Metz's 4th full length sees the band expanding upon their now signature noise rock sound with added dynamics and has the band pulling back into quieter moments at times with great success. Almost sounding like a modern Fugazi at times, it's awesome to see one of the best bands in noise rock continue to sonically evolve while still retaining everything that made them great in the first place.
SPICE-SELF TITLED LP
Featuring members of bands such as Ceremony, Creative Adult and Sabertooth Zombie, Spice's personnel right off the bat tells you you're in for something special, and the 9 songs on their all too brief self titled LP certainly deliver on that hunch. Channeling classic alternative giants such as Dinosaur Jr while pulling from their wealth of experience in their previous projects and seemingly recorded in a live/one take style situation (though I could be mistaken on that), this album has an organic/live feel that's certainly appreciated in a time when live shows are far from safe or possible at the moment. One can only hope that this album isn't a one off and that the band continues to release music in the future/tour when the time is right.
USA NAILS-CHARACTER STOP
Another stellar release in an outstanding year for noise rock, USA Nails knock it out of the park with an album that's both brimming with excitement and lyrically/tonally apathetic in the best way possible. Songs like "How Was Your Weekend?" Rival the comedic value of Pissed Jean's now classic "Cafeteria Food" in terms of dry wit, and it helps that the band has heaps upon heaps of killer riffs to back up their tongue in cheek nature. Albums like Character Stop prove the UK noise rock scene is thriving and arguably leading the pack when it comes to the genre worldwide at large.
THE ACACIA STRAIN-SLOW DECAY
The Acacia Strain are one of those bands I liked a lot a while back, completely fell off of, and then they knocked me on my ass last year with their head turner "It Comes In Waves". Their follow up album "Slow Decay" returns to their more signature sound but with more proficiency and punch then they've ever had. It's a sprawling, huge sounding metalcore record that perfectly embodies the chaos and sorrow this year has wrought, and serves as a cathartic listen from a band that's no stranger to exercising demons. I'd go so far as to say this is the band's finest effort to date, no small feat considering it's the band's 10th full length album.
OILY BOYS-CRO MEMORY GRIN
Something must be in the water in Australia because they've been putting out some of the absolute craziest hardcore punk releases of the year across the pond. "Cro Memory Grin" is a ripping rush of psychedelic hardcore that will lodge itself in your brain and flip it upside down. Maybe the biggest head turn this record gives is while there are no shortage of hardcore records that end on a lengthy track that ends up not being a typical song from the band and more of an interlude or say it less kindly filler, Oily Boys close out this record with "GTrance" an absolutely crushing 8+ minute hardcore epic that might just be the centerpiece and best song on the entire record.
CROWNING-SURVIVAL/SICKNESS
The emergence of a full revival of screamo has been prevalent for several years now, and one of the most promising newer bands to emerge has been Chicago's Crowning. The band finally dropped their debut LP "Survival/Sickness" this year, and it fulfills the promise of the band's earlier records and then some. The album's 8 songs fly by in an instant, but bare repeated listens with the band's heavy and chaotic take on the genre never ceasing to be engaging. This album definitely places Crowning as one of the best current bands in the genre.
HUM-INLET
Plenty of bands from the past reunite to cash in on a tour or put out a subpar record in hopes of reclaiming their former glory. Hum did nothing of the sort, releasing what might be their very best album yet in the form of the absolutely magnificent Inlet. Taking cues from some of the heavier bands that clearly took influence from them throughout the years, Inlet is a mesmerizing and crushingly heavy piece of work that shows the band have lost none of the magic that made them so beloved in alternative/heavy music circles. Most definitely one of the best post reunion albums I've ever heard from a band.
FUMING MOUTH-BEYOND THE TOMB
Normally I don't put EP's on my year end list, but Fuming Mouth's latest 3 song effort is so goddamn epic that I'm going to make an exception. After turning heads with last year's excellent "The Grand Descent" the band has returned with 3 crushing death metal/metallic hardcore songs that stand as the band's best to date. Dynamic and pushing forward into new territory while still retaining all of the heaviness and nastiness that made their full length so good, "Beyond The Tomb" serves as an appetizer for the band's upcoming full length on Nuclear Blast next year, and if these songs are any indication of what's to come, there's no doubt that album will end up on my year end list for 2021.
CLOCK OF TIME-PESTILENT PLANET
Featuring members of Diat and Useless Eaters, Clock Of Time play post punk in the vein of those projects but with a little bit of added punk rock punch that really sets this apart from their previous bands. Most definitely a sleeper hit/surprise for me, I heard this just a couple of weeks ago and have been listening to it nonstop ever since. A great combo of 80's post punk mixed with modern anger that gets the blood running quickly and sticks in your head just as fast.
PRIMITIVE BLAST-ANIMALISTIC
Sometimes a record is exactly what the band's name and album title sound like, and such is the case with Australian hardcore powerhouse Primitive Blast. These 6 songs hit like a freight train, flush with hardcore fury and full of the urgency and vitriol that make the genre so special. The only thing I really say against this record is I wish there were more songs, but that's what throwing it on repeat is for, and I guarantee you if you're into fast and hard hitting music it'll be quite a while before you get tired of this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment