AUTUMN ROUND-UP: GLOAM, CHIEFLAND, CLAY J GLADSTONE
Here we take a ride through three particularly notable releases spanning October and early November, starting with:
Gloam-Well Dwelling
As a rule, I find that shoegaze is much more about crafting atmosphere or "vibes" if you like, and this context is important for our first selection; what those genre conventions in mind, hopefully the reader will forgive the relative lack of specificity for our first selection, a shout-out to Perth, Australia’s Gloam, a first-rate shoegaze act whose EP Well Dwelling was released about a month ago and is, put simply, outstanding. My listening experience was defined by taking the EP in totality—with an ambient interlude in "Wilt" and some hints of post-rock buttressing the shoegaze—in all its dreamy glory. Fans of the genre will find much to delight in here.
Chiefland-Sentiment Valley
With production duties handled by Alan Day of Four Year Strong, German outfit Chiefland deliver this five-song EP Sentiment Valley, which builds on a strong foundation of melodic alternative rock and emo with hints of post-punk and shoegaze as well as the ghost of hardcore. Raw and authentic, intimate and yet at times perhaps paradoxically anthemic (see: "Cannibal" for example), this is a mature EP that deals with real human emotion and evokes it expertly. While all of the songs on Sentiment Valley are of high quality, the two standouts to my ear would be the aforementioned "Cannibal" and the closing track "Silent Decay" (featuring Skywalker), a melancholy post-grunge meets shoegaze number that slowly unfolds while powerfully hitting "all the feels." At around the 2/3 mark, most of the band drops out leaving some light guitar and delicately-textured atmosphere with the vocals before exploding in a crescendo of intensity that was particularly potent.
Clay J Gladstone-Is This How I Die?
Hailing from Sydney, Australia, the raucous Clay J Gladstone are somewhat difficult to pin down genre-wise in their combination of punk, emo, indie, power pop, and hard rock, but the closest comparison I could arrive at takes us all the way back to 1997 and Harvey Danger’s Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? in its self-awareness, dry humor, unfiltered realness, and often reckless abandon. A representative example of this synthesis on Is This How I Die? that shows the band to be a force to be reckoned with is the excellent album-opening title track. "Pessimist" and "Parasite" are two driving, catchy numbers with an edge, and "Post Modern Teenage Angst" felt like a sonic cousin of The Matches’ phenomenal 2004 record E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals as a rougher, self-aware take on pop punk. "Why Does Everybody Hate Me?" is an absolutely massive song that if there’s any justice in this world will be all over the radio airwaves in short order.
As for the record’s narrative context, vocalist Tim Wisbey explains, "After my father's death when I was 19, I developed serious anxiety and panic attacks, which I later recognised as a response to my own extreme fear of death and the unknown. This album chronicles my process to accept and cope with my father's passing. Documenting emotions, situations and problematic thoughts I had throughout my 20s, moving from fear to acceptance. We want listeners to hear the story from song 1 to 13 as it is intended." I immediately saw many parallels with my own journey to recovery from obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is that fear and our adverse reactions to uncertainties that often drive the behaviors—self-destructive avoidance, compulsive in the misguided belief they’re protecting us—that paradoxically keep us trapped in these cycles of anxious dread. To quote Tara Brach, "The boundary to what we can accept is the boundary to our freedom." I’ve been very candid about my own journey and outspoken that recovery is possible. It is not, however, a journey for the faint of heart, as one must not just face all of that fear and those uncertainties at the root of the anxiety, but change one’s relationship with that fear and those uncertainties altogether. Recovery, as I’ve found, is one giant paradox, and we truly embrace that which is most precious to us by letting go of our desperate desires to cling and control. Indeed, as the final words state in album closer "Something to Lose": "It feels so precious ‘cause we know we’ve got something to lose." Surrendering our desires to control and taking that leap of faith to live in trust in the face of what can be overwhelming fear and doubt is actually what brings us closer to what we cherish—knowing and accepting it can be taken from us at any time, and thus valuing it all the more right here and now because now is all we have.
OCTOBER SHOUT-OUTS: DAWNWALKER, HARRY CLOUD, THOSE WHO DREAM
Dawnwalker-The Unknowing
Listening to the "post-everything" London-based (with personnel sourced from beyond) outfit’s The Unknowing feels like slipping into another world, more specifically for me the sonic equivalent of the "flip" into the magical medieval world of The Territories in Stephen King and Peter Straub’s fantasy classic The Talisman. As the record unfolds, it does indeed feel very much like a fantastical journey; affirming my initial impression, bandleader Mark Norgate states that "conceptually, [the record] is something of a vision quest." In the quest to capture more of a vintage prog rock sound, the recording process—which spanned three separate studios—de-emphasized many modern conventions and emphasized analogue recording with minimal edits for a more textured and organic sound. In an intriguing synergy with the progressive elements is the songs’ more pop orientation. Indeed, as odd a comparison as this might at first seem, there were times on the album that reminded me of Ellie Goulding’s "woodland sprite pop" masterpiece Halcyon. Sofia Sourianou’s contribution on vocals adds another strong dimension to the record (you can check out my interview with Sofia and the rest of her bandmates in Deathbloom here, and with Cam Wilson of another of her projects in Lure In here); as Norgate states, she "not only added a layer of gothic otherworldliness that really elevated [the songs she appears on] to new heights, but she also contributed melodies and lyrics in Greek to the song ‘Mirrorpool.’" The lush and otherworldly atmosphere of the record is exemplified by a song like the album opener "Thema Mundi." A final track to note as we close out our first selection of this article is "Fall to Earth," which at times sounded a bit like Biffy Clyro when they get more bombastic. In sum, the timing for this record couldn’t be more perfect as we head toward Samhain when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest.
