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Unmother – State Dependent Memory Review

Independent U.K. undergrounder’s, Unmother, have been holding a mirror up to urban dystopian dehumanization since forming in 2019.…
#NewsBeep #News #Music #2026 #3.0 #Ashenspire #AU #Australia #BlackMetal #ChatPile #Entertainment #Feb26 #independent #MarilynManson #Post-Metal #review #Shining #StateDependentMemory #U.K.Metal #Unmother
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/501290/

Independent U.K. undergrounder’s, Unmother, have been holding a mirror up to urban dystopian dehumanization since forming in 2019. Their 2021 debut, Lay Down the Sun, garnered significant underground acclaim that, according to the promo kit, established Unmother “as a restless and forward-thinking presence within the scene.” Foregoing the nature-scapes and mythological motifs of other post-black metal outfits, Unmother draws inspiration from the streets and, with their sophomore effort, State Dependent Memory,1 examines “urban isolation, inner dislocation, and moral decline, reflecting a world formed by concrete environments and social erosion.”2 After swapping their first “V” vocalist, Venla,3 for their second, V. (VOAK), Unmother prepares to take the next step on their evolving musical journey. Does State Dependent Memory offer a solution that might save our base, dehumanized society, from itself, or will it amount to so much piss in the wind?

State Dependent Memory crackles with gritty, asphaltic energy, casting Unmother as conscientious agitators, decrying societal urban decay in veins similar to acts like Chat Pile or Ashenspire, even if avoiding any direct auricular comparison. Departing from the rawer, denser claustrophobia of Lay Down the Sun, Unmother sought slightly warmer sonic climes on State Dependent Memory, weaving undulating post-metal textures into its mostly traditional black-metal framework. Sure, plenty of blast beats and tremolos (“My Armor,” “Bear Hug”) remain, courtesy of drummer B. and guitarists Azoso and Declwa (who also handles bass). Still, it’s what Unmother does with the spaces between that adds the most character, which begins with the varied vocal approach of V., who, like Attila Csihar, possesses a wider range of barks, croaks, shouts, and screams than his more one-dimensional predecessor, whose hissier, raw-blackened rasp overpowered much of Lay Down the Sun for me. Without dulling any of the sharp edges that, well, make them edgy, Unmother benefits from their take on “post” as a counterpoint to tradition.

My Armor by Unmother

State Dependent Memory tips the scales of orthodoxy with atmospheres that are as hypnotizing as they are abrasive. Pensive and creepy, the leads that skulk through the shadowed alleys of “Modern Dystopia” are effective and shroud the track with an almost Marilyn Manson-like pall, while Declwa’s bass notes thrum and throb like slow-strobing traffic lights on a dark, misty night. Venla makes a guest appearance here as well; his croaking rasp at this dose ups the fear factor and complements V.’s tortured delivery. Satisfying, too, is the eerie, haunted-jewelry-box melody and desperate howling of V., which make up the slower-paced interlude within the trad-black assault of “Bear Hug,” offering a sprinkling of Shining-like glitter. Ironically, the most black metal track on State Dependent Memory is Unmother’s cover of “Αττική – Βικτώρια” (“Attiki Victoria”) by Greek synthwave outfit ΟΔΟΣ 55, which distills the eight-minute-long original’s main melody down to a viscerally efficient, tremolo-forward beast. It’s poppy, new-wave-esque movements, filled with an almost hopeful melodicism, are set effectively against V.’s pleading screams and shouts.

Angeliki Mourgela’s mix and Roland Rodas’ master capture the essence of Unmother’s talents. With a foggy production that reminded me of Mayhem’s Ordo ad Chao, I enjoyed Lay Down the Sun but had to strain to pick out much of its instrumental intricacy. State Dependent Memory doesn’t suffer the same issue, as each instrument glows brightly in its own space, with B.’s varied drum performance and Declwa’s excellent bass work being the biggest beneficiaries. And while I can’t say Unmother wasted any of State Dependent Memory’s thirty-eight-minute runtime, closing the album with the no-burn instrumental “Magda” was a miss. The track fades in with some reflective, organ-like synths, foreign-spoke voice samples,4 and gently plucked guitar lines bolstered with tension-building but delicately strummed chords, which all continue to build slightly over the next four minutes and twenty seconds only to fade out again. No satisfying payoff, just a segue to silence. Whether this move was intentional or not, the addition of another well-executed track proper could have avoided such a deflating ending.

