New Music Report – August 28, 2020
Still a few days behind on my new music posts, but there were some pretty gnarly albums that came out last week. Unlike last week, which was fairly diverse, these are all very dark, heavy, fairly sinister albums, but they’re all really, really excellent. And truthfully, while they’re all metal, that’s where the similarities end, so I definitely recommend checking out each of these.
Spook the Horses – These guys are really rad, I’m particularly proud of this find. I happened across these completely by chance a few years ago writing one of my very first weekly music update posts. I was light on things to talk about and found this band with a cool name and were labeled “atmospheric sludge metal”. And well, I was fucking sold with that one. And now here we are, several years and many new music posts down the road, and these guys are even better than when I found them. This new album sounds like a dirtier and more grating Cult of Luna, with a touch of black metal thrown in the mix, as well. In fact, the vocals even sound like a more chaotic and dissonant Johannes Persson. Which is very high praise, of course, cause I love Cult of Luna and garishly chaotic music in general. So, they definitely lived up to the “atmospheric sludge metal” label, and this new album is a great listen. It’s a stellar progression from their last album, which was a bit more melancholic, not to say it wasn’t dark or heavy, but this one really goes for it. There’s a lot more brute force and abrasive noise on this album and I really think it’s all the better for it. And even more importantly, I never got the feeling that they sacrificed any of the depth of this album to obtain some of the punchiness. There’s still a lot to unpack here and it’s going to take a few listens to really digest the whole, but I absolutely feel it’s worth the effort.
Pig Destroyer EP – This album is gnarly. But of course, that will come as no surprise to anybody that’s familiar with Pig Destroyer. What is interesting though, is how they approached this album, this isn’t your typical grind album with 15 tracks coming in at a runtime of 30 minutes. It’s actually, curiously enough, a 6 song EP, featuring an interlude track, and a nearly 12 minute long pulsing, almost industrial song. The whole album is incredibly discomforting and oppressive, but in two very distinct ways the act as a stark contrast to one another. There are the brutal grind tones of the first three tracks, followed up by the incredibly strange and eerie latter half made of up ambient field recordings, avant garde electronic noise, distorted vocals, and industrial grooves. The whole EP is a completely savage mindfuck, and I love it. Thematically, it’s as dark and brutal as you’d ever expect from Pig Destroyer, but this truly strange execution of those undertones is absolutely inspired.
Necrot – Death metal has been seeing a huge resurgence lately and honestly, I’m here for it. And the great part is there are tons of different flavors and reinterpretations of the classic sound that has set the foundation for heavy music for almost 40 years now. The hardcore kids are getting their hands on it, new school thrash bands are incorporating traditional death metal riffs into their songs, even black metal is getting involved. But sometimes you just want the real deal. Solid, classic death metal in its most genuine form. And for that, we have Necrot. A brilliant contemporary take on classic death metal; it sounds familiar, but still modern. Like, it sounds like it was supposed to sound like it was recorded in the guitarist’s basement in 1987, but it still sounds great and never ends up sounding like another half-baked Slayer rip off band. And I think it’s really important to have bands like Necrot pushing this genre forward. While there are other bands out there utilizing death metal elements, and there are tons of aging death metal acts still cranking out music, it’s incredibly important to have fresh, young acts like this pushing the genre forward in a genuine way; blazing a path forward so there is still something recognizable yet new to look forward to. And this new album is another spectacular step forward towards creating something great, and keeping this genre alive, young, and exciting.
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New Music Report – August 21, 2020
This week was actually quite an interesting week for new music. Most of these releases are pretty far out of my usual wheelhouse but I genuinely enjoyed all of them, so you really can’t go wrong anywhere. One of these was a HUGE standout for me and will probably be in rotation for a long time to come. So, check em out and let me know what you think.
Be Well – I absolutely adore this record. It’s very simple at its core, it’s just a classic, nostalgic take on emotional hardcore and 90s post hardcore that largely stemmed from the DC area back in the day, made by some of the musicians that have helped make this area – and the hardcore scene in general – so special over the years. And while the member list is incredibly impressive – featuring members of Darkest Hour, Bane, Battery, Fairweather, with Brian McTernan on vocals, who I guarantee has produced some of your favorite albums – this band is SO much more than the sum of its parts. This isn’t your typical supergroup putting together an album in their downtime. There is just something about this album that feels so earnest and familiar that it evokes strong emotions instantly. But this is brand new; the music is new, the band is new, they all have primary projects and focuses, but this feels so right, so comforting. It feels like all the best and most honest hardcore albums that I grew up with; it feels like home, and that’s about the highest praise I can give an album.
