terraasymmetry Features

SYNCHRONY: Music News, Week in Review & Upcoming Releases (2/14/2020)

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 (2/08/20 – 2/14/20)

  • Of all the dreams to have come true after years of yearning, there will be a spiritual successor to Morbus Chron’s ‘Sweven’, a life-changing release in my own sphere. It comes directly from Robert Andersson (Morbus Chron, ex-Entombed, ex-Temisto), who comments “Sweven was a record you shaped like any other, but it also ended up shaping me and my goals with music. It came to mean a lot of things personally. So when the time was ripe to form a new band and continue the journey, there were no other names even considered.” so, SWEVEN’s debut album ‘The Eternal Resonance‘ comes very much as a redrawn spiritual image, familiar but evolved. It will be released through Ván Records on March 20th, featuring album artwork from Raul Gonzalez who’d provided the stunning artwork for ‘Sweven’ back in 2014. I have not been able to think about, or hardly listen to anything else since receiving this album. More information to come soon, follow Ván Records on Instagram to keep up with developments: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • The sixth annual MARYLAND DOOM FEST is happening! I mean its like, happening, man. June 18th – 21st, 2020 in Frederick, MD at Cafe611 & Olde Mother BrewingCheck. Cirith Ungol, Witch Mountain, Condenados, Wolftooth, Mondo Generator, Astral Void, Ursa, The Skull, Vessel of Light, Yatra, Alms… I mean, I’m excited and that is like barely a fourth of the bands on the bill! Check out the complete line-up, schedule, and ticket/arrangements information on Maryland Doom Fest’s Website: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Egyptian death metal band SCARAB have released a playthrough/performance video for the song “Bloodmoon Shadows” off of their third album ‘Martyrs of the Storm’ due out on ViciSolum Productions on March 6th. Y’all definitely need to check this band out of you’re big on Hour of Penance and Nile, I’ve been into it so far. Check out “Bloodmoon Shadows” on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • While you’re still feeling brutal, check out this second single, “Swallower of Worlds”, from PESTIFER‘s ‘Expanding Oblivion’. The Belgium based technical/progressive death metal band have really outdone themselves with this record and it has become one of my most anticipated records for early March, it’ll be out on the 13th. This is one of the more ornate, cyclically driven, and classically prog-death songs on the record really the best showcase for the feeling of it! Check out “Swallower of Worlds” on XenoKorp‘s Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Toronto-based epic doom sword-swingers SMOULDER have announced the coming release of their latest EP ‘Dream Quest Ends‘ on March 13th under the venerable mark of Cruz Del Sur Music. The three track EP introduces itself with its first single, “Warrior Witch of Hel”, a fantastic unveiling of their vocalist’s tone and a sound even more empowered and commanding than their stellarly debut ‘Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring’ (2019). The EP also features a tribute to the late Mark Shelton of Manilla Road by way of a cover of “Cage of Mirrors”, certainly an ambitious and characteristic epic, an incredible choice for Smoulder’s style. Check out “Warrior Witch of Hel” on Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Send California blackened sludge metal band SIXES some love over on Facebook, their guitarist Hannes Bogacs suffered two strokes due to a brain-stem attached cyst last week. This on the verge of the band’s second album and a kid on the way. They’ve got a GoFundMe up, wish him a steady recovery and support Sixes over on Facebook: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Bay Area death/thrash metal trio HEMOTOXIN are ready for surgical dissection with the announcement of their third full-length ‘Restructure the Molded Mind‘ for release on March 16th. Aligned with the ever-killing it Unspeakable Axe Records, Hemotoxin have armed their proggy death/thrash sound with deeper technical cuts and some hookier moments judging by the first preview track “Corrupted Flesh”. Check the song out on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Purity Through Fire have set March 1st for the release of the latest dark gaseous anomaly into the kosmos, TO CONCEAL THE HORNS‘ debut album, ‘Purist‘. A wealth of otherworldly Finnish atmosphere applied to classic black metal structures comes by way of musician Vexd, who is best known for appearing on Ghost Brigade’s fourth album and as guitarist for the final Alghazanth record. Expect melodious highs, austere blackened rips, and well… listen to the 8+ minute storm of “The Rite of Purification” to witness its magic yourself: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Unspeakable Axe Records have announced they will release ‘Dominion’, the debut full-length from Atlanta, Georgia death metal torture-killers CEMETERY FILTH on April 13th on CD, cassette and digital with a vinyl collab w/Boris Records in the works. These guys have been on the ol’ radar since the 4 Doors to Death split back in 2016 and their brand of classic US death metal lives up to the anticipation. Get some ‘Formulas Fatal to the Flesh’ fumes off their first preview track “Churning of the Shallows” over on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Been a while since you were into an atmosludge/post-metal album? Hey, me too but this track, “Pariah”, from Polish/British post-metallers TELEPATHY has the right stuff at a glance. ‘Burn Embrace‘ will be their third album and first for Svart Records who’re planning on releasing it on March 27th. Of course you’ll notice the song has no vocals, they are an instrumental band so manage your expectations accordingly. Check out “Pariah” on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Crusted over n’ grinding Canadian death metal band WAKE have announced their fifth full-length, ‘Devouring Ruin‘, will be released on March 27th through Translation Loss Records on all formats. They’ve put up two tracks on Bandcamp this week and they’re both just as brutal as you’d expect, you can also hit up Kerrang for an interview/premier for the record. “This Abyssal Plain” is a monster of a song, definitely one of those songs that gets the saliva running for the whole thing. Head over to Bandcamp and check it out: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Osmose Productions have announced April 24th as the day they’ll release New Zealand black metal hellions WINTER DELUGE‘s mini-album ‘Degradation Renewal‘. Plenty of thrashing black metal energy here on the first preview track “Mass Graves”, frantic and yet a supreme torrent all the same. I get the sense that a quick track like that ties into the rest of the EP seamlessly. Sharp stuff, check it out on Osmose‘s YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Irish doom metal band DEATH THE LEVELLER have announced their first full-length album, ‘II‘, on March 13th through Cruz Del Sur Music. Considering this epic doom metal band comes from the folks behind Mael Mórdha I’m very excited for it! So far they’ve released a video for album opener “The Hunt Eternal”, the first of four gorgeous and extensive epics. Why is it named ‘II’? They released ‘I’ an equally long and impressive EP back in mid-2017, check that out too. For now listen to “The Hunt Eternal” on Cruz Del Sur Music‘s YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • One of the Portland, Oregon area’s noisiest irreverent rock bands GAYTHEIST are back with their fifth album April 10th thanks to Hex Records and they’re calling it ‘How Long Have I Been On Fire?‘. Think of it as like party rock for the kinda metal guy who doesn’t want to be at the party and avoids talking to anyone until someone fires up a joint in the basement, more or less. I like ’em, anyhow. Check it out on Hex Records‘ Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Ten years! Caligari Records have set March 6th for the release of Vancouver, British Colombia death/crust quartet AHNA‘s second album, ‘Crimson Dawn‘, on cassette tape. They’ve not been idle since their self-titled debut back in 2010 but it has been about a five year gap since the band have whipped anything out. Why? They’ve been killing it in their other bands Celestial Bloodbath and Grave Infestation! So far we’ve gotten one preview track “In Death’s Grip”, I highly recommend checking it’s crusty, barreling chunks out over on Caligari Records‘ Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Memphis, Tennessee death metal band SHARDS OF HUMANITY are back with their second full-length ‘Cold Logic‘ this April 13th thanks to Unspeakable Axe Records. Active since 2009 and pulling into focus for their debut back in 2014 the suggestion is that these death/thrashers have evolved and that description aligns with their ’91 death metal sound, influenced by the intricacies of late 80’s thrash but not ridiculously indulgent or cocky. The first track they’ve released for preview “Moths of Zeta” reminds me just slightly of Psychopath’s ‘Making the Transition’ in the sense that it kind of bangs out at a gallop and features some tight rhythm work that isn’t flashy but holds some complexity. Hear for yourself over on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • NOTABLE ALBUMS AT PRESS THIS WEEK FROM: Sweven, Smoulder, Cemetery Filth, Freeways, Nekrovault, Ritual Dictates, Wake, Cordyceps, Shards of Humanity, Neck of the Woods, Nerve Saw, Aara, Ahna, Lychgate, Itus, Visceral Disgorge, Mortuous, Habu, Fermentor, Skam, The Medea Project, The Myth of I, Orphan Donor, Hemotoxin, Thy Dying Light, Eulogy, Stonus, Necrostrigis, Forndom, Mental Disaster, Taake / Whoredom Rife, 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 (2/08/20 – 2/14/20)

