New Music Report – October 2, 2020
These new music posts are getting longer and longer every week and I swear I’m not doing it on purpose, I just have a lot to say, as it turns out haha. I might try and tone it down a little bit, but in all likelihood that probably won’t happen, so I hope you all still enjoy them even though they’re a bit longer.
Sumac – Now, this is an album I’ve been waiting for a long time. Sumac is another one of Aaron Turner’s many projects (Isis, Old Man Gloom, etc) that continue to push the boundaries of just how heavy sludge and post metal can be. Along with Turner, Brian Cook (Russian Circles), and Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists) are no longer just pushing the boundaries of sludge metal but are now pushing the boundaries of what you can accept as metal and even music itself. When does a riff stop and a crushing, experimental soundscape begin? And that interplay is what makes this record really incredible. It’s a perfect mix of absolutely bone crushing riffs, with completely unstructured, immersive noise, and a consistently seamless transition between the two, creating one gigantic, epic, heavy album, capturing an incredibly diverse spectrum of music along the way. The origins of this influence are, in fact, incredibly clear, if you listen to the music they’ve been making ever since they started collaborating with Japanese experimental artist, Keiji Haino, you’ll see where this style came from. And while this album is all Sumac, the influence is clear, and they’ve proven that they’re able to drift away from straight sludge metal and incorporate these experimental vibes with incredible expertise. So once again, Aaron Turner can do no wrong, and has delivered one of the heaviest albums of the year, but not in the way that you’d expect.
Rezn – Honestly, I absolutely adore stoner metal bands that use their band name to unironically make a reference to weed. I know the idea is a bit played out – basing your entire personality around smoking pot – but man, when it comes to stoner metal it just hits different. And this is about as true to the spirit of stoner metal as you can get. It’s so on the nose and lacks any sort of subtlety whatsoever, but I mean, that’s basically the whole genre for you. If you’ve ever smoked weed and listened to Black Sabbath, you basically get the idea of stoner metal, and of this album. For what it’s worth though, this is an EXCELLENT take on the genre, leaning really hard into the psychedelic and experimental side of things; you can hear some strong Pink Floyd/King Crimson type influences throughout the record, and it really compliments the slow, drawling, heavy riffs incredibly well. To the point where just calling this a doom/stoner metal album is a bit of a disservice to the depth and complexity of this album. The mix of experimental journeys and just straight riffage is absolutely sublime. This album is really all over the place, but it does it so, so well, and comes away managing to feel surprisingly cohesive in the process.
Greg Puciato – Before we even get started with this one, I think it’s important to set expectations. For anyone unaware, this is the solo record from the front man of Dillinger Escape Plan. So, it’s weird. Real weird. Genre-bending, bonkers, weird. It’s awesome. If it were just about anybody else putting out this album, it would be seen as a fairly incoherent and unfocused mess, but since you’re inherently aware throughout that Puciato’s genius is at work behind the music, it all just sorta starts to make sense. It’s still an incredible experiment in the lengths that it’s possible to take heavy music, but it’s just coherent enough to come together into a strange, spontaneous amalgamation that just somehow works. I suppose at this juncture, after talking about how it’s a barely coherent mess and beyond definition, I suppose I should give you some idea of what to expect, but it really is a bit of everything, from acoustic guitars to heavy synths; it’s sort of close to the sort of projects you’d hear from Trent Reznor or Mike Patton when they’re really trying to push the limits. It’s a bit of an exhausting listen, but it is quite enjoyable.
Anaal Nathrakh – Jesus, where do I even begin with this? I mean, I guess with the album art. If you want some idea of what to expect from the blackened grind duo, just Google the uncensored album art. Done? Ok, the album sounds like that. It sounds like a pig with cocks in its eyes, which – I shit you not – is the title of one of the songs on the album. They’re not going for subtlety here. The whole album is a fucking nightmare, but as to be expected, I love it. There’s just something SO extreme and over the top about this album, that it’s absolutely brilliant. The clean vocals are actually incredibly catchy and just HUGE, and it’s a very small reprieve in an otherwise unrelenting onslaught of blast beats and chugging riffs. I honestly don’t even know what to say, by all accounts this should be a bit much, even for me, but it’s just so good, I can’t hate it. In fact, I love it so much.