Metal Storm's outlet for nonmetal album reviews
The place where we'll talk about music without growls or blast beats
unless they still have those but still aren't metal
unless they still have those but still aren't metal
We here at Metal Storm pride ourselves on our thousands of metal reviews and interviews and article; metal is our collective soul and passion, which is why we bother with this junk. That being said, we'd be lying if we stuck to our trve-kvlt guns and claimed that metal is the only thing we ever listen to. Whether we want to admit it or not, we do check out some other stuff from time to time; some of us are more poptimistic than others, but there's a whole world out there aside from Satan-worshiping black metal and dragon-slaying power metal. We do already feature some nonmetal artists on our website and have a few reviews to back them up, but we prefer to limit that aspect of the site to those artists who have been a strong influence on the metal scene or who are in some way connected to it. This article series is the place for those artists who don't matter to metal in the slightest but still warrant some conversation - after all, good music, is good music, and we all know metal isn't the only thing on this planet for any of us.
Down below, you might find some obscure Bandcamp bedroom projects or some Billboard-topping superstar; as long as it ain't metal and the album itself isn't a best-of compilation, it fits. Obviously, we're certain that not everything will be for everybody (you guys can be viciously territorial even when metal is the only thing on the menu, and we're all supposed to like the same things), but we do hope you find at least one thing that you can enjoy, instead of just pointing and screaming in horror "Not metal!" as if that would be an insult.
Here are our previous features:
February 2026
January 2026
December 2025
And now to the music...
Wildernesses - Growth
[Shoegaze | Post-Rock]
Initially conceived by a bandmate who is no longer part of said band, Wildernesses have reached the point of releasing their debut album at a time where they are already popping up on notable national festivals, such as my beloved ArcTanGent. The London quartet play a strain of alternative rock that draws heavily from shoegaze and post-rock while exhibiting a degree of indie rock accessibility. Growth is a tantalizing display of their dynamic sound, one that can be airy and gloomy, yet at other times dense and soaring.
Wildernesses are an intriguing proposition for me; the reverbing clean tones of the quieter passages and looming wall-of-sound heavier moments are very in line with music I enjoy, but the vocals of Phillip Morris are more reminiscent of indie bands that I tend to shy away from. The all-instrumental grand opener “Sleepless” therefore acts as a good way to ease into the album, but ultimately the touching emotionality of Morris’s voice is primed to win over potential doubters such as myself. There are hints of post-punk across the record, such as on “Four Hour Drive”, but I am most charmed by the delicate post-rock tones of “English Darkness” and gloom-tinged jangle rock of “Dread”.
Bandcamp
by musclassia
The Dear Hunter - Sunya
[Progressive Rock]
musclassia's pick
Having concluded the Acts series in 2016, things were fairly quiet for a few years from The Dear Hunter, but they are now firmly in the groove with the next multi-album storyline, that of the Indigo Child. Antimai is followed four years on by Sunya, a record that generally continues the sound that Casey Crescenzo and co have committed to for this saga (sonically a bit warmer, more funk-oriented than the Acts albums) while still bringing in new elements. “The Wasteland” picks up seamlessly from where Antimai left off, and delivers a dollop of God chords, soulful harmonies and symphonic prog rock.
The soul/funk influences on recent The Dear Hunter releases are very clear at times during Sunya; “The Bazaareteria” goes into funk overdrive with its bass grooves, while “The Glass Desert II: Cliffs And Stormlands” has vocal sequences that nod towards Motown icons such as Stevie Wonder. In contrast to these songs are the driving rhythm and aggressive vocals of “Marauders” and complex classic prog retro hints in “The Glass Desert I: Giants”. Rounding everything out is the title track, which saunters along in mellow fashion for a few minutes before reprising the saga-starting “The Indigo Child” for a more bombastic big band finale. While some of the charm of albums such as Act II: The Meaning Of, And All Things Regarding Ms. Leading and Act IV: Rebirth And Reprise hasn’t quite carried over for me into this new phase of The Dear Hunter, they still remain a hugely talented and very enjoyable voice in modern prog rock.
