemoria #cinemagram #cinema #cinéma #cinematography #cinemalover #cinematographer #movie #movies #moviescenes #filmscene #film #filmphotography #filmphoto #filmcommunity #unocinema
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Medical cannabis in SA: what Section 21 means
Understanding Section 21: The Only Legal Pathway for Medical Cannabis Access in South Africa Most South Africans have heard of medical cannabis. Far fewer understand how it legally reaches a patient. Bassani Health explains the framework…
https://pressportal.co.za/agricultural/story/c614951f2ed76110-2026514.html
#pressrelease #AfricaNewsroom #bizcommunity #publicrelations #africa #southafrica
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New photo galleries up now: AUDIOFREQ, HUBBA HUBBA REVUE, BLOCK ROCKIN' BEATS, DUST BREAKS
https://www.dnalounge.com/gallery/?utm_source=sp_ma
#dnalounge #audiofreq #codeblack #toneshifterz #basscon #vital #hardstyle #harddance #sanfrancisco #hubbahubbarevue #burlesque #blockrockinbeats #bigbeat #acidhouse #trance #house #dustbreaks #breaks #dubstep -
AUDIOPHILE MAN - HiFi NEWS
Stack Audio’s AUVA SW is here: particle damping, silicone LF absorber, solid-aluminium shell — all purpose-built to tame sub-bass vibration. Serious isolation for serious subs.
£324/4.
🔗 https://theaudiophileman.com/auva-sw-from-stack-audio/
#audio #hifi #audiophile #Subwoofer #BassControl #VibrationIsolation #StackAudio #AUVA #HomeAudio #HiFiGear #HiFiUpgrade #AudioEngineering #Loudspeakers #HiFiCommunity #SoundQuality -
Coffin Hunters – Cosmic Dawn Review By Grin ReaperI love album art you can hear, and fittingly, Coffin Hunters’ Cosmic Dawn churns with a groovy, psychedelic fusion of hard rock and heavy metal that spills off the cover. Plus, how can I resist a sassy reaper rooted in a strawberry-lemonade backdrop featuring a gateway to an alternate dimension? Cosmic Dawn is Coffin Hunters’ third album in under a decade, and on their previous LPs the Los Angeles foursome dispensed reliable earworms with a rockin’ retro swagger. On Cosmic Dawn, the crew adds a healthy dollop of synth into their formula and dips their toes into acid rock waters. With a new twist on Coffin Hunters’ recipe, is this the Cosmic Dawn of a triumphant new era?
While it’s clear that influences play a pivotal role in Coffin Hunters’ sound, it’s just as clear that the band works to establish an identity all their own. Debut The Fire Knight leaned heavily into throwback, traditional heavy metal and saw Coffin Hunters embracing bass-forward boogies and monster grooves that conjure the likes of Saxon, Jag Panzer, and Iron Maiden. Follow-up Wake the Dead shed the raw edges of The Fire Knight and adopted slicker riffs and a more polished production, even adding touches of southern flair recalling Molly Hatchet and some punchy bassmanship that reminds me of Mike Dirnt’s 90s Green Day contributions. On Cosmic Dawn, Coffin Hunters push their boundaries even further, fusing the synth stylings of The Doors and Uriah Heep into their collective personality and capping it with Floydian psychedelia. The sum total is an intriguing melting pot that incorporates seemingly disparate ingredients into a surprisingly cohesive dish.
Over the last decade, Coffin Hunters has retained their core contributors while exploring ever-expanding shades of hard rock and heavy metal. Other than replacing original drummer Jorge Guzman in 2020 with Brennan Kunkel, Coffin Hunters boasts remarkable lineup stability, and you can hear the effortless give and take during their well-crafted arrangements. Guitarist Eric Harriman’s fuzzy crunch strums and swirls around Brian Crites’ bass, which punctuates compositions with often understated yet always alluring performances, particularly on “Skeleton Key” and the title track. Keyboards round out Cosmic Dawn’s instrumentation, making an indelible mark as they imbue each song with hooks embedded so deeply and central to the album’s character (“Isle of the Dead”) that I marvel how Coffin Hunters wrote two albums without them. Vocalist Sean Rivera delivers a solid performance as well, guiding listeners through the album’s eight tracks with his steady croon.
