terraasymmetry Features

SYNCHRONY: Music News, Week in Review & Upcoming Releases (4/17/2020)

SYNCHRONY is a weekly feature focusing on relevant heavy music news, new releases, upcoming releases, as well as a week in review to help folks keep up with all of the content on Grizzly Butts. This’ll also include a list of upcoming releases and some preliminary notes on upcoming reviews or coverage. If I can’t hear it, I won’t cover it! If you have New Releases, show announcements, or important heavy music news that’ll be relevant or interesting to folks contact me at: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

THIS WEEK IN NEWS (4/11/20 – 4/17/20)

  • Two decades into their brutal death metal crusade Topeka, Kansas-based murderers UNMERCIFUL are ready with their third full-length and first with Willowtip, ‘Wrath Encompassed‘. If you go to brutal death shows often enough you know the action is whatever the drummer is doing, they’re a huge part of the experience so check out Trynt Kelley, who has been with Unmerciful since 2017, punch out the title track for the new album alongside some specs for drum nerds over on Sick Drummer Magazine’s website. Bonus points for footcam! ‘Wrath Emcompassed‘ is out April 24th: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Shadow Records have announced all angles will align on June 8th as the downward thrust of black metal TERRESTRIAL HOSPICE as they release their debut album, ‘Indian Summer Brought Mushroom Clouds‘, on CD, 12″ vinyl LP, and cassette. Keep an ear out for the digital version which’ll be up on April 20th. The first preview track, “Gang Raping the Seven Virtues” is the sweltering lick of the flames of Hell, a centerpiece for an irreverent and destructive black metal record from members of Azarath, Tortorum, and Thunderbolt. The pulse of the music is that of man’s violent nature beneath the skin, the steady calm of murderous intent and all-encompassing hatred contained and channeled. Check out “Gang Raping the Seven Virtues” on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Italian atmospheric black metal band BLAZE OF SORROW have revealed a music video for “Sonno d’eterno”  the lead single from their sixth full-length album, ‘Absentia’, which will see pestilential North American shores April 24th through Eisenwald. Seeing their style described as romantic, either in the sense of classical arrangement or just emotionally entrenched, is certainly apt and they’ve developed something proud and memorable over the years as the band moves far beyond their Agalloch-esque atmoblack/folk beginnings. The guitar melodies are the major draw for this song and I’ve already found myself re-watching the video a few times today. Check out “Sonno d’eterno” on Eisenwald’s YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Weigh anchor, hoist the sails! Cruisin’ for booty on watery trails… er, nah they’re not that sort of conqueror. Australia’s most twisted-riffed slaughterers by sea CAULDRON BLACK RAM are back with their fourth full-length of primal, concave skull’d treachery. ‘Slaver’ will release this May 22nd by way of 20 Buck Spin and you need only heed “Whore to War” in preparation for their steel-splintering advance. Cauldron Black Ram are one of those ‘sweet spot’ death metal bands you’ll likely only have discovered by association with their membership’s related bands, such as the incredible StarGazer, Martire or Mournful Congregation. I’d had ’em recommended to me in 2011 due to bugging out on the second StarGazer record. Cavernous and bludgeoning as a point of distinction but with complex riffing that’ll compare well with Arghoslent, prime Carcass, and Mi’gauss. Couldn’t be having a better year in terms of Australia’s finest whipping out enormously anticipated releases and this is one of ’em. Check out “Whore To War” on Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • If you’ve been itching for more scumfuck noise rock via the Portland, Oregon area like I have lately wake up to ILS‘ latest jam “Bad Parts”. No real info here as it was a random Bandcamp notification, just a huge jam packed into two minutes of their whipping ‘n ripping spaced-out Unsane-meets-Red Fang kinda hump. Huge fan of their stuff and hoping this means an album and some shows will happen before the apocalypse takes my ears and my mind. Check out “Bad Parts” on Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Swedish death metal veterans CENTINEX are kicking things off in bloody fashion in preparation for their upcoming eleventh studio album with a music video for the first single from ‘Death In Pieces‘, set to be released May 29th by way of Agonia Records. “Only Death Remains” is incredibly straight forward and features a pretty classic thrash influenced main riff structure with their signature huge guitar sound distributing the weight. Sounds like the almost completely new line-up for the band has energized the new record, looking forward to hearing more. For now check out the lyric video for “Only Death Remains” on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]

  • Amor Fati Productions have set May 29th as the worldwide release date for black metal project AKOLYTH‘s self-titled debut album. ‘Akolyth‘  on CD and 12″ vinyl LP formats. Described as “fierce, sombre, ritualistic” the core of this mysterious band’s sound is early 90’s black metal sublimity driven by raw riffs and ambitious patternation. Harsh, distant, hallucinatory and delivered in 8-10 minute chunks of cosmic dread this is absolutely a record to look forward to. Check out the first preview song, the incredibly noxious black metal trance of “A Work of Ages”, on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]

  • Southern California’s finest sludge metal band -(16)- will be back on shelves this June 5th with their eighth full-length, ‘Dream Squasher’ which’ll come by way of Relapse Records. These guys are one of the main reasons sludge metal held my interest through the late 90’s and beyond the millennium so there is some healthy nostalgia yanking me around like a blow-up doll listening to “Candy in Spanish”, the first single from the album. ‘Lifespan of a Moth’ (2016) was a pretty solid record and I’m looking forward to this one, they’ve still got that ‘keep it simple, stupid’ take on riffs and they still sound miserable. From the presser it sounds like there’ll be more of a dual lead vocal presence on this one, or at least guitarist Bobby Ferry will be singing more prominently within. Check out “Candy in Spanish” over on the YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Crush the soul with a mold-drenched chunk of classic Finnish death metal from the continued resurfacing of PURTENANCE who’ve revealed details of their fourth full-length album, and third since reforming in 2012, entitled ‘Buried Incarnation‘ and out on Xtreem Music this June 23rd on CD and 12″ LP. The line-up has shifted for this one, switching vocalists and dropping a guitarist. Straight forward stuff from these guys, this one thankfully sounds a bit more moody this time around compared to the last two records and the new vocalist/bassist is pretty good. Check out the first preview song “Deathbed Confession” on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]

  • Trollzorn Records have announced the second album from Munich, Germany based black/death metal band WOLVES DEN. ‘Miserere‘ will be released on May 15th. If you’re not familiar with them Wolves Den were formed around 2014 by former members of folk metal band Equilibrium. Far from folk metal and more in tune with the Scandinavian inclinations of 90’s German black metal this second album expresses some of the expected maturity of a follow up. Check out the video for the first single “Häresie” on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]

  • Prophecy Productions have announced the impending release of the second full-length album from “the Velvet Underground of black ‘n’ roll” and Lifelover successor KALL entitled ‘Brand’. They’ve described the albums intent as a “paean to self-empowerment and rigorous individualism” and a strong continuation of their admixture of black metal, shoe-gazing post rock, and psychedelia. The first preview track, album opener “Rise”, is a rousing and complex spiral of molten blackened post-metal with a very present bass-driven sound. Check out “Rise” over on Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • NOTABLE ALBUMS AT PRESS THIS WEEK FROM: King Witch, Akolyth, At the Altar of the Horned God, Feed Them Death, The Rite, Barren Womb, Paralysis, Dismalimerence, Hellhookah, Mountaineer, Bear, In the Company of Serpents, Al-Namrood, Tyrant, The Scum, Icon of Evil, Book of the Dead, Protosequence, Terrestrial Hospice, Jarboe, The Hallowed Catharsis, Ante-Inferno, Chronus, and several more. Look for coverage in the near future. Don’t see your album listed? Send it to me: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

GRIZZLY BUTTS‘ WEEK IN REVIEW (4/11/20 – 4/17/20)

FEATURES:

  • …From the Tomb 4/13/20: “Den kraftiga åska du bringar.”
    • This year Ten From the Tomb changes to …From the Tomb and is no longer limited to ten releases. It will post every Monday with a list of at least ten new releases coming out during that current week and a short review will be included for each one. This week features reviews for 10 new releases.
    • Favorites: Titaan, Shitfucker, Collision.
  • Overlooked Releases – Q1 | 2020
    • Quarterly recap of 25 overlooked and underrated releases from the last three months with short reviews for each. I’ll do this every three months. This time I’ve picked out a lot of death metal, atmospheric black metal, and some solid oddballs along the way. Where is all the fuckin’ thrash metal and hardcore punk this year?
    • Includes: Witchtrap, Conjureth, Ahna, Sallow Moth, Crowhurst, Come to Grief, Nox Formulae, Saltas, & more.

REVIEWS: Big releases this week from Oranssi Pazuzu, Hexvessel, Ripped to Shreds, Funeral Leech, Cemetery Filth, Shards of Humanity, At the Altar of the Horned God, Abysmal Dawn, Khemmis, Azath, Ocean Chief and countless more. Also Portal released a fuckin’ coffin full of their first five records on cassette tape! Go grab ‘Tempis Fugit’ if its now already sold out on Hell’s Headbangers Records. And fuck anyone who didn’t like ‘Ion’. I received a bunch of incredible records today which also released today so, it might be a week or two for a few things as well as quietly released shit (Black Magick SS, Diabolic, etc.). I will gratefully go insane trying to keep up with the backlog.

RELEASED/OVERLOOKED THIS WEEK (4/11/20 – 4/17/20)

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NOTE: This small sample includes overlooked releases that are either not yet reviewed or covered but nonetheless recommended. Some of these will still be featured in other coverage. An asterisk (*) indicates that a review is drafted or in preparation. A plus (+) indicates that the album has already been reviewed. Click/Tap on RECORD LABEL name for preview, stream, or store.

UPCOMING RELEASES (4/18/20 – 4/24/20)

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NOTE: This is not a comprehensive list, some titles are already reviewed and/or covered and some have yet to enter the final queue for consideration and processing. An asterisk (*) indicates that a review is drafted or in preparation. A plus (+) indicates that the album has already been reviewed. Click/Tap on RECORD LABEL name for preview, stream, or store.

Did I miss something important this week? Send me an e-mail and tell me about it. It is always worthwhile to speak up for the lesser known stuff. Please remember you can donate to help keep me in front of the computer writing about metal. Thanks.

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