Shit That Comes Out Today: May 4, 2018
Axl Rosenberg dies at the end of Infinity War.
Dimmu Borgir
Eonian (Nuclear Blast)
On a playlist with Cradle of Filth, Satyricon and Darkthrone
Listen: “Council Of Wolves And Snakes”
Sighhhhhh. I’ll go ahead and say it: This album sucks. After 7 years of absence, Dimmu Borgir return with what will likely go down as the most disappointing album of 2018. From the overuse of the same tremolo picking riffs, to the lack of any edge whatssoever, to the unbelievably corny opera parts, nothing about Eonian gels or really works. Don’t listen to this record if you don’t want to be upset. Instead, just listen to “Council Of Wolves And Snakes” as it’s the only decent track on the record, but even then it still takes nearly 2.5 minutes to go anywhere. And for the record, I am a huge Dimmu fan. This album is bad and Dimmu should feel bad. For a more in-depth analysis of what went wrong, you can read my full-length review here.
Galactic Empire
Episode II (Rise Records)
On a playlist with The Black Mages, 331Erock and Mac Sabbath
Listen: “Rey’s Theme”
There are two things that are awesome about Galactic Empire, the #1 Star Wars themed metal band. Those two things are that 1) the album is coming out today, on Star Wars day, and 2) that Disney has yet to order a cease and decist on this band creating music. If you haven’t listened to Galactic Empire before, the premise of the band isn’t very complicated. They make Star Wars metal, if by some chance you didn’t manage to figure that out in the first sentence of this paragraph. If you’ve ever heard the metal version of Final Fantasy VII’s “One Winged Angel” by The Black Mages, this is essentially the same concept but more proggy.
Parkway Drive
Reverence (Epitaph Records)
On a playlist with Stick To Your Guns, The Ghost Inside and A Day To Remember
Listen: “The Void”
I, like Axl and Vince, never hopped on the Parkway Drive bandwagon. I know they have a pretty large following and I know that lots of people absolutely love this band but they never did anything for me. That being said, this single off their new album definitely has a Five Finger Death Punch vibe to it and good fucking god….if you didn’t already like this band then “The Void” will do absolutely nothing for you. I have no idea why people listen to this band so if someone could educate me in the comments, then that would be radical.
Wolvhammer
The Monuments Of Ash & Bone (Blood Music)
On a playlist with Skeletonwitch, The Atlas Moth and Bergraven
Listen: “Eternal Rotting Misery”
Probably my favorite thing about Wolvhammer is that they aren’t quite as grating as a lot of other black metal bands seem to be. Wolvhammer are more of a mid-paced band rather than breakneckfast or super slow and doomy but I think they have just the perfect tempo for their music down because again, this is black metal that is surprisingly easy to listen to. They also employ just enough melodic elements to keep the raw sound of their music from overpowering the rest of the music. This is a must-listen for any fan of black metal and there’s no way around it.
Lik
Carnage (Metal Blade)
On a playlist with Dismember, The Black Dahlia Murder and The Crown
Listen: “Dr Duschanka”
The words ‘Swedish death metal’ on their own are enough to get any metalhead all hot and bothered, so it should be no surprise that Lik are fucking awesome. These guys are still relatively new on the scene as the band formed in 2014, however, with this album, I’d imagine that they’ll be getting plenty of attention in the near future. They have the perfect blend of melodic elements from At the Gates and The Black Dahlia Murder, as well as enough grime and grit to keep things from sounding overly clean to remind you that this is indeed death metal.
OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY
Aeviterne Sireless (P2) listen
Adversvm Aion Sitra Ahra (Iron Bonehead Productions) listen
Angelus Apatrida Cabaret de la Guillotine (Century Media) listen
Comeback Kid Beds Are Burning (Nuclear Blast/New Damage) listen
Ihsahn Ámr (Candlelight/Spinefarm) listen
Professor Black You Bastard! EP (Ektro) listen
QFT Live In Space (Despotz) listen
Shinedown Attention Attention (Atlantic) listen
The Word Alive Violent Noise (Fearless Records) listen
Thy Catafalque Geometria listen
Various Artists We All Want Our Time In Hell (Corpse Flower) listen
