Sh*t That Comes Out Today: November 19, 2021

Some phenomenal releases out this week for you to play for your relatives at Thanksgiving! And one turkey.

Converge
Bloodmoon: I (Epitaph)

I already submitted my EOY list to Decibel but this thing is a late-year spoiler if I’ve ever heard one. This is how collaborations should be done: the different participants challenging each other and pushing their games to new levels. And when you have artists like Converge, Chelsea Wolfe, and Stephen Brodsky (Cave-In), we are talking about some pretty rarefied levels to begin with. There’s a lot to absorb over the one hour run time, but I can’t say I ever expected to hear shoegaze and Pink Floyd sections on a Converge record — and those are only a few of the myriad pleasures that pop out.

Exodus
Persona Non Grata (NBt\)
Gary Holt is still the king of thrash riffs. No denying that. Unfortunately, he’s stuck with Steve “Zetro” Souza as his vocalist, who not only has shitty ideas about the pandemic but also a voice which could once be charitably described as a piercing screech and now just sounds like a hangry cat. An instrumental version of this would absolutely kill. Right now it just shreds your eardrums.

Khemmis
Deceiver (NB)
Denver doom crew Khemmis have nothing left to prove after a series of jaw dropping records over the past half decade. That doesn’t stop them from upping their game with Deceiver once more. Their stately approach to their craft belies the emotional depths imbued into each song, their fantasy-themed album art deliberately misleading (deceptive, even). Closer “The Astral Road” may be their finest moment yet as they release the parking brake and let it rip.

Obscura
A Valediction (NB)

In case you’ve come to this page looking for some technical death metal over the course of the year and been inevitably disappointed, we have a treat for you: technical death metal! Obscura make no secret of their skills. Right from the first track, they crank out arpeggios and neoclassical wizardry like that stuff is on fire sale. Fortunately, their skills extend to the compositional side as well. Their ability to fuse together fusion licks is pretty unmatched. A true achievement in technical ecstasy.

The Lurking Fear
Death, Madness, Horror, Decay (Century Media)

Tomas Lindberg and some of his frequent collaborators join forces once more towards the noble goal of cranking out unrelentingly filthy death metal jams. Not really much else going on here – there’s a Lovecraft theme, I guess? At any rate, you already know if you like this from reading the first sentence of this review. GO!

Swallow the Sun
Moonflowers (Century Media)

The band name “Swallow the Sun” also acts as a statement of intent for this funereal Finnish death doom act. Their latest parcel of pain continues there long streak of excellence (even if the triple album they put out a few years back was a bit much). Not a lot of emotional variety, but they display serious mastery of melancholy on tunes like “Woven into Sorrow.” The perfect soundtrack for the upcoming winter nights.

Tower
Shock to the System (Cruz del Sur)

Look, if the 70s sci-fi-novel-meets-Stephen King cover art didn’t make you instantly interested in Tower’s second full-length, why are you even listening to metal? This self-styled blast from the past brings the giant riffs, out-of-control vocals, and unstoppable groove that one wants from the very best throwback metal. One of those albums where they don’t do anything new, but what they do they do with such passion and aplomb you can’t help but blast it out the window of your beat-up Camaro.

OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT THIS WEEK

Aephanemer – A Dream Of Wilderness (Napalm) Listen
The Darkness – Motorheart (Cooking Vinyl) Listen
Der Weg Einer Freiheit – Noktvrn (SoM) Listen
Hearts & Hand Grenades – Between The Lines (Eclipse) Listen
Me And That Man – New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol. 2 (Napalm) Listen
Nervochaos – Dug Up (Diabolical Reincarnations) (Xenokorp) Listen
Pathology – The Everlasting Plague (NB) Listen
Ross Jennings – A Shadow Of My Future Self (Graphite) Listen
Temperance – Diamanti (Napalm) Listen
Volumes – Happier? (Fearless) Listen
Vrsty – Welcome Home (Spinefarm) Listen
W.E.B. – Colosseum (Metal Blade) Listen