Sh*t That Comes out Today: February 4, 2022
The Olympics start this week, so here are some sweet new metal releases to blast while watching curling.
Mass Worship
Portal Tombs (Century Media)
Mass Worship hold their services in an oppressively tight space, a claustrophobic cathedral. Their intricate songwriting works to reinforce the overwhelming vibe of sheer heaviness. Touchstones include Gojira and Meshuggah at their most devastatingly dense. All prayers go unanswered.
Obsidian Sea
Pathos (Ripple)
There are a lot of zero budget action flicks from Bulgaria but very few doom metal acts. If Obsidian Sea are a representative bunch, there should be far more of the latter. Their take on the genre drips with occult vibes and bluesy licks with just a touch of Eastern European folk to spice it up. The band takes a lighter touch on this than on previous efforts, and it makes you want to go explore their forest filled with fairytales and folklore.
Persefone
Metanoia (Napalm)
Persephone may be the queen of the underworld but Persefone (the band) are the kings of cramming way more notes into a measure than you would think possible. 20 years into their tenure as (presumably) the only progressive death metal band from the tiny microstate of Andorra, they’ve honed their technical wizardry for maximum emotional impact – like the shining obelisk on the cover, they attempt to illuminate inner truths.
Saxon
Carpe Diem (Silver Lining)
Saxon are a rare beast: 45 years and 23 albums into their career, they’ve had no major periods of inactivity, shockingly few lineup changes, and a consistent run of quality since they left behind the EMI/glam metal years. Attentive readers will have noticed that I cover a lot of trad metal in these pages. Sure, the lyrics get a little cheesy sometimes, but Carpe Diem feels so vital that it gives acts with musicians half the band’s age a run for their money. Even the song about COVID kinda rips!
Venom Prison
Erebos (Century Media)
I usually like to pin down bands by genre, but Venom Prison are a feral beast, difficult to pin down – they work in elements of nu-metal, djent, tech death, Arch Enemy-style melodeath (lots of arpeggios!), all sorts of stuff. Even if you’re a fan of the aforementioned, the whole turns out to be much more than the sum of its parts. Erebos is a concept album in the best sense, themes and motifs popping up through the chaos and grounding the musical melange. It’s the kind of record that rewards repeated plunges into the darkness.
OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY
Abhoria – Abhoria (Prosthetic) Listen
Abysmal Dawn – Nightmare Frontier EP (Season Of Mist) Listen
Korn – Requiem (Loma Vista) Listen
Michael Romeo – War Of The Worlds, Part II (InsideOut) Listen
Mystic Circle – Mystic Circle (Atomic Fire) Listen
Rolo Tomassi – Where Myth Becomes Memory (MNRK) Listen
Seremonia – Neonlusifer (Svart) Listen
