Sh*t That Comes Out Today: July 2, 2013
Hello. Welcome to July. If the heat doesn’t turn you into puddles of flesh, then take a moment to peek at these sexy links below. If you’re about to overheat, then just crank this shit so high that your speakers move enough air to keep you cool. Although if that’s the case, dubstep might be your best bet (womp womp womp womp). But seriously, don’t sink that low unless it’s dire, kthx!
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42 Decibel
Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll (SPV)
On a playlist with: your local hard rock radio station
Listen “Rocker Soul” (here)
Yehaw motherfuckers! So let’s start with some throwing back — Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll doesn’t make any pretensions about what it is. Simple band name, simple album name, simple metal. What HRNR lacks in originality, it makes up in good feels and wicked instrumentation. And that’s kind of the point with bands like these — you don’t put these jams on to deconstruct them and then have high-brow discussions over wine and pig heads. You put them on to charge down the highway with the windows down on a sexy weekday afternoon.
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Autopsy
The Headless Ritual (Peaceville)
On a playlist with: Abscess, Incantation, Immolation
Listen The Headless Ritual full stream (here) “Arch Cadaver” (here)
First thing’s first: that cover artwork. Those facial expressions are the I’m-gonna-blow faces of the undead! Love it. The Headless Ritual is as extreme and borderline silly as you’d expect, then. B-movie screams, uncouth guitar work ,and schizophrenic drumming are all parts of the scene. And remember, this is Autopsy’s second release since their 2010 reunion. Before that, you’d have to go back to 1995 to find their album Shitfun, which may have the most disgusting cover art of all time. So, while you’re chewing on your turds, get into the comments section below and see if you can find a nastier one!
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Darkane
The Sinister Supremacy (Prosthetic)
On a playlist with: Dimension Zero, Carnal Forge, Impious
Listen The Sinister Supremacy full stream (here)
I <3 Swedish melodeath. It’s my thing. And Darkane’s newest is an injection of greatness into melodeth’s bloated body. Sure, I’m partial to Soilwork’s epic riffage and buttery smoothness, but I’m really digging Darkane’s Mustaine-style chorus vocals and more serious guitar. Sinister is a little more dynamic than other albums which share blood in the melodeath veins — here, you get random breakdowns, nutty tempo shifts, and songs that don’t all sound the same. Joy of joys! Sinister is indeed polished as fuck (see fourth track “Ostracized”) but still dark and nasty (the next track, “The Decline”). It’s great shit that came out today.
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Oliva
Raise The Curtain (AFM)
On a playlist with: Jon Oliva’s Pain, Savatage, Blackmore’s Night (lol)
Listen “Father Time” (here)
To the seven people who demand more STCOT coverage of prog albums, I apologize. Here’s one for ya: Raise the Curtain. My beef with this album is exactly that: It will raise a curtain, but not a skirt. It’s very, uh, tinny and weak. And is it just me, or is the recording jammed way too full of high end? It makes my ears actually hurt — and that hasn’t happened since a coked-up Hulk Hogan punched me in the cochleas. Okay, so the little opening to “Father Time” is nice, and I suppose the vocals are decent and the instrumentation not overly flashy. But Curtain might be for the connoisseurs of prog and not knuckle-draggers like us. Unga bunga.
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Squash Bowels
Grindcoholism (Selfmadegod)
On a playlist with: Mumakil, Call Of The Void, Rotten Sound
Listen “The Second” (here)
I love the furiousity of Grindcoholism, and the fact that addiction is built right into the name — you <3 to let it pollute your body, but the next morning when your head is in a thousand pieces, you’re like, “Aw fuck where’s the aspirin.” Anyway, Grindcoholism makes up with sheer weight what it lacks in hyperspeed, making it lean toward the gory side of things. It’s not the most insane shit I’ve heard in a while, but definitely the meanest. Plus I’m loving that guitar tone so hard, I don’t know if it’s the down-low burn or the mid-range fuzz that is ticking my junk, but cranking this shit will be the best thing you can do this Tuesday!
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Circle Of Silence
The Rise Of Resistance (Massacre)
On a playlist with: Sodom, Immortal Souls, Kreator
Listen The Rise Of Resistance album trailer (here)
The Rise Of Resistance is a clean, crunchy throwback to a bygone eras of classic metal — with modern twists. So if you ignore the iffy vocals, you’ll get punched right in the mouth by the mega-crunch guitars and echoed snare hits. I’m not head-over-heels for Rise, but you know that if it came across SiriusXM in a rented car, you’d stay tuned in. There are alot of stage/hall feels here — like they’re playing a mega star-stacked show — but they break it down sometimes and get some fast/thrash triplet riffage in, sans echo. It’s a lovely mixture, actually, but I wish there was more of the thrash to munch on.
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OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY
» Anti Tank Nun Fire Follow Me (Metal Mind) listen
Edenbridge The Bonding (SPV) listen
Ecnephias Necrogod (Code666) listen
Huntress Starbound Beast (Napalm) listen
Impiety Vengeance Hell Immemorial (Hells Headbangers) listen listen
Ivanhoe Systematix (Massacre) listen
J.D. Overdrive Fortune Favors The Brave (Metal Mind) listen
Jussi Lehtisalo The Complete Solo Works (Ektro) listen listen
Lazy Bonez Vol. 1 (Inverse) listen
¤ Månegarm Legions Of The North (Napalm) listen listen
Max Pie Eight Pieces — One World (Mausoleum) listen
Raven Rock Until You Drop: A Long Day’s Journey DVD (SPV) watch
» Rebellious Spirit Gamble Shot (SPV) listen
Sanktuary Something Fierce (Spread The Metal) listen
Stone Magnum From Time … To Eternity (Rest In Peace) listen
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