The Killers – I know it’s hard to look past the early-00s indie hype these guys garnered for their debut efforts, but there’s really a ton of depth to this band and I think it’s absolutely fascinating. I kind of wrote them off after that album as being more a novelty than anything else, but somehow happened back across them after they released Battle Born back in 2013 and I was absolutely blown away. They’ve been plugging away with this truly excellent style of reembodied 80’s pop rock reminiscent of Billy Joel, somehow walking the line between epic stadium rock, and top-down, summer cruising music. And the result is just so, so good. I know this is a big departure from the stuff I usually write about, but I’ve honestly really loved this new sound The Killers have been honing this past decade, and this album is quite possibly the best interpretation of that sound yet.
Blaqk Audio – If you told me back in 2007 that I’d still be writing about this AFI side project in 2020 I’d say you were crazy. This might actually be the craziest part about this album. The said, the sound and vibe of this project has slowly come closer and closer in line with what we expect from AFI, and I know Davey and Jade are really into this darkwave sound, so I guess it really isn’t all that out there. So on to the actual music itself, well, it’s actually pretty good. I always knew that I only listened to this project because it’s Davey and Jade from AFI; it’s been cool, and you can tell it’s something they enjoy, but it’s never really been my thing, and never quite scratched that AFI itch as well as I’d hoped it would. This album is about the same, but the production quality is continuing to increase, and you can tell that Davey’s vocal hooks feel VERY at home in this environment. So, in that regard, it’s a very fun album to listen to.
Bright Eyes – Back in high school, I couldn’t fall asleep without music, so I had a little stereo in my room with a three CD changer. And for nearly my entire high school career, I fell asleep to the same three albums, and one of those was I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning by Bright Eyes. As a result, this band played a fairly subdued yet incredibly important role in my formative years, as they did with countless other musicians and fans as the band cemented themselves as indie legends, universally regarded as one of the most important artists in recent memory. Fast forward a number of years, and I became reacquainted with Connor Oberst through his various collaborations with Phoebe Bridgers. And now, it feels as though things have come full circle with the first new Bright Eyes album in 9 years. It feels like a real life Bright Eyes album, which is a great thing to feel after nine years without one. It’s deeply personal, dark, and generally depressing, while being bumped along by the upbeat, hopping grooves that are sprinkled throughout these dark and despondent records. It’s good to have them back.
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New Music Report – August 14, 2020
I only have a couple of albums to talk about this week, unfortunately, but somehow, they’re two of the heaviest albums I’ve ever heard in my life. And the juxtaposition of the two creates a very interesting dichotomy of heavy music as a whole. One is basically kawaii-core from Slovenia, and the other is disgusting quarter time doom metal. So yeah, it’s been a good week.
Within Destruction – I don’t even know where to start with this one. Within Destruction is a Slovenian deathcore band with absolutely cringe-worthy lyrics, some of the most brutal deathcore breakdowns I’ve ever heard, anime samples, and influences from… J-pop? You know when people say, “How can you understand what they’re saying? It’s just screaming.” In this case, that’s a good thing. But to be perfectly honest, it doesn’t matter how dumb the lyrics are cause this album is absolutely bonkers. It’s so god damn heavy; you can hear some solid influences from bands like Crystal Lake and such (there’s actually a guest feature from Ryo), but there’s just so much of this album that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. And honestly, the most puzzling thing about it is that I love it. So much. You really just have to check this out for yourself, cause on paper this album is just nonsense, but the execution is surprisingly cohesive. I mean, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t like, a deep, revolutionary moment in the progression of deathcore. But it certainly is a fun, disgustingly heavy album that isn’t afraid to try something new or look a little bit silly. And for that alone, I love it.
Primitive Man – Sticking with the soul-crushingly heavy theme we’ve got going this week but coming from a completely different end of the spectrum, this is the most jarring, abrasive, and heavy sludge/doom metal I’ve ever heard in my life. This isn’t the kind of doom metal that just sounds like a bunch of dudes that smoke too much weed and listen to too much Sabbath found B-tuning on their guitars. This is HEAVY. Have you ever taken an album and played it at like, quarter speed and it sounds absolutely sinister? That’s what Primitive Man is like, full stop. With a foundation of dissonant noise setting an unrelenting tone throughout the album, the riffs on top are hefty, sludgy beatdown to break apart the grating undertones and compliment the vocals that sound like they’re straight out of a horror movie. And these elements combine into a supremely discomforting drone that’s laden with an absolutely incredible attention to detail and nuance that make this not only the heaviest album in recent memory, but also incredibly deep and captivating to listen to. To put it bluntly, it’s magnificent.