Harry Cloud-Sexy Tooth Situation
LA-based solo artist Harry Cloud returns with this strange and at times unhinged "journey to the center of the spirit," mining everything from Earth-inspired drone-type riffs to a part on the sprawling "Journey to the Center of the Spirit" that to my ear recalled the Dead Kennedys’ "Holiday in Cambodia." Album opener "Anthrax" is an extremely unsettling track that had a "Moor" by Every Time I Die-like effect but even more gonzo; "Motherfucker Number 1" generally resides in that same universe and is so deliberately inaccessible as to be borderline unlistenable. "Special Ed" reminded me a little bit of something that could’ve been on Cable’s The Failed Convict. Sexy Tooth Situation is a challenging record that will certainly test the listener in a variety of ways. One could not call it "easy listening" by any means. Cloud gets more in-depth with the creative process behind these tracks and some further specifics on my interview with him that can be viewed here.
Those Who Dream-Therapy Machine
Perth, Australia’s Those Who Dream’s Therapy Machine is five tracks that explore different facets of the band’s sound, rooted primarily in rock—"Enigma," for example, is a pretty straight-forward rock song—but with numerous detours and additions along the way. "Face the Truth" is a soft yet powerfully emotive, piano-driven ballad, whereas "Mannequin" is as insanely catchy as anything in the Panic! At the Disco catalogue. "IT SURROUNDS" is another song that has a Panic! At the Disco or Fall Out Boy-type feel to it. "Therapy Machine" opens up sounding like a combination of Faith No More and Falco’s "Der Kommissar" before pivoting into more of an upbeat rock track, although it doesn’t totally abandon the Falco vibe, which recurs a couple more times. Overall it’s an interesting release that exhibits a lot of promise, particularly in the band’s ability to write hooks, which is no easy feat.
CIVIL SERVICE-/// LIGHT
/// LIGHT is the debut album from Manchester, UK-based post-rock outfit Civil Service, consisting of five sprawling tracks that, as per the album’s press kit, are a "reflection of the dichotomy of modern society that flutters between beauty and sorrow, order and chaos, light and darkness." Post-rock, as a genre, generally takes the standard Western musical practice of building and releasing tension to expansive extreme, the build and release unfolding over a much longer timeline than the typical rock song, often by orders of magnitude. Here, Civil Service explore these dichotomies through the lens of post-rock having enlisted the aid of long-time 65daysofstatic collaborator Dave Sanderson at Crystal Ship Studios in Sheffield.
After opening with some sparse piano and spoken word, the band gradually enters the conversation on the album’s first song "She Would Never RETREAT; Their Negativity Just Made Her Stronger." There’s a slow swelling of lushness with some interesting drum patterns mixed in I wouldn’t necessarily have expected to about the four-and-a-half minute-mark, when a fairly abrupt cut signals a re-set of sorts, as the band takes a beat to continue to build upward into an ethereal groove. At ten minutes, the band exits stage left and the solitary piano is all that is heard, a second re-set as the drums re-enter followed by additional layers including the spoken word with the track reaching yet further upward in melancholic grandeur. It then slowly unwinds as Caroline Cawley (Dystopian Future Movies, Church Of The Cosmic Skull) narrates and for a bit longer still before "it fell silent."
The second and third tracks, "Their LINES OF COMMUNICATION, Severed" and "Now Their Backs Are Bent In Postures Of APOLOGY," are largely defined by their driving, propulsive quality while also sporting a kind of post-new wave feel at times, though the tracks also give ample room for the quieter moments to have their space. "She Felt The Yawning Skyline: Intangible" opens up with this gorgeous, meditative section I found particularly noteworthy; the track largely follows this more subdued trajectory with some ebbs and flows before reaching a crescendo near its conclusion, segueing into the final track "She Felt The Yawning Skyline: Meaningless" with an ambient passage. The first two minutes of said track follow the more meditative trajectory of its predecessor before picking up into more of that post-new wave-informed style the band employed earlier. The second half of "She Felt The Yawning Skyline: Meaningless" opens up and out, featuring some soaring "whoa-oh" gang vocals as accompaniment, bringing us to the record’s conclusion, its dying embers a kind of reprise of the end of "She Would Never RETREAT; Their Negativity Just Made Her Stronger."
SEPTEMBER SHOUT-OUTS
Sharp Tongues-No Rescue
On this eight track LP, Gothenburg, Sweden’s Sharp Tongues have delivered "the goods" with their mixture of posi-core, youth crew, and melodic hardcore, and vocals that remind me a little bit of the criminally-underrated Canadian hardcore band Grave Maker. This is a record that is going to kill live, with tons of energy and gang vocals; as a representative example, "Take It Back" closes with this anthemic part that should have a bunch of sweaty hardcore kids putting their arms around each other and chanting along whether in the pit live or in spirit as I was stuck in the parking lot known as I-95 on my morning commute. The album flows really well and the tracks both form a coherent whole and stand on their own merits individually; I was left with the impression of the band wearing their Have Heart on their collective sleeves. The breakdown at the end of "One Minute Left" is the perfect way to close out the album. Reinforcing the rousing, call-to-arms style of the music are the lyrics, which found a lot of resonance with me in their passion and uplifting nature. Highly recommended.
