“Nostalgia is one hell of a drug, but as a creative tool, it can offer us the ability to look at the past to dig through elements that shine rose-tint or otherwise—or at least cover them with a modern spit polish. Not far removed from the idea of Brents’ chiptune grind explorations with Gonemage, Memorrhage explores the br-deng grumblings of Mudvayne, the hazy aggro-interventions of Deftones, and the stop-start core-isms of Zao.” Nu hage music.
“Artificial Sun is a quartet from Athens, Greece, picking up where its previous short-lived incarnation Trigger left off, sporting a fusion of groove and metalcore with their debut The Giants Collapse. Expect bouncy riffs, technical leads, energetic drumming, vitriolic and soothing vocals, and nice moments of experimentation to go down slow.” Fake sun and old djent.
“I love Mystic Prophecy. What do I love about them? Everything. I love the excessive machismo of their aesthetic, the over-the-top badassery of their album artwork, their delightful ESL lyrics, and the way the band shoehorns the words “hell,” “devil,” “demons,” “Lucifer,” and any number of similarly sinister subjects (not to mention album titles from their own past and classic album titles from other greats) into said lyrics. But most of all, I love that Mystic Prophecy is hell-bent on keeping heavy metal fucking heavy.” Wicked Mystic.
“DevilDriver is not the most popular band with dyed-in-the-wool metalheads. Founded by Dez Fafara after the merciful death of Coal Chamber, this outfit embodies “you’ll grow out of it.” Core screams that aren’t quite growls, lyrics full of nonspecific angst and anger that appeal to teenagers, chug-laden straightforward riffs and simple solos. The Hot Topic crowd goes wild. But as such, it has been an important gateway band to many, and in my opinion, one of the few with redeeming qualities.” On the road again.
“This Danish quintet is back to massage your thighs with melodic coconut butter before headbutting you in the junk with their signature combination of groove and thrash. After taking longer than usual between albums, HateSphere has stripped back all those orchestral interludes and sprinklings of clean vox to deliver the back-to-basics Hatred Reborn to you. And new vocalist Mathias Uldall (from the metalcore outfit Royal Deceit) is along for the ride.” Touch the anger orb.
“Heads Will Roll sounds like an idea sparked after a rekindling of enjoyment for In Flamesߵ infamous Reroute to Remain. Now that’s a hoarse of a different color. Defend whatever album you want, but In Flames at their most alternative and least melodeath is not the act you’d expect to see aped in 2023—even In Flames agrees. Yet, here we are, Oceanhoarse in full Björiff meets Breaking Benjamin territory, partying like an 80s arena rock hero got stuck in Sounds of a Playground Fading.” Old flames.
“Why do we find ourselves in the midst of a nu renaissance where bands like The Offering throw down like it’s ’03 and genres like slam can shamelessly quote groove under the guise of gore? Well, it seems that some also grew up to incorporate their first loves into their art. Elyose, an act of that breed, urges you to embrace your inner jumpdafuckup with a French language tour-de-force of alt-rock meets gothy vibes with nu and industrial accouterments on Déviante.” What’s olde is nu.
“If you’re looking for thick-stringed pummel somewhere on the heady but heavy spectrum between Anciients and Today Is the Day with a kiss of Machine Head, you might be in the market for Turbid North. I know that sounds like mouthful, but these extreme metal frontiersmen make it a point to switch from Southern rock drones to chug-led beatdowns on a dime.” Trve north?
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“The onslaught of sound that constitutes Bucephale can be overwhelming. Nostromo lays it on thick, a grind-influenced classic metalcore gallop with thrash and groove for good measure, riffs curb-stomping and pummeling with little reprieve.” Stampede of anger.
“In their post-reunion era He Is Legend has displayed plenty of music on the sonically heavy side. Endless Hallway carves new levels of emotional vitriol in their catalog. If you’ve followed any news surrounding this band, particularly surrounding vocalist Schuylar Croom’s health, you know that there’s a reality out there where this record never happened. Particularly in the time surrounding the recording of this album.” The Legend goes on.
