Sh*t That Comes Out Today: August 26, 2014
You wouldn’t want an entire bowl of red Skittles, would you? Even if they’re your favorite flavor (grape ftw, btw), you still need the others! If you had nothing to compare with your favorite, you wouldn’t know why you loved it so. Same goes for music, duh.
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Bastard Sapling
Instinct Is Forever (Forcefield)
On a playlist with: Woe, Cobalt, Lord Mantis
Listen Instinct Is Forever full stream (here)
Black metal with rock pretensions can lead to some bad territory: Either you get too much rock, leaving a cheap taste in your mouth due to the lack of, well, evil. Or it sounds purely blackened with weird hook/jam bits that don’t seem to fit. Instinct Is Forever is the perfect balance between the two, balancing the headbangable parts on the teetering edge of constant, hard-hitting blackened madness.
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English Dogs
The Thing With Two Heads (Candlelight)
On a playlist with: Corrosion Of Conformity, Orange Goblin, October File
Listen “Turn Away From The Lights” (here)
I don’t call out throwback or thrash albums often enough. They sound too old-world to really get my “new shit” juices flowing. I champion innovation over tradition. The Thing With Two Heads, though, pumped me the hell up. For one, we can welcome a return of riff-centered metal. For seconds, you can relish in the solos. For thirds, dat energy. Palpable!
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Famous Last Words
Council Of The Dead (InVogue)
On a playlist with: Palisades, Outline In Color, From Atlantis
Listen Council Of The Dead full stream (here)
May I propose a challenge? Utilize the comments section below to point out even one instant of Council Of The Dead that doesn’t blow. Maybe it’s an off instance of actual instrumental prowess or a vocal bit which doesn’t cause brain bubbles. Ten MetalSucks bucks says you can’t find one.
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Opeth
Pale Communion (Roadrunner)
On a playlist with: Bloodbath, Porcupine Tree, Katatonia
Listen Pale Communion full stream (here)
Read Kip Wingerschmidt MetalSucks review (here)
Opeth is one of the most talented and progressive acts in heavy music. Everything is quality. But what’s so divisive about them? Maybe it’s their high-school fan following + nerdy appeal. Maybe it’s that they’ve stopped doing metal. Whatever. Pale Communion is a totally forward, modern, matured album and, damn, it might even be better than Damnation, my favorite. To hell with “omg it’s not metal.”
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Invent, Animate
Everchanger (Tragic Hero)
On a playlist with: The Safety Fire, Misery Signals, Counterparts
Listen Everchanger full stream (here)
Aside from the “ow my feelings” vocals, Everchanger is Misery Signals-level metalcore. I’ve been waiting for something from this shat-upon genre and of this caliber to drop: hyper-modern guitars, varying structures, and taco moments well-timed and vocal-driven. It’s dense and touchy, simple when it needs to be and spastic when it doesn’t. Good shit!
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OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY
Adrenaline Rush Adrenaline Rush (Frontiers) listen
» Along Came A Spider Resurgence (Standby) listen
Alraune The Process Of Self-Immolation (Profound Lore) listen read
¤ Blackwolfgoat Drone Maintenance (Small Stone) listen listen
Force Of Darkness Absolute Verb Of Chaos And Darkness (Hells Headbangers) listen
Machinae Supremacy Phantom Shadow (Spinefarm) listen
Monsterworks Overhaul (Eat Lead And Die) listen
Motorhead Aftershock Tour Edition (UDR) listen
Sea of Bones The Earth Wants Us Dead vinyl (Gilead) listen
» Thousand Foot Krutch Oxygen: Inhale (TFK) listen listen
X-Drive Get Your Rock On (Frontiers) listen
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