Sh*t That Comes Out Today – April 21, 2023
This just in: grindcore fans will now be confused which 83-minute funeral doom song their friends won’t shut the fuck up about…
Bell Witch
Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate (Profound Lore)
The Clandestine Gate starts off the Future’s Shadow trilogy, a three-part series of albums from Seattle’s Bell Witch in which the last note of the final planned album will loop into the first note of The Clandestine Gate. Like Mirror Reaper before it (and Four Phantoms before that and Longing before that), The Clandestine Gate requires patience to get to the payoff. Bell Witch’s long-awaited fourth album moves slowly and cinematically, leaving you hungry for the rest of the trilogy.
Dawn of Ouroboros
Velvet Incandescence (Prosthetic)
This Oakland, California post-black and death metal crew counts members of Botanist, Red Rot, Deliria and Cailleach Calling among their ranks. Vocalist Chelsea Murphy provides a mix of ethereal clean vocals and soaring shrieks that mesh with lead guitarist Tony Thomas’ leads. Elsewhere, the band buckles down and unleashes torrents of blast beats and tremolo picking, proving that they can execute both sides of their sound with equal precision, often on the same track. Velvet Incandescence isn’t trve, but it is good.
Dorthia Cottrell
Death Folk Country (Relapse)
The Windhand frontwoman’s latest solo outing is a powerful reflection on death, life, loss and creation. Though the songs aren’t powered by amplifiers and volume worship, there are plenty of lines that connect Cottrell’s solo music to Windhand, from her voice to the heaviness she creates with her lyrics.
“This album to me is about painting a picture of a place where my heart lives,” Cottrell said when the album was announced. “I’ve always been asked what ‘kind’ of music I play by people. The title Death Folk Country is partly me describing a genre that fits the sound – but it’s also meant to be taken as a Naming, a coronation of the world inside me. Death Folk Country is the music and also the land where the music takes place, and the two have always been inextricable from each other.”
Predatory Void
Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being (Century Media)
Formed by Amenra and Oathbreaker guitarist Lennart Bossu, Predatory Void operates in a niche between death, black and doom metal with traces of hardcore. Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being is their debut release and features Amenra bassist Tim De Gieter, plus vocalist Lina R, whose range serves the music extremely well. Bell Witch might have the big boy in terms of length, but Seven Keys is the most rewarding difficult listen released today.
Smoulder
Violent Creed of Vengeance (Cuz del Sur)
Not into death, gloom, black metal and singer-songwriters? Smoulder have just the thing for you: Violent Creed of Vengeance, their second full-length album. At seven songs and 42 minutes, Violent Creed is loaded with the kind of epic heavy metal and old-school doom that they earned a reputation for; the title track opens the album with a burst of energy; elsewhere, “Midnight in the Mirror World” displays the band’s penchant for melody over galloping riffs. If a blend of traditional speed, power, heavy and doom metal with modern production and themes sounds appealing, this Finnish-Canadian outfit have just the thing.
Other Shit That Comes Out Today:
Axel Rudi Peril, The Ballads VI (Steamhammer) Listen
Bandit, Siege of Self (Independent) Listen
Blood Star, First Sighting (Shadow Kingdom) Listen
Brand of Sacrifice, Between Death and Dreams (Independent) Listen
Car Bomb, Live in Santa Cruz (Independent) Listen
Enter Shikari, A Kiss For The Whole World (SO Recordings) Listen
Grave Pleasures, Plagueboys (Century Media) Listen
Tanith, Voyage (Metal Blade) Listen
The Mars Volta, Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon (Clouds Hill) Listen
Volumes, Happier? (Instrumental Edition) (Fearless) Listen
