SH*T THAT COMES OUT TODAY: MAY 29, 2012
Hey wow Memorial Day weekend was pretty wild, right American metal people? I mean, as residents of Earth’s best nation, we are duty-bound to party our nutz/nipz off in tribute to our fallen heroes. And that’s exactly what we did for three crazy nights and three gruesome days. (Well except Anso, who was um detained Friday after an incident at the kite festival.)
So as we’re kinda crispy and dazed, it’s good luck that some of today’s hard and heavy new releases have the restorative qualities of spacey, ambient weirdness and some rage wildly as to rekindle our passion for future parties. This is Shit That Comes Out Today. For America!
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Dawnbringer
Into The Lair Of The Sun God (Profound Lore)
On a playlist with: Barn Burner, Russian Circles, Titan
Listen “III” (here)
On 2010’s Nucleus, Dawnbringer departed the melodic black metal style of 2007’s In Sickness And In Dreams for melodic stoner metal. Those hard riffs, classic rock-style leads, and rough, subdued vocals made Nucleus one of 2010’s best records, so fuck yeah Dawnbringer is back with Into The Lair Of The Sun God, an instant classic of intertwining melodies and propulsive epics (go ahead click play on “III” up there). No matter their mode, Dawnbringer is phenomenal.
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Grumbling Fur
Alice EP (Latitudes)
On a playlist with: Beta Band, Mono, Pluramon
Listen “Solar Nights & Rainwater” (here)
A duo comprising Daniel O’Sullivan (Sunn O))), Ulver, Mothlite) and Alexander Tucker, Grumbling Fur is epic ambient noise with vocal harmonies, loops, and smoldering melodies. Don’t expect big riffage, just great sonic textures and formidable crescendos.
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Hour Of 13
333 (Earache)
On a playlist with: Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Baroness, Trouble
Listen “Who’s To Blame” (here)
Hour Of 13’s doom metal mixes rollicking riffs and a pace quicker than the snail’s crawl of their genre peers. Phil Swanson’s vocals recall doom titans like Warning and Trouble, and their dual-leads and licks are reminiscent of NWOBHM. Among the eight million bands playing this style, Hour Of 13 are among the best.
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Ides Of Gemini
Constantinople (Neurot)
On a playlist with: A Storm Of Light, Earth, Black Mare
Listen “Slain In Spirit” (here)
Dissonant, dreary guitars with tons of feedback and laboriously slow drums. Layers of haunting female vocals on top. That’s Ides Of Gemini, whose doomy post-rock record Constantinople is this week’s second ambient, etherial must-hear new release. Bassist/singer Sera Timms was in Black Math Horsemen, and her influence on both bands’ music is obvious, as Ides Of Gemini creeps toward a faster pace only to drop back to a crawl. Killer.
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Mirrormaze
Walkabout (Bakerteam)
On a playlist with: Fates Warning, Scar Symmetry
Listen “Earn Your Answers” (here)
Look at that album cover for a second. Okay now you know that Mirrormaze is extremely tight, melodic heavy rock from Europe. Unlike heavier prog peers Fates Warning and Anacrusis, Mirrormaze isn’t super-hard, but captivating all the same. If you’ve ever been like, “Porcupine Tree is rad but needs slicker production and more caterwauling,” well, welcome to the Mirrormaze, dude.
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Sexcrement
Sloppy Seconds (Comatose)
On a playlist with: Machine Head, Decapitated, Cattle Decapitation
Listen “Trucker Bombed” (here)
Okay, once you finish sighing at the band name Sexcrement, you might expect a run-of-the-mill goregrind band. Wrong! Sexcrement — again, ugh — delivers great death/groove jamz on Sloppy Seconds, their second. Their “Trucker Bombed” video (above) is a great primer, it stars Linnea Quigley (the stripping girl from Return of the Living Dead). Funny, and it’s perversely perfect for fans who like good, trashy fun. And that’s Sexcrement: good, trashy fun.
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MORE SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY
Art By Numbers Reticence: The Musical listen
Beg For Life Mare Miseria (Westcoast Worldwide) listen
Blood Mortized The Key To A Black Heart digital (FDA Rekotz)
Alice Cooper Playlist: The Very Best Of Alice Cooper (Sony Legacy)
>>For Today Immortal (Razor & Tie) listen
Prong Playlist: The Very Best Of Prong (Sony Legacy)
Sacred Blood Alexandros (Pitch Black) listen
>>Stop Breathing Stop Breathing (No Idea) listen
Truth And Its Burden Choices (Rite Of Passage) listen
Twisted Sister Club Daze Vol II: Live In The Bars reissue (Eagle Rock)
Twisted Sister Live At Hammersmith 1984 reissue (Eagle Rock)
-VV
