Ninth Moon Black

Personally, I'm a massive fan of both soundtracks and instrumental music. Vocals are all well and good, but I love it when a song can grab my attention and hold it for several minutes with nothing more than pure instrumentation. That said, Ninth Moon Black are my kind of metal band - a nice blend of post-metal with some nice psychedelic guitar sounds and a big focus on atmosphere. And Chronophage is a perfect example of how to keep your metal brooding and atmospheric
while still throwing in some crunchy riffs and double-kicks to keep your head nodding along.

The thing that stood out the most for me though is the guitar work present. Of course, post-metal has always been a dynamic genre (and I wouldn’t want it any other way), but the guitars here swing
effortlessly from fist pumping to melancholic, on through to ethereally soothing and right back again.

It is important to note that Ninth Moon Black are in general a very cinematic sounding band, and on Chronophage this is obvious from the get-go. As such, it should be listened to start to finish, to
emphasise the excellent job they've done in seamlessly blending each track into the next.

Opener "Renascentia" is like listening to the opening of some kind of bluesy Western movie, complete with an ominous organ in the background to REALLY set the scene. It managed to keep me waiting for a massive riff or fill to come in throughout, all the while still holding my interest when neither did ever rear its ugly head.

Instead, it set the pace for the whole album, a lush marriage of doomy riffage and rich soundscapes, punctuated with the occasional bit of synth or fuzzy riff for good measure. As I’ve said earlier, the
cinematic influences of NMB are undeniable throughout, and I for one would absolutely love to see whatever movie this album is the soundtrack to (Hollywood, get off your ass now and MAKE THIS HAPPEN).

Closing track "Numeratio" is my own personal favourite here, possibly because of how it feels as if the whole album has been building up towards it. As NMB have clearly intended for the whole album to be listened to from start to finish, the closing track provides the listener with a great deal of closure. Soaring guitars over a crunchy distorted bass provide an amazing sonic landscape, and as the guitars and ambient effects peter out gently, you can almost see the end credits in your head, and while it’s an amazing end to an amazing journey, it’s a crying shame it’s over so soon.

--Malice - The Ripple Effect

Dark, oppressive, instrumental post rock mixed with prog, psych, & doom...that's what you get on the latest release from Ninth Moon Black, titled Chronophage. Long songs meander and drone with slow, ponderous rhythms, doomy riffs, textured, often times lilting guitar melodies, and booming bass. If your tastes include bands like Neurosis, ISIS, and Pelican, Chronophage is certainly going to be right up your alley, as Ninth Moon Black have really conjured up a dark, twisted listening experience here that creates some serious tension and drama. The playing is pretty tight overall, but there are moments of loose experimenting as well as chilling atmosphere. As the band states, "our music won't be for everyone", and that's a pretty true statement, as those who fancy vocals and memorable melodies might grow bored quickly at these ominous, oten times meandering pieces. However, you have to give Ninth Moon Black credit for creating songs that deliver a real feeling of drama and menace, as it's not often that instrumental bands create moods as unsettling as what is on display here.

Heavy, dark, experimental, ominous, and adventurous, Chronophage is all these and more. Give it a try if you dare. - Pete Pardo - Sea Of Tranquility

Ninth Moon Black hail from the USA, specifically Eugene, Oregon, right in the Pacific Northwest, and they are currently promoting their latest release of psychedelic rock instrumentals.
Having never heard of these chaps and lady before, I was very intrigued when I saw the album cover. I love the band name, and with a translated title to mean Time Eater, it just seemed right up my alley. Barely two minutes into the first track, “Renascentia”, and I knew I was going to like this.
The music really reminds me at times of Tool (especially their Lateralus era), and then the Pink Floyd elements kick in, opening whole new sound palettes that Ninth Moon Black explore. The songs all meld together, creating one gapless track in essence, but each song is truly it’s own at the same time, and it’s good enough to throw onto repeat for a few listens in a row.
One of the bonuses for everyone is that the album is available at Bandcamp for a Pay-What-You-Want. The link is below. Also, it will hit vinyl soon through Orca Wolf Records.
Favorite songs are “Via Dolorosa” and ”Mors Carnis”.
7 out of 10. - General Blaspheme - Funeral Rain Zine