Many Eyes-The Light Age
The contentiousness of Every Time I Die’s break-up along with the measuring stick of that band’s greatness seem to be what is driving most of the criticisms of this record I’ve seen. In a vacuum, the reception would probably be a lot warmer, but with vocalist Keith Buckley’s lyrics much more stripped-back and direct than those of prime ETID coupled with the fact that "it’s not Every Time I Die," The Light Age seems to be more of a lightning-rod than it might otherwise. The Light Age is, though, an album of recovery and faith, and with completely different personnel, so of course there are wont to be differences. Having said that, there actually are a lot of vintage Every Time I Die moments on here, most notably those of The Big Dirty variety. There is a riff in "Servant," for example, that is very reminiscent of "Cities and Years." Elsewhere, the band works in some 90s rock influences of bands like Spacehog. "Future Proof" is a straight rock song and a major highlight for me with its catchy chorus. I go deeper into the context of the band and Buckley’s personal journey’s resonance with me in my review of the first two singles, but given I place a premium on concision in my Shout-Outs series, I’ll close here with the comparison that it’s sort of like Van Halen’s 5150 "versus" 1984 but with the band rather than the frontman substituted. Is 5150 1984? No. Is it still a really good record in its own right? Yes.
Bad Neighbour-Millions
Brisbane, Australia’s "sad rock" outfit Bad Neighbour’s debut record Millions is an intriguing blend of emo, indie, alternative rock, and punk with a healthy dose of melodicism; according to the band’s website, their formative influences included PUP, Modern Baseball, and The Menzingers. There were some moments in songs like "Carried" that reminded me of another Australian band I recently covered in Sunbleached, and in some ways, Bad Neighbour has the feel of an early Title Fight. "In the Car" sounds like a marriage of The Cure with early 2010s-style pop punk, and "20,000 Knife Fights" is probably the "biggest" song on the record and one of my favorites, an anthemic singalong track that positively soars. With its deeply personal lyrics married with the music hitting an emotional chord, the primary thing that stood out to me about this record was its realness. This is an authentic band that actually has something to say, and that animates a listening experience defined by its intimacy and said realness.
LIGHT OF THE FINAL DAWN The Coming Strife Records Compilation
Labels don’t do compilations like this often enough anymore, and so it gladdened my heart to see that one of the top heavy music labels in the UK made the decision to hearken back to a different era with this set of fourteen tracks from both established acts and relative newcomers, such as recent interviewees Durendal. The compilation rips out of the gate with Cauldron's "The Last Words II: Seasons in the Dark," a manic bloodbath of frenetic metalcore featuring a snare cranked to high heaven and one of the nastiest breakdowns I’ve heard this year to close the track out. The aforementioned Durendal are next with the sprawling approaching six minute "By the Sword," an example of first-rate melodic metalcore that recalls early Parkway Drive with a dash of Poison the Well.
Really the defining feature of this compilation is that most of these bands have looked to the first cohort of what we would now recognize as formative of modern metalcore when it was still very much an outgrowth of and therefore closer to its roots in hardcore. I had very strong 2004/Trustkill Records-type vibes throughout, although having said that, it’s not like the contents are merely the next generation LARP-ing their elders. Instead, what I think it shows is that there was a lot more sonic ground to cover there that is now being re-visited and expanded upon by a new generation.
I don’t want to cover every song on the compilation for this review because I don’t want to spoil all of the surprises, but a few other tracks that I wanted to highlight included the album closer "Torturing Countless Souls" by Morbideity that sounds like vintage Throwdown with a soupçon of death metal guitar; Dandelion’s "Hawthorne’s Tea Stained Confession," Thrill Seeker-era August Burns Red mixed with some early Norma Jean and Killswitch Engage; Killing Me Softly’s "Light No Longer Rests on the Riverbed," a mix of Converge, early Every Time I Die, and mosh metal with this interesting almost 90s rock/Silverchair-type part in it; and xDeliverancex’s "To Walk With You in Paradise for Eternity," some premium ATTHEGATESCORE (if you were a Stuff You Will Hate reader back in the day you’ll know why I stylized it like this) with a healthy dose of nervous breakdown-core for good measure. The bottom line is this is a great compilation sure to delight both the core Furnace Fest set and new jacks alike in love with that sound brought forward into the modern era.
AUGUST SHOUT-OUTS VOL. II: SUNBLEACHED, ENUMCLAW, WORN OUT
Sunbleached-I Crawled Into the Hole
I’ll echo my high praise for German "grungegaze" outfit Poppy Wizard here for Brisbane, Australia’s Sunbleached, a band that are sonic kindred spirits, albeit one that hews a little more closely to the cohort of bands like Touché Amoré and Troubled Coast. This five-song EP takes us from the sun-dappled yet bittersweet territory of the first two songs in "No Cure for Life" and "White Lace" to the Poppy Wizard-esque Nirvana-meets-shoegaze with a bite on "Beware of the Dog." This track marks more of an overtly anguished atmosphere, sprinkling in a little "core," which figures most prominently on the EP closer "Hell Is Repetition." It’s very strong work that shows range both aural and emotional.
Enumclaw-Home In Another Life
We next travel to Tacoma, Washington to visit Enumclaw, another band that mines the sonic territory of emo, but unlike Sunbleached, where the influence is one of several others that underpin the band’s shoegaze primacy, here the emo—albeit emo in flannel—is preeminent. I wasn’t necessarily going for a shoegaze theme over my August Shout-Outs, but there did seem to be several excellent shoegaze-centric releases that came out this past month (and, though their EP released in May, I also interviewed Manchester, England’s Deathbloom in early August as well!). Indeed, even here on Home In Another Life one can hear the ghost of shoegaze at the end of "Sink," and as with Poppy Wizard and Sunbleached, there is a clear incorporation of grunge and 90s alternative rock. There are even a couple moments in "Haven’t Seen the Family in a While, I’m Sorry" that vaguely recall Chris Isaak’s "Wicked Game," but overall jangly, deliberately difficult emo is the name of the game here. Further, the vocals are very unusual, almost like a Lou Reed-ian approach to the band’s Reality Bites-type emo. It’s a challenging record in a lot of ways, and like the nutrient-rich multivitamin it doesn’t necessarily go down easily, but what’s good for you isn’t always easy or pleasant, is it?