Bandcamp
by musclassia
Neal Morse is a highly prolific legend in modern progressive rock known for his works with band's such as Transatlantic and Spock's Beard, as well as his ventures into Christian rock. He also formed a supergroup in which he self-titled Neal Morse that also have a impressively consistent discography. It's amazing just how many albums they've released that are considered classics in the world of modern prog rock, especially considering the lineup are involved in a variety of well established band's of their own. The band's latest venture, titled L.I.F.T., takes listeners on another intriguing conceptual journey, one that follows a person who is trying to reconnect themselves with the world around them having been lost in it. Sometimes we find ourselves in this same tricky situation, it could mean when we feel like we are struggling to fit in to the society around us or adapt to certain circumstances that are out of our control. So we might find ourselves in a desperate state to reconnect ourselves with the world we live in also, and this could well mean the journey will hit you more emotionally and spiritually harder than you might think.
Aside from himself, Neal Morse has an extraordinarily talented team of musicians alongside him, including drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), bassist Randy George, keyboardist Bill Hubauer, and guitarist Eric Gillette (who I often find underappreciated despite being phenomenally talented). This mighty line-up once again put their masterful musicianship skills to use showcasing another impeccable all-round performance. Together, thorough cleverly crafted compositions and exceptional songwriting, they create another modern progressive masterpiece with a concept that really hits home. Just remember Neal Morse is always here if you need a little L.I.F.T. in progressive rock form.
Bandcamp
by AndyMetalFreak
Deadletter - Existence Is Bliss
[Post-Punk | Art Punk]
RaduP's pick
In this month's edition of "Why the hell is this thing not on Bandcamp?!" (for real though, as of the writing of this all of their other stuff is on their Bandcamp page except for this one newest album[/url], and they're still on the same label), here we have new-coming post-punk act Deadletter in a genre that I though was already done giving away great new-coming acts after having such a hot decade in the 2010s, but there 2024's Hysterical Strength was to prove me wrong. Now the sophomore is the real "was it a one-off success" test.
Despite being only two years apart from the predecessor, there is some noticeable tone difference between the two. Existence Is Bliss feels less direct and energetic than Hysterical Strength, instead opting for something that is more atmospheric, and doing so in a way that isn't as reliant on that very post-punk specific repetition. A lot of keys and saxophones do work to give this a certain elegant brooding atmosphere, while the interplay between the guitars and the bass make for a pretty slick post-punk record that is as keen to make forays into sounding goth in a Nick Cave way as it is to pull from newer post-punk revival sounds.
by RaduP
Nothing - A Short History Of Decay
[Shoegaze | Indie Rock]
Believe it or not, Nothing is one of the first shoegaze bands I ever got into, mostly because one of my last.fm friends was obsessed with their, at the time, only album, 2014's Guilty Of Everything. This, in turn, made Guilty Of Everything one of my most listened to shoegaze albums, rivalling the actual Slowdive or My Bloody Valentine classics. The downside of forming such a connection to a single album is that no further album from that band will ever be that album.
That also explains why I find it hard to remember songs from their next albums despite liking them a lot. Or from this album. A Short History Of Decay is perhaps less adventurous than collaborating with Full Of Hell, and its mellow vibe is quite in line with what I liked about Guilty Of Everything in the first place, and what I like about it is that even though all of the songs stay in the same low-energy mellow space, they all have something slightly different in approach, whether aiming for a more dream pop sound, or going for a more rock-ish wall of sound, or doing something interesting with the percussion.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
Deathcrash - Somersaults
[Slowcore | Emo]
I am breathing a sigh of relief at Deathcrash having a more normal release schedule considering that their first two albums were released in consecutive years and the three years since make for a more digestible schedule. Still, those first two albums already created quite a divergent trajectory for Deathcrash because the reason why the Return debut stood out to me was how post-metal-ish it sounded without being post-metal. Somersaults, like Less before it, don't really capture that vibe anymore, but they still make for a uniquely heavy slowcore.
There's less on Somersaults than... ugh... Less... that is actually explosively heavy in a post-hardcore/post-metal way, but what Somersaults does is have its emo slowcore have a lot of oomph in its riffing and its drumming without making the heaviness part of the songwriting, but like slowcore where the distortion is on a higher setting and the drummer's kit owes them money. The vocal performance is equally 2000s emo inspired while also having some sort of mainstream appeal that makes the album feel like if that kind of music suddenly had somewhat heavy post-rock crescendos. I don't think any Deathcrash album will appeal to me the same way Return did, but they're still A-OK in my book.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
Gloios - Prensado
[Post-Rock]
RaduP's pick
I've always felt really fond of albums that feel like they live in a very liminal space between consciousness and unconsciousness, like following a sort of dreamlike logic without necessarily feeling related to being asleep, but certainly drifting. That is something I got out of previous Gloios releases, but it's something that feels specifically psychedelic/ethereal about Prensado. Created alongside a short-story thematically tied to identity and becoming and both intentionally surrealistic might explain why this album specifically gives me this vibe.
