SH*T THAT COMES OUT TODAY – THE AUGUST 30, 2011 EDITION

This week’s column does feature a few new releases, but that doesn’t mean this is a good week in metal. Hella’s new album is my personal highlight. Let’s take a look at what’s new this week after the jump.

Century – Red Giant (Prosthetic)
Aggressive, energetic metallic hardcore is definitely the base for this record (currently streaming at Revolver’s site), but the band makes some missteps when trying to make songs melodic. “Oak God” is the first taste of overly melodic vocals that just annoy the hell out of me, and they occasionally pop up on the rest of the record as well. Other melodic parts sometimes work and sometimes don’t, but the record is still pretty good overall. The follow-up to 2008’s Black Oceans is the band’s third record.

Hella – Tripper (Sargent House)
Hella’s blend of complex song structures and complete disregard for commonly accepted song structures continues on Tripper, and it’s a great disc of tunes. It’s hard to really describe Hella; their music is just all over the place, but in a good way. Riffage exists all over the disc, but the band practices restraint and a good sense of what keeps the listener there and what doesn’t. This sees the band return to their classic two-piece lineup after the expanded group featured on their last record, 2007’s There’s No 666 In Outer Space.

Kittie – I’ve Failed You (eOne)
Kittie are still a band? What the fuck?

Powerman 5000 – Copies, Clones and Replicants (Cleaopatra)
… And I guess Powerman 5000 are as well. I thought the album name was fucking hilarious, but then I figured out it wasn’t in reference to the band’s style in the late ‘90s radio metal landscape. This is a covers album, and they cover the most well-known and obvious hits from bands like T. Rex (“20th Century Boy”), Devo (“Whip It”) and Twisted Sister (“We’re Not Gonna Take It”). So… it’s bad.

Stray From the Path – Rising Sun (Sumerian)
Well, it sounds better than a lot of shit Sumerian puts out, but it’s not really awesome, either. Stray From The Path are a pretty standard metalcore group, and I’m getting really tired of putting those words in print, but really… there’s nothing remarkable to say here. Rising Sun is the band’s third record.

The World We Know – Death Dealer (Blkheart Group)
And here we go again. Tortured vocals… click click click drums… lack of anything that would be construed as a riff. If you like to headbang to nonsense, get this record as soon as you can.

-VV