Worn Out-Low
Lastly we come to Irish metalcore/metallic hardcore stalwarts Worn Out and their relentless four-song EP that sounds like the love child of The Bled and Burnt By the Sun.
The sonic equivalent of a nervous breakdown in action, Low is infused with the intensity and unbridled passion that made me fall in love with heavy music in the first place. It is in many ways a conscious rejection of the polished brand of metalcore that has come to predominate the scene in recent years, and while I’m a noted fan of that variety as well, it is in danger of becoming much like the Risecore days of the early 2010s in terms of an oversaturation of over-similarity. Low, however, feels like it should’ve come out in 2009, and as any consistent readers and/or viewers know, that is about as high a compliment I can pay a metalcore or hardcore band. While adjectives like "feral" best describe the EP’s contents, there is also plenty of groove to sink your teeth into amidst the chaos. Really impressive work by these guys.
You can also check out my interview with the band here.
AUGUST SHOUT-OUTS VOL. I: TWIN ATLANTIC, HEARTLINE, POPPY WIZARD
For those that have read any of my previous month-based shout-out installments you know the drill, but for those that haven’t, the premise is very simple: we look at a handful of releases from either the current or just-passed month that caught my ear and deserved a shout-out! Here we have a trio from the current month almost in the books, and we’ll discuss the second trio probably next week.
Twin Atlantic-Meltdown
Glasgow’s Twin Atlantic may lead off Meltdown with a riff that sounds an awful lot like Incubus’s "Privilege," but the heart and soul, if you’ll pardon the pun, of the album lies much closer to that of bands like You Me At Six. Twin Atlantic have written a number of legitimately great rock songs throughout their career, but Meltdown is their most complete offering to date, with the songs falling roughly into one of two camps: the buoyant, arena-worthy pop-rock numbers like "Get Out" and the more pensive—but no less impressive in their careful crafting—ones like "Sorry." Beyond the top-tier songwriting, the album is lyrically strong and often deeply resonated with me. Meltdown is one of my favorite releases of the year so far.
Poppy Wizard-Holy Spirit Gang
Not to overstate the contents of this five-song EP, but ah, what the hell: German outfit Poppy Wizard are a revelation. They remind me of a dreamier version of Higher Power or if a band decided to take Dead Swans’ My Bloody Valentine cover "When You Sleep" and build it out into a sonic ethos, mixed with a healthy dose of 90s alternative rock and especially grunge. I’ve seen their style described as "grungegaze," and while I think that’s accurate, there is a foundation in hardcore that is lost in said description. Poppy Wizard have crafted a really powerful sound that hits "all the feels."
Heartline-Pink Lemonade
Lastly we come to Adelaide, Australia’s Heartline, an intriguing blend of post-hardcore, metalcore, and EDM melded together in their version of electronicore. The video for "Lovers" below is a good microcosmic starting-point for their sound (it slaps), but some other highlights from the EP include "Synthetic," which reminded me a lot of what it would sound like if Bitter Kisses (shameless self-plug, you can view my interview with Bitter Kisses here) ratcheted-up the metal of their recent single "Dissolve" even further, and the 808s and modern R&B meets Depeche Mode of "New Immune." There’s a lot of potential on display on this release, and I eagerly await to see where Heartline go from here.
GRAVEMIND-INTROSPHERE
Melbourne, Australia-based outfit Gravemind have after half a decade returned with their sophomore LP Introsphere, ten tracks of huge-sounding modern metalcore. Indeed, the first thing that jumps out at the listener is the massiveness of the production, which elevates the songs and adds further heft to the band’s already substantial heaviness. Scottie Simpson (Alpha Wolf, Polaris) is credited with the production and Jeff Dunne (Make Them Suffer, Knocked Loose) is credited with the mix and master. Credit the band for crafting a set of songs that belong elbow-to-elbow with any of the other A-listers in the genre.
The second, and related, thing that jumps out is that "modern" may not be the best descriptor, as the band’s sound really belongs with the cohort of metalcore acts whose music sounds like the soundtrack to some futuristic dystopia or other, reinforced by the Matrix-esque cover art, the Mick Gordon feature, and the electronic textures. While there is a growing swathe of the metalcore scene that’s embracing the rawness of the earlier days of the genre, for a band like Gravemind, incorporating these electronics, depending on their particular use case on this record, adds dynamism, emotionality, the sense of being in some robot-dominated future hellscape, and/or a more chaotic dimension to the songs.
As for some of the particular highlights, the chaotic hyper-futuristism of "Failstate" with Mick Gordon comes to mind, as does "True Life," which opens up with a little bit of a modernized For the Fallen Dreams vibe and features frequent forays into what is essentially deathcore. The breakdown about a third of the way through the track is particularly tasty. Album closer "Pranic Lift" spends roughly the first third of the track slowly winding up to the band’s delivery of its haymaker with an almost post-rock feel; after the dystopian djenting, we’re ultimately left sweating and exhausted as the final nasty breakdown serves as the exclamation mark to the proceedings. Overall, this is a record I’m positive will be readily embraced and praised by the scene.
