Sh*t That Comes Out Today: February 19, 2013
Four horns and seven beers ago, the founding fathers of metal drafted a constitution of heavy to unite metal enthusiasts from sub-genre to shining sub-genre. They drafted a fair and unbiased union founded upon the whims of snobby bloggers who tell you what to listen to, and declared freedom across the land of AMertalSucksica. With that said, I pres(id)ent you this week’s patriotic Shit That Comes Out Today!
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Void Of Sleep
Tales Between Reality And Madness (Aural)
On a playlist with: Soen, Bokor, Tool
Listen “Ghost Of Me” (here) “Lost In The Void” (here)
I’d say that MetalSucks stud Anso DF has made a good case as to why you should turn your attention to these Italian alt-metal stoners. Somewhere between Tool’s arty style of heavy rock and Kyuss’s desert doom, Void Of Sleep navigates a neat creative niche. Tales Between Reality And Madness isnt a revolutionary record, but it does offer a nice change from the derivative grime offered by the hordes of Black Sabbath wannabes still overdosing on fuzz and genre cliches.
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Shai Hulud
Reach Beyond The Sun (Metal Blade)
On a playlist with: Misery Signals, 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Counterparts
Listen “Monumental Graves” (MetalSucks exclusive here) “A Human Failing” (here) “Reach Beyond The Sun” (here)
Ever wondered what a ’90s rap genius sounds like writing for a hardcore album? Look no further than Shai Hulud’s highly anticipated fourth album, Reach Beyond The Sun, featuring the killa flows of guitarist-lyricist Matt Masta Fox via vocalist-producerist Chad “Slimey G” Gilbert’s street-ready bite. In just over a half hour the melodic hardcore heavyweights dish out another relentless serving of hardcore with smarts and heart. The production is pristine and punchy, and the contrast between Fox’s melodic riffs with dissonant layers and Gilbert’s neck-bulging grit is a winning combination. One thing that may throw longtime fans for a loop is the dearth of head-spinning rhythmic technicality that defined Shai Hulud’s previous albums: Reach may be the band’s most listener-friendly outing to date.
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Disperse
Living Mirrors (Season Of Mist)
On a playlist with: Riverside, Textures, Symphony X
Listen Living Mirrors full stream (here)
It won’t surprise many to hear that djent bothers me less than other recent trends — but the same bands aping the same influences (PRAISED BE MESHUGGAH!!) is started to wear me out. Fortunately, the talented young lads in Poland’s Disperse are already proving to be upstanding members of seven-string society: Living Mirrors isn’t another stale entry into Sumerian and Century Media’s post-2010 catalogues, but a take on modern progressive groove metal that is distinctly Polish in sound; believe me, that’s a good thing. Vocalist-keyboardist Rafał Biernacki is the big source of that cultural distinction via a smooth and slightly exotic clean voice, not unlike Riverside’s Mariusz Duda. His rich keyboard layers also add a neo-prog feel to the songs on this very impressive debut that helps it to further standout. Oh, and head songwriter-guitarist Jakub Żytecki is also hella talented.
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Suffocation
Pinnacle Of Bedlam (Nuclear Blast)
On a playlist with: Dying Fetus, Cryptopsy, Hate
Listen “Cycles Of Suffering” (here) “As Grave Descends” (here)
Read Sammy O’Hagar MetalSucks review (here)
Read Axl Rosenberg MetalSucks interview (here)
Well the reviews are in (like MetalSucks stud Sammy O’Hagar’s!) and it seems Mike Smith or no Mike Smith — and Magic: The Gathering-themed art or not — Suffocation makes another worthy addition to their respected discography. Pinnacle Of Bedlam is familiarly brutal, but has the necessary distinguishing tweaks to allow the work to stand out among the best-loved Suffocation. Drummer Dave Culross returns on Pinnacle and not only keeps pace with his bandmates, he actually steers things beyond the million-miles-a-minute, blastbeaten thrash territory. Terrance Hobbs and his fellow stringsmen wow with blazing solos, technical (but never garish) riffage, and even a track with pretty surprising clean sections. Needless to say, Suffocation fans and death metal fanatics will want this ASAP.
