🌶️ To The Teeth: music that makes you feel something & prolific bands that are great, too
Four new albums you need to hear
🌶️ Big | Brave (post/doom from Canada, listen)
You want music that makes you feel something, right? Big | Brave does that. Their minimalistic post metal slash doom relies on rhythm as much as it does on melancholy. Very impressive how easy they flow from huge, heavy sounds to really small and intimate, carried by Robin Wattie's great voice.
🌶️ Spectral Lore (atmospheric black/folk from Greece, listen)
After last year's monumental I, Voidhanger split with Mare Cognitum, Wanderers, who would expect that both bands would be back with new material already? I'd be impressed if one of them had a mediocre release by this pace, but this is - like Mare Cognitum's last one - really really strong: intense and fiery, with layers deep enough to hold a lot to discover.
🌶️ Bodom After Midnight (melodic power metal from Finland, listen)
Alexi Laiho is no more, but his music is forever. If you know and love Children of Bodom, you know what to expect. This new but tragically shortlived incarnation of the band has the power ánd the metal the old one had. (For the Dutch readers: I wrote about Laiho for NRC).
🌶️ Neptunian Maximalism (experimental from Belgium, listen)
I hope most of you have seen their set at Roadburn Redux (it was free!), which was a mindblowing, otherwordly experience. "This is the music played in the elevator that takes you down to hell" said one commenter. Here we another new album to zoof away down on while last years Éons is still warm. It must be an I, Voidhanger thing.
More new albums, ep's, demo's and splits: Altarage (black/death from Spain), Paysage d'Hiver (black from Switzerland), Blackbriar (sympho from the Netherlands), Ringarë (atmoblack from the USA, feat Alex Poole), Cicada The Burrower (prog/post-black from the USA), Bongzilla (sludge/doom/stoner from the USA), Obsolete (death/thrash from the USA), Noêta (dark folk from Sweden) and Victory Over The Sun (avantgarde black from the USA).
New singles
There are new songs, singles and advance tracks out from: Portal (🌶️ experimental death from Australia), Year of No Light (🌶️ sludge/doom/post from France), Khandra (black from Belarus), Yautja (grind/sludge from the USA), Bala (stoner/sludge/grunge from Spain), Blessings (metalcore/post-hardcore from the USA), Netherbird (melodic black from Sweden), Night Crowned (melodic black/death from Sweden), Domkraft (psych sludge from Sweden), Lustmord & Karin Park (drone/doom from the USA - Karin Park is of Årabrot) and a live track from Mr. Bungle (experimental from the USA).
Even more in the playlist!
Next week
Non-metal album of the week: Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince (classical/minimal/new age from the USA)
I’m looking forward to next week because of: Gojira (Dutch? Read my interview with Joe Duplantier), Vreid, Domkraft.
Have a great weekend! - Peter