Acerbically moody, Unmother possesses a maturity that belies their short existence. This quartet of relative unknowns continues to carve their mark into the U.K.’s underground metal scene, and if State Dependent Memory is any indication, they may not be toiling down there for long.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320kb/s mp3
Label: Independent
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 20th, 2026

Maud the Moth – The Distaff Review

By Dolphin Whisperer

We all take shape in the form that others prescribe—an embodiment that may run counter to how we see ourselves. Yet, in this world of heavy artistry whose inception rests in the bravery and drama and drive against the on-the-tracks trajectory of rock music—often too in sneer at traditional thought patterns—we search for freedom in amplified wisdom, reckless rhythms, and voices that soar above it all. Maud the Moth, in piano and vocal-based lamentations, appears to us not in the rev and leather that symbolize the traditional call of heavy metal. The Distaff, in its curious spindle, instead possesses strands of a familiar and ferocious hue—vibrant and unmistakable despite its differences.

Spanish-born and Scotland-residing, Amaya López-Carromero (also of healthyliving) uses Maud the Moth to flutter her most personal and growth-seeking articulations. Whipping between the alternative bend of a young Tori Amos to a classically-trained operatic wail fit for a sobbing rendition of Bizet’s Carmen as it is for The Distaff’s own wrestled narrative, López-Carromero orates at the center, the thumping heart, of each composition. And about her bled-out words that spell feelings of futility against assumed roles (“A Temple by the River,” “Despeñaperros”) and inherited success metrics (“Burial of the Patriarchs,” “Fiat Lux”), hands, steadied in necessary expression, find a home in rhythmic and romantic piano-led marches. In lyric-driven, macabre-in-nature music, the ivories tend to rest as an accent. But imbued by the impressionist spirit of Debussy and Ravel1 ravaging through a unique and wild attitude that rests adjacent to extreme, modern sounds, Maud the Moth and The Distaff live a sonic statement all their own.

An elaborate and elegant rhythmic framework—slow, percussive dances of tempered and swelling chords (“Exuviae,” “Fiat Lux”) and masking, playful triplets (“Siphonophores”)—coax a sneaking hypnosis throughout The Distaff. Surrounding these bases, the accompanying cast2 finds haunting accents—hissing Moog underlays, bowed cymbal screeches, thundering snare rolls, bellowing guitar crashes—that cut brooding horror across the melody to which López-Carromero maintains steadfast in swaying histrionics and shouting defiance. And in support of this continued desire to find solace in reflective silence and minimal structures, chamber strings3 pair to escalating verses and grand crescendos to make way for peace to come. The gentle sounds of nature (“Exuviae,” “Despeñaperros”) and the calm of a lingering voice (“Burial…,” “O Rubor”)—harmony builds a nest amongst ripples and waves of discord.

In this friction, The Distaff forges a journey of disillusion, awakening, and plaintive realization. Sprouting to life in a hazy, layered fluster (“Cando de Enramada”) and closing with a further (shoe)gazed and drowned recapitulation of a day spent in contest (“Kwisatz Haderach”), its book-ended daze reads as equal parts confessional and hallucinatory. And in this state of fizzling consciousness, Maud the Moth weaves tales of transformation, with the guitar character swinging from crushing and startling in impact (“A Temple…,” “Despeñaperros”) to gentle, fuzzed signals (“Burial…”) and glassy, harmonic companionship (“Fiat Lux”) as The Distaff oscillates between its tragic peaks and sullen lows. Violent vocal colors live in leather-bound creases—cries and wretches buried in hammering chords cracked notes in shivering sustain, piercing lyrics that splinter ethereal leanings like a wound freshly unbandaged. In fitting languid union words read on paper just as intense as their vibrational presence—”The sky wakes to an untouched meal.” (“Exuviae”), “Skin breaks like lace, so bleached, in shreds” (“Siphonophores”), “Blood of the father / Flows through the son / Drips through the fingers, viscous and warm” (“Fiat Lux”)—scenes of progressive and recurring ruminations staining eyes and ears with fragile and tangible tragedy.

As natural as breath to a body gasping, and as natural as my own breath leaving mine with every passing moment, The Distaff rises and falls with a lurch and solemn acceptance of life unfolding. From roots as a rawer singer-songwriter to this full and modern incarnation, Amaya López-Carromero has harnessed Maud the Moth as an effortless yet meticulous extension of her writhing inner existence. And in leaps, The Distaff twists from the play of 2020’s Orphnē to full theater. Whether Maud the Moth’s continued shed and growth will crystalize into an even more brilliant form matters little as The Distaff wears in bold and uncharted tapestry its heart-wrenching endeavors. Without a peer, Maud the Moth threatens to fly freely at the top of its own constructed throne.

