New Music Report – February 10, 2023
What a week for good music. Everything from Paramore coming back and putting out their first album in years to absolutely huge new singles from some of the best heavy bands in the game. To start things off, the new singles from Veil of Maya and Brand of Sacrifice are exactly as good as you would expect from such legendary bands, and with new albums likely on the horizon from both of them, there’s certainly a lot to get excited about. We also had some stellar singles from lesser known bands like Earth Groans, a personal favorite of mind who have been building steam over the past few years, and bands like Drain, Scowl, and some newly emerging bands like EYES. All of these were phenomenal, definitely check out the playlist to catch all of these.
And now we’re finally getting to some good new full length releases for the year. First and foremost, the new album from Paramore is full of nothing but hits, it’s groovy from start to finish. Hayley Williams has just been getting more and more creative with her vocal delivery, and I still maintain that Zac Farro is one of the most underrated drummers out there in terms of straight up groove. And on the other side of the spectrum, deathcore heavyweights Distant just put out another incredible album continuing this absolutely untouchable streak that deathcore as a genre has been on for about 3 years now. We also got solid new music from Pierce the Veil and In Flames, and when those are the releases that are getting the least attention, you know it’s been a big one. This is definitely a sign of great things to come in 2023.
New Music Report – March 5, 2021
Apologies for the delay on the new music post this week, it’s been an exceptionally busy week at work. As a result, there are a few albums that I really enjoyed but haven’t been able to devote the time to writing a full review of. The Wolf King, Mork, and Gulch/Sunami albums were all very, very good and definitely worth checking out. But I feel like I covered two of the more notable albums this week, even if one was… disappointing. I’ll be back on schedule next week, so stay tuned.
Brand of Sacrifice – Haha oh my god, this album is insane. As I’ve said before, I’ve had a very interesting relationship with deathcore. I guess it just gets stale easily; it can become very formulaic and repetitive if artists aren’t really pushing yourself to write something unique. But lately I’ve been coming around and Brand of Sacrifice is an absolutely perfect example of how innovation and creativity can really bring out the best in a genre that took me forever to truly get. The first thing everyone ever says about any deathcore album is how heavy it is, so I’ll get that out of the way: this is incredibly heavy. I cannot overstress how heavy it is. But there’s so much more to it, it’s one of those albums with incredibly complex rhythmic structures, all moving at a million miles a minute, it feels like your brain is working in overdrive to process all the sensory input you get from a single song. It’s exhausting to listen to, but in a good way, it feels more like a rewarding challenge than a burden. It’s so much more than breakdowns and blast beats. It’s a truly unique experience in a genre that isn’t always known for being fresh and exciting, and that alone is worth checking out.
A Day to Remember – I try not to write bad reviews, but this entire album is just a god damn disaster. After being postponed from the original release date back in November 2019, and seeing countless other delays, the new album is finally here. Initial delays were blamed on album art issues, then further delays were blamed on the pandemic, but about a year and a half later, I have to say, the result is incredibly lackluster. It’s very clear what they’re trying to do, they’re trying to bridge the gap from their signature easycore sound to more radio friendly rock. They absolutely defined the genre with 2009’s Homesick and have been able to hold up admirably since then. Nothing has been able to quite reach the bar set by Homesick, but they were still putting out great albums. This isn’t. Honestly, it just sounds like fill in the blank radio rock. Literally any band could write these songs and they could get played on your local rock station, it doesn’t matter that it’s A Day to Remember, which is the disappointing part. They’ve gutted a very special band and turned it into something incredibly bland and forgettable.
Singles/Albums – Wolf King (LP, Blacked hardcore), Mork (LP, Black metal) Tigers Jaw (LP, Emo), Zao (Metalcore), Gulch/Sunami (EP, Hardcore), Mental Cruelty (Deathcore), Elitist (Metalcore/Djent), Being as an Ocean (Post hardcore), The Armed (Noise punk), Void of Vision (Numetalcore), Atreyu (Buttrockcore), Knoll (LP, Mathcore), Spill Canvas (LP, Indie rock), Escape the Fate (Post hardcore), Chevelle (LP, Radio rock from 2003), Wolvennest (LP, Weird experimental sludge/black metal), Bog Wizard/Dust Lord (Split, Doom/Stoner metal), Acid Mammoth (Stoner metal)
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