Sh*t That Comes Out Today: October 15, 2013 (NSFW)

Hey y’all, it’s truth time. I literally don’t know what to do with myself this week! Like, I’ve been barraged by so many sexellent releases that I’m going to have to leave it to you to click on literally all of them. Some big names are making splashes this week, but also tons of shit you probably haven’t heard of. Like the mixture is so good I’m wondering if this is even real life. So tell me, is this real life? Or is this just fantasy?

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Red Fang
Whales And Leeches (Relapse)
On a playlist with: Black Tusk, Truckfighters, Orange Goblin
Listen “No Hope” (here) “Blood Like Cream” (here)
Read Kip Wingerschmidt MetalSucks review (here)

You know those bands which blur the lines between rock, punk, and metal? Yeah, sometimes they can be class acts, other times they can be mash-up travesties. But, uh, Red Fang rocks it so hard on Whales And Leeches that even the most “omg that’s not metal” blowhards can dig. With its jammy/rocky feels, very percussive choruses, and left-and-right catchy tunes, you might call it vanilla rock. But beneath is this overriding semi-stoner grunge feel which is so unfortunately missing on the over-polished rock/metal crossovers of today. I give a bit of credit for this to the production, but most of it to the song construction and vocals, exuding that thrown-together, “fuck it let’s rock” ethos which, you know, makes me feel real good. Feeling good = kinda the point.

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Silence The Messenger
Achilles (Standby)
On a playlist with: The Acacia Strain, Fit For An Autopsy, Behemoth
Listen Achilles full stream (here)

It’s subtle: You listen to Achilles and think, “Well, there wasn’t much there.” And then your eyebrows dip and you remember, “Shit, what was that one part of that one song which I fuckin’ dug so hard?” Then you skip to the intro to “Scavengers” and shit bricks again. Critics/whiners could bitch that StM tries too hard, you know, via super-mega breakdown drops and drop-Z bwoooooowwwww riffs. But that’s what you fucking love about it! Over the top, a little spastic, and wickedly dynamic, but is never concerned with selling itself. More volume, more bass, and more breakdown.

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Pelican
Forever Becoming (Southern Lord)
On a playlist with: The Ocean, Isis, Russian Circles
Listen “Immutable Dusk” (here) and “The Cliff” (here)

There’s something so essentialist about Pelican, something effortless and philosophical. Forever Becoming is no exception. In fact, it’s proof! Proof that Pelican still holds up the middle grounds of the entire genre, ballasting between indecipherable noise and super-psychedelic ambience. They’re one of those bands you always forget to put on when the mood is right, and then all of a sudden their name flashes behind your eyeballs and you’re like, a-ha! Motherfucking Pelican! So definitely jam with Forever Becoming — get involved with it — because its nuances and feels pay huge dividends on your time and attention investments.

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Testament
Dark Roots Of Thrash CD/DVD (Nuclear Blast)
On a playlist with: nobody, this is how thrash should sound
Watch “Rise Up [live]” (here)

Rarely do I give two fucks about a live album. And only sometimes I can be bothered with band DVDs (ie. Lamb Of God’s Killadelphia). But Testament’s Dark Roots Of Trash combo package is the sex. The live recordings are spot-on, Chuck Billy’s vocals are scathing and ripping, and the Peterson-Skolnick riffs are quintessential. Testament has this fucking stronghold on what (modern) thrash should be. And included in that definition is live playability. And we all know it’s hard to capture some of that live magic on physical media. Well, this is as close as yer gonna get, and it pretty much speaks for itself. Watch and learn!