Rating: 5.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Labels: The Larvarium | La Rubia Producciones | Woodford Halse
Websites: maudthemoth.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/maudthemoth
Releases Worldwide: February 21st, 2025

#2025 #50 #Ashenspire #Darkwave #Feb25 #healthyliving #MaudTheMoth #ModernClassical #PostRock #ProgressiveRock #Review #Reviews #SoundCollage #TheDistaff #ToriAmos

GardensTale Goes to Roadburn 2024

By GardensTale

Roadburn is a unique festival. Many have no idea what it is, but those who know it often revere it. Starting in 1999 as a traveling stoner festival, it has grown into one of the most adventurous, envelope-pushing celebrations of music worldwide. The line-ups have grown increasingly experimental, and a few years ago the festival adopted the slogan Redefining Heaviness. It’s a mission statement that indicates the wide scope of the festival, exploring other forms of heaviness through the inclusion of genres beyond metal.

My partner and I have visited every Roadburn since 2017, when I last wrote a report on the experience. At the time, we had a sweet arrangement allowing free entry by playing host to a performing artist. Unfortunately, this option no longer exists since the pandemic, so instead we have been inviting random festival goers, which has netted us a steadily growing slew of festival buddies from across Europe. This year was no different, with a few old friends and a few new ones taking up residence in our living room. With the fires of friendship thus stoked, we set off on our sixth voyage into the depths of the heavy underground.

Day 1 (Thursday, 18th of April)

2:34 PM — Got to Hexvessel’s set playing Polar Veil a little late, because one of our guests needed a bracelet still. Good doom, played well, but doesn’t blow me away. Room is crammed, but it’s the first show of the festival.

2:44 PM — Watched a few songs, then went to grab merch. Hoodies were already sold out in several colors.

3:11 PM — Sunrise Patriot Motion is like “what if Ashenspire swallowed a synthwave band” and I like it. It’s a strange contrast but it works.

4:03 PM — Wiegedood were doing a live soundtrack to a Japanese experimental silent film from 1926 and it was as odd as that sounds.

5:44 PM — Grabbed some food during a gap in the schedule and afterward watched a few songs of Sean Mulrooney’s set (from Tau and the Drones of Praise). Dark folk with sparse vocals doesn’t really work unless the vocals are good, and these weren’t.

5:47 PM — Now sitting outside the venue where UBOA is doing her thing and it sounds like two supercomputers on train tracks colliding head-on. Bit above my maximum noise-to-music ratio.

7:16 PM — Inter Arma is pretty dang massive. Sound in the venue isn’t great so the guitars aren’t getting their due but faces are caving in.

8:26 PM — WHITE WARD IS FUCKING AMAZING

8:35 PM — Their saxophone player is in the army so they had to make do with samples, but after 4 canceled appearances due to Covid and the war, it was worth the wait.

9:46 PM — Everyone and the family dog wants to see Chelsea Wolfe, so being 20 minutes early still meant nosebleed spots in the balcony. Wolfe fills the room anyway. I don’t always click with her albums that much, but man she is a force to behold on stage.

10:54 PM — Shows hadn’t left much time for food today, so a big fat doner wrap will have to do. A fellow with too little blood in his alcohol walked into the door and cracked his head on the tiles. Walked away 10 minutes later. Hope he survived.

11:37 PM — Goddamn, Backxwash is heavier with her hip-hop than most bands are playing metal. No one on stage but a black woman in a poofy dress laying down the law over raw industrial beats. Fucking awesome set.

Day 2 (Friday, 19th of April)

3:14 PM — Started off crammed into the room like sardines to hear Fluisteraars do an experimental set: the droniest of drone with birdsong on top. Handled about 10 minutes of that before bailing. Not my jam and way overcrowded.

3:39 PM — Mat McNerney (aka Kvohst of Hexvessel and others) doing a commissioned piece called Music For Gloaming: A Nocturne. Very gothic doom/black mixture, pretty cool set with loads of atmosphere.

6:33 PM — After a meal we went to check out Lucy Kruger + The Lost Boys in the Hall of Fame venue. Very nice weighty dream pop, not unlike Emma Ruth Rundle.

8:31 PM — Good thing we were there because Inter Arma was drafted for a second performance, a secret set of material from their classic albums. Also in the Hall of Fame, the smallest venue of the festival. Absolutely brainscramblingly colossal. Easily the heaviest thing on the festival so far.

9:52 PM — Another secret set, this one by Couch Slut in the skate park. Harsh music under the harsh glare of the tubes. Great performance and the venue brought out their punky DIY spirit, looking forward to seeing them again early tomorrow for their new album playthrough.

Day 3 (Saturday, 20th of April)

1:24 PM — Knoll for breakfast is kind of terrifying and overwhelming but also kind of awesome in a “my skull is now 2D” kind of way.

1:26 PM — Suddenly a wild trumpet appears!

2:25 PM — Couch Slut playing their new album. Raw as all fucking get out. Great show! Excellent live band both performances, visceral as fuck. The frontwoman confessed to only sleeping 90 minutes that night, and occasionally it showed, but by and large, she killed it.

