Postcore seems to be a scene on the rise. The definition for it is fading as fast as there are new bands coming up in the genre. Minsk is one of those newcomers, although they already released an MCD and their debut full length entitled Out Of A Center Which Is Neither Dead Nor Alive. Which is just as catchy as their new album title; The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment.

So Neurosis really got this spacey post hardcore scene started, and new bands keep being brought to my attention. But does Minsk belong in the line with bands like Neurosis, Isis, Mogwai, Baroness and a whole lot more? Hard to tell if I’m honest. Although there is enough going on in the spacey soundscapes that are in abundance or The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment, I don’t really see them adding something extra to the genre, and that’s too bad.

I do want to point out the following fact about this band, namely that they added Sanford Parker to their ranks during the recording process of this album. This guy was actually the producer for this album, and has already worked with such acts like Pelican, Rwake, Lair Of The Minotaur and Unearthly Trance to name a few, and he is also active in the doom metal band Buried At Sea, whom have released one of my all-time favourite records entitled Migration. So with this guy in their ranks, a lot of good can be and has been done. The production on this record indeed is quite amazing, you can see through the layers if you want to and in the end be engulfed by the massive whole.

 

So Minsk’s second album doesn’t really amaze me, but I can definitely enjoy it. The real die-hard fans of postcore can probably buy this record blindly, and to all those others, roll a joint, pop this disc in your player and just sit back, relax, and inhale those ritual fires!