New Music Report – August 6, 2021
Oh man, it took me forever to track down all the singles for this week. There are even a few that I had to omit from this list in the interest of space. But man, what a busy week, it’s really cool to see so many great singles coming out, it speaks volumes for the albums that are going to be coming from these bands later this year. I think the last part of this year is going to be absolutely packed with incredible releases, so definitely keep an eye on these lists, and in the meantime, definitely check these singles out.
Ov Sulfur – This album is gnarly. It’s kind of a mashup of several different genres at once, a bit of deathcore, a bit of old school metalcore, a bit of thrash, and a bit of straight up hardcore, and the result is honestly really fucking cool. Also, pretty damn heavy too. I suppose you’d expect this sort of thing though, cause Ov Sulfur is the new project of former Suffokate vocalist, Ricky Hoover. It’s just an EP so it’s hard to get too much of an idea of what a complete full length album would sound like, but it definitely feels like they’re cramming a ton of content into an EP; it feels longer than it is. Of course, the downside to this is that, at times, it feels a bit busy, like there’s a little TOO much going on, too many different sounds trying to compete for a limited amount of time and space. But that’s also sort of something that’s just endemic to extreme metal in itself, so it’s hard to knock it for that. When it comes down to it, when we’re looking at a debut album for a band, even one with such an acclaimed vocalist, we’re dealing with something seriously impressive here; this album absolutely rips.
Lingua Ignota – It’s so hard to explain Lingua Ignota, it’s a mix of folk, neo-classical, and just some crazy, heavy, emotional themes and sounds. The most apt word to describe this, is ‘intense’. Everything else stems from that. This is a crazy, dark folk masterpiece, composed with traditional Appalachian folk instruments, and featuring members of deathgrind band, Full of Hell and avant garde noise metal band, The Body. I mean, how fucking cool is that? It blends these folk roots and crazy metal musicians with operatic and classical melodies and the resulting album is just incredibly powerful. It’s such a truly unique experience that it’s really hard to convey what this album feels like, so unique in fact that it doesn’t even feel anything like her last album, but man, is it worth experiencing. This sort of thing isn’t going to be for everybody, it’s deeply experimental and challenging, but worthwhile for anybody willing to give it a shot to experience something straneg yet incredibly profound.
Singles/Albums – Brand of Sacrifice (Deathcore), Frontierer (Mathcore), Full of Hell (Deathgrind) Archspire (Tech Death), Dying Wish (Metalcore), Wolves in the Throne Room (Post-Black Metal), Underoath (Metalcore), Purity Ring (SynthPop), The World is a Beautiful Place (Post Rock/Emo), Deafheaven (Shoegaze), Sleep Token (Post-Hardcore), Sentinels (Metalcore), Spiritbreaker (Metalcore), Waking the Cadaver (Death Metal), Memorist (Post-Hardcore), Wage War (Metalcore), Don Bronco (Post-Hardcore/Alt Rock)
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New Music Report – July 30, 2021
This week here was a pretty light week, as it turns out. Like I said last time, things are really looking to pick up around mid-August, which means we’re still getting hit with a ton of new singles from upcoming releases that are all really, really good. But conversely, we’re left with a kind of light week for full releases. But it’s a big one for old school easycore fans, with Chunk! No, Captain Chunk’s first album release in six years, so even on the light weeks, there’s something to look forward to.
