HAHA!!!! ALLLLL ABOARRRRDDDDDDDDD!!!!!! We’re back baybeeeeee! I’m currently living in an empty apartment and have completely lost my grip on reality. Thankfully, metal has been there every step of the way, ensuring that my rapidly deteriorating mental state remains appropriately sountracked. The good news is, the soundtrack has been excellent.
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
A Pregnant Light - Kiss Me Thru the Phone
This oddly titled little gem came across my inbox thanks to the To The Teeth Newsletter, which I highly recommend subscribing to if you haven’t already. Despite the unorthodox cover and title, this project digs into some of the best elements of metal music. The vocals are harsh, but comprehensible, the guitars complex, but never muddled, and the drums are more than just a gatling gun of double bass. Best of all, there’s a boatload of emotion tossed into this project. Composed over the course of 2020, Kiss Me Thru the Phone, was released one song at a time via voicemail only. Fans would dial in to hear the track and would then leave a message of their own, each of which APL would listen to and then use to inspire future compositions. Listening to the project, it’s clear that it was more than a gimmick as each song jams a complex emotional through line into their relatively digestible runtimes. It’s unlikely to change the way you perceive the genre, but it brilliantly utilizes so many pieces of so many styles that it’s a wonder unto itself.
Great Metal from this Week
While I wasn’t able to write a newsletter the past two weeks, I still wanted to highlight some of the best albums from the weeks that I missed. Tons of great stuff from this month so far, so be sure to keep an eye out for the best of March (and February) write-ups that will be making their way into your inbox soon (I promise this time).
As always, albums in bold received an 8/10 or higher. All non-bolded albums are still well worth your time.
Plague Mother - Carrying Your Halo (Harsh Noise, but it belongs here)
Orden Ogan - Final Days (Great music, questionable album art)
Beaten to Death - Laat Maar, Deel Vier: Ik Verhuis Naar Endor
While I haven’t kept up with writing as well as I’d have liked to, I have managed to keep the fresh kills playlist moving at a solid clip. Hit the button below to subscribe so you don’t miss out on any great tracks.
Subgenre Guide - Speed Metal
We’ve arrived at Sonic the Hedgehog’s favorite subgenre of metal, speed metal. As one might expect speed metal is primarily focused on going fast, a trait that many metal bands had already taken to heart. The genre originated out of NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) and aimed to take metal to a new level of extremity by honing in on speed and technicality. While the pace of this genre could be likened to Thrash Metal, artists in the style refused the influence of hardcore punk and its forceful, simplistic compositions. Much like heavy metal and NWOBHM, vocalists of speed metal bands tend to sing clean, and harsh vocals are a rarity instead of a common occurrence.
Regarding its origins, most metal scholars (this is an actual thing, wild to consider) agree that it sprung out of NWOBHM, where the battle for an ever more impressive riff or guitar solo eventually pushed the limits of virtuosity so far that a new term had to be invented for the style. But while speed metal wouldn’t emerge until the late ‘70s, near the tail end of the NWOBHM movement, the first speed metal song is widely considered to be the impeccably titled “Speed King” by Deep Purple. Recorded in 1969, the song predates the speed metal movement by nearly a decade, and Deep Purple would further influence the genre with “Fireball” which featured the addition of double bass drumming with a four on the floor tempo. This allowed drummers to increase the speed at which they could play the kick drum, leading to an impactful, propulsive rhythm over which vocalists and guitarists could lay flashy, highly technical melodies. Even Black Sabbath has some hand in building the genre. Discontent with inventing heavy metal, doom metal, death metal, black metal, and pretty much all other styles of metal, they picked up the pace in songs like “Electric Funeral” and “Symptom of the Universe,” the latter of which has been claimed to be the origin of speed metal by “Speed King” dissenters.
Regardless of the exact origins, which are impossible to pin down for just about any genre or style of music, the first canonical foray into real speed metal was Judas Priest’s “Exciter.” This song influenced the band Exciter (who named themselves after the song) to become one of the first speed metal bands. Hailing from Ottawa, Canada, their influence would inspire Anvil, another Canadian metal act, to form as a speed metal band. The genre eventually made its way back into Europe where the German band Accept would become a foundational influence on both speed metal and thrash metal.
Now, true heads may notice a particular group missing, and it’s because I’ve saved the best for last. While all of the aforementioned bands are certainly important, there’s really only one speed metal band that tore away from the niche, extreme genre of metal, and that’s the legendary Motörhead. Motörhead took speed metal from a nascent genre and put some (perhaps too much) hair on its chest. With a biker influenced style and some of the rowdiest tracks ever put to wax (at the time at least) Motörhead became a symbol of extreme metal and maximum virtuosity well before anyone else even attempted it. Even today, Motörhead is still considered the pinnacle of the genre despite almost a half-century’s worth of bands building on their legacy.
Of course, this means I’m sending you off with a Motörhead song. And what song could be better than “Ace of Spades.” Rest in peace Lemmy, you absolute maniac.
Non-Metal AOTW
Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin - $mokebreak EP
This was actually a rather disappointing week from the non-metal perspective, but this particular EP stood head and shoulders above almost everything else. A loving tribute to old school hip-hop, Pink Siifu and Fly Anakin tilt towards the soulful rather than the bombastic. If you’re a fan of Smino or Joey Bada$$, then this project is sure to capture your heart. Complex rhyme schemes and indica-laced beats turn wherever you happen to be into the comfiest couch you’ve ever laid upon. In a week that was filled with chaos and unmet expectations, this record became a welcome reprieve of peace and satisfaction, and I’m sure it’ll do the same for you.
Runners-up
Drops on Drops on Drops
This week was excellent for non-metal drops in particular, with some of my favorite artists (hi there serpentwithfeet) releasing new full length material for the first time in years. Make sure to give these a look before I ruin your opinion of them.
Metal Albums
Dreams of the Drowned - Missed Springs EP
Cryptosis - Bionic Swarm
Sanguisugabogg - Tortured Whole
Begotten - EP
Non-Metal Albums
Serpentwithfeet - DEACON
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises
Xiu Xiu - Oh No
Evanescence - The Bitter Truth (Jr. High me reigns supreme in my psyche)
tUnE-yArDs - sketchy.
The Antlers - Green to Gold
Clark - Playground in a Lake
Real Estate - Half a Human
Lost Girls - Menneskekollektivet
Did I miss something you’re excited to hear? Sound off in the comments with your favorite new releases this week.
Shrinekeeping
Thanks again for sticking around while I try to settle into a new state and such. Not sure how many times I’ll mention the general chaos of life, but let’s hope that this is the last time for a minute. If you’d like to give me a delightful, free serotonin boost, share this with some friends who like metal!
If you’re reading Apotheosis for the first time you can give me an even bigger serotonin boost by subscribing via the following button.
That’s all for this week. Keep an eye out for some upcoming best of the month recaps in the coming days and weeks. Till then, I’ll try not to get sucked into a tornado or struck by lightning.