REVIEW: Hidden Mothers, "Hidden Mothers" (EP)

By: Peter Morsellino

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 18/09/2020

Label: Surviving Sounds

“Hidden Mothers” DD//LP track listing:

1). Beneath, To The Earth

2). My Own Worth

3). My Blindness, Your Burden

The Review:

Sheffield UK's own Hidden Mothers make an incredible impression with their debut EP. A devastatingly heavy and emotive piece that will pull on your heartstrings while keeping your head banging for days.

Mixing a beautifully melodic post rock sound with the emotional dissonance of black gaze, Hidden Mothers bring to the table a style that is distinctly their own. The music rises and falls with an intensity rivaling the greats of the post rock genre, with Explosions in the Sky style instrumental passages giving way to extreme turmoil and pained shrieks.  The vocal style I would describe as like Deafheaven but much more emotive, a great improvement in my opinion.

With only three tracks taking up a less than twenty minute time frame, I will say that the EP comes in a bit short in terms of granting the listener the full release promised by the music. To me, this is long form art. I want to sit down with it for an hour and really take in all the feels that are being thrown around, coming out of the experience with a sense of completion.  But hey, I smoke a lot of weed. Anyway, this is a solid start if nothing else.

Hidden Mothers is a band that needs to be watched out for. These guys are going to be accomplishing amazing things with their music.  Grab this EP for a glimpse of what they are capable of and wait patiently for what is sure to be a masterpiece once it comes to fruition.

“Hidden Mothers” is available HERE

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

REVIEW: Agvirre, "Silence"

By: Benjamin Gomes

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 24/01/2020

Label: Trepanation Recordings |

Surviving Sounds

“Silence” CS//CD//DD track listing:

1). Radio Silence

2). Muzzle & Mask

3). Abandonment

The Review:

Taking their name from one of the most important movies in Werner Herzog’s filmography, Agvirre are a post-black metal collective from Manchester that debuted in the scene with their extended play “Silence.”

Despite the short time span of the piece, clocking in at around 27 minutes, the band showcases a unique blend of black metal, incorporating experimental passages and an interesting song writing approach that infuses the tremolo picking we know well with violin melodies soaring over the songs that brings a more emotional vibe to their compositions.

This is bolstered  further still with a strong vocal performance, reminiscent of Colin H. van Eeckhout’s of Amenra where every word is shouted with such emotional urgency that it accentuates the compositions  beautifully. Lyrically, the whole album is cantered around the idea of one using a mask to cover their true self, dealing with hard things like loss and pain under a guise which only contributes to having a more difficult time dealing with that.

In the ending part of ‘Abandonment’, the third and last track of the EP, Agvirre switch to cleaner vocals and deliver a final uplifting message that works as a summary of the whole message they were trying to convey, a final message to the band that will serve as the final message of this review “Take off the mask that squalors you / Take off the mask that squanders you / Your true voice lies beneath / Your true self lies beneath / Take off the mask that silences you”.

“Silence” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook