Spring has, meteorologically at least, sprung this week and with it THE REBIRTH OF TRVE, PVRE EVIL. Lol, just kidding, but there are some plenty of new metal records on the way, so dig in and have some fun.
WHAT TO HEAR: Venom Prison’s sophomore full-length, Samsara (Prosthetic)—a dense, fatalistic swarm of woke-as-fuck death metal from the heart of England. And while vocalist Larissa Stupar laces each track with themes of femininity, that only makes the relentless screech-and-grind heavier, uncorking the bottled-up frustrations of women everywhere with each and every tortured howl. If you’re sleeping on Venom Prison, you’re sleeping on the very thing that makes metal great right now, so uh yeah, don’t do that.
After, keep the hardcore crust caked on with Cease to Exist (20 Buck Spin), the new full-length from re-thrash-pip-squeaks-turned-grindcore death squad Noisem. Filling your weekly d-beat quota to brim and then some, Cease to Exist is the product of nearly four years of gestation (and the world going totally to the shit in the meantime). So buckle up and get ready for an unapologetic beatdown that’s perfect for when you want to rage against the machine and slam a couple beers while doing it.
Speaking of re-thrash alums, Midwest miscreants Oozing Wound are also back today for their junior year, High Anxiety (Thrill Jockey). Of all the bands from that very 2013 thrash scene (Power Trip, Ramming Speed, et. al), Oozing Wound always had the best sense of humor and the broadest sonic palette, and both are thankfully still on full display here, winking, nudging, and shredding their way through thrash, punk, sludge, and any other whimsy that pops into their rotted brains. It’s fun and that’s exactly the point, so make sure to give it a spin.
After that, slow things way way down Sigils’ You Built the Altar, You Lit the Leaves (self-released)—Windhand/Pallbearer-indebted Long Island doom that rolls in like a stone and drifts off like a vapor—and Asthma Castle’s swaggering stoner opus, Mount Crushmore (Hellmistress Records). Featuring members of Pig Destroyer, Misery Index, and even J. Roddy Walston and the Business, Asthma Castle own the coolest supergroup lineup in ages, so make sure to give them a toke or two.
Finally, wrap up the releases on a malcontented note with Body Void’s new fascist-stomping doom two-fer, You Will Know the Fear You Forced Upon Us (Crown and Thorn/Dry Cough), and Drawn Into Descent’s The Endless Endeavour (Avantgarde Music), some very chewy atmo black metal from Belgium, which seems to be producing a lot of that of good stuff lately.
WHAT TO SEE: On the show front, get out there and get heavy tonight with Slaine at The Kingsland, NeverFall at Barney McNabbs, The Silencer at Saint Vitus, and The Flenser’s killer showcase featuring Have a Nice Life/Planning For Burial at Market Hotel. On Saturday, check out a Noisem matinee at our favorite Greenpoint hell house, followed by Youth of Today in the primetime slot, or catch Paralysis at Blackthorn 51, Korotory at Rams American Pub, and After the Fall at Gold Sounds, before Sunday rolls around with Metal Yoga at Cobra Club, Murphy’s Law at Bowery Electric, The Flesheaters at Bowery Ballroom, In Lucid Dreams at Amityville Music Hall, Goddamn Gallows at Gold Sounds, another Youth of Today rager at Brooklyn Bazaar, and Thursday at Vitus.
On Monday, lend your earholes and eyeballs to This Is Not This Heat at le Poisson Rouge, Degrader at The Kingsland, and another night of Thursday at Vitus / another evening of Youth of Today at Market Hotel, before catching Clutch at Irving Plaza and Light the Torch / Mark Morton at Gramercy Theatre with support from Moon Tooth on Tuesday. Wednesday, meanwhile, plays host to Vomit Fist at 8Ball Community and Woe / Pyrrhon at Knitting Factory, followed on Thursday by Ulver’s first US show in forever at Irving Plaza, Minimum Wage Assassins at Rams Head Pub, All Them Witches at Bowery Ballroom, Alireza at The Kingsland, and We Are the Union at Saint Vitus.
WHAT THE FUCK: Whoa. Coming right in under the wire today is A Violent Dread (Vendetta Records), a surprise new EP from New York black metal maestros Woe. It features one new original and a cover of Dawn’s “The Knell and the World,” and needless to say, I’m pumped this hit my inbox before we went to “print” today.
very good choices, 3rd choice was especially my favorite.