2:50 PM — Oneiroporeia is a super young band and it shows, but their blackened prog-goth sound is solid and promising.

5:04 PM — Roadburn has a queue problem this year, especially today, and primarily at the Spoorzone venues. It’s always unclear when a venue opens and the queues have gotten gigantic. After wasting some time in a queue in an attempt to see Agriculture, we decided to settle in at the Main stage and wait for The Keening.

5:52 PM — The Keening is as beautiful and fragile as the titular Little Bird, but could use a few more dynamic stanzas to balance out the mid-weight atmodoomfolk a little. Still quite pretty though.

8:37 PM — Between rain and queues we settled on Ni in the Paradox jazz club. Super skronky instrumental jazzmathcore is healing my soul right now.

10:44 PM — Ni turned out one of the best things I’ve seen at the festival this year. Cult Leader’s acidic sludgy hardcore made a run for the podium, but their gothic-doom passages just aren’t as captivating. When these guys go full blast though, they’re absolutely vicious.

11:32 PM — In the spirit of trying new things, we ended the day with a few Frail Body tracks. Safe to say that screamo is not my new passion.

Day 4 (Sunday, 21st of April)

3:05 PM — We dragged our exhausted husks to the Terminal for the final day. Kicking off with Laster is a good start. The weird psych black band with ghoulish masks are pretty much studio-tight. It does feel a little clinical or impersonal as a live show but it’s a very solid performance.

4:47 PM — Today really is black metal day at the Terminal. No complaints from me! Verwoed tears down the place with their ritualistic and reasonably melodic take. Good sound and a spirited performance. The Dutch black metal scene proves to be thriving once more.

6:27 PM — After all the doom and gloom, a little black thrash that’s all riffs and no brakes is just the ticket, and Devil Master hits the spot. Doing the second half of the set sitting on the floor by the wall because my feet are withered stumps at this point.

6:31 PM — I’m also surprised by the amount of delighted surprised faces I get from bartenders when I show them my order on my phone screen. Is it really that uncommon? It’s so much simpler than shouting!

8:32 PM — Biological necessities (aka food) and a queue meant missing the first half of Fluisteraars’ full black metal set. This is a shame because fuck me this is one of the best performances of the whole festival. It’s apparently only the second time the band performs live and they put most of their peers to shame.

10:18 PM — Dödsrit led a 50-minute war band to raid and pillage the Terminal. Baller set, tons of energy and extremely fun! Sound was a bit off, as is tradition in this venue, but it didn’t spoil a good time. Thought this would be the last show for us, but in the interest of a last drink with a few friends we went to…

11:29 PM — …the main stage for Cloakroom. Not a terribly engaging band even by shoegaze standards, but a nice lullaby to sing the festival to sleep.

Between collaborations, commissioned pieces, secret sets, and integral album presentations, not to mention a lot of bands that would not fit in at many other festivals, Roadburn’s line-up is always unique. I’d never have found bands like Ni or Lucy Kruger without the concerted efforts of Walter Hoeijmakers and Becky Laverty to keep Roadburn one of the most forward-thinking festivals out there. I found some new favorites and checked out some bands I knew only by reputation. But best of all is experiencing it all with an ever-expanding gaggle of friends. We’ve rarely watched a show with just the two of us; nearly every time we had the company of friends, and come rain or queues, that is the best way to experience this festival.

#Agriculture #Ashenspire #Backxwash #ChelseaWolfe #Cloakroom #CouchSlut #CultLeader #DevilMaster #Dödsrit #EmmaRuthRundle #Fluisteraars #FrailBody #Hexvessel #InterArma #Knoll #Laster #LucyKrugerTheLostBoys #ni #Oneiroporeia #SunrisePatriotMotion #TauAndTheDronesOfPraise #TheKeening #UBOA #Verwoed #WhiteWard #Wiegedood

lovin #Ashenspire Scottish Avant-garde RABM. #metal #metalhead

https://ashenspire.bandcamp.com/album/hostile-architecture

Gave this album a shot earlier, couldn't get through it. Though it may appeal to some

I have to say, the music does encapsulate the aura they're after in their album blurb.

https://ashenspire.bandcamp.com/album/hostile-architecture

and a link to 'Tragic Heroin' video https://piped.video/watch?v=XBNY-l3NT9s

#scotland #BlackMetal #PostModernism #Ashenspire

joining the #MetalMonday crowd with this discovery of today
#Ashenspire makes some weird, hybrid avant-garde metal with hint of jazz and situationism... good stuff
https://ashenspire.bandcamp.com/album/hostile-architecture

joining the #MetalMonday crowd with this discovery of today
#Ashenspire makes some weird, hybrid avant-garde metal with hint of jazz and situationism... good stuff
https://ashenspire.bandcamp.com/album/hostile-architecture