Sh*t That Comes Out Today: June 18, 2021
Good week for new releases (unless you’re a Fear Factory fan, in which case I have some bad news).
Blazon Rite
Endless Halls of Golden Totem (Gates of Hell)
Philadelphia is a long way from Middle Earth (I grew up there, I would know), but Blazon Rite do a pretty solid job of convincing you they’re familiar with its bogs and shires. These trad metal warriors take an approach to the NWOBHM as burly as their beer guts. Thin Lizzy-inspired guitar harmonies complement the rollicking drum beat well, making the perfect venue in which to tell these tales of myth and mystery. This debut establishes their coat-of-arms well.
Fear Factory
Aggression Continuum (NB)
Don’t you hate when the site you write for reports every day on band drama leading up to an album’s release for months and then the album drops and it kinda sucks? Aggression Continuum has the same problems as Genexus, only moreso. Look, the songs are solid. That said, while I don’t know what they were like before Dino Cazares went in to do extra production, boy did all that studio polishing buff the life out of them. It sounds like effin’ Nightwish (and yeah, I love Nightwish, but Fear Factory’s a slightly different beast). A quick scan of the Googles tells me that my critical brethren didn’t have the same problems as me, so maybe I’m nuts. As far as I’m concerned Burton Seabell made the right move.
Heavy Temple
Lupi Amoris (Magnetic Eye)
Heavy Temple is kind of a redundant name — buildings are heavy, right? If you’re looking to worship all things weighty, though, this progressive blooz trio welcomes you right into their houses of the holy. Their first full-length (at a whole five minutes longer than their last EP) makes a pretty great case for these love wolves as a pack worth keeping an eye on. Let High Priestess Nighthawk, Rattlesnake, and Bearadactyl take you on a journey to the center of your mind. When they get their teeth into a killer groove, watch out — there will be blood.
Helloween
Helloween (NB)
Power metal Valhalla! In case you were wondering if the first Helloween studio record to feature all three of their singers would be super over-the-top — well, duh. I gotta give them credit for ambition here. Instead of feeling like a victory lap album, it’s an hour-plus conceptual piece that uses the talents of all three vocalists pretty darn well on modern keepers like “Best Time” and “Skyfall.” You can definitely appreciate their contributions more than Maiden’s three axe-slingers, that’s for sure. While previous post-millennial releases have felt held back, this lineup really lets them use those seven keys to unlock their full potential.
Various Artists
Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack (Loma Vista)
The most impressive thing about the soundtrack to DC’s latest event book is that it has “death metal” in the title and it actually has death metal on it! Well, black metal (in the form of Carach Angren), but I take my pop culture wins where I can get them. Of interest to our general readership: Mastodon living out their four-color dreams, Chelsea Wolfe’s melancholy ode to Wonder Woman, HEALTH and Chino Moreno channeling Darkseid’s favorite mantra, a quasi-Dillinger Escape Plan reunion, and an absolutely BANGER of a Gunship track with Dave Lombardo smashing their drum machines to pieces (a lot of these in collaboration with composer Tyler Bates). It’s no Wolverine Blues but it’s probably better than Songs from the Witchblade.
OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT THIS WEEK
Alustrium – A Monument To Silence (Unique Leader) Listen
Bossk – Migration (Deathwish) Listen
Chalice Of Sin – Chalice Of Sin (Frontiers) Listen
Crowne – Kings In The North (Frontiers) Listen
The Day Of The Beast – Indisputably Carnivorous (Prosthetic) Listen
Dead Witches/Witchthroat Serpent – Doom Sessions Vol. 666 EP (Heavy Psych Sounds) Listen
Demon Incarnate – Leaves Of Zaqqum (Metalville) Listen
Moanhand – Present Serpent (Burning Shine) Listen
Social Disorder – Love 2 Be Hated (AFM) Listen
Subway To Sally – Eisheilige Nacht: Back To Lindenpark DVD/CD (Napalm) Listen
Timo Tolkki’s Avalon – The Enigma Birth (Frontiers) Listen