Ninth Moon Black are an experimental/psychedelic post-metal band from Eugene, OR that are currently unsigned. Their songs are more like journeys than simply tracks on an album. The song writing process for this band is clearly deep and all of their songs are well planned and seem to have purpose. Their sound is raw, powerful and is the perfect cross between post-metal heaviness and ambient gracefulness.

Chronophage opens with a very spacious and looming track that’s slow tempo keeps the listener on edge, expecting a huge breakdown or radical change in pace at a moment’s notice as guitars slowly roar in the background. This track is the equivalent of a post-rock version of a passage straight out of Pink Floyd’s earlier years. As the album picks up steam the band’s sound begins to take form. Riffs are extremely tight, drumming is systematic and complex and as a whole the music is just ripe with gritty and brooding epicness. I can’t get over the amazing synergy this album has, all the tracks perfectly blend with one another creating seamless transitions throughout the album. On top of that, despite some faintly noticeable clipping and an album well deserving of a high quality mastering (remember, I’m rocking an audiophile setup here and am extremely picky when it comes to sound quality), the sound staging fantastically compliments the atmospheric vibe. The tones are wonderful as well and everything just kind of clicks on this album. “Animus lumino” is by far and away the band’s magnum opus, it just oozes the quintessence of this album in one long 13 minute masterpiece. The album wraps up with “Numeratio” which is just as good as it gets. The guitar tones are simply other worldly and orgasmically good. This is how all albums should end.

This band definitely has one of the more unique sounds of the genre. The way the band manages to incorporate 60's-esque psychedelic passages into their work while keeping a feeling of heaviness in all their tracks is a work of art and blows my mind. Fans of the likes of Pink Floyd and Crippled Black Phoenix should absolutely love this album. As I make my home in Seattle, it’s also great to see the Pacific Northwest properly represented in the post-metal genre. This is a must listen to album of 2012. - James Good - Postrockstar.com

The first time I went to a Ninth Moon Black concert it was 2009 and some crusty trainhopper-type tried to fight me for my sneakers. He was the doorman, and when I got past him into the raging house party, I found a legion of fans shoulder-to-shoulder in a dark basement, completely entranced by the gradual escalation of a dynamic and refined sound.

“We play post-rock psychedelic metal,” says drummer Kasey Marcusky. “It is sort of introspective.”

Though the idea of introspective metal music sounds oxymoronic, this is in fact what Ninth Moon Black has achieved. Founded in 2000, the band is a powerful mix of dark aesthetics, guitar thrashing and audio hypnosis. Not the type of hypnosis you’d encounter at a whomped-out dubstep show; it’s more like the internal soundtrack of a slow-motion car crash — in a good way. No one gets hurt, but time is slowed down and thoughts become amplified.

Aside from the novelty of Marcusky, who is distinctively alone in her role as a female drummer in Eugene’s almost entirely male-dominated metal scene, Ninth Moon Black is well-known for its visual accompaniaments. The band often projects silent films or cut-ups of cult classics behind them as they play — creepy and meditative films, like E. Elias Merhige’s Begotten.

The next phase of Ninth Moon is about to show itself, as the group prepares to release its third album, Chronophage. “The title and concept of the album was inspired by John C. Taylor’s Corpus Clock and the Buddhist notion of Samsura,” says Marcusky. The band is also going to project cut-up scenes from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis at this upcoming gig.

