Sh*t That Comes Out Today: August 21, 2020

New metal release day! Pretty packed week — there’s something here for everyone. Except pornogrind fans. You can look elsewhere.

Black Elephant
Seven Swords (Small Stone)

You want fuzz? Black Elephant stomp their pedalboards like their namesake pachyderm. These Italian riffmeisters also engage in some serious amplifier abuse, but it’s all in the name of kick-ass heavy psych-blues jams. This desert rock comes courtesy of Sergio Leone’s widescreen viewfinder, capturing the vista in full Technicolor glory.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2902741710/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/

Blues Pills
Holy Moly! (NB)

Blues Pills ain’t exactly subtle about what kind of music they play — it’s right there in the name. The blues part, not the pills part. Their heavy blues harkens back to Big Brother and the Holding Company and Heart and other 60s-70s outfits. While there are a good amount of these throwback acts out there, Blues Pills make their mark the old-fashioned way: with great songs and passion for days.

Expander
Neuropunk Boostergang (Profound Lore)

Cyberpunk-influenced metal isn’t a common sighting outside of the industrial sector. While Expander don’t sound like anything William Gibson envisioned, their Voivod-influenced metalpunk weirdness certainly captures the chaotic energy of a Shadowrun shoot-out. Neuropunk Boostergang cranks up everything from their debut, making it an essential upgrade. It’s enough to get you both jacked up and jacked in for sure.

Incantation
Sect Of Vile Divinities (Relapse)

30 years and 11 albums into their career, Incantation reaffirm their commitment to playing death metal the old school way. This shit is next to the term “death metal” in the dictionary. It’d be easy to say this could’ve come out anytime between 1989 and now, but it wouldn’t be entirely true — there’s a confidence to the songwriting that comes from experience. John McEntee and his latest coconspirators are masters of the form proving their mastery of the form.

Midnight Danger
Chapter 2: Endless Nightmare (NewRetroWave)

You’d be forgiven if you thought from the cover art that Midnight Danger were another retrothrash band, but surprise — it’s darksynth! Different kind undead genre entirely. This Stockholm specter nails his sound by finding the happy middle ground between synthwave glitz and darksynth gloom, letting loose a horde of bloodthirsty zombies onto the dance floor. You won’t want the bad dream to end.

Unleash The Archers
Abyss (Napalm)

It can be tough being a power metal fan — there’s tons of the stuff getting made, but most of it just lacks that “it” factor that separates Hammerfall and Sonata Arctica from the hordes of bands with “Iron” in their name. Unleash the Archers stand out from the crowd just by being really damn good. They’re on the top of their game here, catchy tunes and Brittany Slayes’ soaring, soulful singing elevating them to new heights. They don’t break any new ground. They just hit the bullseye every time.

SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY

Atramentus – Stygian (20 Buck Spin) Listen
Brimstone Coven – The Woes Of A Mortal Earth (Ripple) Listen
(Hed) P.E. – Class Of 2020 (Suburban Noize) Listen
Idle Threat – Nothing Is Broken For Good EP (Tooth & Nail) Listen
Kill The Lights – The Sinner (Fearless) Listen
Mad Max – Stormchild Rising (SPV/Steamhammer) Listen
Psychlona – Venus Skytrip (Ripple) Listen
The Tangent – Auto Reconnaissance (InsideOut) Listen
Thousand Below – Let Go Of Your Love EP (Rise) Listen
Toxik Death – Sepulchral Demons (High Roller) Listen
Vicious Rumors – Celebration Decay (SPV/Steamhammer) Listen

SHIT THAT COMES OUT AGAIN TODAY

Anthrax – Persistence Of Time 30th Anniversary Edition (Megaforce) Listen
Sleeping With Sirens – How It Feels To Be Lost Deluxe Edition (Sumerian) Listen
Stoned Jesus – First Communion Reissue (Napalm) Listen