I am a bit ashamed that I missed out on Polvorosa, the project's previous record. But ever since the full length debut of Lide what I appreciated about Gloios remains consistent: making the best use of post-rock's emotional impact by focusing on the Godspeed You! Black Emperor-ish atmospheric building side of it; a strong cultural identity reinforced by the use of various instruments and styles of Brazilian music; a lingering heaviness that feels borrowed from post-metal but rarely if ever unleashed; overt experimentation often in the form of sound collage and glitches; and the sense that Rafael, the person behind the project, really believes in the power of music.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
Lili Refrain - Nagalite
[Ritual Ambient]
I’ve always had a fond appreciation of artists that compose through the gradual integration of various instrumental loops, starting with basic foundations and sculpting multifaceted and engrossing soundscapes, particularly in the live setting. As such, I was very much taken by Lili Refrain’s performances when I saw her perform at Roadburn 2022 and in support of Kalandra in 2024. Her fifth album Nagalite is my first time exploring how this approach translates to the studio, and thankfully it loses none of its charm. A four-part suite depicting the metamorphosis of a serpent, Nagalite is at different times both angelic and devilish.
With a 30-minute runtime, it is a concise demonstration of her musical vision, and listeners are first greeted in heavenly fashion by warm synths and semi-operatic clean singing. “Nagal” is a more typical example of her craftsmanship, gradually layering up tribalistic percussion, clean and distorted guitar motifs, and beautifully arranged lead and choral vocals. While this isn’t a metal album, there is a metallic tinge to the guitar solo lines and thicker distorted layers, lending an extra darkness to proceedings. “Coil” eschews this distortion for ominous, pulsating electronica, while 12-minute closer “Lithos” is more ambience-oriented. A journey of 4 tracks with very distinct flavours, Nagalite comes together as a fascinating view into the creative process of a singular artist.
Bandcamp
by musclassia
Heavensouls - Westside Trapped
[Jazz-Funk | Sound Collage]
I am not unfamiliar with a lot of avant-garde music using this glitchy sound collage approach, one that feels specifically futuristic and disorienting, and that is one that, while it usually works more with electronica or pop, can work with sounds that feel more "world music" adjacent. That said, there is something about Westside Trapped that makes that approach applied to this afrobeat jazz-funk-soul feel like a completely novel explosion of sounds. And that says something about an artist that has been incredibly prolific in the three years they've been around, so I expect to stumble upon Heavensouls again, though with how frequent the release schedule is, my coverage will likely be disproportionately sparse.
So take this as a once-in-a-lifetime path crossing with a sound collage artist, who, from what I could gather from the other albums, hasn't worked on this exact sound merge before. Thus, Westside Trapped is unique not only within the larger music context, but also within the artists' discography. A lot of this reminds me of Bríi stripped of the metal elements, applied to a more thematically African sound, but with equally the amount of forward-thinking sound sculpturing that, while ethereal enough to connect with, still feels dizzying to wrap your head around.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
Gorillaz - The Mountain
[Art Pop | Neo-Psychedelia]
Remember when The Beatles had their enlightenment phase after travelling to India? Ready to see something similar from Gorillaz? Well, it turns out that does make for the best Gorillaz record in a very long time, maybe their best since coming back in the late 2010s. It does make sense for this to be the case when this is the first of their records to be released on their own label and for it to come with its own visual counterpart, so there is a lot about The Mountain outside of the music itself that feels like a breath of life for the project that would make everyone involved overdeliver.