GOBLIN SOAP-GOBLIN OFFENSIVE
Upon metaphorically popping in Goblin Soap’s Goblin Offensive tape (although you can get the real deal here), I quickly in recording quality, atmosphere, and sonicality felt like I had returned home with a cassette tape of an obscure gem from the 80s I happened to find at the local record store. Dungeon synths lead us down the dank, dark steps into, well, the dungeon on the "Intro," and after close to a minute a squeal of feedback comes in followed by blackened vocals and finally the full band in all its ferociously abrasive lo-fi glory.
While the offering is clearly indebted to early-80s hardcore punk and that is the most obvious touch-stone, Goblin Offensive is also more than that in its intriguing fusion of sounds. D-beat, black metal (more in vocal styling, atmosphere/"vibe", and deliberate lack of polish), TSOL, and Joy Division—interspersed with these hellish dungeon soundscapes—collide in visceral yet often haunting fashion. This is blood-soaked ritual music, the should-be soundtrack to some of these A24 Studios films, or perhaps, as referenced on the Goblin Soap Bandcamp page, 1985’s The Black Cauldron (aka "the film that almost killed Disney Animation"). At any rate, the likelihood you’re going to hear this played at a neighborhood barbeque (unless it’s at my house) is pretty low.
"Cauldron Born" has a little more of a metallic hardcore-style riffing, albeit one run through the filter of Joy Division; "Total Extinction" felt like belonged in another 1985 film in Return of the Living Dead. "Side Quest" (remember: TO THE GOBLIN YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A SIDE QUEST) is the track I think most indicative of the band’s sound encapsulated in one song if you wanted to give someone a "bird’s eye" snapshot of what they’re about. Overall, Goblin Offensive is an interesting release that manages to seamlessly blend diverse influences into a unique and sinister—yet not without tongue planted firmly in cheek—whole.
REVOID-EVERGREY
The Australian metalcore scene has been an embarrassment of riches for some time now, so where does the latest EP from Brisbane outfit Revoid stack up in the increasingly-crowded field?
The EP starts off with a bit of a curveball, as bands will often rip out of the gate with one of their heavier or more aggressive tracks, whereas here the band opts to showcase the strong clean singing of vocalist Dale Dudeson on the more somber and sedate "Everything." "Visionary" follows, with strong 2010s Architects vibes, saturated in the melancholic atmosphere that defines records like All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us and is, indeed, a fixture of Evergrey as well.
On the third track, "Let You In," Revoid once again settles into softer confines, suiting the vulnerability and rawness of lyrics like "It was the night I tried to kill myself and change you with the guilt." Track four, "Euphoria," is a different kind of gut punch, scarcely cracking two minutes of nasty heaviness, but is no less raw emotionally. Penultimate track "Nevermind" is similar to "Visionary" but feels more like a single; "Fray" closes us out with a bit of a microcosm of the preceding five tracks, a suitable, conclusive closer.
Overall, this is a strong EP with crisp, clean production that showcases the band’s versatility and, in particular, breakout potential with their ability to incorporate melodicism and the quieter moments that have found such a ready reception in the modern metalcore scene.
DISTORTED REFLECTION-DOOM RULES ETERNALLY
Greek metal band Distorted Reflection’s full-length Doom Rules Eternally arrives on the back of Sorrow’s Path co-founder and guitarist Kostas Salomidis departing and pursuing this new outlet, with Salomidis also handling vocal duties. It is a project that stays much more in the Candlemass lane of doom metal, eschewing more modern conventions and embracing this more traditionalist vein, though not to the exclusion of other influences to round out the offering, most notably power metal and traditional Greek music. The music at times reminded me of the Irish band Darkest Era, who also pull from this strain of doom and traditional music (in their case Irish rather than Greek). Both also have their moments of theatricality, and are unafraid of incorporating melody, to their benefit. In the case of Distorted Reflection, the opening of "Colours" is one prime example where the melodic aspect actually steals the show.
With metal like this, the star is usually the riffs, and that holds true throughout Doom Rules Eternally. Guitar-heads will certainly find plenty to sink their teeth into. That isn’t to say the other 2/3 of the outfit don’t hold up their share of the bargain, either, but simply to state that the almighty riff is front-and-center here. "Twilight Zone" would be the track that tickled my taste buds, if you will, most on that front.
Overall, this is a record that most fans of metal should have no difficulty finding something they enjoy, again, particularly if riffs are high on your listening priority list. Given the often grandiose nature of the compositions, best use cases for Doom Rules Eternally are probably things like marching into battle or sailing into unknown horizons.
SKI MASK THE SLUMP GOD-11TH DIMENSION
The much-anticipated official sophomore full-length from Floridian rapper Ski Mask the Slump God has finally arrived, delivering a kaleidoscopic vision of dark trap-adjacent tracks that reach out tentacle-like across the modern rap landscape and beyond. There’s "Headrush" with a kind of "Crazy Train"-sounding riff in it, the heavily distorted trap beat of "Hulk," the unique, house fly buzz beat of "Tuk Tuk," the beat on "KillStreak" that sounds like a Nintendo console gone homicidal, and The Weeknd-like "Go!" featuring Corbin.
"DragonTooth" leads us off with a beat that sounds like the electronics in Bring Me the Horizon’s "Dear Diary," and I had to laugh at the SEGA line that reminded me of House of Pain’s "Jump Around." In addition to the scope of the music, Ski Mask exhibits impressive flow and versatility throughout, with a bunch of great lines—some of them hilarious one-liners—on here, too. Songs like "Wake Up!" featuring Juice WRLD and "Earwax" find Ski Mask spitting serious fire. With hardcore band brevity—only two of the twenty-one tracks even hit three minutes, and barely at that when they do—Ski Mask the Slump God rips through high energy bangers like "Full Moon" or the dripping with menace "Part the Sea" in a pretty short drive from there to a full-on mosh pit, and yet he proves he can throttle it back where necessary, too, such as on the first verse of the chilled-out ballad "WDYM," or, in moves which really evidence his talent and versatility, in showcasing his strong singing voice on that track and "Go!"—two of the best cuts on the record.