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New Music Report – August 7, 2020
New Music Report – July 31, 2020
This new music post is super short. I think we’re definitely into the part of the release season that’s been royally fucked over by COVID. So unfortunately, the pickings are slim this week, but there’s still something to write about, so here we go.
Northlane – Technically, this isn’t a new album. This is the deluxe version of last year’s Alien, it’s basically just instrumental tracks and a bonus single. That said, this was one of my absolute favorite albums that came out last year, and my undisputed favorite of the new wave of numetal-ish metalcore albums that have been coming out lately. This is the most progressive and fresh take on this sound I’ve ever heard. It’s not just re-hashed metalcore with an occasional Slipknot riff and synth breakdown, it’s an incredibly complex and dynamic piece of music that manages to eclipse not only most other contemporary numetal or metalcore albums that have been released around it. So basically, this isn’t a new album at all, this is just another opportunity for me to talk about a truly remarkable and novel piece of heavy music that I highly recommend everyone check out. It won’t be for everybody, but it’s interesting enough to certainly be worth the listen.
Upon A Burning Body – There is absolutely nothing contemporary about this EP. If it came out 10 years ago, it would still feel kind of dated. But I mean, that’s kind of what you expect with Upon A Burning Body; good ol’ southern metalcore that was very much in fashion 12-15 years ago with bands like Maylene, He Is Legend, super old Memphis May Fire (their first EP, before Matty), and Big Dirty-era ETID. Now, this isn’t quite as good as any of those bands, but it’s still a fun, straightforward EP with some nostalgic metalcore from an era that I honestly miss quite a bit. So, you know, for a little trip back to the days of metalcore past, it’s pretty cool, but that’s about it.
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New Music Report – July 24, 2020
I know I said last week that we’re in a bit of a lull right now, and I suppose in a way, that’s still true. Instead of 5 or 6 albums, I’m only talking about two, but MAN is one of these albums a big one. I’ve been talking about The Acacia Strain all fucking year, it feels like, and this week is the culmination of all of that hype and praise. So enjoy, now I promise I’ll shut up about them until it’s time for my top 10 list at the end of the year.
The Acacia Strain – Before even pressing play, this album has album of the year potential. Everything from the surprise mini EP releases, the suspense of guessing the album name, the absolutely INCREDIBLE album art, etc. TAS have really set the bar high with this one; this is already the coolest release this year. That said, we’ve heard the majority of these songs before, but listening to them as part of a big, cohesive piece really adds even more dimension to it. I’ve been captivated by this album for about 7 months now, so actually having it in front of me is a real treat, but it really lived up to expectations. In fact, this might just be the best Acacia Strain album yet. Which I know is a huge bar to live up to, but I’m genuinely convinced this album is not only their most creative yet, but the most diverse, and the biggest step up from their typical sound. Now, this isn’t like It Comes In Waves – I consider that to be kind of a standalone, anyway – because it sticks close to what they have been known for, but it really is just all that much better. It’s weird, it’s kind of hard to approach this objectively as a new, complete album since I already considered all these songs as individual pieces released throughout the year, but it’s an interesting new challenge that I happened to enjoy quite a bit. I’m going to be singing the praises of not only this album, but the novel approach to an album release, for quite a while to come, this is just excellent.
Neck Deep – I’m gonna get straight to the point: I’m not feeling this album. I loved early Neck Deep; really excellent, bouncy 2010’s pop punk. But the past few albums have slid really far into an “alt rock with leftover whiny pop punk vocals” kinda thing. It reminds me a lot of Yellowcard and New Found Glory from like 2003/4, and I feel the same way about Neck Deep now as I did about them back then. I get what they’re trying to do, I really do, and I understand the appeal, but I also recognize that it isn’t for me. It’s pop punk with about an 80% emphasis on the pop, and that’s just fine, they’re very good at it, despite a few somewhat boring and lackluster tunes on this album. In fact, if you want to check out the highlights, go listen to the singles. So, if you want a nostalgia trip back to the days of Simple Plan and Yellowcard, definitely check this album out. I wouldn’t fault you for it for a second, it’s just not for me.
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