Although Coffin Hunters nails most songwriting elements on Cosmic Dawn, evaluating the album in its entirety reveals a few cracks. Foremost is the lack of songwriting dynamics, as pacing and tempo consistency keep Cosmic Dawn’s forty-three minutes within too narrow a band and inhibit Coffin Hunters’ adventurousness. To be fair, “Last Nail in the Coffin” supplies an early downshift in pacing; however, it’s not enough to combat the uniformity that permeates the rest of the album. Even though most songs radiate head-bobbing energy on their own, strung together they too easily pass by in a pleasantly tame blur. Injecting a show-stopping moment or two that stretches the even-keeled energy into peaks and valleys would go a long way towards reinforcing Cosmic Dawn’s impact. Also, while Rivera’s vocals serve the music well enough, they tend to be a bit one-note and lack the bite of earlier albums. Exploring other styles, resurrecting The Fire Knight’s vocal grit, or bringing in a guest vocalist for a song or two would further aid Coffin Hunters in tackling Cosmic Dawn’s homogeneity.
In the end, Coffin Hunters winningly conjures the echoes of earlier generations. Their commitment to bringing the past into the present reminds me of what I love about Lynx’s Trinity of Suns and, to a lesser extent, Chalice and Owl’s releases from earlier this year. Unfortunately, Cosmic Dawn sticks too closely to its core sound over its runtime, leeching memorability through the back half. Even so, Coffin Hunters wholehearted embrace of keyboards is cause for celebration, as they add delightfully retro textures and cement a gnarly identity for the band. With a stronger emphasis on songwriting and performance diversity their next time around, Coffin Hunters might just strike gold.
Rating: Good
#2026 #30 #AmericanMetal #BitterEndRecords #Chalice #CoffinHunters #CosmicDawn #GreenDay #HardRock #HeavyMetal #IronMaiden #JagPanzer #Jul26 #Lynx #MollyHatchet #Owl #PinkFloyd #Review #Reviews #Saxon #TheDoors #UriahHeap
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Bitter End Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: July 17th, 2026 -
Insomniac – Om Moksha Ritam Review
By Samguineous Maximus
The terms “psychedelic” and “post-metal” are usually enough for me to approach any new release with caution—not because those genres lack excellent music, but because they’re so often associated with overlong, unfocused songs. For every Cult of Luna or Oranssi Pazuzu, there are fifty bands peddling overlong, riffless dirges that mistake “atmosphere” for actual songwriting. Atlanta supergroup Insomniac has arrived with their debut record Om Moksha Ritam, with the ominous self-designation of “post-doom.” The title, loosely translated from Sanskrit as “Liberation through merging with the Universal Rhythm,”1 foregrounds its ambitions as a concept album designed to “guide listeners through an aural and spiritual journey across multiple extreme environments.” Have Insomniac crafted a narrative listening experience that successfully conveys its metaphysical aspirations? Or is their debut the “post-doom” equivalent of a bad trip?
On Om Moksha Ritam, Insomniac manages to craft a sound that is immediately recognizable yet distinctly their own. They merge the progressive psychedelia of Elder with the layered, textural approach of REZN, all filtered through the Southern-gothic tinge of fellow Georgians Baroness. The result is a body of songs that draw equally from the contemplative exploration of ’70s prog, Americana-dipped blues rock, and the anthemic heft of post-metal’s sludgier, power-chord-driven moments. What makes this combination work is not just the intuitive chemistry of the instrumentalists, but the commanding presence of vocalist Van Bassman. Each track is surprisingly vocal-driven, and Bassman conjures a sound somewhere between a bluesier Dax Riggs and a John Baizley who’s actually capable of singing. His baritone sits front and center for much of Om Moksha Ritam, often accompanied by vocal layers and effects, creating a kaleidoscopic swirl that amplifies the ebb and flow of the music as it moves between peaks and valleys.
It helps that Om Moksha Ritam’s tracklist is dynamic and well-paced, with each of its 7 songs offering subtle differentiation on Insomniac’s core formula. Much of this can be attributed to the interplay between guitarists Alex Avedissian and Mike Morris,2 whose willingness to balance acoustic and effects-laden electric timbres gives the record a versatile and interesting palette. The guitars ferry the songs between quiet reflection and crushing grandeur. Whether it’s weaving intricate folky arpeggios together with tripped-out leads (“Desert”), harmonizing across doomy atmospheres (“Mountain”) or using post-rock tremolos to punctuate a well-earned climax (“Meditation), the guitar work on Om Moksha Ritam is consistently engaging and varied. Of course, this would be for naught without a strong rhythm section, but Insomniac has that as well. Drummer Amos Rifkin brings a loose, delicate touch to softer tracks like “Sea” and “Forest,” but escalates with thunderous weight when the music demands greater intensity. Meanwhile, bassist Juan Garcia provides a warm, full-bodied tone that both supports and embellishes the melodic core, keeping the songs anchored amid the dense layering of guitars and vocals, which is important on a track like the expansive and sprawling “Snow and Ice.”
