New Music Report – April 16, 2021
This week was a very cool one for new music. Another week of very diverse releases, and while I must admit, there weren’t any releases here that I was anticipating would make my own person Album of the Year list, I walked away very impressed. I also recognize that any of these three albums that I covered this week could very well wind up at the top of someone else’s. These are all very significant bands making very good music. Not to mention the very promising new singles from Gojira and If I Die First. This was a big week for music, and I’d highly recommend checking out any of these, especially The Armed, if you’re looking for something really unique.
Hail the Sun – I totally understand all the hype around this band, and conversely, I totally understand how all these swancore bands can start to blend together after a while. They all have their unique qualities, but over the years, it seems like they all blend together more and more, sharing members, touring together, etc. and after all that, their sounds kind of meld together into one. And for all practical purposes, that’s kinda what happened here. I still love this band, don’t get me wrong, they’re a perfect blend of Circa Survive and Dance Gavin Dance, and on paper I feel like I should be more overwhelmed with this album. However, I still feel like Wake was their highwater mark. It was the most unique and fresh, and at the time, it was fairly revolutionary. But now, this is nothing new. If you like swancore, you’re going to love this album, but I hesitate to say it’s a gamechanger. Very good? Yes. But not truly remarkable.
The Armed – So first thing’s first, The Armed aren’t necessarily a band, they’re more a “collective” so to speak. Their members are constantly shifting, and the origins and main creative input of the band remain a mystery as a result. The only real consistent feature here is that Kurt Ballou of Converge and God City Studios, has produced all of their albums. And that’s a heavy endorsement alone. At the end of the day, over 19 musicians contributed to this album (including Ballou), and man, does it sound like it. This album is, by design, pure chaos. It’s an insane mix of hardcore, noise, and art pop. It’s fantastic. It’s a challenging listen, but man, is it good. It’s all crushing bass, droning synthesizers, relentless drums, and dissonant melodies, it’s a fucking trip start to finish. It hardly makes any sense, but in the sort of way that it’s a very artistic application of utter nonsense, and I love it for that.
Cannibal Corpse – Now, I feel at this juncture I should admit a gather grievous atrocity; I don’t really follow Cannibal Corpse that closely. I know they’re an essential death metal band, and I’ve dipped my toes into their discography on several occasions across their three-decade career, and I’ve always liked what I heard. They have always been that band that was consistently there. As long as death metal existed, so would Cannibal Corpse. And I suppose that made it easy to not only take them for granted. So, this is the first time I’ve really sat down and listened to the band with a more critical ear, and man, was I impressed. This album also marked a rare turning point for the band after the absolutely insane arrest of their guitarist in 2018. And I suppose I expected a bigger turn, but it’s hard to shake one of the most reliable bands in heavy music. Cannibal Corpse are the essence of death metal. You know what you’re getting with this, and it’s as good as ever.
Singles/Albums – Gojira (Metal), Clowncore (EP, Absolute chaos), Spectral Wound (LP, Black metal), Endseeker (LP, Death metal), If I Die First (Screamo), While She Sleeps (LP, Metalcore), Silverstein (Post-hardcore), Bodysnatcher (Deathcore), Fear Factory (Nu-metal), Foxblood (Post-hardcore), The Offspring (LP, Dad punk), Trash Boat (Pop punk), Burial Waves (members of Pianos Become the Teeth, Post-hardcore/Post-rock), Wolves at the Gate (Metalcore/Post-hardcore)