Sh*t That Comes Out Today: March 20, 2020
Um. Holy shit. Uh. I hope everyone out there stays safe — even the folks in the comment section! Here’s some new metal. Buy this stuff and support the artists.
Eye Flys
Tub of Lard (Thrill Jockey)
If you really want some angry music right now, Eye Flys features members of Full of Hell, Backslider, and Triac, so here’s your poison. This falls more on the noise rock/metalcore-in-the-90s-sense side of the spectrum than their main projects. Serious Hydra Head and AmRep vibes here, for those versed in those seminal experimental rock labels. For those not: this’ll kick your teeth in real good.
Helen Money
Atomic (Thrill Jockey)
As fun as it would be to hear Blondie’s “Atomic” covered on cello, you’d have to look to Apocalyptica for gimmicky stuff like that. Cellist Alison Chesley uses her instrument to create ominous ambient soundscapes. As Helen Money, she’s contributed to albums from metal bands as diverse as Mono, Russian Circles, Anthrax, and Disturbed, and opened for luminaries like Sleep, Shellac, and Neurosis. While her fifth full-length explores the same oppressive atmospherics as her previous albums, very few musicians can evoke so many different shades of dread using only four strings.
Lucifer
III (Century Media)
Lucifer aren’t the first band with that name (they’re the 37th, according to Discogs), but they do their moniker justice. Album number three from Johanna Sadonis and company finds their 70s hard rock vibe intact: echoes of Blue Oyster Cult, Heart, and (early) Judas Priest make appearances. They even have a jaunty self-titled track in shades of deep purple. The big change comes from the amount of doom present — there’s not much. It doesn’t matter. Third time’s still the (devilish) charm.
Master Boot Record
Floppy Disk Overdrive (Metal Blade)
Synthwave on Metal Blade — who’d’ve thunk it? Master Boot Record, with his enigmatic persona and file name song titles, may seem a strange fit for the home of Amon Amarth and Cannibal Corpse, but his glitched-out chiptuned guitar shred may actually present a good entry point for synthesizer skeptics. MBR definitely stepped up his game for his major indie debut; the songs feel more focused here. Even if 70 minutes is a bit on the long side, you’ll want to download this into your memory bank.
Myrkur
Folkesange (Relapse)
Amalie Bruun has made no secret of her love of Scandinavian folk music, releasing various singles in that style. For her third full-length, she ditches any trace of metal whatsoever and runs for the hills. It’s undeniably gorgeous. Bruun knows how to pen heartfelt songs in whatever genre she tackles, so even though this unplugged offering features lyrics about folk tales and Nordic myths, she makes them feel deeply personal. Highly recommended.
Nite
Darkness Silence Mirror Flame (Creator-Destructor)
Nite aren’t easy to search for (Google gave me a bunch of results for emo nites, good job algorithm), but holy shit are they worth finding. Former/current members of Satan’s Wrath and Dawnbringer lay down some epic blackened melodic metal here. As you’d expect from their pedigree, they know how to bring the riffs. There are similarities to Tribulation and Cloak (and Abbath’s exceptional one-off I), but they seperate themselves from the rest of the night creatures that followed in those bands’ wake by burning brighter than the rest — and ripping out some seriously air guitar-worthy solos.
OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT THIS WEEK
Art Of Shock – Dark Angeles (Century Media) Listen
Fool’s Ghost – Dark Woven Light (Prosthetic) Listen
Heaven Shall Burn – Of Truth And Sacrifice (Century Media) Listen
Hyborian – Volume II (Season Of Mist) Listen
Medico Peste – The Black Bile (Season Of Mist) Listen
Mord’A’Stigmata – Songs For The Exiles (Live At Roadburn 2019) (Pagan) Listen
Neck of the Woods – The Annex of Ire (Pelagic) Listen
SHIT THAT COMES OUT AGAIN THIS WEEK
Def Leppard – The Early Years 79-81 Box Set (Ume/Virgin) Listen