Only a few minor inconsistencies keep Om Moksha Ritam from reaching the apex of Insomniac’s sound. The B-side leans away from emphatic “Hell yes” moments in favor of slower, navel-gazing jams. These tracks reward repeat listens but aren’t as immediately gripping. Closer “Awakening” falls just shy of the monumental highs of the opening salvo, with a climactic chorus that doesn’t land as powerfully as it could. For the most part, the record sounds fantastic and balances its many intricate layers, though there are moments (the refrains of “Mountain” and “Sea”) where Bassman’s voice overpowers the rest of the band in a psychedelic spiral. These issues don’t detract too heavily from the record’s overall impact, but they are worth noting.
Om Moksha Ritam takes you on a hallucinogenic trek across the desert, riffs shimmering like heat mirages, the atmosphere thick enough to choke a camel. Insomniac has delivered an album that takes listeners on a true musical journey, drenched in smoke-filled vibes, yet immediately rewarding. Their unique, psychedelic strain of “post-doom” metal blends familiar elements from beloved bands into something greater than the sum of its parts. If Insomniac invite me on another spiritual vision quest through the wastelands of sound, I’ll happily lace up my sandals, pack my water skin, and follow them straight into the void.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Blues Funeral Recording
Websites: insomniacvibes.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/insomniacatl
Releases Worldwide: September 1st, 2025#2025 #35 #AmeircanMetal #Baroness #BluesFuneralRecording #BluesRock #CultOfLuna #DoomMetal #Elder #Insomniac #OmMokshaRitam #OranssiPazuzu #PostRock #PostMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicMetal #PsychedelicRock #Review #Reviews #REZN #Sep25
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Insomniac – Om Moksha Ritam Review
By Samguineous Maximus
The terms “psychedelic” and “post-metal” are usually enough for me to approach any new release with caution—not because those genres lack excellent music, but because they’re so often associated with overlong, unfocused songs. For every Cult of Luna or Oranssi Pazuzu, there are fifty bands peddling overlong, riffless dirges that mistake “atmosphere” for actual songwriting. Atlanta supergroup Insomniac has arrived with their debut record Om Moksha Ritam, with the ominous self-designation of “post-doom.” The title, loosely translated from Sanskrit as “Liberation through merging with the Universal Rhythm,”1 foregrounds its ambitions as a concept album designed to “guide listeners through an aural and spiritual journey across multiple extreme environments.” Have Insomniac crafted a narrative listening experience that successfully conveys its metaphysical aspirations? Or is their debut the “post-doom” equivalent of a bad trip?
On Om Moksha Ritam, Insomniac manages to craft a sound that is immediately recognizable yet distinctly their own. They merge the progressive psychedelia of Elder with the layered, textural approach of REZN, all filtered through the Southern-gothic tinge of fellow Georgians Baroness. The result is a body of songs that draw equally from the contemplative exploration of ’70s prog, Americana-dipped blues rock, and the anthemic heft of post-metal’s sludgier, power-chord-driven moments. What makes this combination work is not just the intuitive chemistry of the instrumentalists, but the commanding presence of vocalist Van Bassman. Each track is surprisingly vocal-driven, and Bassman conjures a sound somewhere between a bluesier Dax Riggs and a John Baizley who’s actually capable of singing. His baritone sits front and center for much of Om Moksha Ritam, often accompanied by vocal layers and effects, creating a kaleidoscopic swirl that amplifies the ebb and flow of the music as it moves between peaks and valleys.
It helps that Om Moksha Ritam’s tracklist is dynamic and well-paced, with each of its 7 songs offering subtle differentiation on Insomniac’s core formula. Much of this can be attributed to the interplay between guitarists Alex Avedissian and Mike Morris,2 whose willingness to balance acoustic and effects-laden electric timbres gives the record a versatile and interesting palette. The guitars ferry the songs between quiet reflection and crushing grandeur. Whether it’s weaving intricate folky arpeggios together with tripped-out leads (“Desert”), harmonizing across doomy atmospheres (“Mountain”) or using post-rock tremolos to punctuate a well-earned climax (“Meditation), the guitar work on Om Moksha Ritam is consistently engaging and varied. Of course, this would be for naught without a strong rhythm section, but Insomniac has that as well. Drummer Amos Rifkin brings a loose, delicate touch to softer tracks like “Sea” and “Forest,” but escalates with thunderous weight when the music demands greater intensity. Meanwhile, bassist Juan Garcia provides a warm, full-bodied tone that both supports and embellishes the melodic core, keeping the songs anchored amid the dense layering of guitars and vocals, which is important on a track like the expansive and sprawling “Snow and Ice.”