The Mountain is a pretty lengthy record at 66 minutes, and one that is also a bit all over the place in terms of sounds and features, but it does feel like it has a core identity around a more "world music" type of psychedelia, a lot of it Hindustani inspired but not exclusively. There's a synthpop touch to a lot of the synths on the record, quite in line with some of their previous records, but the way that interacts with the rest of the soundscape is tasteful but not instantly ear-worm inducing. While I don't like all of the songs here that much, I like it more as a full package, the kind that grows on you, and I have to give a lot of kudos for how tastefully the posthumous features of previous collaborators were integrated.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
Maria BC - Marathon
[Singer / Songwriter | Psychedelic Folk]
I remember a long time ago I reviewed an album called Quiet Signs by Jessica Pratt, also a singer/songwriter record, noting fittingly the word "quiet" described that album. I am reminded of that exact same quality when listening to Maria BC's music. Structurally a singer/songwriter record where the vocals with minimal guitar-based instrumentation remains the core of the record, but made a million times more musically interesting by how the production and the extra instrumentation shifts the focus towards it being atmospheric.
That is of course the double edged sword of me barely paying any attention to the lyrics due to how psychedelic and ethereal the production is makes that feel like Marathon's focus, though Maria's vocals, while quiet and almost existing within a dreamlike logic, feel more conventionally audibly mixed compared to something like Grouper's most dreamlike albums. More than just being dense and dreamlike, bit of instrumentation like percussion or cellos do a lot to add to the soundscape in a way that feels both intimate and ominous.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
Mitski - Nothing's About to Happen to Me
[Singer/Songwriter | Indie Rock]
For about ten years I have heard Mitski be super successful in this sad indie niche, and even though for a while it seemed like some synthpop detours would make it fall flatter than expected, a follow-up that course corrected in a pretty good way that I felt would make me more excited about what she would do next. But I don't think anybody expected how successful The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We and especially the "My Love Is Mine All Mine" track, which I instantly connected with when I first listened to it, would be to the point of being inescapable if you're on social media. I don't have the numbers to back it up, but for a while it seemed like the indie/mainstream lines were blurring.
Having an album after that seemingly watershed moment does create some expectations, and Nothing's About to Happen to Me feels like it doesn't fully find its footing. On one hand, the album's runtime is actually the longest of any Mitski record, but still under 35 minutes, and somehow feels shorter than in it in an unfulfilling way. Musically it does seem like it continues that course correction back into indie while lingering in some Americana waters with just enough of a louder rock presence to anchor it in indie rock. Perhaps a grower and I'll eat my words but it lacks the highlights of its predecessor.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
Bill Callahan - My Days Of 58
[Singer / Songwriter | Americana]
The slacker rock / slowcore to alt-country singer/songwriter pipeline is real and Bill Callahan is a prime example. Originally starting out as Smog in a more experimental slacker rock shape before slowly toning down both the experimental and the rock elements in favor of something more structurally folk-ish and with a stronger Americana sense did also lead to some of his best material, like Smog's Red Apple Falls up to his solo under-his-actual-name material like Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle. That said, it did feel like Bill was hitting a part in his discography that felt, while not like a dud, but at least a slowing down of how exciting it was, and not even a collab with Bonnie Prince Billy could save that.
My Days Of 58 is not a barnburner but it's a surprisingly neat album, both in terms of its lyricism (essential for singer/songwriter records) and it terms of how tight the band on it sounds. As far as the latter is concerned, the backbone of the record is still Bill's voice and the guitar, but a lot of the record has a larger instrumental backdrop but one that doesn't overpower the guitar/voice core, and I particularly like the female backing vocals courtesy of Eve Searls. The lyrics are quite witty, with "Computer" being a particular highlight because it could've easily sounded as corny as when Steven Wilson does it, but the anti-tech rant felt actually neat.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
James Blake - Trying Times
[Art Pop | Electronica]
James Blake was one of the first artists I covered in this series, and thus Assume Form is an album I do have some sort of personal connection to, even if I have to admit that it's not objectively one of Blake's best. But ever since Blake has been on quite an interesting run, the one where it didn't feel like I was failing to connect after a big one the way I sometimes do, first with a more singer/songwriter focused Friends That Break Your Heart and then with a return to more electronica focused sounds on Playing Robots Into Heaven, and weirdly enough a collab with Lil Yachty that surprisingly slapped.
