World Domination is a big old task. Both in terms of, um, well, actually taking over the world, but also in terms of taking everything about the fifth full-length from Norwegian collective Blood Command in. Twenty tracks, and everything from Black Metal to slick pop, via snarling punk, metallic stomping Hardcore, and even the odd pause for breath (though only a sharp intake before heading off somewhere else, into urban beats, or shimmery synths, or kicking someone’s head in).
Normally I defend how anger is not the only emotion found in heavy music, but the new Harm’s Way album, Common Suffering (Metal Blade) is full-force rage, so strap on a helmet and get ready to fall into madness. Through the years, the Chicago-based band has really hit their stride with an even mixture of death metal and hardcore punk, bonded together by industrial blasts.Continue reading
There’s just something about the last handful of years and releases that are classified as either crossover Thrash or Metallic Hardcore that absolutely kills it. Moreso, when an album drops that has a mix of both of these subgenres, like the UK-based Guilt Trip, it’s just everything you want out of aggressive music on a bad day. With that, unleashed onto the world is Severance (via Malevolence’s label, MLVLTD), Guilt Trip’s sophomore full-length, an album that puts you through the grinder and spits you out for thirty-four minutes.
Most of the world is oblivious to the fact nuclear war is closer to reality now than it was during the Cold War. Thus the increasing need for music that taps into the subconscious to remind us of the grim future looming. 3TEETH’s fourth album “EndEx” (Century Media) has all the End Times anxiety you want. The Los Angeles-based band remains consistent in their sonic vision. They work off of industrial strength grooves to pump the lifeblood of their sound to these songs.
It’s tempting to compare a band from New Zealand to Alien Weaponry, but the tribal folk of Shepherds Reign‘s homeland is woven into the fabric of their songs in a manner more like what Sepultura did on the Roots album.
Alright, all you sicko freaks – this rotting slab of stinking fetid metal is for you! Danish gore-hounds Undergang have been steadily churning out rotten meat since they formed back in 2008. Their latest offering, De Syv Stadier Af Fordærv (from the twin hit factories Me Saco Un Ojo / Dark Descent), has plenty more inhuman vocals, grinding rhythms and caveman riffs.
While many may consider Deathcore to be a stagnant movement, the bands that espouse its styles continues to evolve as more artists come together to push boundaries. Brockton, Massachusetts natives, Worm Shepherd, have dropped their first EP (following two full lengths), The Sleeping Sun (Unique Leader Records), and the mixture of deathcore, symphonic death metal, and sprinkles of black metal themes ended up growing on you.
Black metal, in and of itself, can be very polarizing due to the imagery, lyrical content, and if the band is “true” black metal or not (side note: what a stupid debate to have). One such polarizing band, UADA, has dropped their fourth full-length album, Crepuscule Natura (Eisenwald Records) and is some of their best work to date. Sticking to their signature melodic black metal sound with lyrics mostly about nature and the cosmos, the Portland, Oregon, four-piece put us on a spiritual journey for forty minutes.
Many bands over the years have incorporated H.P. Lovecraft’s work into their projects. Newcomers from Nottingham, England, Outergods, not only named themselves after the big baddies from the Cthulhu mythos, but even their overall sound instills fear and madness. A little over a half hour in length, A Kingdom Built Upon the Wreckage of Heaven (Prosthetic Records), debuts the haunting blend of black metal and grindcore this UK outfit has unleashed into the void for gods and mortals alike.
Melancholy, death, doom, gloom, sorrow, these are words that come to mind the instant I hear about a band that is categorized as death/doom metal. No mom, metal is not all about anger and expressing it in violent manners! Northern Ireland’s own, The Crawling, have released their third full-length album, All Of This For Nothing (Grindscene Records), and it is a depressing but heavy voyage. Seven tracks averaging around six minutes in length each is a surefire way to make each track just hit harder and stay with you long after the album is over.