Only a few minor inconsistencies keep Om Moksha Ritam from reaching the apex of Insomniac’s sound. The B-side leans away from emphatic “Hell yes” moments in favor of slower, navel-gazing jams. These tracks reward repeat listens but aren’t as immediately gripping. Closer “Awakening” falls just shy of the monumental highs of the opening salvo, with a climactic chorus that doesn’t land as powerfully as it could. For the most part, the record sounds fantastic and balances its many intricate layers, though there are moments (the refrains of “Mountain” and “Sea”) where Bassman’s voice overpowers the rest of the band in a psychedelic spiral. These issues don’t detract too heavily from the record’s overall impact, but they are worth noting.
Om Moksha Ritam takes you on a hallucinogenic trek across the desert, riffs shimmering like heat mirages, the atmosphere thick enough to choke a camel. Insomniac has delivered an album that takes listeners on a true musical journey, drenched in smoke-filled vibes, yet immediately rewarding. Their unique, psychedelic strain of “post-doom” metal blends familiar elements from beloved bands into something greater than the sum of its parts. If Insomniac invite me on another spiritual vision quest through the wastelands of sound, I’ll happily lace up my sandals, pack my water skin, and follow them straight into the void.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Blues Funeral Recording
Websites: insomniacvibes.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/insomniacatl
Releases Worldwide: September 1st, 2025#2025 #35 #AmeircanMetal #Baroness #BluesFuneralRecording #BluesRock #CultOfLuna #DoomMetal #Elder #Insomniac #OmMokshaRitam #OranssiPazuzu #PostRock #PostMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicMetal #PsychedelicRock #Review #Reviews #REZN #Sep25
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Insomniac – Om Moksha Ritam Review
By Samguineous Maximus
The terms “psychedelic” and “post-metal” are usually enough for me to approach any new release with caution—not because those genres lack excellent music, but because they’re so often associated with overlong, unfocused songs. For every Cult of Luna or Oranssi Pazuzu, there are fifty bands peddling overlong, riffless dirges that mistake “atmosphere” for actual songwriting. Atlanta supergroup Insomniac has arrived with their debut record Om Moksha Ritam, with the ominous self-designation of “post-doom.” The title, loosely translated from Sanskrit as “Liberation through merging with the Universal Rhythm,”1 foregrounds its ambitions as a concept album designed to “guide listeners through an aural and spiritual journey across multiple extreme environments.” Have Insomniac crafted a narrative listening experience that successfully conveys its metaphysical aspirations? Or is their debut the “post-doom” equivalent of a bad trip?
On Om Moksha Ritam, Insomniac manages to craft a sound that is immediately recognizable yet distinctly their own. They merge the progressive psychedelia of Elder with the layered, textural approach of REZN, all filtered through the Southern-gothic tinge of fellow Georgians Baroness. The result is a body of songs that draw equally from the contemplative exploration of ’70s prog, Americana-dipped blues rock, and the anthemic heft of post-metal’s sludgier, power-chord-driven moments. What makes this combination work is not just the intuitive chemistry of the instrumentalists, but the commanding presence of vocalist Van Bassman. Each track is surprisingly vocal-driven, and Bassman conjures a sound somewhere between a bluesier Dax Riggs and a John Baizley who’s actually capable of singing. His baritone sits front and center for much of Om Moksha Ritam, often accompanied by vocal layers and effects, creating a kaleidoscopic swirl that amplifies the ebb and flow of the music as it moves between peaks and valleys.
It helps that Om Moksha Ritam’s tracklist is dynamic and well-paced, with each of its 7 songs offering subtle differentiation on Insomniac’s core formula. Much of this can be attributed to the interplay between guitarists Alex Avedissian and Mike Morris,2 whose willingness to balance acoustic and effects-laden electric timbres gives the record a versatile and interesting palette. The guitars ferry the songs between quiet reflection and crushing grandeur. Whether it’s weaving intricate folky arpeggios together with tripped-out leads (“Desert”), harmonizing across doomy atmospheres (“Mountain”) or using post-rock tremolos to punctuate a well-earned climax (“Meditation), the guitar work on Om Moksha Ritam is consistently engaging and varied. Of course, this would be for naught without a strong rhythm section, but Insomniac has that as well. Drummer Amos Rifkin brings a loose, delicate touch to softer tracks like “Sea” and “Forest,” but escalates with thunderous weight when the music demands greater intensity. Meanwhile, bassist Juan Garcia provides a warm, full-bodied tone that both supports and embellishes the melodic core, keeping the songs anchored amid the dense layering of guitars and vocals, which is important on a track like the expansive and sprawling “Snow and Ice.”