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Archon
Ouroboros Collapsing (Dark Matter)
On a playlist with: Agalloch, Black Math Horseman, The Mire
Listen Ouroboros Collapsing full stream (here)
There are stigmas for female-fronted metal bands. And though metal boasts stunning and talented women, their bands frequently are less than exciting. So cheers to exceptions like Archon, whose crusty doom metal sounds like Kylesa strung-out on one helluva trip. Vocalist-keyboardist Rachel Brown casts haunting clean vocals and coarse screams over the morose otherworldly epics her bandmates create. And these are indeed epics: Ouroboros’ four tracks average ten minutes and traverse all sorts of sinister terrain. Truly evil stuff.
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General Lee
Raiders Of The Evil Eye (Play The Assassin)
On a playlist with: Botch, Rosetta, Cortez
Listen Raiders Of The Evil Eye full stream (here)
I don’t know who thought to merge technical hardcore with sludge and post-metal ambition, but I’m totally in favor of it. The angry Frenchies of General Lee (ha-HA!) drop all sorts of metallic hardcore crunch and subtle melody that raises them above their many peers. It’s also cool that these guys keep their tracks sharp and punchy, which leaves a listener with the itch to hit the replay button — not the “I’ll finish this later” pause key.
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OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY
The Acacia Strain Money For Nothing EP (Prosthetic) listen
As They Burn Will, Love, Life (Victory) listen read
¤ Baptists Bushcraft (Southern Lord) listen
The Beyond Frostbitepanzerfuck (Horror Pain Gore Death) listen
» Black Boned Angel The End (Handmade Birds) listen listen
Boil Axiom (ViciSolum) listen
Buckcherry Confessions (Century Media) listen
Coldsteel America Idle (Stormspell) listen
Complete Failure The Art Gospel Of Aggravated Assault (Season Of Mist) listen read
Dark New Day Hail Mary (MRI/Red) listen
» Death Wolf II: Black Armoured Death (Century Media) listen listen
Devourment Conceived In Sewage (Relapse) listen
Edge Of Attack Edge Of Attack (Spread The Metal) listen
Eight Bells The Captain’s Daughter (Seventh Rule) listen
Enshadowed Magic Chaos Psychedelia (Pulverised) listen
Eternal Solstice / Mourning split reissue (Vic) listen
Euphoric Defilement Ascending To The Worms (Unique Leader) listen listen
Godflesh Hymns reissue (The End) listen
Guttural Secrete Nourishing The Spoil (Brutal Bands) listen listen
Hrvred The Bird’s Cage (Equal Vision) listen
» Iceage You’re Nothing (Matador) listen
Jungle Rot Skin The Living reissue (Victory)
Kongh Sole Creation (Agonia) listen listen
Krypts Unending Degradation (Dark Descent) listen
Maladie Plague Within (Apostasy) listen
Manilla Road Mysterium (Shadow Kingdom) listen
Misery Index Live In Munich (Season Of Mist)
Nepente Suffering Is The Seed (Sonic Blast) listen
» Obscenity Atrophied In Anguish (Apostasy) listen
Polluted Inheritance Ecocide reissue (Vic) listen
Portal Vexovoid (Profound Lore) listen read
Puscifer Donkey Punch The Night EP (Puscifer Entertainment) listen
Raven Black Night Barbarian Winter (Metal Blade) listen listen listen lol
Sacred Steel The Bloodshed Summoning (Cruz Del Sur) listen listen
Sannhet Known Flood (Sacrament) listen listen
Sceptre Age Of Calamity (Demonstealer) listen lol
Skineater Dermal Harvest (Pulverised) listen listen
Sonic Reign Monument In Black (Apostasy) listen
Spektr Cypher (Agonia) listen
» Storm Of Perception Into The Sun (Tru-B-Dor) listen
» Terminate Ascending To Red Heavens (Selfmadegod) listen listen
This Is Hell The Enforcer 7″ (I Surrender) listen
Tsjuder Desert Northern Hell reissue (Season Of Mist) listen
Twenty Two Hundred Carnaval De Vénus (Tonequake) listen listen
Ulcer Grant Us Death (Pulverised) listen
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