SH*T THAT COMES OUT TODAY – THE SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 EDITION
Just a few releases this week including phenomenal new records from Opeth and The Atlas Moth, as well as some less phenomenal releases from Thrice and more. All the details after the jump.
Betraying The Martyrs – Breathe In Life (Sumerian)
I’ve said it before and it bears repeating: this run-of-the-mill metalcore stuff defies logic… how can there be so many bands like this? Betraying The Martyrs at least have one thing that sticks out: some of their guitar work is slightly impressive. Besides that, we’re looking at more double bass onslaughts (you can do that good or bad, and this is awful), vocals from pseudo-death growl to pseudo-tough guy hardcore, and keyboards that just barely break through to an audible volume. This is the band’s debut album, and it apparently features dubstep parts as well. GREEEEAT.
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns – Survival Machine (Tragic Hero)
Blending male and female vocal melodies with metalcore and a strong influence melodic of death metal, this band is another drop in my NO bucket. The music is decent, though, and the melodies between the instruments and vocals work very well. If anything, the band should eliminate the “harsh” vocal style and resort primarily to the melody that they’re so proficient at. The band was formerly known as Self Made Soul, who were much more generic, so this is a step in the right direction.
Opeth – Heritage (Roadrunner)
Opeth’s first release in three years marks the longest wait between studio albums from the band. The album takes a different approach than most of the band’s catalog, and ends up coming out quite a bit like 2003’s Damnation. It’s a prog-rock album, ditching Akerfeldt’s death metal growls for melodic clean singing. The overall result is pretty spectacular, and even though some Opeth fans will not like the change in style, this is an excellent addition to the band’s catalog. The album’s cover is representative of the band members and their current places, featuring a tree with roots in hell (signifying the band’s origins) and the band members’ heads in a tree sprouting in a clear sky above the ground. This also includes keyboardist Per Wiberg’s head falling out of the tree to join the heads of past band members on the ground, as he left Opeth after the completion of this album.
The Atlas Moth – An Ache For the Distance (Profound Lore)
We’ve been hyping this for awhile, and for good reason. The Atlas Moth blend elements of black metal, progressive metal and sludge to make an EXTREMELY awesome package. Listen to three tracks from the record over at Brooklyn Vegan and you’ll see what I mean. The dynamic song structures, rooted in brutality yet full of melodic guitar lines make this one of my favorites in the past few months, and we’ve seen a ridiculous amount of awesome music in the summer/fall season. This is the band’s second full-length record.
Thrice – Major/Minor (Vagrant)
While Thrice’s past work has always been impressive, I’ve always felt that there’s just something that doesn’t come together. The whole package just isn’t as dynamic as it should be, for whatever reason. The preview track “Yellow Belly” from Major/Minor follows the same trend, because while the track is an impressive, dirgy blend of post-hardcore and melodic tendencies, it just seems to fall flat as a song. This is Thrice’s eighth full album, and their fourth for Vagrant records. [Read Vince’s take on the record here. -Ed.]
-VV
Buy these new releases and more for bargain prices at Amazon