Only a few minor inconsistencies keep Om Moksha Ritam from reaching the apex of Insomniac’s sound. The B-side leans away from emphatic “Hell yes” moments in favor of slower, navel-gazing jams. These tracks reward repeat listens but aren’t as immediately gripping. Closer “Awakening” falls just shy of the monumental highs of the opening salvo, with a climactic chorus that doesn’t land as powerfully as it could. For the most part, the record sounds fantastic and balances its many intricate layers, though there are moments (the refrains of “Mountain” and “Sea”) where Bassman’s voice overpowers the rest of the band in a psychedelic spiral. These issues don’t detract too heavily from the record’s overall impact, but they are worth noting.
Om Moksha Ritam takes you on a hallucinogenic trek across the desert, riffs shimmering like heat mirages, the atmosphere thick enough to choke a camel. Insomniac has delivered an album that takes listeners on a true musical journey, drenched in smoke-filled vibes, yet immediately rewarding. Their unique, psychedelic strain of “post-doom” metal blends familiar elements from beloved bands into something greater than the sum of its parts. If Insomniac invite me on another spiritual vision quest through the wastelands of sound, I’ll happily lace up my sandals, pack my water skin, and follow them straight into the void.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Blues Funeral Recording
Websites: insomniacvibes.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/insomniacatl
Releases Worldwide: September 1st, 2025#2025 #35 #AmeircanMetal #Baroness #BluesFuneralRecording #BluesRock #CultOfLuna #DoomMetal #Elder #Insomniac #OmMokshaRitam #OranssiPazuzu #PostRock #PostMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicMetal #PsychedelicRock #Review #Reviews #REZN #Sep25
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Insomniac – Om Moksha Ritam Review
By Samguineous Maximus
The terms “psychedelic” and “post-metal” are usually enough for me to approach any new release with caution—not because those genres lack excellent music, but because they’re so often associated with overlong, unfocused songs. For every Cult of Luna or Oranssi Pazuzu, there are fifty bands peddling overlong, riffless dirges that mistake “atmosphere” for actual songwriting. Atlanta supergroup Insomniac has arrived with their debut record Om Moksha Ritam, with the ominous self-designation of “post-doom.” The title, loosely translated from Sanskrit as “Liberation through merging with the Universal Rhythm,”1 foregrounds its ambitions as a concept album designed to “guide listeners through an aural and spiritual journey across multiple extreme environments.” Have Insomniac crafted a narrative listening experience that successfully conveys its metaphysical aspirations? Or is their debut the “post-doom” equivalent of a bad trip?
On Om Moksha Ritam, Insomniac manages to craft a sound that is immediately recognizable yet distinctly their own. They merge the progressive psychedelia of Elder with the layered, textural approach of REZN, all filtered through the Southern-gothic tinge of fellow Georgians Baroness. The result is a body of songs that draw equally from the contemplative exploration of ’70s prog, Americana-dipped blues rock, and the anthemic heft of post-metal’s sludgier, power-chord-driven moments. What makes this combination work is not just the intuitive chemistry of the instrumentalists, but the commanding presence of vocalist Van Bassman. Each track is surprisingly vocal-driven, and Bassman conjures a sound somewhere between a bluesier Dax Riggs and a John Baizley who’s actually capable of singing. His baritone sits front and center for much of Om Moksha Ritam, often accompanied by vocal layers and effects, creating a kaleidoscopic swirl that amplifies the ebb and flow of the music as it moves between peaks and valleys.
It helps that Om Moksha Ritam’s tracklist is dynamic and well-paced, with each of its 7 songs offering subtle differentiation on Insomniac’s core formula. Much of this can be attributed to the interplay between guitarists Alex Avedissian and Mike Morris,2 whose willingness to balance acoustic and effects-laden electric timbres gives the record a versatile and interesting palette. The guitars ferry the songs between quiet reflection and crushing grandeur. Whether it’s weaving intricate folky arpeggios together with tripped-out leads (“Desert”), harmonizing across doomy atmospheres (“Mountain”) or using post-rock tremolos to punctuate a well-earned climax (“Meditation), the guitar work on Om Moksha Ritam is consistently engaging and varied. Of course, this would be for naught without a strong rhythm section, but Insomniac has that as well. Drummer Amos Rifkin brings a loose, delicate touch to softer tracks like “Sea” and “Forest,” but escalates with thunderous weight when the music demands greater intensity. Meanwhile, bassist Juan Garcia provides a warm, full-bodied tone that both supports and embellishes the melodic core, keeping the songs anchored amid the dense layering of guitars and vocals, which is important on a track like the expansive and sprawling “Snow and Ice.”
Only a few minor inconsistencies keep Om Moksha Ritam from reaching the apex of Insomniac’s sound. The B-side leans away from emphatic “Hell yes” moments in favor of slower, navel-gazing jams. These tracks reward repeat listens but aren’t as immediately gripping. Closer “Awakening” falls just shy of the monumental highs of the opening salvo, with a climactic chorus that doesn’t land as powerfully as it could. For the most part, the record sounds fantastic and balances its many intricate layers, though there are moments (the refrains of “Mountain” and “Sea”) where Bassman’s voice overpowers the rest of the band in a psychedelic spiral. These issues don’t detract too heavily from the record’s overall impact, but they are worth noting.
