Sh*t That Comes Out Today: February 25, 2022
Guess which one of this week’s new releases I’ve listened to the most? Hint: it’s Blood Incantation.
Allegaeon
Damnum (Metal Blade)
So Allegaeon throw a lot of stuff at the wall to see if it sticks: tech-death, deathcore, proggy time signature changes, good cop/bad cop vocals, classic rock solos, fusion-y instrumental bits, slam breakdowns. Some of it sticks (the instrumental wizardry), some of it slides down the wall and leaves a sticky mess behind (the singing). Not much of it outside of “Vermin” really has any lasting power, though – the gimmicky parts feel like a way to keep all the songs from blurring together.
An Evening Redness
An Evening Redness (Transylvanian)
Coming into this cold, my initial thought was that this would be a perfect soundtrack for Cormac McCarthy’s starkly nihilistic Western novel Blood Meridian — and it turns out it literally is! So complete success there. The name of this Americana-influenced drone duo probably should have been a giveaway. This AOTY contender captures the desolation of the North American wilderness – and the soul – perfectly.
Blood Incantation
Timewave Zero (Century Media)
Kinda like Wolves in the Throne Room after Celestial Lineage, there really wasn’t any place for Blood Incantation to go after the 18-minute death prog opus that closed out Hidden History of the Human Race than an ambient record. This ambitious, Tangerine Dream/Berlin School-style soundscape definitely plays into the “incantation” part of their name more than the “blood” part, absorbing the listener in an almost religious audio experience. I know it’s just a tangent from their main sound but I hope it’s one they keep exploring.
George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher
Corpsegrinder (Perseverance)
For the first solo album from the longtime Cannibal Corpse frontman, George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher delivers some mellow acoustic tracks about visiting Targets across the country, winning giant stuffed animals for his kids at amusement parks, and the importance of neck day at the gym. Gotcha! It’s a bunch of death metal songs about fucked-up subjects. Tight, catchy, and impeccably produced, this beats the hell out of anything Six Feet Under have put out, well, ever.
Eight Bells
Legacy Of Ruin (Prophecy)
A revamped lineup got Eight Bells ringing again, resulting in a more varied (and more devastating) collection. These journeys through the looking glass into the depths of experimental doom take the listener through all sorts of places, both stylistic and emotional – the woods hide all types of dangers, even if the trees are in your head and the Big Bad Wolf is you.
Scorpions
Rock Believer (Spinefarm)
While the unexpected excellence of AC/DC and Judas Priest’s recent releases raised the bar for 70s survivors everywhere, I’m not sure anybody expected the Scorpions to step up to the plate this strongly after their last few attempts to recapture that old magic fizzled. Maybe the addition of former Motörhead drummer Mickey Dee gave them the boost they needed. Whatever the reason, Rock Believer contains their strongest selection of songs since Headbanger’s Ball got canceled the first time. It’s all here: catchy guitar melodies, sing-along choruses, and podcast-inspiringly inexplicable lyrics.
Shape Of Despair
Return To The Void
(Season Of Mist)
Finland’s greatest funeral doom band (and there is actually competition for that title!) return with their fifth slab of chiseled granite, ready to plant it over the corpse of whatever fleeting happiness remains in this world. So, good times? They take advantage of their vocalists’ range more than on previous releases, bringing welcome dynamics to the microphone that help turn a pretty monochromatic style into something with more subtle gradations of melancholy. Depression rarely sounds more appealing.
OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY
Abraham – Debris De Mondes Perdus (Pelagic) Listen
Bad Omens – The Death Of Peace Of Mind (Sumerian) Listen
Cobra The Impaler – Colossal Gods (Listenable) Listen
Corey Taylor – CMFB…Sides EP (Roadrunner) Listen
D’Virgilio, Morse & Jennings – Troika (InsideOut) Listen
Embryonic Devourment – Heresy Of The Highest Order (Unique Leader) Listen
Firebreather – Dwell In The Fog (RidingEasy) Listen
HammerFall – Hammer Of Dawn (Napalm) Listen
Hebosagil – Yossa (Svart) Listen
Mountaineer – Giving Up The Ghost (Lifeforce) Listen
Serious Black – Vengeance Is Mine (AFM) Listen