Overall, this is my favorite rap album to come out so far this year, and as Ski Mask says in "Shibuya": "Let it bang!"
DARKO US-STARFIRE
Two quick observations before we get into the contents of the latest full-length from Darko US, a band that is effectively the Legend to the For the Fallen Dreams of Chelsea Grin, if you will: 1) I love the affixing of "US" to the band’s name; it reminds me of when Architects used to put "UK" after their name (presumably because there are multiple bands with that name out there, but I still like it—it makes me think of the Olympics or something), and 2) How are they this prolific!?
I have long characterized Darko US as Emmure for the Space Age, and this album only solidifies that comparison as we are taken on a skronky hell-ride through the cosmos, albeit not one without moments of intense beauty, especially on "Finding Love in a World Full of Tragedy" (the video is particularly heart-wrenching). Songs like "Starfire" and "Distant World" lead us off sounding like The Prodigy gone djent, while elsewhere Scarlxrd goes off on "Virtual Function" and "Bunny Suit," presumably a reference to Donnie Darko, sounds like a full-scale meltdown in the engine room of whatever spacecraft we’re on before the zen-like interlude about two minutes in; from there, Darko stacks the heaviness back in, ultimately giving way to the dream-scape outro.
The trash talking voicemail or whatever it is at the beginning of "Death Charge" reminds me a little of that "wanner-diddle-danner-diddle" smack-talk Veil of Maya put in "Punisher" before mocking it by playing a savage breakdown that mirrored the original mockery. Marc Zelli of Paleface Swiss (another band that is into placing the location in the band name) adds some ruthlessly unhinged vocals to the track. "Shanghai" is another standout, serving as a microcosm of the combination of otherworldly heaviness and soundscapes the duo have synthesized to such powerful effect.
Starfire is their best work yet, and that’s saying something given how strong their other releases have been.
MAY SHOUT-OUTS: MOONCHILD SANELLY, ONE STEP CLOSER, ANNALYNN, LAKEVIEW x GIDEON
Moonchild Sanelly-"Scrambled Eggs"
The South African Moonchild Sanelly reminds me of M.I.A. or early Poppy in terms of fearless genre-blending and experimentation. In Moonchild Sanelly’s case this is with the incorporation of kwaito, hip-hop, dancehall, pop, and more in really creating this unique sound she describes as "Future Ghetto Funk." "Scrambled Eggs" from earlier this month follows her upward trajectory as she further embraces this vision, at once refining and expanding it, crafting an earworm of a track that continues to push the boundaries of experimentation while perhaps paradoxically also leaning into accessibility. It’s an impressive accomplishment and a great song.
One Step Closer-All You Embrace
With the energy and edge of hardcore, the rawness of emo, and an ear for the melodic, One Step Closer sits at the nexus of multiple genres on All You Embrace, a release that fans of bands like Crime In Stereo, Title Fight, Koyo, Shoreline, and Troubled Coast will almost assuredly dig. Representative highlights include "Leap Year" and "Your Hazel Tree." This is a very strong record front-to-back that also has a few wrinkles up its sleeve. "Giant’s Despair" is one such instance, with its more expansive soundscape interlaced with alternative rock; album concluder "So Far From Me" is another, bringing more of a shoegaze element into the band’s sound.
Annalynn-Failure Will Find Me
Over two decades into their career, the Bangkok, Thailand-based outfit Annalynn return with this four-song EP of super heavy, electronically-reinforced modern metalcore in a style that would fit in on the Arising Empire roster alongside bands like Defocus. Their new home in Greyscale Records (Alpha Wolf, Diamond Construct, Paledusk) is also a perfect fit. Very much a take-no-prisoners affair, yet balanced out with some melodic elements, this is a strong offering fans of the above-mentioned bands should gravitate to.
Lakeview & Gideon-"Money Where Your Mouth Is"
This is what we call "getting in touch with your roots." Best described as "Octane countrycore," this catchy yet belligerent track is an absolute banger I can’t get enough of.
ALLEN’S HAND-CHICKEN KING
Athens, Greece-based alternative/progressive band Allen’s Hand, self-described facetiously as "a cult boyband dedicated to the reverence of the one true Chicken King," despite the zany imagery and strangeness have produced a record in Chicken King that is really quite good. In fact, I appreciate that they’re not so self-serious while still clearly taking their art seriously. What you’ll find here is an album with strong instrumentation and vocals that pulls from a variety of influences resulting in a diverse and rewarding listening experience. As a frame of reference and perhaps signaling where the band’s collective sonic head is at, the three albums Allen’s Hand recommends on their Bandcamp page are Don Broco’s Amazing Things (one of my personal favorite records from the past half-decade), Shiny Eyed Babies by Bent Knee, and Nearer My God by Foxing.
Getting in to some of the specific numbers on Chicken King, "Thermochemistry" is an interesting song that flirts with a kind of funky new wave vibe in between its rousing emotive choruses. "Deep Space" follows, taking the atmosphere of the choruses on "Thermochemistry" and pushing it out into the cosmos, a sort of hybrid of post-rock and the soaring melodicism of a band like Young Guns. Following "Deep Space," "Dellabongo," featuring one of the best bassists in the game in Skyler Acord (ex-Issues), circles back to the funk with a tune that felt like a breezier version of Incubus’s "Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)."