Om Moksha Ritam takes you on a hallucinogenic trek across the desert, riffs shimmering like heat mirages, the atmosphere thick enough to choke a camel. Insomniac has delivered an album that takes listeners on a true musical journey, drenched in smoke-filled vibes, yet immediately rewarding. Their unique, psychedelic strain of “post-doom” metal blends familiar elements from beloved bands into something greater than the sum of its parts. If Insomniac invite me on another spiritual vision quest through the wastelands of sound, I’ll happily lace up my sandals, pack my water skin, and follow them straight into the void.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Blues Funeral Recording
Websites: insomniacvibes.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/insomniacatl
Releases Worldwide: September 1st, 2025#2025 #35 #AmeircanMetal #Baroness #BluesFuneralRecording #BluesRock #CultOfLuna #DoomMetal #Elder #Insomniac #OmMokshaRitam #OranssiPazuzu #PostRock #PostMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicMetal #PsychedelicRock #Review #Reviews #REZN #Sep25
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Insomniac – Om Moksha Ritam Review
By Samguineous Maximus
The terms “psychedelic” and “post-metal” are usually enough for me to approach any new release with caution—not because those genres lack excellent music, but because they’re so often associated with overlong, unfocused songs. For every Cult of Luna or Oranssi Pazuzu, there are fifty bands peddling overlong, riffless dirges that mistake “atmosphere” for actual songwriting. Atlanta supergroup Insomniac has arrived with their debut record Om Moksha Ritam, with the ominous self-designation of “post-doom.” The title, loosely translated from Sanskrit as “Liberation through merging with the Universal Rhythm,”1 foregrounds its ambitions as a concept album designed to “guide listeners through an aural and spiritual journey across multiple extreme environments.” Have Insomniac crafted a narrative listening experience that successfully conveys its metaphysical aspirations? Or is their debut the “post-doom” equivalent of a bad trip?
On Om Moksha Ritam, Insomniac manages to craft a sound that is immediately recognizable yet distinctly their own. They merge the progressive psychedelia of Elder with the layered, textural approach of REZN, all filtered through the Southern-gothic tinge of fellow Georgians Baroness. The result is a body of songs that draw equally from the contemplative exploration of ’70s prog, Americana-dipped blues rock, and the anthemic heft of post-metal’s sludgier, power-chord-driven moments. What makes this combination work is not just the intuitive chemistry of the instrumentalists, but the commanding presence of vocalist Van Bassman. Each track is surprisingly vocal-driven, and Bassman conjures a sound somewhere between a bluesier Dax Riggs and a John Baizley who’s actually capable of singing. His baritone sits front and center for much of Om Moksha Ritam, often accompanied by vocal layers and effects, creating a kaleidoscopic swirl that amplifies the ebb and flow of the music as it moves between peaks and valleys.
It helps that Om Moksha Ritam’s tracklist is dynamic and well-paced, with each of its 7 songs offering subtle differentiation on Insomniac’s core formula. Much of this can be attributed to the interplay between guitarists Alex Avedissian and Mike Morris,2 whose willingness to balance acoustic and effects-laden electric timbres gives the record a versatile and interesting palette. The guitars ferry the songs between quiet reflection and crushing grandeur. Whether it’s weaving intricate folky arpeggios together with tripped-out leads (“Desert”), harmonizing across doomy atmospheres (“Mountain”) or using post-rock tremolos to punctuate a well-earned climax (“Meditation), the guitar work on Om Moksha Ritam is consistently engaging and varied. Of course, this would be for naught without a strong rhythm section, but Insomniac has that as well. Drummer Amos Rifkin brings a loose, delicate touch to softer tracks like “Sea” and “Forest,” but escalates with thunderous weight when the music demands greater intensity. Meanwhile, bassist Juan Garcia provides a warm, full-bodied tone that both supports and embellishes the melodic core, keeping the songs anchored amid the dense layering of guitars and vocals, which is important on a track like the expansive and sprawling “Snow and Ice.”
Only a few minor inconsistencies keep Om Moksha Ritam from reaching the apex of Insomniac’s sound. The B-side leans away from emphatic “Hell yes” moments in favor of slower, navel-gazing jams. These tracks reward repeat listens but aren’t as immediately gripping. Closer “Awakening” falls just shy of the monumental highs of the opening salvo, with a climactic chorus that doesn’t land as powerfully as it could. For the most part, the record sounds fantastic and balances its many intricate layers, though there are moments (the refrains of “Mountain” and “Sea”) where Bassman’s voice overpowers the rest of the band in a psychedelic spiral. These issues don’t detract too heavily from the record’s overall impact, but they are worth noting.