FEATURES:

  • …From the Tomb 2/10/20: “Rose-colored sequelae of the lights perturbation.”
    • 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 ten new releases.
    • Favorites: Assumption, Sarcator, Plague.

REVIEWS: Big releases this week from Godthrymm, Hallucinator, Ensnared, Suum, and yep I’d put Turia‘s album down for February 28th instead of today so that’ll have to wait for next week. Blaze of Perdition, Necrowretch and Psychotic Waltz also put out some good stuff but I’m not on the list for those. This weekend I’ll be working on the reviews for Hex A.D. and Faustian Pact and hoping to make time for The Spirit too.

UPCOMING SHOWS:  [That I’ll likely attend]

  • TODAY IS THE DAY w/Child Bite February 24th @ Funhouse – Seattle, WA
  • LORD DYING w/Black Label Society, Obituary March 3rd, @ Showbox SODO – Seattle, WA
  • VASTUM March 20th @ The Highline – Seattle, WA
  • ORIGIN w/Defeated Sanity, Wake etc. April 6th @Club Sur – Seattle, WA
  • GAYTHEIST w/ Pinko, Post/Boredom April 11th @Substation – Seattle, WA

RELEASED/OVERLOOKED THIS WEEK (2/08/20 – 2/14/20)

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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 (2/15/20 – 2/21/20)

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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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