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! – Time is weird, I’ve seen so many waves and iterations of pop punk, I’m not even really sure what it is anymore. It existed for a while and it was a bit of a catch all term, then it fell out of fashion, then it had a big resurgence in the early 2010s with bands like The Wonder Years and The Story So Far, and now Machine Gun Kelly makes pop punk? And it’s kinda weird to figure out where easycore fits in there because it was always kind of part of the pop punk scene but it also sort of operated autonomously. And thankfully, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk is doing just that, cause this all feels very familiar and I’m really into it. I’ll be honest, I avoided these guys for years cause I think their name is really stupid, but now I’m glad I gave them a shot. There’s a lot of complexity and melody to this album, in a way that’s missing from a lot of easycore albums, but it still maintains that quasi-pop punk bounce that’s just a ton of fun. There’s a lot to like about this album and I’d recommend anyone, new fan or old, check this out. I still hate their name though,
Singles/Albums – King Woman (LP, Doom Metal), Jinjer (Metalcore), Phinehas (Metalcore), Rivers of Nihil (Death Metal), Shadow of Intent (Deathcore), Thrice (Rock), The Plot in You (Post-Hardcore), Turnstile (Hardcore Punk), Telle (Pop, Feat. Mindy White of Lydia), We Butter the Bread with Butter (Post-Hardcore/Electronicore), The Voynich Code (Prog Metalcore), Employed to Serve (Metalcore), The Bronx (Punk)
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New Music Report – July 23, 2021
I know I’ve been kind of off schedule with my new music posts lately but I’m kinda digging this posting two updates once every two weeks thing. At least for now, mid-summer is always a kind of slow time for album releases, so it just kinda makes sense to do it this way. At least for the next few weeks, I’m tracking 8 releases for August 13th, so I’ll probably break things out into individual weeks again then. Anyway, a couple really interesting releases this week that I’d highly recommend checking out, stay tuned for more soon.
Sleeper Waker – This band is sick, they fit in very well with the new wave of metalcore bands with some more technical, almost nu-metal-y elements like Silent Planet, Northlane, etc. Of course, in that same vein, that means it does make it a little harder for them to stand out amongst contemporaries that are frankly incredible. Which makes my summary of this album a little weird. It’s incredible, it hits so hard, the concept is pretty cool, and the musicianship is unreal. I love this album. But in a sea of other new technical metalcore bands (some of them are using the label post-metalcore, but I’m not ready for that one just yet) it almost becomes forgettable simply because of the incredible level of musicianship and mastery of the genre. It’s so good, but it draws within the lines almost a little too well in a way that I know Silent Planet and others won’t. So, I’ll spin this album until the new SP album drops and be perfectly happy about it.
Capstan – This album is so weird, it’s trying to be SO many different things at once, and I can’t necessarily say it’s bad at it, but it’s a lot to process. One second, it’s like, djent, another its pop punk, another it’s a weird electronicore breakdown. Very strange. But I kinda dig it. I guess the average here would put it somewhere within post hardcore. Now, this isn’t like one of those albums that’s just chock full of several very diverse and eclectic sounds, it’s more like a compilation of several distinct genres, but somehow it never really sounds messy. Some of the transitions can be a bit jarring, but for the most part they accomplish the blend remarkably well. I’m actually really shocked at how good this album is cause on paper it should be pure chaos. But the guitar work is phenomenal, the vocal work is top notch, and the pop hooks interspersed among metalcore chugging is incredibly well written. Again, no idea how this makes sense, but this really is a remarkable album.
Singles/Albums – Coheed & Cambria (Prog Rock), Quicksand (Post-Hardcore), Between the Buried & Me (Progressive Metal), Spirit Breaker (Metalcore), Hawthrone Heights (Post-Hardcore feat. Brendan from Counterparts), Carnifex (Deathcore), Bullet for my Valentine (Metalcore), Venues (Metalcore), Attila (LP, Metalcore, this isn’t going on my playlist, sorry), Descendents (LP, Punk)
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New Music Report – July 16, 2021
So, this week is an interesting one, but like, not in a good way. There were a bunch of good singles this week, including the best Underoath song since Lost in the Sound of Separation came out, but the albums I covered were largely disappointing. Not bad, mind you, just disappointing. So you know, check em out, draw your own conclusion, but definitely check out the singles.
Times of Grace – So, this name may sound familiar to like, two of you. This band is presumably named after one of my favorite albums of all time, Times of Grace by Neurosis. So, they’re off to a good start already. You may have heard of the members too, they play in this little metalcore band called Killswitch Engage, plus the drummer from Envy of the Coast who is quite possibly the most underrated and overlooked drummer of all time. If you don’t believe me, check out Lucy Grey. Anyway, onto the album, how is it? Well, it’s alright, it verges on forgettable, and doesn’t really stack up to either its namesake, or the member’s work in Killswitch, but both of those are incredibly lofty bars. It’s kind of just a more radio friendly Killswitch Lite. So, you know, it’s not bad, it just feels like you can get more substance from the latest Killswitch album, which was fantastic. Still worth a listen if you’re a big Jesse Leach and Adam D fan, though.