Om Moksha Ritam takes you on a hallucinogenic trek across the desert, riffs shimmering like heat mirages, the atmosphere thick enough to choke a camel. Insomniac has delivered an album that takes listeners on a true musical journey, drenched in smoke-filled vibes, yet immediately rewarding. Their unique, psychedelic strain of “post-doom” metal blends familiar elements from beloved bands into something greater than the sum of its parts. If Insomniac invite me on another spiritual vision quest through the wastelands of sound, I’ll happily lace up my sandals, pack my water skin, and follow them straight into the void.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Blues Funeral Recording
Websites: insomniacvibes.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/insomniacatl
Releases Worldwide: September 1st, 2025#2025 #35 #AmeircanMetal #Baroness #BluesFuneralRecording #BluesRock #CultOfLuna #DoomMetal #Elder #Insomniac #OmMokshaRitam #OranssiPazuzu #PostRock #PostMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicMetal #PsychedelicRock #Review #Reviews #REZN #Sep25
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A library as a show piece?: Art patrons, a Florentine cortigiana onestà, and an in-house library study in “Arte”
Veronica’s study/library shown in the fifth chapter of the Arte mangaBack in November 2024, I wrote about the anime adaptation of Arte, which is set in Renaissance-era Italy, noting the library scenes in four episodes, noting how in the episode “Courtesan”, the protagonist, Arte, goes with her master, Leonardo, to the house of Veronica, a courtesan, and they visit her study. While there, she marvels at how impressive the library is, with Veronica saying she needs to entertain her gentleman callers with education, and she offers to let Arte borrow books from her collection, with the latter saying that while standing in her library she can’t view her with anything but respect, saying her respect is for how hard she works, not her profession. It is in this same place that Veronica counsels Arte on her love for her master, Leo, and where Arte realizes that while she will listen to Veronica, she can’t forgive how she treats her clients, as she learns what it truly means to be a prostitute.
In that same post, I also noted the brief library scene in the next episode (the fifth in the series), entitled “Inseparable Bond”, in which Arte goes to the library/study to get Veronica’s advice on speaking to a difficult client, and in the beginning of the eighth episode, entitled “A New Chapter”. In that episode, Arte and Veronica again talk in her study/library, with Veronica saying she couldn’t imagine Florence without Arte, and bidding her farewell as she prepares for her Venice trip. It is implied then that Darcia talks to Veronica afterward about reading (Arte teaches her to read), but not directly shown. In the final episode of the anime adaptation, entitled “Apprentice”, Leo visits Veronica in her study/library, and they talk about the art commission she is offering him, and she is willing to pay him more to make a good artwork (and to buy expensive materials), and she jokes that Arte “she prefers Venice over Florence,” something which likely gets to him, without a doubt. The manga is a bit different.
Veronica is introduced in the fourth chapter, but Arte and Leo do not meet her until the fifth chapter, when she is, again, called a cortigiana. At the time, cortigiana, meaning courtesan, some called them palace ladies, or donna di palazzo. Veronica would undoubtedly be a cortigiana onestà, which one scholar called “the high-‐class figure of female influence who achieved an unparalleled level of emancipation in the profoundly patriarchal world of Renaissance Italy.” [1] In the fifth chapter, she is described as renting a house with the money she makes as a courtsean (what we would now call a sex worker) and like in the episode “Courtesan” I mentioned earlier, Arte is impressed, and after Veronica declares she has read every book there, Arte is even more in awe. And she even gets to borrow books from the study, with Arte saying she respects Veronica’s hard work.
It is thanks to that fascination she gets her first commission, just as she does in the anime. She admires how intellectual Veronica is and is undoubtedly appreciative when she tells her that the feelings she has for Leo are romantic. Again, this generally follows the anime, including when she sees the terrible conditions that lower-class courtesans work within, and what love can do to someone, a narrative which continues into chapter six. Veronica is the one that tells her she doesn’t “have time” for love. The library itself continues to be shown as somewhere where Veronica shines, above anything else, giving her an allure of someone learned. All the while she treats her clients in a way that Arte (and most) find disreputable. This continues in chapter seven, when she dreads having to give Veronica the painting. An interesting scene, not in the anime, is when Leo comes to meet with Veronica, who says she will pay for the portrait in time, not “like one of those cheap prostitutes.”