Ninth Moon Black’s album release show is 8 pm Saturday, May 19, at WOW Hall; $5. - Dante Zuniga-West - Eugene Weekly

How does one explain Ninth Moon Black? On the surface they would seem to be your standard post-metal instrumental band, yet beneath this cold description lies the psychedelic undertones of an acid rock craze. Coupled with an uncanny expertise in form, flow and function, NMB has set themselves apart from the rest of the music scene here in Eugene, whilst at the same time being and integral part of it. With this in mind, one does not simply describe NMB. That being said their latest release, Chronophage, is a seemingly endless sonic adventure and it would do the whole album little justice to speak about it track by track. So read my humble esoteric story of my experience with their latest incantation, and take it with a grain of salt.

Following their first full length, Kalyug, NMB’s latest release has raised the bar on what is possible in the minds of these musicians. The album opens up with a warm welcoming, NMB then invites you into their world with smooth hallow notes shrieking through the sky and consistent beat that seems to match your own heart’s rhythms. This strong opener helps to prepare you for an auditory journey through the depths of your imagination.

This leads you down the path of an audio adventure, where hard guitar riffs begin to roughen up your soul and insert a dark and foreboding atmosphere. Yet all the while there remains the ever softening hallow notes that off set the doom, and the heart beating drums remind you that you’re still alive. Just as you feel close to the depths of despair in your soul, NMB then marches you forward to the promise of hope and rejuvenation. The hallow notes then talk to you, as if the psychedelic chords swimming into your brain became an actual voice. This surreal voice, made through combination of sound and imagination, helps you to question your current reality in all it’s forms.

After you’ve been forced to question your meager existence in this world, NMB’s shrieking guitars call you forth like the mythical siren to help lead you away from reality. After what seemed like an eternity, NMB gradually lowers you back down to earth at the end of their album. It was a surreal experience for me, and I lack the proper mentality to tell you every detail about it. Chronophage is one of those rare instances where music speaks volumes above anything I could put into words. So sit down, listen and enjoy Ninth Moon Black’s new CD, you will not be disappointed, I promise. - Chris Muravez - Exiled In Eugene

All good metal bands need a mythos, and Oregon-based Ninth Moon Black is no different. Its chosen spokesperson is Michael Cremo, author of Forbidden Archaeology, who explains in samples the process of human devolution from pure consciousness into our presently belligerent state. While Cremo is a good speaker and does provide a pleasant turn of phrase to accompany his alarmist message of impending entropic destruction, the real star here is the powerfully driving music. Ninth Moon Black plays like a band possessed, capturing in a brief 30-minutes a level of intensity it takes some bands a whole career to reach. Unfortunately, the band members seem all too often to restrain themselves to provide a vehicle for the samples that perforate their album, and while it is said that the low can emphasize the high, sometimes the high is so invigorating that you want all you can get.

- Stephen Sherman - Silent Ballet

Much like scientific theory, music evolves slowly over time. The juggernauts of the past must be acknowledged and contextualized by every new generation of musicians. Where would modern rock music be without the bluesy, spaced-out leads of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath? Booming, fuzzy chords have lead bands down innumerable auditory canals, and for one night there's a chance to see how three streams originate from the same musical body of water. Psychedelic rock, ambient metal and progressive doom: Dead Meadow, Ninth Moon Black and Middian play music with similar influences, music that varies in proportion and execution.

Headlining the show is L.A.'s Dead Meadow, on tour for their newest album of swooning psychedelic rock. Old Growth is hazy and full of soft songs and droopy vocals. There are fewer hooks than on previous releases, but the songs rock hard enough to satisfy fans of past releases. The band draws on earthy folk songwriting and warm blues guitar solos. Dead Meadow is one of those rare bands that plays familiar-sounding music in fresh, interesting arrangements. Take the song "I'm Gone" for instance — the band begins a hackneyed ballad then adds unexpected bass fills as the song progresses. Eventually a guitar solo kicks in at full volume and then lingers over a few measures of the last chorus. Over five albums, Dead Meadow has managed to teach an old genre new tricks

Ninth Moon Black plays ambient post metal. If you don't know what that means, just think Enya for metalheads. The Eugene band's eponymous debut album is a stunning arrangement of grove-oriented soundscapes. Keyboard noises and a rhythm guitar create a din of sound through which the lead guitar carves haunting melodies. The riffs are repetitive and hypnotic, the drums and bass tight and smart. "Anubis," in particular, echoes internally long after the last note is played. Ninth Moon Black performs in front of a screen displaying disjointed or amorphous images and sometimes obscure movies. The use of a projector and absence of a vocalist heighten the emotional intensity of the music, making musical resolutions all the more cathartic.

Due to legal issues over their moniker, Eugene's Middian will be playing its last show for an indefinite period. Their first release, Age Eternal, is epic, changing from quiet to loud, slow to fast, and back again, stealing over ten minutes at a time with nary a glance at the clock. At its heaviest — "Sink to the Center" — the band is a blue whale, a living Leviathan. At its most melodic — "Age Eternal" — the band is a Black Sabbath tribute band on good acid. This may sound like hyperbole, but Middian is easily one of the most versatile and creative bands making music in any genre today.

All three bands make heavy use of psychedelic guitar leads and trance-inducing rhythms. The night will begin with the heavy sounds of Middian, move to flowing groves of Ninth Moon Black and finish with the melodic songs of Dead Meadow. It should be one hell of a night. - Eugene Weekly

http://www.bangpaper.com/issuu/2010-12-08vol1no7.html

Page 13 - The Bang

First track out of the review bag this month is Ninth Moon Black, a five piece psychedelic metal band from Eugene OR and if you are wondering what psychedelic metal is, then join the club. Damn labels drive me nuts, don't know about you guys. Kalyug (don't ask, I have no idea) 'is a 30 minute concept album and is best experienced the first time when listening from start to finish' and it's also freely downloadable on the band's website, so the only question remaining is will it be worth the effort? Well, shame on you if that's what you are thinking, it's a free download, what's to lose? Of course, if the very thought of psychedelic metal sends you screaming into the sunset, best you guys take the day off. Go have a nice lie down...

I am, as you know, a grizzled old rocker to the depths of my soul so psychedelic metal should be exactly what gets my juices flowing (Ed: way TMI, stick to the plot - should there be one). Moreover, the artwork alone is worth downloading on its own, this is one of the best CD designs I've seen in a while. Anyway, on to the music. Harbinger (as the title suggests) gives you a flavour of where the band is coming from - and it isn't from this world. It's basically a dreamy, spacey chill out piano piece that definitely has echoes of the Pink Floyd in their mellow periods. Kalyug is the track that the band finally makes its appearance, and the build up to it works a treat. The dense, atmospheric guitar driven definitely reminds me of early Floyd and it was the first track that made me notice how clean and hefty the production is. Very nice but, like the first track, pure instrumental and that is the same for this whole EP.

Kalyug doesn't really come to a stop, merely flows perfectly into Causatum, the third track. Definitely then something to be listened to as a whole piece and I must admit I appreciated it more played this way. Satya Yuga (track four) also slides in effortlessly, it's immediate effect being a sonic dash of cold water after the sturm and drang of Causatum. So, a couple of things to bear in mind; you'll need to have a healthy liking for instrumentals, especially of the classic rock variety (really, think early Floyd) and you will need the odd half an hour to listen to it in the right way. I'm not exactly partial to instrumentals personally but I like the way that Ninth Moon Black of updated a much maligned genre - psychedelic, that is. Who knows, if I was a bit younger, this might persuade me to go out and score a tab or two. These days, however, me walking sticks just get in way...

Wow, the colours maaannn. Highly Recommended concept EP. - RebelRiffs: Steve Gilmore Reviews The Internet's Unsigned Artists

One of the most mistaken definitions of contrast in music is having a good balance of loud and quiet. While both components are necessary for contrast, there is a whole world of musical dynamic between these two extremes. Many, however, disregard this world of medium (otherwise known as mezzo) dynamics, and simply switch from quiet to loud as if it is an on and off switch. Indeed, in the world of amplified instruments, dynamics are more difficult to control than a wind instrument or an acoustic string instrument. This acceptance of stratified dynamics is clearly demonstrated, however, on Ninth Moon Black’s self-titled album.

From Eugene, Oregon, Ninth Moon Black is a quintet consisting of two guitarists, a bassist, a keyboardist, and a (female!) drummer that, while instrumental, attempts to convey dark, atmospheric images through their music. Reportedly, they project behind them stunning images during their live shows. To increase their ability to convey, the album is full of vocal samples including Stephen Hawking and Edgar Allen Poe. At first, it seems that the album has incredible variety, ranging from trippy keyboard intros to blast beat-infused metal, but it is in fact a direct effect of their stratified dynamics. Their intros and outros, albeit effective and atmospheric, all work the same way – as a creepy rise or descent to or from their heavier sections through the use of keyboards and ambient effects that often sound straight from a crypt. The album is most certainly dark, as any album with a Poe excerpt should be, and its atmosphere is one of its strongest points.

As the metal side of the band makes up most of the music, it deserves the most discussion. The sound and groove is tight and everything is audible, partly due to the well-done production and partly because of the musical skills of the band. The guitar parts are at times technical, but for the most part simply blend with the rest of the mold. In songs like “Aesthesis,” the synth takes some of the more memorable melodies. Rhythmically, the music is fairly simple, at its most complex making use of a constant switch between 6/8 and 3/4 by placing accents on beats 1 and 4 or beats 1, 3, and 5. In overall aesthetic, the music relies on its pure energy and aggression to drive through the long song lengths, a technique that surprisingly works. In many ways, the music resembles Tool minus the complex time signatures and Maynard James Keenan. Opener “Penumbra” is the most consistently aggressive and driving song, hooking the listener almost immediately with a static swell into the song’s main theme. The high point of the album in heaviness, however, comes right in the middle of the album in “The Silent Set,” with double bass pedals flaring and guitars blazing.

The contrast between these intros/outros and meatier sections often creates a great surprise effect, although by “Anubis” this technique will have already become predictable. Regardless, Ninth Moon Black’s album brings a taste of aggression that the instrumental genre is so often deprived of. Despite broken into five long tracks, the album is fast-paced and its 40-some minute length passes quickly, as it is indeed a fun listen.

-Tyler Fisher - Silent Ballet

There’s a tendency among “instro-metal” bands today to think that if a listener can inhabit and enjoy the soundscape of a long song, then longer must be better. Eugene’s Ninth Moon Black understands that sometimes the opposite is true. Their latest (and third) release, Kalyug, is a four-song masterpiece at only 30 minutes. According to drummer Kasey Marcusky, it’s a themed album intended to be listened to in one stretch, and the shorter duration makes it really easy to soak it all in.

In a live setting, you can feel every push and pull of the atmosphere Ninth Moon Black creates, and this album manages to capture that. Ninth Moon Black conjures emotions and then sweeps them away with beautiful tones and textures and driving drum loops. The beauty here blooms like a dark flower — not melancholy, not bleak, but majestic. Interludes of samples (used with permission) by Michael Cremo, an American Hindu creationist, reinforce the themes presented on Kalyug, that humanity moves through cycles and is currently in an age of destruction. “Rather than consciously evolving, we are actually devolving,” says Marcusky, “moving deeper into a less connected and egocentric mindset.”

The band is playing in Eugene midway through a 10-day West Coast mini-tour, appearing with a band from Germany, Blackwaves, and old friends from Oakland, Embers. CDs will be for sale at the show, and the band is also making available a name-your-price digital download. Ninth Moon Black, Blackwaves and Embers play at 9 pm Sunday, May 9, at Oak Street Speakeasy. 21+. Free. — Vanessa Salvia - Eugene Weekly