Sh*t That Comes Out Today: November 24, 2020

CONSUME

Cadaver
Edder & Bile (NB)

I’m not familiar with their classic material, but the new one from Cadaver sounds like Carcass from the point of view of the corpse instead of the surgeon — which makes sense, considering their original label was Carcass’s Earache imprint Necrosis. Despite a sixteen year hiatus, it would be inaccurate to call this a reunion record. Original member Anders Odden provides most of the dissecting, Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth, ex-Soilwork, a million other bands) hits the drums, blood sprays everywhere. This kind of unpretentious death metal will help you get through the daily grind.

Dream Theater
Distant Memories – Live In London DVD/CD (InsideOut)

Does the world need another 2 and a half hour live album from a band with no shortage of lengthy live documents? Probably not, but I don’t need this Criterion Godzilla box set either, and yet here we are. It’s basically split between material from their last album, Distance Over Time (the oldest track on disc one comes from 2007’s Systematic Chaos), and a full-album performance of fan-favorite Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. In other words, not the best embarkation point for new listeners. For longtime fans, however (even on-off ones like myself), it’s a reminder just how damn good Dream Theater can be when they aren’t making Astonishing missteps.

Hatebreed
Weight Of The False Self (NB)

I love that Hatebreed brings Buddhist philosophy into their tough-guy hardcore. Hardcore has messages about positive thinking, sure, but it’s always unexpected to hear existential concepts brought into music often described as “knuckle dragging.” Weight of the False Self is Hatebreed, but it’s good Hatebreed — Jamey Jasta and co. are in full-on catchy HC/DC mode here. This is the kind of self-help I can get behind.

Hellraizerr
Life After Death (Reaper)

I can just picture Sal Hellraizerr (Cursed Moon)’s brainstorm sessions for the band name: “How about ‘Hellraiser?’ Ah shit, that’s taken. ‘Hellraizer?’ Damn! Fine, I’ll add an extra ‘r’ on the end, nobody else’ll have that one.” Takes me back to my AIM days. Anyway, Life After Death has a sound as derivative as the band name, but that doesn’t hurt it. This style of speed metal feels as eternal as the rotting zombie on the cover. To the surprise of no one, Joel Grind mastered this.

Sodom
Genesis XIX (eOne)

Not sure why this is called Genesis XIX when it’s Sodom’s sixteenth studio album. I guess they’re counting the three live albums? It’s just confusing. Less confusing? The German thrash attack on display here. Their first release as a four-piece and first to feature original guitarist Frank Blackfire since Agent Orange 31 years ago finds them sticking very close to what they know. Even more diverse thrash acts couldn’t sustain the momentum for the 55 minute runtime, but for a while this rides hard and brings the Apocalypse close behind.

Voivod
Lost Machine – Live (Century Media)

9 years after their last live release burrowed out from underneath the polar ice caps, Voivod return with a slightly different set of showpieces for their angular riffs to saw through. Heavy on material from 2018’s The Wake and featuring a few lesser-visited locales (“Lost Machine” from the very underrated Outer Limits, Nothingface deep cut “Into My Hypercube”), it doesn’t have too many repeats with its predecessor, instead focusing on the harsher side of the band’s extensive catalog. I prefer Warriors of Ice‘s setlist but this still shows Voivod at close to their best.

OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY

Amahiru – Amahiru (earMusic) Listen
Clutch – The Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1 (Weathermaker) Listen
Diamond Head – Lightning To The Nations 2020 (Silver Lining) Listen
Glorious Depravity – Ageless Violence (Translation Loss) Listen
Morgan Rose – Controlled Chaos EP (Rise) Listen
Our Oceans – While Time Disappears (Long Branch) Listen
Pågå – The Evil Year (Svart) Listen
Plini – Impulse Voices (Self-released) Listen
Psycroptic – The Watcher Of All EP (Prosthetic/Agonia) Listen
Scour – The Black EP (Housecore) Listen
Smashing Pumpkins – Cyr (Sumerian) Listen
Volbeat – Rewind, Replay, Rebound: Live In Deutschland (Republic) Listen
Within The Ruins – Black Heart (eOne/Good Fight) Listen