Hope Drone/Husk/Moment Of Collapse Records/2022 EP Review

 

  Australia's  Hope  Drone  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  more  of  an  atmospheric  style  of  post  black  emtal  with  elements  of  sludge  metal  and  noise  and  this  is  a review  of  their  2022  ep  "Husk"  which  was  released  by  Moment  Of  Collapse  Records.

  Atmospheric  sounding  drones  and  noises  start  off  the  ep  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast b eats  can  be  heard  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  angry  sounding  black  metal  screams  that  also  show  an  influence  of  hardcore  and  elements  of  post  black  can  be  heard  at  times.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  showing  an  influence  of  sludge  metal.

  The  synths  also  give  the  music  more  of  an  atmospheric  vibe,  most  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.   All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  on  the  closing  track.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  nihilism,  loss,  suffering  and  grief  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Hope  Drone  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  and  sludge  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Inexorable"  and  "Dwell".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/HopeDrone/ 

   

Hope Drone/Void Lustre/Moment Of Collapse/Sledgelord Records/2019 Full Length Review

  Australia's  Hope  Drone  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  their  mixture  of  atmospheric  post  black  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Void  Lustre"  which  will  be  released  in  August  as  a  joint  effort  between  Moment  Of  Collapse  and  SLudgelord  Records.

  Atmospheric  sounding  drones  start  off  the  album  while  clean  playing  is  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording.All  of  the  tracks  are  very long  and  epic  in  length  and  once  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  angry  black metal  screams  also  start  becoming  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are   utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  and  atmospheric  sounding  post  metal  style.  Elements  of  sludge  metal  van  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  tracks  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  some  noises  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording.  Some  songs  also  add  in  elements  of  ambient  and  post  hardcore.  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  nihilism,  loss,  suffering  and  grief  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Hope  Drone  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  post  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Being  Into  Nothingness"  and  "In  Shifting  Lights".  8  out  of  10.

 https://www.cvltnation.com/hope-drones-new-atmospheric-black-metal-anthem-forged-by-the-tide/ 
    

Hope Drone/Cloak Of Ash/Relapse Records/2015 CD Review

  Hope  Drone  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  post  black  metal  with  elements  of  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Cloak  of  Ash"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Relapse  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  atmospheric  ambient  drone  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  alter  the music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  fast,  raw  and  atmospheric  black  metal  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  adding  in  grim  high  pitched  screams  and  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  influenced  by  the  cascadian  style  of  black  metal  and  there  is  also  a  good  balance  between  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  bring  a  very  melodic post  rock  feeling  to  the  recording  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  riffing  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  they  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  track  before  closign  the  album  with  a  song  that  uses  vocals.  

  Hope  Drone  creates  another  atmospheric  post  black  metal  album  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in the  cascadian  style  while  also  standing  out  a  bit  more  with  the  sludge  and  doom  metal  elements,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  nihilistic  and  nature  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Hope  Drone  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  the  atmospheric,  cascadian  and  post  styles  of  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Unending  Grey"  "The  Chords  that  Thrum  beneath  the  Earth"  and  "Carried  Apart  by  the  Ceaseless  Tides".  8  out  of  10. 

http://www.facebook.com/HopeDrone
http://www.hopedrone.bandcamp.com

Hope Drone Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

Currently four dudes from Brisbane, Australia attempting to make atmospheric and intense music. 

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

Long songs comprised mostly of blast beats and guitars with reverb on them. 

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

The smallness and insignificance of Mankind in time and space. 

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band’s name?

The name was taken from the title of a Godspeed You! Black Emperor song that isn’t on any of their records. We just needed a name at the time and anyone who has done a few bands knows how painful the process is for something that is relatively unimportant to the quality of music. It worked out well for us though; the name is ambiguous, not a stereotypical metal name and ended up suiting the music the band creates. 

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

Most of our shows so far have been with either friends or bands we like from interstate/overseas so I could not really narrow it down to one. I guess our live show is ideally as dark as we can get away with while still being able to play and often features plenty of looking away from the crowd or down at pedals (for my part at least). We are equally at home in DIY venues with just a vocal PA or properly mic'd up. 

6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Yeah, but they are pretty nebulous at this point as we’re working on a new recording. 

7. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or received any interest?

We didn’t really look very hard but we have had some interest from various corners of the globe after releasing the EP. I think it is a mistake for newer bands to spend too much time looking for labels before actually doing anything themselves. The most rewarding aspect of creating music is writing songs, recording them and playing them to people. This can all be accomplished without a label, having support just allows you to expand on this core. 

8. Are there any other musical projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?

Chris (guitar, vocals) plays in The Fevered, which are along the lines of Entombed/Dismember meets hardcore. Aaron (bass) is in a slow epic band called Vassals and a mathrock band called Plainview. 

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Our next full length is already written but we didn’t pick a specific direction to take it in and there’s no indication that it will set the pace for the releases after that. Ideally, I’d like to make each release unique and explore different parts of our sound. That said, the new record is a lot more dynamic than the first release and has a lot more quiet parts, space, slower moments and variety of textures in general while still having plenty of blasting intensity. It is also twice as long. We are aiming for a less intense production to reflect the greater dynamic in the sound, focusing more on natural sounds and creating space rather than purely smashing the listener as hard as we can. 

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

This answer varies depending on whom you ask but for me Neurosis is a huge influence musically, in terms of how they record and how they run their band. Other bands like Swans, Godspeed, Rosetta, Locrian and more obvious ones like Wolves in the Throne Room (also influenced by Godspeed/Neurosis) all have an impact on our sound. We listen to a lot of different stuff really, but I gravitate toward a lot of atmospheric bands or bands that don’t fit neatly into one genre. 

As to what I’m listening to; always heaps of Neurosis and at the moment I’m on a bit of Locrian and Heirs kick. If I want a break from more atmospheric/slow-burn stuff, my current go-to is some Bolt Thrower.  

11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

We’re all pretty low-key dudes for the most part, I’ll generally read or play video games in downtime outside of music related activities. 

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Thanks for the interest in our music. Listen to Neurosis. 

-Karl

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Hope Drone/Self Titled/2013 Demo Review

  Hope  Drone  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric  form  of  post  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  and  self  released  2013  demo.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  percussion,  while  the  noise  effects  bring  elements  of  drone  and  noise  to  the  recording  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  flutes  being  utilized  on  one  song,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  black  metal  riffs  that  utilize  some  raw  and  primitive  sounding  elements  as  well  as  some  post  metal  and  hardcore  influences  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  as  well  as  some  melodic  elements  in  addition  there  is a  brief  use  of  soft  and  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  are  very  melodic  sounding  post  black  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  all  high  pitched  black  metal  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  nature  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it  with  some  of t he songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Hope  Drone are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric,  post  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Advent"  and  "Grains".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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