Sh*t That Comes out Today: December 3, 2021
Last column of 2021! Mostly reissues and stuff I don’t care about from here on out. Have a happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Christmas, and New Year, and I will see you all on the other side.
Aquilus
Bellum I (Blood Music)
After a decade of silence, one man Australian black metaller Waldorf (no Statler?) comes roaring back with another hour of top shelf atmospheric goodness. It’s pretty god damn epic. His densely progressive take on the genre constantly surprises. Lots to absorb in the labyrinthine forest he plants here, but well worth getting lost in its darkness.
Genocide Pact
Genocide Pact (Relapse)
As you can probably tell from the collage cover, Genocide Pact have both feet planted firmly in the roots of their chosen genre. Folks whose love of death metal dwarfs mine seem really excited about this one, and I can see why: this is caps-on Death Metal, unconcerned with anything besides giving your ears a bad time. They cover their socially-conscious lyrics in layer after layer of filth – but it’s filth you’ll want to wallow in.
So Hideous
Nothing but a Pure Heart Can Sing (Silent Pendulum)
So Hideous do themselves a disservice with their name – their orchestral take on post-metal is frequently lovely, especially when the vocalist isn’t involved. Still, as we learned with the latest Deafheaven, the shrieking provides necessary dynamics, so perhaps it’s a necessary evil. Otherwise, while the band does ugly effectively, they do pretty as well as masters like Mono. An impressive feat. Plus there’s a saxophone! These pure hearts sing out clearly.
Unanimated
Victory In Blood (Century Media)
Huh, two death metal songs named after my favorite Hammer Horror movie (The Devil Rides Out) this year — an embarrassment of riches! These Swedish death metal legends have been around about as long as Carcass so their take on the title rocks equally hard. This is their first full length and over a decade, and as is the case with all of these bands at this point, they aren’t especially interested in reinventing any wheels – instead, they just have riffs for days. If you want some quality OSDM from a group that actually attended the old school, this is pretty bloody victorious.
Wolftooth
Blood & Iron (Napalm)
The cover art has some medieval dude gearing up to battle Steppenwolf (and not the shiny version from Zach Snyder’s Justice League) so you would probably expect some power metal once you correct this baby open. Fortunately, there’s plenty of power and metal but this is more of a stoner metal jam with all the fuzz and heaviness that implies. Lots of tasty riffs to sink your teeth into here.
OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT THIS WEEK
The Browning – End Of Exisence (Spinefarm) Listen
Crown Lands – Odyssey Volume 1 (Spinefarm) Listen
Epica – Ωmega Alive DVD/CD (NB) Listen
Failure – Wild Type Droid (Self) Listen
Manimal – Armageddon (AFM) Listen
Kadavar & Elder – Eldovar (Robotor) Listen
Nekromant – Temple Of Haal (Despotz) Listen
Of Mice & Men – Echo (SharpTone) Listen
Rebreather – The Line, Its Width, and The War Drone (Aqualamb) Listen
Redemptor – Agonia (Selfmadegod) Listen
Various Artists – Back In Black [Redux] (Magnetic Eye) Listen
Various Artists – Best Of AC/DC [Redux] (Magnetic Eye) Listen
Volbeat – Servant Of The Mind (Republic) Listen
Ye Banished Privateers – A Pirate Stole My Christmas (Napalm) Listen
