SH*T THAT COMES OUT TODAY: AUGUST 21, 2012

Music evokes all kinds of mental imagery. The right kind of song can conjure up thoughts of a frost-bitten tundra, or a sunny field. Sometimes Shit That Comes Out Today can do the same for me; like this week’s, which reminds me of a barren desert wasteland. But I have a feeling it will remind you of AWESOME!

A half-dozen hard and heavy new releases plus GAYTHEIST after the break!

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The Darkness
Hot Cakes (Wind Up)
On a playlist with: Foxy Shazam, Ghost, Steel Panther
Listen Hot Cakes full stream (here)

I was never butthurt about how British rockers The Darkness reduced “heavy metal” to joke status in the early ’00s — because a lot of metal was already laughable, and was so far removed from the kind of heavy music I loved that I just had to laugh with everyone. But still, taking Hot Cakes seriously is a little difficult for me. Sure, the long-awaited third Darkness record doesn’t totally blow, but it isn’t quite funny enough to pass for parody and not really serious enough to be quality listening either. Cue eighth grade nostalgia in 3, 2, 1…

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Gaytheist
Stealth Beats (Good To Die)
On a playlist with: Quicksand, Dog Fashion Disco, In For The Kill
Listen “I’m Procrastinate & I Vote” (here)

Maybe because of Gaytheist’s low profile, there isn’t much of their new third album available to preview as of this writing. From what I have heard of Stealth Beats, it seems that this Portland trio plays eccentric post-hardcore (in the early ’90s, old-fashioned sense) with some quirky vocal theatrics and odd-ball lyrics (see “Post-Apocalyptic Lawsuit”) that together sound like a heck of a lot of fun. Catch these dudes at a Romney/Ryan rally near you!

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Project 86
Wait For The Siren (Team Black)
On a playlist with: Helmet, Therapy?, Unsane
Listen Wait For The Siren full stream (here)

This is a curveball. For their eighth album, God-fearing heavy rockers Project 86 used Kickstarter for funding but didn’t stop at just enough dough to record at the dive studio down the street with producer Joe Schmovich; they raised enough to put Steve Wilson behind the boards. Yes, that Steve Wilson. But it’s tough to spot his influence on Siren — it sounds crisp and as polished as a noisy rock band would want — and heaven knows Wilson couldn’t talk them out unusual Celtic-folk flavors and a dozen guest players like Bruce Fitzhugh (Living Sacrifice) and Brian “Head” Welch (ex-Korn).

Call Of The Wild
Leave Your Leather On (Kemado)
On a playlist with: The Sword, Turbonegro, Kyuss
Listen “Autobahn” (here), “Choked Out” (here)

For better or worse, classic rock is experiencing a new revival: Between the trending of Vest Metal and the recent return of Dad Rock, it seems that we’re balls-deep in the sounds of yester-decade. I’ve certainly listened to my fair share of the stuff coming back from Hebrew school on Sundays blaring WPLR The Rock, but tongue-in-cheekiness aside I’m not into retro-anything. I can hope that these bands someday push the limits of this sound (Vestcore anyone?), but for now, Leave Your Leather On is a pretty okay, goofy album.

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Shreddy Krueger
Curses (InVogue)
On a playlist with: Underoath, The Safety Fire, Stutterfly
Listen “Curses” (here)

I’m disappointed that Canada’s Shreddy Krueger is not a horror-themed Dragonforce-clone that dresses in horizontal-striped sweaters and brown fedoras. I suppose that would be lacking in irony. Not to fear, this quartet hauls irony by the truckload, or in other words, Shreddy Krueger is standard metalcore with a guitarist who can competently sweep pick and a vocalist who isn’t soooo off-putting in his catchiness. Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.

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Sunflower Dead
Sunflower Dead (Bloody Bat)
On a playlist with: Five Finger Death Punch, Mushroomhead, Attika 7
Listen: “Wasted” (here)

Also trending now are alt-metal “supergroups.” So behold Sunflower Dead and their um star-studded roster of sidemen from In This Moment, Droid, and Buckethead, plus an accordion-toting singer who looks a lot like Mushroomhead’s Jeffrey Nothing. But if you think that these guys are just another Attika 7, then you’ve got another thing comin’: A7 conveys “a true American outlaw lifestyle” while Sunflower Dead explores their emotions and the darkness of the human soul, which should be obvious from their black contact lenses and spiky suits. They also do a cover of “Every Breath You Take,” but it isn’t the awesome version with Diddy, or Diddy Lion, which makes me angers!

OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY

KISS Destroyer Resurrected remix (Mercury) listen
Nihill Verdonkermaan (Hydra Head) listen / MetalSucks review
Our Last Night Age Of Ignorance (Epitaph) listen
Ringworm Stigmatas In The Flesh live (A389) listen

-BS