The Best New Song You Will Hear Today: Black Crown Initiate’s “Withering Waves”

Who’s stoked to see Black Crown Initiate open for Rivers of Nihil on The Reading Rainbow tour (named after both bands’ hometown, Reading, Pennsylvania, pronounced “Red-ing”), which kicks off this week? Me, me, me! I last saw Black Crown last winter, then a fresh, green band who’d yet to tour with Behemoth, The Faceless and countless other big names, and they knocked my socks off then… so I can only imagine how tight and powerful their live show has gotten since.

Also: who’s stoked for Black Crown Initiate’s debut album The Wreckage of Stars, which comes out on September 30th via eOne? Me, me, me!! “The Great Mistake,” the lone song we’ve heard from the album so far, is an instant classic with its hard-hitting riffage and insanely catchy hooks. So it stands to reason that this new one called “Withering Waves” follows in that vein. I really dig the dynamic of James Dorton’s growled vocals and guitarist Andy Thomas’s cleans, which are done in a completely un-cheesy and tasteful way. And this song is positively epic.

I’ve said this before, but the band BCI most remind me of is 7 Horns 7 Eyes, whose 2012 album Throes of Absolution was my absolute favorite of the year. I’d plotz if those two bands teamed up for a tour at some point.

Stream “Withering Waves” below, and get upcoming Black Crown Initiate tour dates below that.

9/19: Buffalo, NY – The Waiting Room
9/20: Queens, NY – Blackthorn 51
9/21: Albany, NY – Bogie’s
9/22: Brooklyn, NY – Saint Vitus
9/23: Providence, RI -Simon’s
9/24: Philadelphia, PA – The Barbary
9/25: Westland, MI – The Token Lounge
9/26: Lakewood, OH – The Foundry
9/27: Lansing, MI – The Loft
9/28: Newport, KY – Thompson House
10/1: Pittsburgh, PA – Smiling Moose
10/2: Lemoyne, PA – The Champ
10/3: Reading, PA – Reverb