Prepping for a show this week, so a little strapped for time/energy/sanity. Apologies in advance. Now let’s talk new music.
WHAT TO HEAR: Fresh off an autumnal split Paysage d’hiver back in the fall, Ukrainian black metal legends Drudkh are back with a new season-focused full-length, Їм часто сниться капіж (They Often See Dreams About the Spring) (Season of Mist), just in time for the rebirth ahead. Another strong renaissance offering from one of the single most influential black metal acts still going, About the Spring is—like almost all Drudkh releases—melody forward and eternally frosty, but wrung with a halo of warmth from some distant sun. If you like your black metal brooding, catchy, and delivered sans studio bullshit, this one is definitely the pick of the weekly litter. Check it out via bandcamp.
Thrumming deep underground, meanwhile, are crust-caked Colorado death unit Of Feather and Bone and their crypt-rattling new LP, Bestial Hymns of Perversion (Profound Lore). I won’t lie, the production on this one—with the already subatomic guitars buried even further down in the mix—threw me at first, but the closer you listen, the more the layers of filth peel back, revealing some pretty damn beautiful hideousness in the process. Grab your pentagrams and goats blood and check it out via bandcamp.
On slightly cheesier fronts, prog-core vets Between the Buried and Me return with another hour-plus slab of oodly, noodly goodness, Automata I (Sumerian Records). Pinging back and forth from one fraction-manipulating concept to the next, Automata I is pure auditory ADHD, but when it peaks, it’s hard to call it anything but rock solid, even if it’s not endemically your thing. After that, check out LA-based hardcore/djent/rap rock/idk outfit Twitching Tongues and their new full-length Gaining Purpose Through Passionate Hatred (Metal Blade), which possibly scratches some guilty itch somewhere.
In old bands releasing new things news, Judas Priest—the band that got me into metal like 30 years after they were even really a band—return for their fourth post-reunion record, Firepower (Columbia Records). This one has been marred in the build-up by Glenn Tipton’s Parkinson’s diagnosis (and some stupid comments from his former compatriot in shred, K.K. Downing), but I can’t think of a better tribute to Tipton’s eternally underrated work than this still-ripping swan song. When you’re done getting misty-eyed about that one, also make sure to check out AmeriKKKant (Nuclear Blast), the politically charged new LP from industrial legends Ministry. According to Al Jourgensen, the record “will provide FEMA-type relief for the devastation ‘Hurricane Cheeto’ has brought upon us”, which is both a hell of a press release quote and a reason enough to give it a listen.
Finally, wrap up your weekly audio explorations with Byrrth’s Echoes From the Seven Caves of Blood (I Black Metal)—a domestic take on age-old vampyric black metal—and the official digital re-release for my band (FULL DISCLAIMER) Fliege’s self-titled EP (Battle Royal), a nerdy black metal love letter to The Fly. If you’re looking to support the cause, check it out via these platforms and join us for a little record release thing with Malignancy tomorrow night at The Kingsland.
WHAT TO SEE: Speaking of shows, there’s plenty more where that came from, starting tonight with Ross the Boss at Saint Vitus, Cro-Mags at Debonair Music Hall, Debra Devi at FM, and Kid Fucking Rock at the Prudential Center, which also doubles as your weekend Trump rally. On Saturday, the craziness continues with Septicflesh at Gramercy Theatre, Madball at Brooklyn Bazaar, the aforementioned Malignancy rager at The Kingsland, Swinging Riot at The Gateway, Michael Schenker Fest at Irving Plaza, and the almighty Inter Arma at Vitus, while Sunday gets ya Black Mass at Lucky 13 Saloon, Crazy Town at Dingbatz, Senses Fail at Music Hall of Williamsburg, and Homewrecker at Saint Vitus if you’re patient.
Monday starts the working week strong with Godspeed You Black Emperor! at Brooklyn Steel, A Day to Remember (OK, maybe not that strong) at Hammerstein Ballroom, and a live taping of Two Minutes to Late Night—a “late night” show for Brooklyn metalheads from the men behind Mutoid Man—at Saint Vitus. Godspeed return to Brooklyn Steel on Tuesday night for an encore, followed by Nightwish at Playstation Theater, Women of the Night at Saint Vitus, and Crowbar and Artificial Brain at Brooklyn Bazaar on Wednesday. After that, the only real Thursday show of note is Moose Blood at Irving Plaza, so get out there and make the most of it while you can.
WHAT THE FUCK: NEW NAPALM DEATH. TWO, THREE, FOUR…