Elsewhere, ghosts of 90s rock haunt the record, while "Barbae" has a Tracy Chapman-"Fast Car" feel to it at times and "Poutsatron" closes the album out riding an absolutely sick Southern-fried riff that reminds me of Blood in the Gears-era The Showdown crossed with some Mastodon vibes. Chicken King is an interesting listen that displays a lot of range and showcases obvious talent while focusing on songcraft. It’s a record that feels very cared-for, and that translates over into the enjoyment of an album that continues to deliver delights over repeat spins. Highly recommended!
WITH SAILS AHEAD-INFINITE VOID
After years of labor as vocalist Sierra Binondo recounted to me in our recent interview, the Springsteen Country-domiciled progressive post-hardcore outfit With Sails Ahead have finally set the LP Infinite Void out to sea. One of the first things that stood out to me about this band is that they can seriously write hooks. What’s more, while there’s a clear instrumental proficiency, this never overwhelms the songs themselves. The songwriting and songcraft is clearly prioritized over showiness, and it shows. "Honey," for example, follows the playbook of most pop songwriting where the vocals drive the melody of the chorus, which pays major replayability dividends; the appearance of pulses. later in the track signals a climactic burst of aggression that has as an interesting darkness-and-light kind of interplay and is a surprising but effective resolution to the song. Another surprising and intriguing moment occurs on "Lemongrab," where the band fairly abruptly fades out and from what sounds like another room a lone acoustic guitar accompanies Binondo’s ethereal vocals to haunting but beautiful effect. I don’t want to spoil all of the surprises here, though.
Some of the most distinctive moments of the record occur where the band seems to reimagine the more accessible in their own sonic context, such as "Peach Tea (Obituary)," which almost felt like prog Paramore at times. Much of the delight in this record is exemplified by a song like "Picture Perfect Pixels" where this accessibility occurs alongside their clear musical talent and around the band’s willingness to explore unconventional detours. That is, after all, the nature of something that is actually progressive, is it not? A listening note here before I highlight some of my other favorite tracks: though I am talking about these songs out of sequence, Infinite Void is a cohesive whole, and the band recommends listening in one sitting, if you can! Other songs I wanted to note include the gorgeous, bittersweet album opener "every day the sky falls" and the harder-edged penultimate track "Catastrophe," with its incorporations of punk, screamo, and metalcore.
Though just one listen exhibits the care and craft that went into making this record, the listener is rewarded on repeat spins as its intricacies continue to reveal themselves. Songs like "Honey," though, demand repeat in their own right through sheer catchiness, and therein lies the listening pleasure of Infinite Void: in subtlety and in boldness, in accessibility and in experimentation, this is an album that has both ambition and tasteful restraint, and never bores. I don’t give album scores or anything like that on this site, but if I did, Infinite Void would get a high one.
VILIFY-FEVER DREAM
It’s only a matter of time until Vilify takes off, and frankly I am at a loss for why they aren’t much bigger already. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with their output to date, and this new EP Fever Dream is no exception—and in its often oppressive, claustrophobic heaviness and feverish intensity it lives up to its title. The best adjective I can think of to describe it is that it’s more compacted. Despite having a song called "Light Bringer," ironically there isn’t much in the way of daylight here.
Fever Dream isn’t dramatically divergent from Vilify’s previous material, but is a further refinement of their sound and sharpening of their identity. Though the band has one foot in the modern metalcore camp, its other remains in the relatively recent metalcore past, with the sound, more apparent now than ever, a synthesis of the two ("Save Me" is probably the most representative of said synthesis in-track). Indeed, when I interviewed vocalist Amy McIntosh in November, she stated, "From the first EP and foundations it would have to be the likes of Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, that sort of thing. These days we are all massive Spiritbox, Sleep Token, Alpha Wolf sweaters just like everyone else haha." One can hear skronky Diamond Construct-esque riffs on songs like "Save Me" and "Rot By Design" and a panicked riff that is reminiscent of Every Time I Die’s "Fear and Trembling" in "Hang.Draw.Quarter." Fans of crushingly-heavy early- to mid-2010s metalcore bands like Legend and Those Who Fear will also find much to like on this EP.
Elsewhere, suiting the subject matter perfectly, the filthy and nasty "Split Tongue" spits venom at the venomous: "Split tongue is about those slithery, slippery little snakes that are only out for themselves," explains the band. The electronic elements in "Light Bringer" add both melodic touches to the chorus and atmosphere throughout a track that’s more in the modern metalcore camp. In what is catnip for this reviewer, the song has a killer two-step part leading up to a breakdown that will devastate live. The whole EP will, really. Fever Dream is a rousing success in Vilify’s mixing of different styles and eras of metalcore on their palette to produce something fresh and distinct.
MARCH SHOUT-OUTS: COMEBACK KID, DEFOCUS, ZOMBI
Comeback Kid-Trouble
Don’t call it a comeback, they’ve been here for years, rockin’ their peers, puttin’ suckers in fear. While melodic hardcore has been overshadowed of late by the more death metal-influenced and Merauder varieties of the genre, Manitoba’s finest Comeback Kid is still carrying the torch over two decades into their career. Whether it’s the live show energy captured in recording, the ready-made for the circle pit of "Disruption," or the singalong chorus in "Chompin’ at the Bit," all the hallmarks fans love about the band are here and are proof positive they’re not slowing down any time soon. Indeed, the EP’s lead track "Trouble in the Winner’s Circle" is a perfect encapsulation of everything that makes Comeback Kid great and stacks up with any of their best songs.
