New Music Report – February 24, 2023
Man, what a week. We’ve got some huge new singles from August Burns Red featuring Spencer from Underoath, new music from Bodysnatcher and Ov Sulfur and then on the other end of the spectrum, a new album from Lucero and Manchester Orchestra. So a little something for everybody with a really diverse week.
Now we’re getting into some of the full lengths I’ve really been looking forward to. I know Lucero is a bit of a departure from the usual heavy music that I tend to listen to, but these alt-country legends have been on heavy rotation for me for over a decade now. And to be honest, their past few albums haven’t really done it for me, it lost a little bit of the edge they had before on That Much Further West and other older albums like that, but this new one seems like a step in the right direction, it’s still a bit cleaner, but it’s retained a bit of the edge that I always loved from the band.
And the biggest surprise of the week, was the new album from To the Grave. I honestly wasn’t really tracking this album at all until it came out, but god damn, what an album. It’s no secret that I’ve been really big on deathcore lately, but this is another reason why I’m so excited about the future of the genre, you’ve got incredible fresh bands like this coming out from all over the world. It’s not all just the big names like Lorna Shore and Brand of Sacrifice, it’s the bands like this that are really making the genre so exciting.
New Music Report – January 26, 2023
Kind of a diverse set of releases we’ve had this week, it’s been nice to see. There are a few very high profile releases like new singles from Fall Out Boy and August Burns Red, and some heavy hitters from Angelmaker, Unearth, See You Next Tuesday, and so on, which have all been fantastic. I’m actually very much looking forward to the new August Burns Red release. Generally speaking, they’ve been as reliable as a wood burning stove, putting out consistently solid but not exactly evolutionary metalcore for 20 years now. It’s been a while since their peak, not that their quality has fallen off, but that their sound hasn’t really progressed. But these new singles are getting me pretty excited again, so hopefully that album ends up being as good as I suspect it’ll be.
The full length releases this week have been pretty chill, to be honest. Hammock and Phaeleh are the big ones, the former being straight up ambient, and the latter being deep, chill IDM. I’ve been a big fan of both these releases so far. These are pretty big departures from the typical music that I cover, and it’s definitely something you have to be in the mood for, especially Hammock, but they’re incredibly thoughtful, well done, and relaxing albums. So all said, pretty nice diversity this week, a little something for every mood.
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.
Warped Tour ’15 Spotlight: Six Veteran Acts You Can’t Miss (So Pray They Don’t All Play At The Same Time)
–Written by Kevin Madert
Vans Warped Tour, the well-established summertime mecca for all things pop-punk, metalcore, and alternative music and lifestyle writ large, is fast bearing down on the DMV. On Saturday, July 18th, over 70 bands will take to nine stages scattered around the Merriweather Post Pavilion grounds in Columbia, MD as a part of the single-day touring festival’s twentieth iteration. Over the next few weeks we’ll be highlighting a plurality of the musicians participating this year, starting today with a quick list of Warped veterans you’d be spitting in the face of history by missing.
August Burns Red
These guys are longtime AltFreq favorites. Their straightforward approach to metalcore & their often introspective, socially conscious lyrics have been honed to brutal precision since their inception in 2003. In the time since they’ve amassed a formidable following, which makes their fifth Warped appearance this year a pleasant non-surprise. Best of all, they just released their seventh studio effort Found In Faraway Places; this means you’ll hear a mix of new tunes and crowd favorites as your flailing body is endlessly subsumed and regurgitated by the roiling mass of sweat-drenched, dust-coated humanity otherwise known as “the crowd at an ABR show.”
Connect with August Burns Red: (Facebook / Twitter / Official Site)
Family Force 5
Remember “Love Addict”? It was one of the formative songs of my late middle school/early high school musical awakening, counting itself among the lucky 500 that could fit on my first generation iPod Nano. The half-rapped, half-screamed vocals and heavy post-production were a perfect cross-section of Family Force 5’s unabashed, crunkcore style. Lyrical content and religious affiliation aside, the band’s music spoke to me simply because it made me move. Seeing them perform live – on Warped a few years back, appropriately enough – rekindled that feeling with vigor, and it’s why they made this list. Based on sheer energy and stage presence alone these guys should make your Warped 2015 schedule.
Connect with Family Force 5: (Facebook / Twitter / Official Site)
Senses Fail
Another entrant under the “I grew up on this shit,” banner, the New Jersey post-hardcore outfit known as Senses Fail are making their sixth Warped appearance (and their first since 2012) this summer. I can picture myself in my darkened bedroom with Still Searching whirring quietly in my bright orange Walkman, saving my parents plenty of money on therapy by self-diagnosing my “issues” and then self-prescribing daily doses of emotionally-laden music as treatment.
Yep, that’s the one
Both the band and myself have come a ways since then. They’ve released four more full-lengths – including their latest, Pull The Thorns From Your Heart, out on Pure Noise Records as of this week. I’ve misplaced my Walkman and concluded somewhere in the interim that life’s not as bad as I thought it was at 13. Everybody’s happy, right?
Connect with Senses Fail: (Facebook / Twitter / Official Site)
Silverstein
One of the more intellectual and sonically diverse acts to come out of the post-hardcore/emo wave of the early to mid-2000s, Canada’s Silverstein has long been on my To-See list. They roped me in with When Broken is Easily Fixed and Discovering the Waterfront then kept me onboard by keeping it interesting – whether that meant ditching most of the sheen to record a straight rock record (Departures and Arrivals) or crafting albums with overarching concepts (three of their five most recent records fit this bill). If (read: when) you catch their set this summer, expect a little of everything from this quintet of seasoned, talented musicians.
Connect with Silverstein: (Facebook / Twitter / Official Site)
The Wonder Years
These guys are responsible for some of the most-played pop-punk in my music library, and with good reason. Their combination of no-frills, technically sound instrumentation and lyricism that hits home rather than skims the emotive surface makes it pretty hard not to bang your head and sing along. Much as some of the earlier bands on this list spoke to me at a younger age, the more mature thematic content present on works like The Greatest Generation connects with me now – songs about first loves realized and first loves gone awry are replaced by ego-bruised musings on expectations vs. reality and the looming uncertainty of the future that any 20-something can relate to. Of all the bands playing this year’s Tour, The Wonder Years owns most of my anticipation.
Connect with The Wonder Years (Facebook / Twitter / Official Site)
We Came As Romans
Blasting pure adrenaline through high-powered speakers since 2005, melodic metalcore band We Came As Romans round out this list for no reason other than because it’s ordered alphabetically. Calling Troy, Michigan home, the six-piece outfit has toured and released extensively in their ten years of existence, and have a new full-length self-titled album due out at the end of July. I’m running out of steam here, so I’ll make it simple: see We Came As Romans (and the other five acts previously listed) this summer at Warped Tour. Colloquially speaking, “they real good.”
Connect with We Came As Romans: (Facebook / Twitter / Official Site)
You can grab tickets to the 2015 Vans Warped Tour @ Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD on Saturday, July 18 right here. All other Merriweather-specific info can be found on the event page.
Connect with Vans Warped Tour: (Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Official Site)
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