Music I Like – Epically Atmospheric

Some people listen to music for the beats, others for the melody. Some people like to sing along. Apparently, I go for atmosphere. Here are some bands I really like – mostly metal – that take atmosphere to epic levels.

Ultar

Usually I listen to a track by the band while I type up their blurb. But every time put on Ultar, I forget to stop listening and move on to the next band. And every time I do, my husband walks by my office and says, “Ooh, who’s this?” Often bands write atmospheric passages that abruptly shift to more traditional black metal. Ultar does both beautifully, but the real magic on Pantheon MMXIX (that’s Pantheon 2019, BTW) is in how you almost don’t notice the transitions.

.

Vous Autres

One problem with writing about music is that the same descriptors work for a great many bands that don’t actually sound the same. Words like majestic, beautiful, mystical or intense apply as much to other bands in this post as they do to Vous Autres. But Champ du Sang is the only album that drew my 10-year-old into my office with her biggest anime smile. “Pretty!” she declared with two thumbs up.

.

Droneflower

A dream-folk singer-songwriter and heavy metal shredder? As my teen would say, “I ship it!” And what a beautiful ‘ship it makes in Droneflower, the collaboration between Marissa Nadler and Stephen Brodsky. Not nearly as heavy as other albums on this list, Droneflower nevertheless transports you just as effectively to a dark and mysterious place buffeted by chill winds.

.

Nightgrave

There is an atmosphere of majestic beauty and also danger in both post-rock and in black metal, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by hearing them combined in Nightgrave. With “atmospheric” right there in the title of their album IX: True Death Atmospherics, it’s not like they’re trying to surprise anyone. Not to mention that I was already following the band’s page on Bandcamp when they released it. But you never really expect to be caught up in an album like this. I think I could live here, if it weren’t the soundtrack for the end of all things.

.

Wear Your Wounds

I don’t really listen to Converge, so I had no particular interest in this side project by Jacob Bannon. Wear Your Wounds popped up in a blog post somewhere, and I idly listened to an embed, and I really liked it. I probably should have put it in my Dark Moods post, but it’s too late for that, so I’m going to file it under atmospheric. Any way, I love the how the dark atmosphere, dragged down by intentionally sluggish pacing, acts like an anchor to the seriously old school trad metal guitar that sometimes borders on classical. It feels like the guitar solos on the title track Rust on the Gates of Heaven are soaring above the song, straining against that rhythm anchor.