Instrumental Metal

Halocraft – The Sky Will Remember / To Leave a Single Wolf Alive [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]

By Killjoy on November 28, 2025 in Things You Might Have Missed 2025, Instrumental Metal, Not Metal, 9 comments

“I find the idea of double albums fascinating. While in many cases they may indicate an unchecked surge of inspiration or an unwillingness to self-edit, there are instances when the decision can feel genuinely appropriate. Halocraft, a (mostly) instrumental post-rock quartet from Greece, opted to split the final entry of a multi-album story into two parallel endings. According to their respective Bandcamp pages, The Sky Will Remember is the “imaginary happy ending,” whereas To Leave a Single Wolf Alive is the “true dark ending.”” Double miss!

Tuesday the Sky – Indoor Enthusiast Review

By Baguette of Bodom on October 22, 2025 in Reviews, Ambient, Electronica, Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 26 comments

“Jim Matheos is not the kind of artist to sit still in one place for long. Best known for his splendid guitar work in amorphous US progressive metal band Fates Warning, he also wields a vast assortment of offshoots and side projects, some closer to his usual style than others. Instrumental solo effort Tuesday the Sky is one of Matheos’ more distant adventures with its ambient post-rock soundscapes and touches of electronica.” Tuesday is a proggy day.

Stuck in the Filter: July 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity on October 6, 2025 in Stuck in the Filter, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Blackened Death Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Drone, Experimental Metal, Folk Metal, Groove Metal, Hardcore, Instrumental Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Nu Metal, Pop Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, 54 comments

July Filters get sticky from the heat. It takes time to cool em down and unstickify those rascals. We did it though, for YOU.

Modder – Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun Review

By Grin Reaper on October 2, 2025 in Reviews, Electronic Metal, Electronica, Electronica Metal, Instrumental Metal, Sludge, Sludge Metal, 20 comments

“Blending sludge metal and electronica make for fascinating bedfellows, and that’s exactly what instrumental outfit Modder brings to the table with Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun. I don’t recall encountering this genre combo before, but the unlikely pairing fits together in compelling and novel ways. Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun is one part early Mastodon and one part The Prodigy, and it works better in practice than I’d ever expect it to on paper.” Sun mode.

Hiroe – Wield Review

By Killjoy on June 21, 2025 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, 18 comments

“Despite the importance that many metal and rock subgenres place on instrumentation, music without vocals often proves a tough nut to crack. Without the inherent structure that generally comes from writing vocal lines or the unique individuality of a human voice, it’s difficult to grab—much less keep—a listener’s attention. Still, that doesn’t stop a multitude of artists from reaching for a slice of the wordless glory. The latest of these is Hiroe, a newcomer post-rock group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, releasing their debut full-length Wield.” Consult with us…in silence.

Quadvium – Tetradōm Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on June 4, 2025 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, 94 comments

“Who needs two guitar players when you could have two master bass players at the helm? Quadvium seeks to answer this question with the fiery fingerwork of metal legends Steve DiGiorgio and Jeroen Paul Thesseling. DiGiorgio revolutionized bass playing in the metalsphere through radical death works with Autopsy, Death, and his own band, Sadus. Even if you don’t know his name, you may recognize these hallmarks of percussive and frenetic bass engineering, or any number of the thrashy, deathly, or progressive albums to which he has lent a wild, throbbing pulse. Likewise, Thesseling has weaved his way around celebrated releases, designing a style equally tricky but heavier in jazz-indebted fusion. Both Pestilence’s Spheres and Obscura’s breakout albums would not have seen the same light without his buttery and bleeping presence.” Bass on bass wiolence.

Cruce Signatus – II Review

By Eldritch Elitist on April 12, 2025 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Synthwave, 23 comments

“One of the scant morsels of criticism I offered to Pillaging Villagers’ self-titled 2022 opus was not explicitly aimed at the record itself, but rather at my perceived longevity of the project. David Frazer’s first solo outing, while a blast to spin to this day, feels like something best suited as a one-off excursion. For this reason, I approached his follow-up project, the instrumental metal/synthwave/electronic mashup that is Cruce Signatus, with a grain of skepticism. From day one, Frazer planned Cruce Signatus as a four-act experience, and for as much as I enjoyed its first volume, it again engendered a nagging sense of doubt as to its shelf life. By its end, the self-titled debut painstakingly explores seemingly every corner of its hyper-specific vision of cinematic metallo-electro-neo-baroque-wave. For this project to truly grow, Frazer would need to up the stakes through an expanded scope, elevated drama, and a broadened emotional palette.” Vision into reality.

Black Narcissus – There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten Review

By Killjoy on February 17, 2025 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, 65 comments

“It’s often impossible to convey feelings with words, so it’s sometimes better not to try. This certainly appears to be the philosophy of Black Narcissus, an instrumental post-rock duo from Belgium comprised of bassist Jesse Massant and drummer Thomas Wuyts. While instrumental groups are hardly uncommon, especially in this genre, Black Narcissus is unique in that bass and drums are the only tools they use to construct their interpretation of the relationship between man and nature.” Into the wilderness.

Million Moons – I May Be Some Time Review

By Iceberg on July 10, 2024 in Reviews, Djent, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, 26 comments

““I am just going outside and may be some time.” These were Lawrence Oates’ last words as he walked into the wild of Antarctica, crippled by frostbite and looking, purportedly, to alleviate his doomed team of the burden of his body. I May Be Some Time, the sophomore album from U.K. trio Million Moons tells the tale of the Terra Nova polar expedition through synth-heavy instrumental post-metal. Relating a story in the absence of lyrics brings with it its own difficulties, but the band had success before; 2022’s A Gap In The Clouds dealt with the chronic progression of dementia, and similarly was a wordless endeavor. Can Million Moons capture the indomitable courage and harrowing despair of the fated explorers on I May Be Some Time, or will this album ultimately perish in the icy wilderness?” Ice, ice, maybe.

Cruce Signatus – Cruce Signatus Review

By Eldritch Elitist on July 7, 2024 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Synthwave, 22 comments

“It’s difficult and pointless to pigeonhole Cruce Signatus into any one genre, but stylistically I find that it fits snugly between the electronic baroque-metal hybrid of Keygen Church and the metallic synthwave of GosT. More theatrical than the former and less dance-y (and less batshit bonkers crazy) than the latter, Cruce Signatus finds its niche as both a cinematic soundtrack to a larger framework, and as a standalone, fulfilling metal record.” Sign of the strange.