SH*T THAT COMES OUT TODAY: SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

My grandpa once gave me a piece of powerful advice, some words that I will pass on to my grandchildren and hope that they’ll pass on to theirs. Sitting next to me on the fuzzy couch one cozy Sunday afternoon, he told me, “Boy, when your editor sends you the weekly list of Shit That Comes Out Today, make sure you listen to every band, no matter how core or crunk; you never know what you may find.”

Powerful advice, indeed. Leave no stone or stoner metal unturned, dear STCOT-er’s.

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Revocation
Teratogenesis (Scion AV)
On a playlist with: Neuraxis, Atheist, Cryptopsy’s Cryptopsy
Listen “Teratogenesis” (here) “Bound By Desire” (here)

Does something about seven-string guitars make a band 50x groovier? On Revocation’s new Scion-sponsored EP, Teratogenesis, frontman David Davidson debuts one such beefier axe and the gates of groove come flying open. Revo’ hasn’t gotten djentle, but Davidson’s subterranean Dimebag/Pantera influence really surfaces here. Of course, plenty of the cool ethereal parts and displays of technical mastery will help sell Teratogenesis to you, so I don’t need to. Not on this site any way. Besides it’s free.

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Oak Pantheon
From A Whisper (Broken Limbs)
On a playlist with: Agalloch’s The Mantle, Opeth’s My Arms, Your Hearse, Krallice’s Diotima
Listen From A Whisper full stream (here)

Question: Which new black metal record should you check out this week? Answer: This one! Sure, I didn’t know much about this Midwestern black metal duo before yesterday, but their new record is really cool, not-by-the-books, progressive black metal with Opethy/Agallochean dynamics, tasty drumming, and sometimes even a sort of cosmic atmosphere that calls some of Krallice’s creepy vibes to mind. They should tour with Steel Panther.

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Before The Dawn
Rise Of The Phoenix (Frostbyte)
On a playlist with: Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, Mors Principium Est
Listen “Rise of the Phoenix” (here)

The Swedes invented melo-death, but the Finns made it pure win. There is a certain mastery of major and, particularly, minor scales that is surprisingly unique to Scandinavia’s Uralic neighbors. It also helps that they don’t stack third harmonies above every frickin’ lead! So if you’ve yearned for the days in which Insomnium weren’t so sing-songy and were more to the point with their writing, then consider your fancy tickled by Before The Dawn’s Rise of The Phoenix (and while we’re at it, Tenacious D’s awesome Rize of the Fenix).

Heaven’s Cry
Wheels Of Impermanence (Prosthetic)
On a playlist with: Symphony X, Dream Theater’s Awake, Rush’s Clockwork Angels
Listen “Compass” (here)

In their astoundingly succinct third album, the French Canadians of Heaven’s Cry deliver all the goodies of an early Dream Theater record in  just 44 minutes (!). ‘Course I, too, love to “prog out with my frog out.” (Figuratively speaking of course — my African clawed frog shouldn’t leave his tank.) But these days I’m all about tight, concise songwriting, and the savory, bite-sized tracks on Wheels Of Impermanence mean that that’s just what Heaven’s Cry is about. Call it manageable prog. Man-prog!

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Monuments
Gnosis (Century Media)
On a playlist: Tesseract, Uneven Structure, Vildhjarta
Listen “97% Static” (here)

I’ve gotta feel bad for London quintet Monuments: After countless lineup changes and roadblocks before their debut album, these FellSilent and Cyclamen alums (Monuments is helmed by FellSilent co-mastermind John Browne and features ex-Cyclamen riffer Olly Steele) are a little late. Had Gnosis come out two years ago, I could see it being huge. But so many bands that these guys influenced have made big appearances on the djent scene and maybe that’s why Gnosis fails to stand out from the crowd. But the songs are very solid and new vocalist Matt Rose was a good choice. (Dan Tompkins fans will be pleased.) If you can’t get enough of this stuff, by all means.

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The Gathering
Disclosure (Psychonaut)
On a playlist: PJ Harvey, The Provenance, The Chant
Listen Disclosure full stream (here)

It’s rare to come across a great female-fronted rock or metal band. I don’t have anything against lovely specimens of the opposite sex, but such bands are often derivative to the extreme, and rely almost solely on things besides the music itself. Now, The Gathering’s Silje Wergeland is pretty adorable, but fortunately that’s not why her band and their latest release are so good. That’s because The Gathering’s evolution is such that their sound doesn’t fit any pre-established rock mold. Somehow Wergeland and crew can sound incredibly dark and melancholic without ever approaching goffick melodrama, and write ten-minute opuses that never feel proggy but like beautiful journeys in their own right.

OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY

Dokken Broken Boners (Frontiers) listen

Gorephilia Embodiment Of Death (Dark Descent) listen

»Look Right Penny Sugar Lane deluxe (Bieler Bros) listen

Satans Wrath Galloping Blasphemy (Metal Blade) listen