Shit That Comes Out Today: August 10, 2018

OH MY GOD IT’S FOOTBALL SEASON AGAIN. This is seriously my favorite time of the year. The Chiefs might not have done much last night, but it’s preseason so none of this matters. For anyone who doesn’t believe me, the Browns went 4-0 in the preseason last year so that pretty much says it all. Anyway, we have a couple of killer releases from Hollow Prophet/Scumfuck and Dismal so make sure you treat yourself and listen to both of them. This is a great week for some heavy shit so you might want to hit the gym before you spin anything I’ve featured. Just saying, I don’t want anyone to get hurt when they can’t lift this stuff. You’re welcome.

Hollow Prophet/Scumfuck
Split (N/A)
On a playlist with Shadow of Intent, Infant Annihilator and Signs of the Swarm
Listen: “Scumprophet”

Who are Hollow Prophet? Who are Scumfuck? Why should you care? Well, I’ll tell you. Scumfuck feature Dickie Allen, who you might know from Infant Annihilator, and Hollow Prophet is helmed by Ben Duerr of Shadow of Intent, easily the best vocalist in metal. Disagree? I don’t care. I write the release column and you can go fuck yourself. This split is so heavy that Atlas couldn’t even lift it, and I mean that. Hollow Prophet’s side of the EP consists of Duerr laying absolute waste to the microphone while breakdowns and riffs crush your bones into dust one by one. Scumfuck follow after with their own brand of symphonic deathcore/slam that will leave you feeling filthier than a crust punk on a hot summer day. Finally, the crown jewel, “Scumprophet”, features the combined efforts of both bands and ends with a soul-shattering breakdown that’s sure to go down as an instant classic. If there is any part of your being that wasn’t obliterated by the rest of this EP, then rest assured that “Scumprophet” will end with you kissing your corporeal form goodbye. Even if you don’t like breakdowns, check this record out. You will not be disappointed.

Dismal
When Light Left Us (N/A)
On a playlist with The Kennedy Veil, Dyscarnate and Hour of Penance
Listen: “L’appel Du Vide”

In case you’ve been a little to cheerful lately, don’t you worry, because Dismal are here to do away with all of that pestering happiness. Dismal are fronted by Darren Liwen, who is also the vocalist for The Kennedy Veil, which fans of depressing and bleak death metal will probably pick up on immediately. When Light Left Us is a concept EP that, in the words of Liwen himself, is about “a guy that has a dream about dying and loves it so much that he goes to the top of a mountain to kill himself. As he’s dying, he regrets his decision and tries to hold on for life but dies anyway while seeing the faces of his loved ones.” Sound bleak? Well, it is. When Light Left Us has many similar elements to TKV, so any fan of them will surely love this. It’s an album that’s so bleak that you won’t even be able to see color by the end of it. The only thing you’re going to feel like doing once you listen to this is lying in your bed with the lights off questioning your entire life. It alternates between haunting melodies and crushing riffs that represent the perfect balance of anger and confusion that you go through when you get suicidal. I cannot fucking wait to hear more from Dismal and after giving this a listen, you won’t be able to either.

Sinsaenum
Repulsion For Humanity (earMUSIC)
On a playlist with: Chimaira, Vimic and Dååth
Listen: “Nuit Noire”

Whoooooah, a supergroup. Supergroups usually end up sucking, but Sinsaenum aren’t awful. That being said, they aren’t super memorable to me either. Sinsaenum consists of former members of Slipknot, Mayhem, Dragonforce, Chimaira and I don’t know, probably a billion other bands I’m not accounting for. “Nuit Noire” is your typical death metal track with a bit of ambiance mixed in during the bridge of the song. Again, I don’t find this to be particularly memorable, but I really enjoy hearing Joey Jordison on drums in this because I never really cared for Murderdolls. If you enjoy this, more power too ya. There’s more star power in this band than there is at a middle school Guitar Hero tournament.

The Spirit
Sounds From The Vortex (Nuclear Blast)
On a playlist with Dissection, Watain and Behemoth
Listen: “Cross the Bridge to Eternity”

I’ll cut the bullshit. The Spirit are kind of a mixed bag. The only real gripe with “The Clouds of Damnation” is that it’s a little repetitive. I feel weird even saying this, but there’s an over reliance on the blast beats and the vocals are mostly monotone, making the track grating at time when really it has the potential to be great. Fortunately, “Cross the Bridge to Eternity” is much better and has a similar vibe to Dimmu Borgir’s Störmblast only without the symphonic element. It’s a great mix of melodic elements and riffs that makes fore a much deeper experience that “Clouds” does. I’d need to hear more from The Spirit before I pass a final verdict on Sounds From The Vortex, but if the rest of it is more in the vein of “Cross the Bridge to Eternity”, then they’ll have a pretty good album on their hands.

ERRA
Neon (Sumerian)
On a playlist with POPULAR GENERIC METALCORE BAND ALERT
Listen: “Disarray”

This band is stupid. Every fucking ERRA song I’ve ever heard has gone the exact same way: ‘Hey, this actually isn’t too bad,’ quickly followed by cringe-worthy good cop screams. It seems like somebody told ERRA that they need something to set themselves apart, and the way to do that was to add a clean vocalist just like every other generic metalcore band has done. I saw them live once and they weren’t awful but at the same time, what exactly is so special about this band? Why do they have fans? What is it that people really like about them? I feel like looking for that is like playing Where’s Waldo blackout drunk. You feel lost the entire time, and eventually you puke.

OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY
Aethereus Absentia (The Artisan Era) listen
Airrace Untold Stories (Frontiers) listen
Dave Grohl Play (Roswell) listen
Dropout Kings AudioDope (Napalm) listen
Enuff Z’Nuff Diamond Boy (Frontiers Music Srl) listen
Haunt Burst Into Flame (Shadow Kingdom) listen
In For The Kill Dead #3 Is A Dangerous Place To Be (N/A) listen
Mad Max 35 (SPV/Steamhammer) listen
Massive Wagons Under No Illusion (Earache) listen
Night Demon Live Darkness (Century Media/Shadow Kingdom Records) listen
Primal Fear Apocalypse (Frontiers Music Srl) listen
Van Canto Trust In Rust (Napalm) listen
Various Artists It Came From The Abyss (Volume 1) (Dark Operative) listen
Witchfyre Grimorium Verum (Fighter) listen (Released 8/8)

SHIT THAT COMES OUT AGAIN TODAY
Opeth Watershed (Vinyl) (Music On Vinyl) listen