Defocus-There is a Place for Me on Earth
Defocus, from Germany, are one of the promising young bands pushing metalcore into the future, and I was privileged to be able to interview them recently about this record, among other things. They remind me in some ways of bands like Landmvrks or Novelists FR who refuse to remain within narrow sonic confines, while nevertheless still maintaining their immediately-recognizable sound. There were a few points in the album I was getting some Ten56. vibes as well. The production is crisp and full, and the music crushing; the experimentation is tasteful and the electronic textures accent the band’s strengths. Some highlights from the album would include the trap metal-influenced "hybrid anthem" featuring One.RF, the high-energy banger "Biased," and the Bring Me the Horizon Post Human: Survival Horror-esque "Let the Bond Be My Grave."
Zombi-Direct Inject
Years ago when I discovered Zombi, I was elated to find a modern band that scratched my vintage horror (especially zombie) film synth-centric soundtrack itch; I had not kept up with them since Surface to Air, though, so when I saw that they would be bringing us their seventh full-length in Direct Inject, I was intrigued by what I’d find after so long away from their music. Right off the bat, the title track had me in a time warp, with its first half mining Rocky IV soundtrack montage music territory and its second half switching gears into prime John Carpenter/George Romero movie magic mode. "The Post-Atomic Horror" is another song cut from that horror cloth. Elsewhere, "Sessuale II" orients itself around chilled-out 80s saxophone for a good chunk of the track, gradually morphing into more of what I would describe as "all-inclusive resort prog." Direct Inject is an interesting update and combination of vintage sounds ranging from Goblin to Kraftwerk without being mere tribute-paying. Consider me still a fan.
HERO IN ERROR-SELF-TITLED EP
I became a fan of Irish metalcore outfit Hero In Error through their exceptional 2011 debut The High Point of New Lows, an EP that has aspects of bands like Every Time I Die and SikTh, but which really boasts a distinct sound all their own. It still sounds ahead of its time today. It was not until 2016, however, that we got new music from Hero In Error in the form of a single that leads off the 2017 EP Obey, but that’s been it for recorded music from the band until now (for more on the backstory that brings us to this EP, as well as more context about the EP itself, you can watch my interview with guitarists Gary and Rob here!), with the band’s three-track self-titled EP releasing next month, their first new music in seven years.
Both of the first two tracks of the EP—"Enemy Within," released as a single in mid-February, which leads off the new offering, and "Moths to a Flame"—incorporate a lot of atmospheric elements that wash in and out of the songs, creating a dream-like soundscape that often comingles with the punchier heaviness. "Enemy Within" opens with some high desert, mirage-like ambience, which carries across large stretches of the track and ultimately makes the heaviness—especially the breakdown in the song’s home-stretch—hit that much harder. The song feels a little After the Burial-ish in its effect at times. "Moths to a Flame" follows a similar playbook, but this shouldn’t be read as "re-hashing," as it’s just as dynamic and interesting a cut with its skillful execution and dream-like, melancholy atmosphere; the introduction of clean vocals also adds some memorable variety.
"Left in Your Absence" closes us out as the sonic cousin of the first two tracks, but one which is much more hardcore in orientation with its Returners-era Ghost Inside vibe. It’s another very well-executed track that makes great use of melody to provide added emotional texture to the "core," a dynamic exhibited in its variations to strong effect across the EP. It’s an invigorating and welcome return from a band I've been waiting seven years to hear more from. Now, hopefully we won’t have to wait until 2032 for more new music!
PALEDUSK-PALEHELL
Japanese band Paledusk have been twisting heads since their arrival on the scene, and their latest EP PALEHELL does not scale back on their intensely forward-looking ambition nor do anything to derail the hype train with its level of craftsmanship, densely-packed songs, and dizzying array of abrupt stylistic left turns and genre shifts.
"PALEHELL" kicks the EP off with its pop punk meets hoe-down meets metal meets arena rock with an anthemic chorus; it’s a massively-catchy song that showcases a more restrained (relatively-speaking) side of the band. Track two, "SUPER PALE HORSE" featuring CVLTE, leads off with a deranged mash-up of what sounds like the kind of organ you might hear at a hockey game with an old Nintendo videogame soundtrack and some Sirius XM Octane-core with another anthemic chorus in tow; with yet more diverse influences incorporated, it’s another example of the band’s experimentation looking zany and all over the place on paper that counter-intuitively flows seamlessly and is not just a coherent song but is a rousing success. Similarly but more exhaustively, "I’m ready to die for my friends" featuring VIGORMAN is a wild ride of rap, reggaeton, rockabilly, drum n bass, Disney Channel-like pop, metal (there’s a nasty breakdown in there), some tongue-in-cheek cult-like vibes, and more, and although that reads like everything-but-the-kitchen-sink, it somehow works, and well.
"TRANQUILO!” is anything but—a savage, glitchy borderline deathcore cut that clocks in at less than a minute-and-a-half. At its outset, "RUMBLE" hints at the shape the song will take in its second half but not before some punishing metalcore followed by a part that sounds like the interlude in "Smack My Bitch Up" by The Prodigy; the band then segues back into its post-modern variant of metalcore, followed by this strange klezmer-ish part, then some throwback nervous-breakdown-core-style metalcore. Following that, the second half of the song finds Paledusk and Masato Hayakawa of Coldrain doing a soaring rendition of "boy band metal"-meets-Babymetal.
The penultimate track "NO!" flies by in less than two minutes of delirious djenting before we get the Crossfaith-esque "Q2," a comparison which makes sense with that band’s feature; "Q2" brings what is at times a rollercoaster of a listen in the best possible sense to a satisfying conclusion in its strength as a track and in its tonal symmetry with the EP’s opening. Fresh and invigorating, Paledusk are a force, and these seven songs are more evidence why.