Bulb (Misha Mansoor) – This is actually pretty good timing cause I’ve been on a huge Periphery kick lately. Now, it’s important to note that this is definitely not a Periphery album, but it’s still always cool to get new music from Misha. Obviously, it’s technically incredible, this man is a hell of a guitarist and a great producer as well. But I suppose on the opposite side of the spectrum, this kinda feels like the sort of thing that is going to be covered by amateur djent guitarists on YouTube until the end of time. It also sort of felt like one big ad for Misha’s guitar pedals and sample packs. But despite all that, it’s still fucking awesome. It’s not like anything this dude writes is every bad, but this really was an enjoyable listen. He played around with melodies, technical proficiency, and truly interesting production enough to make it really seem like a genuine album. So for anyone that wants a super shreddy but also very interesting instrumental album, this is worth checking out.
Singles/Albums – Memphis May Fire (Metalcore), Crystal Lake (Metalcore), We Came as Romans (Metalcore), Underoath (THEY’RE BACK BABY), LLNN (Post-Metal), Opeth (Blackwater Park 20th Anniversary Reissue), Imminence (Post-Hardcore), Fit For a King/August Burns Red (Collab Track), Crippled Black Phoenix (Post-Rock)
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New Music Report – July 9, 2021
This week was kind of a busy one with lots of very strange and very remarkable releases. I’m going to be honest, a lot of this was overshadowed by the return of Structures. I know it’s just an EP, but man is it a big deal. It’s so cool to see bands like this returning and putting out new music again. I’m assuming it’s all a result of the pandemic, but whatever caused it, I’m grateful for it.
Structures – I know this is just a 15-minute EP, but I cannot overstress to you just how big of a deal this is. Structures came onto the scene over a decade ago and really wrote the book on how heavy djent could get, and the diversity that the genre could encapsulate. It was so, so much more than just crazy guitar riffs and mind-bendingly complex breakdowns, there was substance to it; complexity, diversity, very clear influences from different genres like hardcore, and man, did it just blow everyone’s minds. So, when they announced a new EP about a month ago after a 7-year hiatus, the hype was incredibly justified. And despite all the time that’s passed, and a leaned out lineup, Structures are still firing on all cylinders. If anything, this new EP, which features guest vocals from heavyweights like Brendan Murphy (Counterparts, END), the band crosses the whole spectrum of technicality into everything from djent to hardcore to nu-metalcore and just about everything else you can think of, all in about 15 minutes. It’s brilliant, just as everyone expected it to be.
VCTMS – I’ll admit, this is one of those bands that always felt like they were around, but I never really paid proper attention to. They’ve been churning out music with alarming regularity, but there were a few pieces that just made it not quite stick with me for whatever reason. And at this point, I’m still hesitant to say I was missing out, but I’m glad I finally tuned in for this new album. Now, this is definitely riding the wave of the nu-metalcore trend that’s happening right now and I understand that definitely isn’t for everybody, but these guys have managed to do it remarkably well, and in a way that actually seems like it can appeal to a broader audience whereas most bands within this sub-genre were kind of one trick ponies, playing to a very specific crowd. If you’ve ever had any passing interest in this band, this is the release to pay attention to.
Berried Alive – This one is a mixtape so I’m going to keep it short. I’m gonna be honest, this dude is kinda like Bilmuri for me, I honestly have no fucking idea if this is a joke project or not. It’s this weird spot where the guys making it are SO talented but the whole idea of the project itself is so fucking ridiculous it’s hard to tell. But this shreds HARD. Definitely check this out.
Singles/Albums – Trivium (Metalcore), Ice Nine Kills (Metalcore), Phinehas (Metalcore), Fallfiftyfeet (Mathcore), Wolves in the Throne Room (Black Metal), Lantlos (Blackgaze), Fawn Limbs (Mathcore), Memorist (Metalcore), Everyone Dies in Utah (Metalcore), TheCityIsOurs (Post-Hardcore), Vuvlodynia (Deathcore/Slam), Mayhem (EP, Black Metal), Sentinels (Post-Hardcore), Don Bronco (Alt Rock), Telomere (Post-Hardcore)
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