What Arte says in the fifth chapter reflects how some people think of librarians. This view of Veronica changes as she gets to know her betterThe scene goes so far that Leo says that Arte keeps “acting strange,” then she won’t be working at his workshop anymore, leading Veronica to advocate for Arte, saying it would be cruel to fire her, and saying she has taken a liking to Arte. This creates an interesting comparison between Arte, an apprentice barely earning anything, to Veronica, which he finds curious. Later on, Arte realizes she has to set things right, and realizes that Veronica hides “her struggles below her smiles.” She ends up giving her the painting, saying that while she can’t condone how Veronica treats her clients, she is doing it to have an independent life, and works hard in many ways. It is also revealed she is providing for the rest of her family as well!
Even so, Veronica acknowledges the job is “sinful” but she will continue to keep her smile until she dies. Even after all of this, she still wants to advise Arte on anything troubling her, as a friend, and Arte accepts this, as she knows it is important to have someone like her as a friend. In an interesting article I found, one scholar wrote that “during the Italian Renaissance, mythology and art contributed to the increasing popularity of the cortigiana, or courtesan.” That actually does fit with the series, with Veronica as an art patron! The latter is mentioned by Arte to Angelo in the next chapter. In the process of that discussion and others, she breaks through Angelo’s paternalistic attitude that girls need to be protected by men.
Some chapters later, Arte meets Veronica again in the library (at the end of chapter 10), [2] which continues in the next chapter, when she helps Arte negotiate with Ubertino. She reveals that he worked in the wool trade. What she tells Arte allows her to hold her own, teaching her everything from the beginning step by step, including proper posture, speech, and listening skills. She uses to this to appeal to him, especially using her lace art drawings, to pull him in. Veronica’s role in what some, historically, would call an “honored courtesan,” continues to be a major plot point in the story. In fact, Arte visits Veronica again in the beginning of the sixteenth chapter, when she gets a painting from Arte which she wants to keep herself, rather than giving it as a gift to someone. All the while, Veronica says she is expecting things from her, and she feels embarrassed to talk to her, like she is doing something “forbidden.”
It is her running into a Venetian noble afterward and his talking to Veronica, again in the study/library, is what leads Arte to her job in Venice. This is almost exactly what is portrayed in the anime. The same can be said of the eighteenth chapter, when Arte goes to Veronica again, this time asking about a dispute involving the daughter of Leo’s art master (Lusanna), in which she says that disputes over money involving widows is common. She is the one which gives the idea to Arte to approach a person with status and power: the Venetian noble (Mr. Yuri Falier) who wants her to travel to Venice to tutor his cousin, for a six-month period. Even Veronica is surprised that Arte is going so suddenly to Venice in the next chapter, saying it will be a “little lonely” in Florence without her. Again, it is implied that Dacia will go visit Veronica to get books to continue her study of reading and writing.
Arte confronts Veronica in the seventh chapter and states her principles.Unlike in the anime, at the end of the nineteenth chapter, Dacia does visit Veronica, and is very nervous, saying she is only there because she is Arte’s friend. Veronica convinces her to sit and chat down for a bit, but no more is shown, because the story moves onto the next chapter. Nor does it appear in any other chapter, sadly. In fact, there aren’t any library scenes going forward as the story moves to the Venetian arc and there aren’t any scenes in Florence!
In writing this post, I am reminded what Italian history scholar Margaret F. Rosenthal wrote back in November 2018 for Renaissance Quarterly, examining how one cortigiana onestà, also known an “intellectual courtsean,” named Veronica Franco, was restricted in her professional activities, or whether socal forces compelled or contained her “cultivation of a literary identity” in Venetian society, and the maneuvers she adopted when she “obtained entrance into an elite literary circle.” [3] Similarly, another webpage I found comes to mind: cortigiana, like Veronica, enjoyed a “glamorous lifestyle augmented by an education that enabled intellectual interactions in a secular rather than a religious domain.” This was even reflected in paintings like the strongly erotic “Portrait of a Woman known as The Courtesan” by Jacopo Palma il Vecchio in about 1520. [4]
Ultimately, whether the library is a showpiece for Veronica or not, it is also a symbol of how she is a thinking person, an intellectual in her own right. The study/library is a place she can be here own, a place she can be dominant, more than anyone else.
© 2024-2026 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.
Notes
[1] There’s even a Wikipedia page entitled “List of Italian Renaissance courtesans.”
[2] The aftermath of chapter 10, a feature describes her as “busty.”
[3] This article comes as no surprise considering that she wrote a book in 1992 entitled The Honest Courtesan about Veronica Franco, a courtesan in 16th-century Venice.
[4] Also see “Private Lives and Public Lies: Texts by Courtesans of the Italian Renaissance” by Fiora A. Bassanese.
#Arte #books #courtesans #Florence #history #ItalianWomen #Italy #libraryPatrons #quiet #reading #sexWork #studyRoom #studying #tutoring #Venice
