Oakland, CA troupe Drain the Sky are a post-metal band with bite judging by both their pedigree and their album HAUNTED BY RIVERS. Featuring former members of seminal crust metal unit His Hero is Gone, this squad excels at interspersing droves of droning downtempo movements with jabs of chaotic punk metal on cuts like “Starving in Time” while the overall ominous tones and swirls of hypnotic heaviness showcased on this album (“Learning to Swim,” A Sorrowful Empire”) contain surefire nuances necessary to lull listeners into unforeseen headspaces in the vein of metallic counterparts like Neurosis and Cult of Luna. www.level-plane.com -Mike SOS