It isn't quite what I'd call a trailblazing run, but it was one that was enough to keep Blake as an interesting name to follow and Trying Times keeps that up by feeling like a mix of Friends That Break You Heart's art poppier tendencies and Playing Robots Into Heaven's electronica focus, with some of it having throwbacks to Blake's post-dubstep origins. Some of the best highlights include the Cohen sample in "Death Of Love", the dark beat of "Doesn't Just Happen" that would've been my favorite song if I actually liked the lyrics, and the title track being some of the most heartbroken than Blake has ever sounded.
by RaduP
Kiss Facility - Khazna
[Downtempo | Trip-Hop]
A lot of electronic genres like downtempo and trip-hop go for a very mellow and atmospheric vibe, something that a name as romantic as "Kiss Facility" obviously sounds like a right stylistic fit for. A duo made up of producer Sega Bodega, whose solo work often goes into alternative R&B and art pop but has veered into ambient and deconstructed club, is paired with singer Mayah Alkhateri, and it is the stylistic clash between the two that makes Khazna the more entrancing listen.
Mayah's Arabic vocals take quite a more unapologetically traditional approach, one whose otherworldliness meshes well with the more mellow instrumentals to create something whose nocturnal romantic makes the project's name fit even better than aforementioned. As a debut, there is perhaps more room for Kiss Facility to play with their sound even further, there are occasional detours through deconstructed club and gothic post-punk that are too sparse and I'd love to see an even bolder approach, but for what it is, Khazna is quite entrancing.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
Mammal Hands - Circadia
[Chamber Jazz | Nu Jazz]
I remember it was six years ago that I discovered Mammal Hands through a recommendation thread on here, got struck by the cover art of Captured Spirits, and instantly found my most fun jazz album of that year. In the meantime I've gotten to see them live for free at a jazz festival in my city (opening for Thundercat of all people) that I skipped a teambuilding event for, and in the meantime I wasn't the only one into it. And now Mammal Hands are seemingly locked in on a one-every-three-years schedule.
What stood out about Mammal Hands alongside other similar British jazz acts like GoGo Penguin, Vega Trails, Portico Quartet, or The Comet Is Coming was the trio structure creating a jazz sound that sounded fun while being completely serious. Now with a new label and a new drummer (Rob Turner, formerly of GoGo Penguin), Circadia sees a Mammal Hands that quite seamlessly flows between each instrument, which is more impressive given the trio structure of the band, but it's the kind of powerfully emotional branch of jazz that feels like a contrast to the more playful fusion kind, especially when some of the littlest things, like the simple repeated piano motif of "Four Flowers" that leaves the biggest lasting impact.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
Pat Metheny - Side-Eye III+
[Jazz Fusion]
So... do you like jazz?
I stumbled upon this album by accident, was baffled by its aesthetics, a question raising title and a cover art whose retro looking art style is caught between a comic and an advertisement (I'm sure some art student would be able to pinpoint this precise aesthetic). It was my first time consciously encountering the name Pat Metheny, so I was pretty shocked to see that this is a guitarist that's been releasing pretty well received stuff since the 70s and has worked with a shitload of people ranging from Ornette Coleman to Joni Mitchell.
For a first encounter with a musician five decades removed from his debut, Side-Eye III+ doesn't seem like the work of someone running out of steam. Sure, a lot of it is because of the band itself, particularly Joe Dyson on drums, just sound so tight together and that chemistry does a lot of the heavy lifting in a genre that has decades upon decades of history, so Side-Eye III+ does feel like the kind of album where the playing (and how well it is put to tape) is more important than the songs themselves. Though obviously, they're good too.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
Gena - The Pleasure is Yours
[Neo-Soul | Alternative R&B]
RaduP's pick
Not to be mistaken for the actual metal band of the same name, Gena is a newly founded duo made up of drummer/producer Karriem Riggins, who worked with the likes of Common, J Dilla and Erykah Badu (the latter especially important for the chemistry of this project); and singer Liv.e, who I've written about before and whose neo-soul style mixing with Riggins' knack for instrumental hip-hop and his expertise of having worked with Badu make this a pretty special neo-soul offering.
I've seen this be called "neo-soul Madvillainy", which I think is a gross overestimation but there's definitely some legs to that comparison in how forward thinking it is in its beats though what's the best thing about it is that it is very lush and sensual in its vibe, fitting with its title, while also having rich details in each songs to make the entire experience feel dynamic without feeling disjointed, like having songs lean more towards synthpop or towards psychedelic soul. It is the best kind of true advertising when an album with "Pleasure" in its name is so fun.
Bandcamp
by RaduP
And that was it. You've made it through still alive. Congrats. See ya next month. Here's a YouTube playlist we compiled out of stuff featured here:
