"The Last Ferry to Cydonia" (we'll leave the mythology to you) is a metallic behemoth of a track. Essentially, this is a post-metal track hidden within the innocent facade of a post-rock track, but don't let that trick you, there's nothing innocent aobut this Arizona sextet. Hellas Mounds begins with the slow murmuring of the guitars, with the expected, slow rising we've come to know and love. Two minutes in the climax hits and the noisy guitars take the lead. This repeats for another two and a half minutes before the band unleashes the real climax (see, I told you they were tricky). Hellish vocals and metallic riffing blindsides the listener with a Rosetta-esque loftiness, but the pummeling is as swift and damaging as ISIS could ever conjure. The descent from this zenith is particularly dangerous, and the last two minutes address exactly that, recalling common post-rock techniques en route.

Hellas Mounds will be releasing a 4-track demo on July 16th, where they'll be sharing the stage with none other than Rosetta. Things are beginning to boil over in Arizona, where we're quickly beginning to hear the sounds of the arid deserts.

-Jordan Volz