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Rivers Of Nihil
The Conscious Seed Of Light (Metal Blade)
On a playlist with: Vader, Whitechapel, Ulcerate
Listen The Conscious Seed Of Light full stream (here) “Rain Eater” (here)

I’ve heard the opinions on The Conscious Seed Of Light: It’s an overdone varnish on a generic slab. Or, it’s massive, revamped classic death metal. Let me tell you, it’s the latter. See, that pause-drop thumping vacuum riff in the opening of “Rain Eater” perfectly wraps up the essence of whole album: unabashedly dark, uncompromisingly heavy, no-frill djent-inspired tempos. “Mechanical Trees” has the same feel, just so open-note, so deep, and wonderfully neurotic. I call albums like these “fine wine albums.” You can sample it again and again and pull new nuances and technicalities out, getting new feels and surprises every time. In my book, re-playability = playability.

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Trivium
Vengeance Falls (Roadrunner)
On a playlist with: Metallica, Bullet For My Valentine, In Flames
Listen Vengeance Falls full stream (here)

When I first got into metal, Ascendancy was so my jam (“Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr” is so yes). It rocked like Lamb Of God and God Forbid — solid metalcore when hating metalcore was fashionable. Then Trivium laid The Crusade on our doorstep in a tightly-coiled pile, and I haven’t given them a whim or a wham since. Vengeance Falls is no improvement on anything. Despite some fresh neu/über-thrash riffage, it’s ruined by mediocre drumming and abysmal vocals. Didn’t these guys once have magazine covers and popularity?

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OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY

» 30,000 Monkies Somewhere Over The Painbow EP (ConSouling) listen
Anacondas Sub Contra Blues (Prosthetic) listen
Anneke van Giersbergen Drive (Inside Out) listen listen
» Assignment Inside Of The Machine (Mausoleum) listen
The Body Christs, Redeemers (Thrill Jockey) listen listen
Castevet Obsian (Profound Lore) listen
Cleanteeth Pushing Rope (Dullest) listen
Craven Idol Towards Eschaton (Dark Descent) listen
DayShell DayShell (Sumerian) listen
Death Angel The Dream Calls For Blood (Nuclear Blast) listen listen
Death Hawks Death Hawks (GAEA) listen
Deep Purple Perfect Strangers Live DVD (Eagle Rock) watch watch
Deep Swell Lore Of The Angler (Weathermaker) listen listen listen
Domovoyd Oh Sensibility (Svart) listen listen
Done Dying Shelf Life (Reaper) listen
Doomriders Grande Blood (Deathwish Inc.) listen
» Exhumer Degraded By Sepsis (Comatose) listen listen
Ereb Altor Fire Meets Ice (Metal Blade) listen
Flying Colors Live In Europe DVD/2CD (Mascot) listen
Gigan Multi-Dimensional Fractal Sorcery And Super-Science (Willowtip) listen
Gnaw Horrible Chamber (Seventh Rule) listen listen
Halestorm Reanimate 2.0: The Covers EP (Atlantic) listen
I Am King Onehundred (Rise) listen
Insurrection Prototype (Galy) listen
Kill Division Destructive Force (Metal Blade) listen
Mamiffer & Circle Enharmonic Intervals (for Paschen Organ) (Ektro) listen listen
Merciless Terror Vile Extinction (Devil’s Clause) listen
Monster Magnet Last Patrol (Napalm) listen
Oblivion Called To Rise reissue (Unique Leader) listen listen
Oranssi Pazuzu Velonielu (20 Buck Spin) listen
Pigs Gaffe EP (Solar Flare) listen
Ra Critical Mass (Self) listen
» Reptilian Death The Dawn Of Consummation And Emergence (Old School Metal) listen
Scarificare Postulado (HellProd) listen
Six Minute Century Wasting Time (Nightmare) listen
Soilwork A Predator’s Portrait reissue (Nuclear Blast) listen
¤ Theologian Some Things Have To Be Endured (Crucial Blast) listen
Thunder Tribe War Chant (Nightmare) listen listen
Tiger Junkies D-Beat Street Rock ‘n’ Rollers collection (Hells Headbangers) listen
» Uzala Tales of Blood & Fire (King of the Monsters) listen
Withem The Point Of You (Sensory) listen
World Collapse Into The Night (Reaper) listen listen