Sh*t That Comes Out Today: Dec. 13, 2019
It’s Friday, which means it’s new metal day! Look forward to my usual idiosyncratic recommendations as well as things people actually want to hear about. If you thought last week was slow, two of this week’s biggest new releases are reissues of Moonspell and Satyricon albums nobody liked 20 years ago, so take that as you will.
Arkona
Age of Capricorn (Debemur Morti)
Look, it’s a white goat head pentagram on a black background. WHAT GENRE OF MUSIC COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE? I guess Arkona have been around since 1993, so that makes them officially old-school and not just new old-school, but it all sounds the same. Credit for longevity and chops. I just wish any of their Polish black metal racket stuck.
Iron Curtain
Danger Zone (Dying Victims)
Look at that album cover! A high-heeled headbanger wielding a bloody guitar and a severed head, about to enter an NES game dungeon. Who could ask for more? Just like every other band with “Iron” in their name, Spanish old-school revivalists Iron Curtain worship the NWOBHM. They have some poppy Def Leppard moments and some gritty Motorhead moments and even some Rush drum fills. You can judge a book by its cover here — and it’s pretty rad.
Jasta
The Lost Chapters Volume 2 (Self-released)
I didn’t actually receive a promo copy of this, so I can’t speak as to the quality, but I can make an educated guess. Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta has gathered together a murderer’s row of metal/punk/metalcore luminaries like George “Corpsegrinder” Fischer, Kirk Windstein, and the dingus from Emmure for another solo album of crunchy metalcore goodness. I’m betting it’ll be totally solid and nobody will remember it by the time the next Hatebreed album comes out in a couple months.
Oni
Alone (Blacklight Media/Metal Blade)
Is this the ever-elusive “modern metal?” Sounds like the turn-of-the-millennium to me instead of the turn-of-the-decade. Lots of influence from A Perfect Circle and some of Slipknot’s more adventurous rhythmic experiments. Tasty enough if you like your soup chunky. I’ll pass, but I can’t deny they know what they’re doing.
Solace
The Brink (Blues Funeral)
The first band signed to classic stoner rock label MeteorCity, Solace have been around for a while and have the gray beards and scars to prove it. Like Sabbath slathered in misery, their stoner doom hits a lot of the same emotional nadirs as sludge, only without the shitty vocals. It kicks ass. When they lock into a deep groove, they really do take things to the album title.
OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY
Stone Sour – Hello, You Bastards: Live In Reno (Cooking Vinyl) Listen
SHIT THAT COMES OUT AGAIN TODAY
Coven – Half A Century Of Witchcraft Box Set (Prophecy)
Moonspell – Sin/Pecado and 2econd Skin Re-Release (Napalm) Listen
Satyricon – Rebel Extravaganza Re-Release (Napalm) Listen
