New Music Report – Apr 3, 2020
This week is HUGE. I’ve been looking forward to this one for quite a while now. These past few weeks have been full of good music, but they really all felt like opening acts for this week. It’s absolutely stacked with big releases, all of which are really very diverse, as well, which keeps things interesting. If you’ve been bored during this quarantine, this should keep you occupied for a little while.
August Burns Red – Full disclosure, this is like 80% of the reason why I’m so excited for this week’s releases. Don’t get me wrong, everything else is awesome, but when the undisputed kings of metalcore put out a new album, you should pay attention. I’m actually not actually sure these guys are capable of writing bad music, but I can already this is gonna be a classic. First off, it’s got the hardest hitting opener of any ABR album; this is undoubtedly the heaviest album this band has written. But it also has this wonderful balance of the rawest vocals we’ve ever heard from Jake Luhrs paired with some of their most refined hooks. Not to mention riffs for DAYS. It lacks some of the progressive elements of Rescue & Restore in favor of strong, classic metalcore that I just love. I can go on for days, but this album just made me feel really, really good. This is a fucking gem.
Cabal – Cabal haven’t quite made a mainstream impact stateside just yet, but they definitely have a loyal following willing to sing their praises whenever possible. I’m one of those people. This band is incredible and are only now starting to get the attention they deserve. They’re a really unique style of incredibly heavy, sludgy deathcore. And I know “sludge” and “deathcore” fundamentally don’t really belong together, but when you hear it, it just makes sense. It really doesn’t get much heavier than this. This album is also chock full of incredible guest features, like Matt Heafy from Trivium and Jamie Hails of Polaris. I highly recommend this one, this band deserves all the attention they can get.
Purity Ring – Man, I love The Purity Ring so much. They’ve always been my favorite of all the chillwave/electropop bands. Probably cause they were generally darker, more hypnotic, and more melancholy than most of their contemporaries. And this album actually compounds on that. There are fewer pop hooks, and more ambient, deep, minimalistic soundscapes, giving it an even more bleak and eerie backdrop to the shimmery vocals. It may not be a jump to the mainstream, but I’m loving this direction.
Emancipator – Whenever people ask me who my favorite DJs are, I always tell him, “I don’t really listen to electronic music, except Emancipator.” He has been my caveat for years now. That said, I’ve kind of fallen off recently, the newer releases just didn’t have the same feel that I loved from Soon it Will be Cold Enough or Safe in the Steep Hills. But this new album is really incredible. It’s got the same beautiful, almost tangible soundscapes; it almost feels like you’re living each of these songs, like if you close your eyes you’re there; in it, experiencing it. And it’s the most peaceful, relaxing feeling in the world. And that’s what I’ve always loved about Emancipator.
Singles
Umbra Vitae – This band is just a fucking powerhouse. It’s the death metal project fronted by Jake Bannon from Converge, featuring members of Job For a Cowboy, The Red Chord, and Hatebreed. This really expands on the elements of metal that we have always heard in Converge, given the proper stage to breathe. You can always tell that, while Converge isn’t technically a metal band, it’s always been a big part of their influence, and now we get to hear Bannon’s personal interpretation of that in full. It’s rad. This full length is going to be great.
*Note* Bury Tomorrow – I was really looking forward to their new album, which was supposed to come out today, but it has since been pushed back to July 3rd. So expect coverage of that at a later date.
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New Music Report – Mar 27, 2020
I missed my new music post on Thursday cause I was doing that DJ stream, sorry about that. But here you go! We’ve got a few really impressive releases this week, especially the singles. Next week is going to be a very big one though, so stay tuned.
Wake – This was another surprise find, I came across this album earlier this week and was immediately blown away by the pure talent and songwriting ability of this band. They were originally kind of cornered as a crust/grind band, but they’ve managed to shed the constraints of that, or really any genre, as it turns out. And the result is an absolute showcase of what metal as a whole is capable of. It’s an incredibly refreshing album with an unpredictable yet cohesive build throughout. Incorporating atmospheric and doomy elements into their furious, grind-driven roots to create a deep, diverse soundscape that is captivating from start to finish. This album is brilliant and incredibly underrated. Definitely check it out.
Brian Fallon – Brian Fallon’s solo efforts post-The Gaslight Anthem have all been a very interesting exploration of the deeper parts of Americana. Some of them were more successful than others. In fact, as of late it almost felt as though he was just checking the block. This one is definitely an improvement over the others. It’s worth a listen as a laid back, folk driven album. But all said, I’ll still take The ’59 Sound.
Nine Inch Nails – To be completely honest, I don’t listen to NIN, nor did I listen to this surprise double album. But I realize that it’s a very significant release, and so I want to make sure people know about it.
Singles
August Burns Red – The last single before the release of their new album, “Paramount” is arguably the strongest one yet. This single was the first one that made me fully feel confident that this album is going to be an absolute banger. ABR can’t actually write anything bad, so the other singles weren’t bad, but this one truly rips.
END – These guys are the best kept secret in hardcore. A supergroup featuring members of Counterparts, Fit For an Autopsy, Shai Hulud, and Dillinger Escape Plan, they’re just as heavy as this lineup would indicate. This band is absolutely fucking brutal, and they picked up where they left off with their 2018 EP with this heater of a single paired with the announcement of their upcoming full length album.
New Music Report – Mar 20, 2020
With pretty much everybody under some degree of isolation at this point, and naturally the best way to keep from going completely insane is with some new music. There are really only a couple albums of note this week, but they’re both big ones, even though one is less than 9 minutes long. They’re both on very different ends of the metal spectrum but I’d highly recommend checking both of them out.
The Acacia Strain – I feel like I’m repeating myself cause this is the third time I’m saying this about The Acacia Strain since December but HOLY SHIT this incredible. This week we get another surprise EP from The Acacia Strain, E, which is presumably another installment in their series of releases that spell out DEATH and combine to make their new full length. This keeps up the brutality from D, with a deep, grinding groove that carries throughout the two song release. It also features a perfectly placed guest spot from Jess Nyx of Mortality Rate, adding even more dynamics to the tension and dissonance felt throughout not only this release, but D as well. Definitely give this a listen, the final product of these releases is going to be something spectacular.
Heaven Shall Burn – These guys have really been sticking to the formula for ages; they’re still putting out fresh sounding albums that are following the tried and true early-00s melodeath-inspired metalcore formula that was absolutely huge nearly 20 years ago. And it’s really cool to see someone carrying that style into the modern day, but honestly I wasn’t sure if I could sit through a 100+ minute double album of that stuff without getting bored. But man, somehow, they pulled it off. You’re not going to get anything revolutionary with this release, just some very well done old school metalcore/melodeath by tenured experts of the subject. I definitely enjoyed this one.
Alkaline Trio – I honestly love modern era Alkaline Trio. Obviously, I love the classics, but I feel like their last few have objectively been some of their best. It’s a more mature rendering of their sound that everyone has fallen in love with for more than 2 decades now, with a really polished execution of songwriting ability and their signature “sounds happy with really dark lyrics” style. And while this is a short release, it’s always a treat to get new Alkaline Trio. If you like My Shame is True-type Alk3, you’ll love this one.
*Just a note about the Acacia Strain EP, I know these are surprise EPs and neither the band nor any music blogs have been talking about these before their release, I don’t know if there’s some sort of media embargo or anything, but I figured since I’m making this post for like MAYBE 10 people it didn’t matter. If someone happens to know the band and think they would feel otherwise, let me know and I’ll stop talking about them.
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News: Coheed & Cambria Announce New Album, Release Single
Yesterday Coheed & Cambria announced a new album, The Color Before the Sun, due out on 10/9 through 300 Entertainment. To give listeners a taste of what they can expect, the band released the first single from the album, “You Got Spirit, Kid” yesterday via YouTube. The song will be available for digital download tomorrow, July 10th.
Coheed’s 8th studio album will be the first album that is not a part of The Amory Wars saga, or indeed, a concept album at all. It will be interesting to see how this new dynamic affects Coheed’s sound. But if the first single is any indication, this new album will actually revisit the classic Coheed sound. So this will definitely be an album to keep your eyes on.
Check after the jump to listen to “You Got Spirit, Kid”.
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Must-Hear: Refused Release New Music For First Time In 17 Years
–Written by Kevin Madert
Remember when words like “punk” and “hardcore” meant more than donning all black and playing the Vans Warped Tour? Refused does, and they’re here to give us a refresher. The long-defunct Swedish foursome – cited as an influence by everyone from Blink-182 to Rise Against – originally broke up in 1998, and other than a string of festival appearances in 2012 haven’t made much noise since.
That’s until today, when the group premiered “Elektra,” an acerbic, shot-from-a-gun track that will serve as the lead single for the group’s upcoming fourth album Freedom. “It’s not a reunion anymore,” frontman Dennis Lyxzén said in a press release. “This is one of the most radical things we’ve ever done, both musically and lyrically.” You can stream the video for “Elektra” below and decide for yourself.
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