The best music since September

(By Melody Werner)

It's been a little bit, and I got into some songs that I didn't mention last time. This isn't really in an ordered list, I like these songs about as much as each other. And do remember that these articles are not for new releases necessarily--it's just a bunch of songs that I got into between my last update.

Khemmis remains one of metal's most promising rising stars. Their epic, intellectual brand of doomed heavy metal leads to some crushing performances instrumentally, some soaring clean vocals, and some monstrous growls. And it helps that they seem to be good lads, something metal could always do with more of. Their next full-length album, Deceiver, drops this month (on my birthday no less, which is pretty cool), and both teasers so far have ruled. I'll point to the lead-off single, "Living Pyre" in particular as it has some particularly sick riffs and stellar cleans. Deceiver is easily my most anticipated metal record queued for release this year, so I do intend to review it as soon as I get my grubby mitts on it.

This is the fourth song featuring Rico Nasty in some capacity that I've featured on one of these round-ups, so one might believe that I may be a "SIMP" for her. Alas, I am aromantic, and she's not the lead artist here anyways. However, I am a sucker for this hilarious, batshit rager, "SIMP" by Full Tac, Lil Mariko, and Rico.

The first new face here is The Home Team, and I'm still not 100% certain that I like this band. It took a few listens before I could admit to myself that I enjoy "Right Through Me". Why's that? They're a pop rock band with a feel quite a bit like latter day Fall Out Boy, and I do not care for latter day Fall Out Boy. However. The riffs on "Right Through Me"? Kickass, and surprisingly heavy. The hook is bloody addictive, and the dash of autotune is honestly a nice, tasteful touch (how rare is that in electronic pop rock like this?). There's a great sense of contrast throughout the track, and I think "Fall Out Boy with ADHD" does a good job of describing how all over the place it is. But in a good way!

As someone who's enjoyed what he's heard dabbling into the work of Kacey Musgraves, I actually believe I heard "justified" before my last post (I can't rightly remember, tbh), though IIRC, I held off on it as it I was still mulling over my opinions of it. I still need to hear the full album (though I intend to do a full delve into her discography, probably chronologically), but I do enjoy this single a lot. The chorus is fantastic, the lyrics are incredibly bitter but also sell the emotional complexity so well.

Archspire may be the first death metal band to pop up in this rundown, but they will not be the last. (I fucking love death metal.) After Impermanence, my expectations of technical death metal this year are lofty, and this band shreds so fucking hard. Nowhere near as sonically out there or emotionally riveting as Stortregn's LP, but it makes up for that with an OBSCENE ferocity. The riffs are blistering and occasionally quite mathematical, the vocals are hefty, and the whole LP just slays. Expect a review shortly. Until then, I suggest you check out the barn-burner that is "Abandon the Linear".

Our next stop on the death metal train takes us to Russia's Slaughter to Prevail with their sledgehammer of a song, "Bonebreaker". Slaughter to Prevail are more accurately a deathcore act, and they bust the door down with this one, if that sounds up your alley.

Why did no one tell me that the new Black Sites album dropped last month? Black Sites is an obscenely underrated heavy metal band with some proggy eccentricities, and they own. I still intend to review their awesome last album, Exile, from 2019, and here they surprise drop untrue into my lap? All the same, rn I think it's a killer LP, and I intend to review it as well soon enough. For the time being, I'd urge you try out "Lost Tribes".

 

Zeal & Ardor have ostensibly carved out a miniature niche in these round-ups, with every single thus far from their forthcoming self-titled album having slapped. Their latest, "Götterdämmerung" has continued the trend of the previous three teaser tracks, and at this point, I hope they don't release too many more cuts from it, since I do want to have more of a surprise with this LP. That said, I'm not gonna complain that they keep dropping straight fire like this.

I'm glad I said that thing at the end of my Eternal Blue review about only having the Zeal & Ardor self-titled to look forward to, cuz as soon as I said that, a fuck ton of my favorite bands either surprise-dropped (Black Sites, Moron Police), or announced albums (ex. Khemmis). Battle Beast is a heavy metal act that I've been adoring for the past year or so, thanks to tracks like "King for a Day", "Touch in the Dark", and "Straight to the Heart". These are fun songs propelled into the fucking stratosphere by Noora Louhimo being a newly minted heavy metal goddess who gives me some Rob Halford vibes in terms of power and theatricality--high praise! "Master of Illusion", the first tease of next year's Circus of Doom, is more of that cheesy, fun power metal goodness.

So I've been slowly chipping away at the next article in my All-Time Greats series of articles and, in its current draft, I had this to say of viking death metal legends Amon Amarth: "I'm not a huge fan of this band personally". Yes, I am currently dousing this draft in gasoline as we speak. Check out "The Berserker at Stamford Bridge".

I've heard good things about Knocked Loose, but it wasn't until "Where the Light Divides the Holler" that I'd finally dipped my toes into their work. Suffice to say, I'll be checking out their latest EP, A Tear in the Fabric of Life.

Transgressive is the latest project of Alicia Cordisco and Joshua Payne, formerly members of the heavy metal act Judicator. As you might've guessed, this is a thrash band with lyrics that delve into politics with plenty of bite. I'm going to point you in the direction of their new EP, Seize the Means of Reproduction, since all revenue from it for the remainder of this year goes towards the National Network of Abortion Funds. Both tracks included rip and have incredibly incisive commentary, though I will recommend "Incel Incinerator" first since there's nothing more metal than incinerating incels. And might I add that, after the bullshit Apsu pulled on Melissa Moore, us metalheads should be supporting all of the badass trans folks like Alicia. Fuck transphobic metalheads.