SH*T THAT COMES OUT TODAY: JULY 3, 2012
Greetings forsaken souls! For this most menacing Shit That Comes Out Today the international forces of black metaldom bring you a very patriotically KVLT Independence Day, one filled with barely newsworthy reissues and some moderately anticipated EPs!
Don’t like it? Well, get ULVER it!
¡SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY, AFTER THE JUMP!
**
Deathspell Omega
Drought EP (Season Of Mist)
On a playlist with: Marduk, Negura Bunget, the “soundtrack to being raped in a cave”
Listen “Abrasive Swirling Murk” (here)
Deathspell Omega sure don’t make it easy on their listeners, and I’m not even referring to Drought‘s 20-minute despair-trip: The notoriously anti-promotion/anti-anthropocentric (I learn stuff everyday listening to The Ocean!) collective make it hard to know anything about their albums: release dates, content, personnel involved … It’s all so mysterious! What we do know is that Drought mixes technical, grinding black metal with surprisingly lush instrumentals. Well worth checking out KVLT elitists and laymen alike.
Nile
At The Gate Of Sethu (Nuclear Blast)
On a playlist with: Akercocke, Septic Flesh, Bloodbath
Listen “The Inevitable Degradation of Flesh” (here)
A new Nile album means two things: brutal death metal with subtle Eastern influence and lots of lawl-worthy long song titles. I always crack up thinking about how they must announce their songs in concert (“ALRIGHT MOTHERFUCKERS! THIS IS ONE IS CALLED ‘PAPYRUS CONTAINING THE SPELL TO PRESERVE ITS POSSESSOR AGAINST ATTACKS FROM HE WHO IS IN THE WATER!’ GO!”). Wordy titles aside, it’s always bugged me that these guys never took the Egyptian-metal shtick in a more interesting direction and beyond the occasional phrygian scale or tabla-interlude. For the most part, At The Gate Of Sethu does little to change that, but the occasional acoustic bit and more diverse vocals, even some clean vox (OH NO’S!), might hold your attention longer than anticipated.
Periphery
Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal (Sumerian)
On a playlist with: Protest The Hero, Sikth, Art by Numbers
Listen Periphery II full stream (here)
Bulb called Periphery’s second album, Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal, “a grower.” I couldn’t agree more. On a first listen PII sounds like a less memorable yet all-around weirder version of its predecessor. But with a few listens, its hooks dig deep and that unmistakable heavy-tech-melodic mix is as addicting as ever. And it is interesting to note the influence had by the fully-integrated Spencer Sotelo and Mark Holcomb, their new guitarist. At times, PII displays a juiced-up post-hardcore Periphery and not the 7-string heroes of old. Also, Sotelo finally sounds comfortable behind the mic, and utilizes his new retractable nutsack to go up like a Rody Walker and down like a wounded Corey Taylor. Features guest guitarists John Petrucci, Guthrie Govan, and Wes Hauch (The Faceless).
Icarus Witch
Rise (Cleopatra)
On a playlist with: Queensryche, Iron Maiden, Nevermore
Listen “Rise” (here)
For as often as I use it as a punch line, I have a small soft spot for power metal if it’s well-written and devoid of Halford impressions. And Icarus Witch deliver the tolerable goods by the broom-load on their forth album, Rise. Former Mantic Ritual guitarist Dave Watson and crew play a style of metallic rock that is heavy on the harmonies — for vocals and guitar — and easy on the ears.
Chrome Waves
Chrome Waves EP (Gravedancer)
On a playlist with: The Atlas Moth, Agalloch, Nahemah
Listen Chrome Waves full stream (here)
The term “black metal supergroup” is an oxymoron if there ever was one, but for what it’s worth Chrome Waves sounds like a fine mix of its parent projects, but trades the typical extremeness of their genre for doomy Cult of Luna-like atmospheres and memorable melodies. The Atlas Moth frontman Stavros Giannopolous sticks to his sorrow-stricken shriek throughout, which gives this short but very sweet release an unrelenting sense of desperation. If you’re having a bad day then prepare to be brightened up!
Ulver
Childhood’s End: Lost And Found From The Age Of Aquarius covers (Kscope)
On a playlist with: Opeth’s Heritage, Queens of the Stone Age, the ’60s, the ’70s
Listen “In the Past” (here)
When metal artists reach a certain age, it’s time for them to play “dad rock.” You might argue that Ulver has already been there for a while, but never more than on this album of classic rock covers. My dad knows nearly all of Childhood’s End‘s songs, but Ulver frontman Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg’s signature melancholic touch wins throughout and I’ll be damned if his voice wasn’t just made for these jams.
*
MORE SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY
Kataklysm Iron Will: 20 Years Determined (Nuclear Blast)
