Band Names are Hard to Spell
In which CTRL+C & CTRL+V save my life
It’s another short one this week. Was out of town for the weekend and I’ve also been killing a lot of zombies in Days Gone. Sometimes that’s just how life goes. Luckily despite the length of this letter there was a lot of great stuff that dropped.
Also a shoutout to Mxdwn, my occasional writing outlet for experimental music reviews, for name dropping Apotheosis in a series of social media posts last week. Go check them out for music news and more as they’re a lot more ear to the ground than I am.
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Esoctrilihum - Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath
Last year every metalhead lost their collective minds over Esoctrilihum’s (yes I’m copy and pasting that name every time. I can’t spell or pronounce that) record Eternity of Shaog. As is often the case, the general appeal of the album was easy to see, but the proclamations of “greatest metal album of the year” and “the future of progressive death metal” seemed overblown to me.
Well it turns out that all that praise was just coming a bit too early because Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath (also copy pasted as I can neither consistently pronounce nor spell this title either) is really the future of progressive death or whatever you want to call this. It has everything you could possibly want in a metal record. Gut-churning vocals, incredible drums, instantly addictive guitar tones, choruses, and HORNS are all here. It’s immediately a competitor for metal album of the year and it’s not even in my favorite subgenre. Get this right now, you won’t regret it.
Great Metal from this Week
Last week was pretty solid for finding some great new metal. The new Burial Pit was especially good for those who love doomy sludge. Albums in bold received an 8/10 or higher. All listed albums are above 7.5.
Burial Pit - Subhuman Scum- I like metal music that wants to break your legs and cave in your face. Subhuman Scum is exactly that. Loud, low and heavy, any death-doom or sludge fan will be more than happy to hear this roaring din.
An Autumn for Crippled Children - As the Morning Dawns We Close Our Eyes - Atmospheric black metal continues to rock the landscape of modern black metal and AAfCC is becoming an essential piece of the blossoming movement. In a unique twist, this album makes use of upbeat tones to keep it from becoming just another sad slog.
Nadja - Luminous Rot - While technically not metal, the electronic tones on this record clearly mimic doom closely enough that it counts. It’s electronic doom, go check it out, what else do you need to hear from me?
Vola - Witness - Really fun melodic prog metal. Lots of great melodies and big choruses for people who don’t like cookie monster vocals on loop.
Catch tracks from each of these albums and some others that didn’t make the list by following our Spotify playlist.
Non-Metal AOTW
Mach-Hommy - Pray For Haiti
I’m admittedly skeptical of rappers whose names I don’t recognize. That’s probably a bit close minded of me, but much like metal, the underground hip-hop scene really does have no sense of quality control whatsoever. But once I learned that this record was produced by Griselda I was immediately curious. That curiosity was repaid in the form of 2021’s best hip-hop record of the year to date. The beats are inventive without tilting into the idiosyncratic and strange and the flows and lyrics adjust perfectly to every unexpected curveball thrown their way. An absolutely essential listen.
Runners-up
Mannequin Pussy - Perfect (EP) - Mannequin Pussy can do no wrong and this loud as hell EP is no exception. Just barely melodic enough to avoid landing its ass on the metal list.
Lambchop - Showtunes - Lambchop always comes through with emotionally resonant music that’s as inventive as it is thought provoking and that’s exactly what you’ll get on Showtunes.
Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime - If you’re not too familiar with music from non-western cultures then Mdou Moctar has you covered. Afrique Victime delivers a phenomenal psychedelic journey that is destined to leave your head spinning and have you wondering why you didn’t investigate the music of the global south much sooner.
Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR - At first I wasn’t sure why the world was so abuzz over an (admittedly rather good) breakup album, then I learned the story behind it and it’s honestly so messy that it endeared me to this record so much more. It’s also just a great breakup album.
Things to Look Forward to
Lots of exciting stuff dropped this past Friday, and while I’m sure you’ve heard some or even all of it, this is the stuff you have to check out.
Having listened to a majority of this music already, I can tell you that there’s not really a miss on this list. Merzbow definitely will not be for everyone and Exodus is only okay, but the rest are great.
Metal Albums
Non-Metal Albums
Shrinekeeping
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