Written by Westin, Kirk, Ellis, and Kep
Welcome back to your regularly scheduled monthly roundup from Noob Heavy. We covered some kickass music this month and we’re about to cover more kickass music. Buckle up; there’s a bunch of great shit to check out.
Quick links to our full reviews of August releases:
Yosemite in Black – The Pursuit Of…
Fleshgod Apocalypse – Opera
Concrete Winds – Concrete Winds
Anna Pest – You and Me at the End of the Fucking World
And now on to even more great shit we loved!
Oxygen Destroyer – Guardian of the Universe
Blackened death/thrash metal from the US
The kings of kaiju have returned with their best record yet. This album smashes and crushes, leveling everything in sight in pursuit of some monstrous cacophony comprised of ripping riffs and pummeling drums. Despite being the bands longest album yet, the scant 33 minutes disappears faster than the Tokyo skyline. Oxygen Destroyer are like a meteor hurtling through space looking for some poor destination to crash into and unleash innumerable horrors upon any who chance upon them.
– Westin
Fourth Dominion – Dianaโs Day
Gothic metal from the US
Equal parts gothic metal and goth rock, Fourth Dimension somehow manage to walk the knifeโs edge between both genres like a seasoned tightrope walker. Itโs hard to say which way this album leans because it dips equally into both pools and creates a sound that is both familiar and comforting as well as new and challenging. Fans of all things gothic will find a plethora of things to love about Dianaโs Day.
– Kirk
Missouri Executive Order 44 – Salt Sermon
Chaotic hardcore from the US
Named after an 1838 law that called for the extermination of the stateโs Mormon community, Missouri Executive Order 44 use this as a jumping off point to explore themes of religious trauma, fascism, oppression, and injustice, particularly in the US Bible Belt. Their debut album Salt Sermon is a mesmeric outpouring of righteous anger in which elements of grindcore, screamo, sass, and powerviolence run right into each other just as most of the tracks do across its breathless 15-minute runtime. One of the best of the year for sure.
– Ellis
Amiensus – Reclamation: Part II
Progressive black metal from the US
In case you missed it, I reviewed Part 1 of this two-LP effort back in April, and loved it. And while I didnโt have the time to do a full writeup on Part II, Iโm compelled to tell you that I love it even more. The bandโs lush, beautifully-produced soundscape tips a little heavier on the whole here, a bit more urgent, delivering some truly crushing moments of aggression and grandeur. Opener โSรณlfariรฐโ is an attention-grabbing beginning (and makes for a memorable transition between the two LPs, if you listen to both parts back to back), while โAcquiescenceโ is a masterclass in narrative songwriting that builds to incredible highs. The guest vocal appearance from Borknagarโs Lars Nedland on โThe Distanceโ is wonderfully moving stuff, and closer โOrb of Vanishing Lightโ makes for an all-consuming, breathtaking ending climax. Amiensusโ balance of influences, elements, and instruments is still elite, too; nobody is incorporating strings and cleans into black metal this organically. Reclamation: Part II is a triumph, and even more so when properly considered with Part 1.ย
– Kep
Melt-Banana – 3+5
Noise rock/grindcore from Japan
One of the most vivacious bands of the modern era are finally back. I love Melt-Banana, and their first new record in nearly a decade is a triumph. Yasuko retains her frantic energy that approaches the hyperreal, the samples and synths are just as otherworldly and inscrutable as ever. Agata feels like he is at an expressive peak – while the signature sound of the band stands strong amidst the discord, his guitars sing and dance across a wider range than ever before and the whole album feels transcendantly cosmic. 3+5 is bright, bouncy, and full of vigor, like the pair stepped right off recording Fetch and never stopped. This is brilliant.
– Westin
Fractura – As Crรบas Regras do Xogo
Metallic hardcore from Galicia
Hailing from an autonomous region in Spain that was once believed to be the end of the known world, Fractura make hard af metallic hardcore that shares most of its DNA with the legendary likes of Kickback and the French hardcore scene in general. All the lyrics are in Galician which means youโll probably pick up a fair few if you speak a bit of Spanish or Portuguese, but it doesnโt take a linguist to understand that this album is coming straight for your lunch money – or your throat.
– Ellis
Crystalarium – Alchemical Mutations
Progressive black metal from the US
More bands ought to release albums like this. Not a โbest of,โ per se, but more a โstate of the unionโ if you will. Bands change members. Replant their roots. Or, sometimes new influences change their sound entirely. So the songs you know and love may sound a little different as the years go by and the van gets more mileage. This is as close to the live Chrystalarium experience as youโre gonna get without actually seeing them live, and thatโs pretty cool. Plus these songs kick ass.
– Kirk
Memorrhage – Anyo
Nu-metal from the US
Garry Brents is the nu-metal terminator, an unflinching machine purpose built to hunt down the last memory of a bygone era – and keep it alive at any cost. Anyo is Judgement Day, by all counts a sequel that actually surpasses a very good original. Slipknot and Korn influence are front and center but this album, like the entire project, lovingly draws from a genuine passion for the breadth of the genre, drawing on dozens of bands. This is true genre synthesis, becoming greater than the sum of its parts. If you’ve ever liked nu-metal, this is the future present.
– Westin
Eaglewing – Eaglewing
Trad metal from the US
If you arenโt pumping your fist in the air while shotgunning an ice cold Budweiser while blasting this self-titled debut single from Eaglewing, youโre doing it wrong. Hell, you even get a chance to say, โThe song โEaglewingโ by the band Eaglewing from their debut single Eaglewing,โ and itโs not even hyperbole. All jokes aside, thereโs a good reason why the new wave of traditional heavy metal keeps on a-rollinโ, and itโs because we remember how great it is to feel the wind in your hair, to raise your hand into the air and grasp hold of raw lightning like heavy metal gods. So raise your horns up high and prepare your neck for some fierce headbanging, because thereโs only one volume setting for these songs: ELEVEN.
– Kirk
xEIGHTY-SIXEDx – CMPLMNT$2DACHEF
Slam/deathcore from the US
As Noob Heavyโs resident Appreciator of Tremendously Stupid Shitโand as someone who did restaurant work for too longโI am fucking thrilled to have discovered xEIGHTY-SIXEDx, the BOH-themed slam/deathcore outfit I didnโt know I needed in my life. These Cleveland kids bring the restaurant-flavored pain in as tongue-in-cheek a way as possible, with appropriate samples as pre-brutalization callouts and a crockpot full of line cook lyrics for the ages. There are really no appropriate words to explain how much joy it brings me to hear โTHOSE ARENโT NON-SLIP SHOES / DO YOU WANT US TO GET SUED?โ over big dumb Acacia Strain chugs, or how hard I laughed when the answer to โFuck / I just cut myself so fucking bad, dude / Please help meโ was โSEAR IT ON THE FLAT TOPโ and a preposterous breakdown.ย Slam is often a good time, but rarely do I have as much fun listening to it as I have jamming CMPLMNT$2DACHEF.
– Kep
Thotcrime – Connection Anxiety
Cybergrind from the US
If you’ve never heard the name Thotcrime, they are, for my money, the best of a fantastic modern crop of cybergrind artists exploding on the cultural and artistic melting pot of the internet. Made after the tragic loss of drummer Dot Homler, the album is a beautiful memorial and a queer celebration of life and love. The album features the bands signature mix of grind, dancy electronics, hilarious sass, and bouncy metalcore. Connection Anxiety is a statement piece that shines uncomfortably bright in the dark, a glitched out monitor that just won’t fade.
– Westin
sinema – Fear of the Fall
Emocore from the US
It honestly looks like most of the members of sinema didnโt even live through all of the ’00s, which is wild because they are ridiculously good at making music that sounds like it came right from there. Fear of the Fall walks all over the lines between post-hardcore, screamo, emo, and metalcore in the best way, evoking the likes of Thursday, Saosin, and Underoath in another colossal and nostalgic W from the seemingly unstoppable Ephyra.
– Ellis
Spife / Sunken Basilica – Starflesh
Dungeon synth from the US
While not my favorite sub-genre of metal-adjacent music, I do love how incredibly versatile dungeon synth is. Its only limitation is your imagination, and Iโm not just talking about the artists. Spifeโs songs create an outstanding narrative of both the struggle and the unexpected consequences of writing. And Sunken Basilicaโs songs create a chaotic but powerful vibe perfect for any dungeon crawl. Both skew heavy into the atmospheric realm and remind me of Chalk Portraits. An excellent split album.
– Kirk
Phaethon – Wielder of the Steel
Epic heavy metal from the UK
If you’re ever on the lookout for more Manilla Road worship, take a trip on over to the UK for these lads. Riffs a plenty and some meaty stomping marches seasoned with a little bit of NWOBHM flair, Phaethon know how to keep things interesting. Strategic use of spoken word and a little harsh vox on ocassion add an extra layer of drama that just tips the band over the edge. Everything is tasty, Vrath sings like a clarion and the production is appropriately dynamic. A stellar debut.
– Westin
Fireball Ministry – Beneath the Desert Floor: Chapter 4
Stoner rock from the US
The fourth chapter in Ripple Musicโs ongoing quest to uncover some of the lost and forgotten gems of the early stoner and desert rock scene of the late โ90s and early โ00s comes a full vinyl treatment of the third album from LAโs Fireball Ministry. Full of boozy swagger and Southern grit, the long-out-of-print Their Rock is Not Our Rock returns from the great beyond with a vengeance. Hard to fathom that this album turns 20 next year, it stands as a reminder that what once was old can be new again. Vive le rock and roll!!
– Kirk
Black Birch – Black Birch
Atmospheric black metal from Sweden
I’d been eagerly awaiting the release of this album for at least a year after we first got an email from the band asking if we’d be interested in covering them. Not a lot of debuts earn an hour long run but Black Birch know how to weave tracks and mood to keep momentum, providing a dynamic shift across the record that is full of vicious riffs, stifling cold and beautiful melodies and space. Vocalist Gina Wiklund is killer, like a haunting woodland spirit speaking through trees. This duo deserves more attention.
– Westin
Ciel – Ciel I
Medieval folk from France
Whether youโre about to enjoy a quiet morning sitting on your patio with a hot cup of coffee or tea or setting off on an adventure to burgle a dragonโs treasure trove, this is the perfect album for either occasion. It has a very medieval feel to it yet also harkens to a more modern time. Not sure how, but it exists outside of time and probably pretty adjacent to reality, too.
– Kirk