Upcoming Metal: Week of May 25th
Death Rattle
The Mortal Chokehold
Releases May 30th on M-Theory Audio
Genre: Groove Metal
On their third album, New Hampshire’s Death Rattle hit the ground running with their take on the groove metal sound. Songs like “The Light” add that Gojira groove sound of 2000’s groove and modern metal. with Ryan VanderWolk’s wailing leads and chugging tone. Along with Trey Holton’s bellowing and gravelly growls. “Nietzche, and the Fall” continue the chugging onslaught that the groove metal genre is famous for. “Social War Machine” is a beast of a track and my favorite off the album. Overall though, it has its dips and valleys with some formulaic and predictable elements (some moments being on the verge of too much Gojira worship). But a solid record if you just wanna bang your head and chug along with the riffs.
SCORE: 3.5 / 5
Furnace
Eternally Enthroned
Releases May 30th on Obelisk Polaris Productions
Genre: Death Metal
”Tyrant’s Reign” opens the album with a classic old-school death metal sound that mimics the sound of Obituary, with slight elements of Amon Amarth & Entombed. It has that groove and bounce to the riff on songs like “Crow Warriors”. NWOBHM on “A Good Tree For Hanging”, and a pretty heavy mid-tempo track in “Godsbane”. Some songs hit harder than others, but a good straightforward death metal record.
SCORE: 3.5 / 5
Grin
Acid Gods
Releases May 30th on TLD Records
Genre: Sludge/Stoner Metal
The heavy fuzz of Germany’s Grin truly worships at the stoned, hazy alter with the band’s fifth album Acid Gods. Drummer Jan Oberg’s cavernous, bellowing growl has such presence amongst the dense, fuzzy, and reverb-heavy bass of Sabine Oberg. “Black Dye” has that heavy, atmospheric doom vibe I love in the genre. Songs like “Drag Me Down” and “Crystals” add that heavy, jaded production style that just adds to the band’s sound so well. Definitely worth a listen if you are fan of acts like Weedeater and Bongzilla, and want to have a good chill session and a strong indica strain to go along with it.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Needless
Premonition
Releases May 30th on Inertial Music
Genre: Thrash/Death/Black Metal
Needless’ new album Premonition is a true experimentation in genre-hopping throughout its forty-plus minute runtime. From the tech-death Cynic-like sound of “Derelict”, to the progressive death metal with synths on “Constellations”, to the complex and brutal sound of “The Outer Reach”. Brutal yet beautiful in the instrumentation, the band delivers their best album with their third album. Capturing the talent, creativity and dynamic musicianship with Premonition.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Obsidian Tongue
Eclipsing Worlds of Scorn
Releases May 30th on Profound Lore Records
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
From the opening of “Orphaned Spiritual Warrior”, Obsidian Tongue plunge the listener into a hopeless and bleak future on their new album Eclipsing Worlds of Scorn. Capturing that atmospheric, depressive black metal sound in the ambience and production of the album. Brendan Hayter’s snarling, phlegmy growls cascade over a sea of distortion and jagged bleakness throughout the album. Songs like “Snakeskin Tunnel Colony” and “To Forgive Oneself” are just a further descent into the sonic darkness that the band weaves the listener through on this album. If you dig the atmospheric, somewhat folk-laden, sounds of Agalloch and Wolves in The Throne Room, you will dig this album a lot like I did.
SCORE: 4.5 / 5
Rivers of Nihil
Rivers of Nihil
Releases May 30th on Metal Blade Records
Genre: Technical Death Metal
On the band’s fifth album, Rivers of Nihil continue to push the progressive elements of their technical death metal sound. With the soaring clean vocals on album opener “The Sub-Orbital Blues”, the album delivers a haunting, ominous and unrelenting tone for the fifty-minute runtime. The riff machine of Andy Thomas and Brody Uttley just deliver moments of pure headbanging chaos (“Dustman” & “Despair Church”) to the atmosphere, post-metal sounding on “Water & Time”. The band’s musical creativity and complexity, combining hopeful, positive sounding Prog soaked in saxophone, to punishingly heavy and downtuned death metal, they just keep getting better with each release. Watching the band evolve with each release is a true pleasure upon every new release, and this album will not disappoint for long-time fans of the band.
SCORE: 5 / 5
