SH*T THAT CAME OUT YESTERDAY – THE MAY 10, 2011 EDITION
New releases from Hate Eternal, The Gates of Slumber and Zombi highlight this week’s new metal. MS new release kingpin Vic Vaughn breaks those and more new albums down after the break.
Ark of the Covenant – Separation (Strike First)
Truly awful. Combine standard metalcore with some layered, poppy-in-an-awful-way lyrics, and a lot of preaching, and you’ve got Ark of the Covenant’s Separation. Honestly, just listen to “Separated” and “Locusts Look Like Horses” and you’ll get the gist of this.
Balance and Composure – Separation (No Sleep Records)
Two shitty records named Separation in one week! I have to say that I actually dig BaC’s music, which is sort of a melodic hardcore sound, but those pop-punk vocals are a buzzkill. This is the band’s third full-length.
Catalepsy – Bleed (Eulogy)
The two tracks posted on Catalepsy’s Facebook page, “Goliath” and “Cthnonian”, sound like pretty generic deathcore until you get about three quarters of the way through. It sounds like a DJ remixed the breakdown, only in the song. It sounds… weird. Besides the odd breakdowns, this is some alright stuff. This is Catalepsy’s second full-length, following 2008’s Iniquity.
Forty Winters – Reflection (Dead Truth)
This is some pretty awesome metallic hardcore for a change. Currently streaming just a few tracks on their Myspace, these tracks definitely leave you wanting more from this, the band’s first album. This is simplistic stuff, but it never really gets boring. This is the band’s first full-length record.
Hate Eternal – Phoenix Amongst The Ashes (Metal Blade)
Hate Eternal’s first album since 2008 is also their first with ex-Vile bassist JJ Hrubovcak. Back in April, Axl and Anso double-interviewed Hate Eternal mastermind Erik Rutan, and MetalSucks is now hosting a full album stream. Expect nothing less than some awesome br00tal death metal as with anything Hate Eternal puts out. Duh.
The Gates of Slumber – The Wretch (Rise Above)
Through four full-lengths and numerous lineup shifts, Karl Simon has managed to keep doom monsters TGoS together for 13 years now. The Wretch follows 2009’s Hymns of Blood and Thunder. The Gates of Slumber are always a band I like to see releasing new records, and I can’t wait to get my hands on this.
Scelestus — Scelstus (Megaforce)
The debut release from a new band featuring current and former members of Mushroomhead and The Autumn Offering. And that’s really all you need to know about it — that this band features current and former members of Mushroomhead and The Autumn Offering.
Zombi – Escape Velocity (Relapse)
Zombi are sort of an anomaly for a Relapse band. The band employs mostly keyboards, along with bass and drums. Their last album, 2009’s Spirit Animal, was their first to utilize electric guitars, and while something like this is a polarizing thing to appear in a metal review section, take it for what it is. I’m not real big on keyboard soundtrack albums, so I’ll leave this one alone. [Editor’s Note: I’m a fan of this band and album; worth checking out. -VN]
-VN
As usual, all these releases are available at Amazon
