Unsigned and Unholy: Moonlapse, Fought Upon Earth, Altarage
Not only did Moonlapse catch my ear, but they caught Metal Injection’s Rob Pasbani’s as well. And with good reason: the Fade Construct EP is fantastic. It’s more ambient and electronic than it is metal, although the composition style is undoubtedly very metal-inspired. I’m just loving these keyboard tones. I wouldn’t say Moonlapse qualify for Synthwave Sunday, but they’re close… or, I should say, he is: it’s a one-man project helmed by Ben Strick.
Fought Upon Earth would make a nice touring match for Moonlapse. The construction and vibes of their music aren’t that much different, but the production sure is — this is a full-on metal assault! I’m reeeeally digging the use of keyboard as a lead instrument here; so rarely do you hear keyboard used this way — or at all — in a band that’s so raw and gnarly, but Fought Upon Earth fucking nail it. Here’s their self-titled album via Bandcamp:
Spain’s Altarage are the heaviest band of today’s bunch, and likely the heaviest band you’ll hear on this site all week (or even all month): think Portal or Abyssal levels of insane heaviness. Unfortunately the mix is super muddy — likely on purpose — and as such the guitars and vocals don’t cut through they way they could and should. I’ll bet the band thinks this make the music sound even more brutal, but the opposite is true: with just a little EQing MMXV would sound ABSOLUTELY FUCKING MASSIVE, like the sound of a million testicles being crushed by a herd of stampeding elephants instead of the sound of a ballsack being gently squeezed by a solitary moose. Given, moose are tough as fuck — and so are Altarage — but I can’t help but wonder what this would sound like with a proper mix. MMXV is just a demo, though, so we’ll cut them slack and look to the future. Via Bandcamp:
