New Music Report – June 26, 2020
New Music Report – June 19, 2020
This week turned out to be a big one for new music. We’ve got a surprise comeback with Protest the Hero, a few album releases that had originally been delayed due to COVID (Lamb of God & Make Them Suffer), an epic doom album (Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin), and an absolutely lovely indie album (Phoebe Bridgers). A few of these kinda flew under my radar for a while, but this week turned out to be very impressive.
Protest the Hero – Protest the Hero have been through the ringer to get this album done over the last seven years or so. First, they went through a fundraising round to be able to release this album independently. And of course, they raised several magnitudes of their original goal, which left everyone very excited. Then, singer Rody Walker shredded his vocal chords, delaying recording. There was actually real concern about whether his voice would even be the same when he was finally able to record. But here we are and HOLY SHIT this album is nuts, I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t expecting anything quite this impressive, I felt like all these delays would make this album lose its focus and shine, but it’s just bonkers. But even after all these years, no one can touch these guys. This is pure FIRE, I can say with no hesitation that this is one of their best, right up there with Fortress, which is an absolute masterpiece. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s all a bit cheesy, but that’s all part of PTH’s charm.
Phoebe Bridgers – I’m in love with this album, and honestly Phoebe Bridgers’ songwriting in general, but this just took it all to the next level. The way she can create such a pervasive atmosphere with her songs in such a sincere, intimate, and honest way is just endlessly charming. Her songs hit on such a personal level that you immediately feel incredibly familiar with every word. It’s a deeply emotional and profound experience. I’m also getting some Bon Iver vibes from the creativity in the instrumentation; the subtle complexity in the use of layering, and the overall feel and composition of these songs. This album is a lovely experience, and I highly recommend it to everyone.
Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin – Bell Witch absolutely turned my world upside down in 2017 with Mirror Reaper, an absolutely MASSIVE 84 minute long funeral doom album. So naturally, I was already hooked on this one. This album is a collaboration between Bell Witch, and dark folk act, Aerial Ruin, which is such a cool combination, and the execution is spectacular. The added dynamics and warmth from Aerial Ruin’s vocals and folk influences adds so much complexity to this album that was sort of lacking from Mirror Reaper. I don’t think this is quite as massive – frankly, the mixing is a bit odd, and I think that lets it down a little bit – but overall I’m a huge fan of this collaboration.
Make Them Suffer – MTS are one of the most underrated bands here in America, but even further testament to my theory that Australian bands are just better. The cool thing about these guys is they’re always pushing the envelope; every album sounds new and fresh, and somehow, they always manage to pull it off flawlessly. And this album is no different. To that point, I’m having trouble drawing comparisons to their previous albums, and I can’t quite tell if this one will age as well, but I feel like that uniqueness is absolutely a positive trait and will give this album the legs to stand on its own for a long time to come. This is yet another incredibly impressive effort from these guys, and it’s nice to see the rest of the world finally starting to realize that.
Lamb of God – This was the first big album that I was really looking forward to that was pushed back due to coronavirus, so it’s great to finally get to listen to it. The singles were very strong, and overall the album lives up to that standard. Consistency is the name of the game for LoG, they’re always strong. That said, I think I was expecting them to push forward a bit more than they did; it feels like they played it safe at times. The drums – despite everyone’s concerns following the departure of Chris Adler – are excellent, Randy sounds better than ever, it’s got riffs for days, and the songwriting overall is excellent. But it kinda feels like it’s missing that something special that As Palaces Burn and Ashes of the Wake had. Again, Lamb of God can’t write a bad album, it’s still excellent, but when you’re held up to such a high standard, not every album will be your masterpiece, especially without some innovation.
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New Music Report – June 12, 2020
New Music Report – June 5, 2020
Originally, I delayed publishing this post out of respect for the events going on throughout the world last week. It was poised to be an incredibly exciting week for music, but obviously the fight for equality is much more important; music can wait, black lives cannot. I was kind of hesitant to post it at all, it is not intended to soften the voice of those standing up against discrimination and inequality or take the spotlight away from that in any way. Nor is that the intent with this any week, I’m just here to talk about a few albums that I’m looking forward to for anyone interested in listening. So, with that said, here are a few of my most highly anticipated releases of the year, plus some other albums absolutely worth checking out.
Currents – You know those bands out there that aren’t necessarily redefining the genre by doing something new and innovative, but they’re doing their genre so, SO well that they raise the bar for everyone else and push it forward in that regard? That’s what Currents has been doing to metalcore for years, and this new album is another great, big leap forward. This emotional and dynamic range of this album is just incredible, the guitar work is nothing short of brilliant, and the vocals are so much more diverse than anything we’ve seen from Currents before. 2020 has already been a huge year for metalcore, but Currents alone just stepped things up to an almost untouchable level. If you have even a passing interest in metalcore or metal in general, listen to this album.
END – If Currents was a technical masterclass on what metalcore can and should be, END is the musical interpretation of getting hit in the face with a brick. This album is absolutely brutal and gut-wrenchingly heavy blackened hardcore that hits with an immense, grinding weight throughout the whole album. END is a supergroup made up of members of Counterparts, Fit For an Autopsy, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Misery Signals, and Shai Hulud, which is a hell of a roster. And the amalgamation of those legends of metal and hardcore is somehow even heavier than you’d imagine. But not needlessly so; it’s absolutely unrelenting but in a very deliberate and palatable way, with captivating dynamics and clever tempo manipulation to make the crushing barrage of sound so much more than just heavy for the sake of being heavy.
The Ghost Inside – Unfortunately, while I was very much looking forward to talking about this album, due to recent allegations against a member of the band, I will not be promoting this release.
Emery – I’ve always loved Emery. The Weak’s End was an incredibly important album to me when it came out way back when, but I’d be lying if I said I’ve been following them consistently over the years. It’s always felt to me like Emery was most relevant around 2004, but I’m not entirely sure that’s true. After listening to this album, I feel like maybe I’ve missed out on quite a bit. This album is equal parts nostalgia trip and showcase of what 15 years of progress and growth can do to a band.
Run the Jewels – I’m not going to lie, I’ve been in a huge metalcore and post metal rut these days and have unfortunately almost completely lost track of hip hop, but I would be remiss if I didn’t include this brilliant and incredibly relevant and poignant album. RTJ, specifically Killer Mike, have been at the forefront of the social commentary and community leadership that’s been sorely needed for years now and this album provides the perfect soundtrack for the social unrest and revolution of the past several days. It’s a sincere and urgent commentary on the current state of affairs and couldn’t have possibly been more relevant if it tried.
And of course, given the events of the past few weeks, now is the perfect time to remind everybody that while music has and always given a voice to millions, it is also important for you to harness your own voice and use it for good, and for change; to support and defend the rights and lives of your neighbors. Right now, your black neighbors are hurting and fighting for equality, and it is the time to show support and solidarity no matter what background or place of privilege you may come from and join the fight against racism, inequality, police brutality, and an unfair and unchecked judicial system that exploits these social inequities. There are a number of ways you can help; protesting, volunteering, donating to organizations supporting BLM and the protests, supporting black-run businesses and artists, documenting and sharing stories to overcome media bias, etc.
In fact, many bands are joining this fight with merch or fundraisers going directly to fighting this inequality, including Silent Planet, a personal favorite of mine, and a band that has always at the forefront of the movement for social justice and equality. So please, look towards your favorite artists to see how they are helping, and how you can support that effort, and don’t stop there.
“Make every breath a protest in a world where your neighbors cannot breathe.” – Silent Planet
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New Music Report – May 29, 2020
I actually had a pretty solid list of releases for this week but literally all of them got pushed back (New Found Glory, The Killers) or the releases ended up being something completely different than I was expecting and weren’t really worth commenting on (Behemoth EP), or whatever. So I briefly ended up with nothing. That said, the FFAF/WCAR release I’m going to talk about was really neat and pretty unexpected, so this week isn’t a total wash. Next week is HUGE though, so stay tuned.
Fit For a King/We Came As Romans – This was very interesting. Basically, FFAK and WCAR came together and reimagined a few of their existing tunes and recorded a new version after swapping vocalists. I thought redoing “Backbreaker” was an interesting choice, but to be honest, I had very little faith that Dave Stephens (WCAR) would be able to do justice to Ryan Kirby’s (FFAF) vocals. Especially that 30 second scream at the end of the song. But man, I was wrong, he did a great job. This definitely isn’t a full scale release, but just a neat little collaboration that’s very unique to the times we’re living in right now, so it’s worth checking out.
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