The Anatomy Of feature has always been about getting under the skin of the bands we admire at Heavy Blog Is Heavy. Listening to the bands that made them pick up their instruments and start pouring out their souls becomes something new in itself. Norway’s Attan don’t sound like any…
I’m honestly warming up to the idea of using this series to introduce you to new bands; after all, what description of the band’s music could ever live up to the band themselves talking about the influences which made it be? With Bleeth, fresh of the release of their debut full length album titled Geomancer (it was released just last Friday, the 24th of August), it’s a double pleasure since I don’t just get to introduce you to a band but an excellent one at that. They deliver the kind of emotional doom/stoner/psychedelic that we’ve come to expect in 2018, replete with great riffs, moving vocals from two complementary vocalists, and an overall dedication to momentum that lies at the core of what makes this kind of music work.
Honestly, I knew I was in for a wild ride when I asked Netherlands to write this post for us. If you’re still unaware of these guys, let me introduce you: they’re from Brooklyn. They make a kind of poppy sludge that takes Torche and feeds it through a grinder, belching it out some sort of neon pink, noxious and incredibly groovy weirdness from the other side. They’re also don’t take themselves too seriously, infusing plenty of their music and its surrounding aesthetics with lots of self-deprecating and society-deprecating humor. Oh, and they’re also incredibly hard-working, having released an album and an EP in the last two years and now gearing up for Black Gaia, which comes out on the 24th of August and a tour with none other than legends Mastodon and Dinosaur Jr. You can head on over to their site for dates and a pre-order thing.
We here at Heavy Blog are proud to have been saying “what the hell is in Australia’s water?” for at least five years now. The music scene over there has been blowing up for at least that long, if not longer, creating some of the most innovative, crushing, intriguing and just plain excellent music in the world. To these by-now hallowed annals we can add Cancer, a black metal band that’s all about ambiance, abrasive tonality and depressing atmosphere. Hot off of their second release, Into the Heartless Silence, Cancer seem poised to add to the growing plethora of excellent black metal being made today, offering their own version on the formula with their own off-kilter and disharmonious touches to composition.
Naturally, hearing more about what makes such a band tick, since they seem to fuse black metal with a whole lot more influences operating in the background. And, indeed, when you look at the picks that John Pescod (vocals) included below and their write ups, you find classical black metal influences alongside more discordant and twisted takes on the classic genres. Thus, without further ado, we consign you to the able hands and vocal chords of Pescod, for a dive into what makes a modern black metal band work. Don’t forge to also head on over to the band’s Bandcamp below to listen and order the album. You won’t regret it.
Sometimes, writing introduction paragraphs is a silly exercise; this is one of those times. Surely no one needs me to introduce Pig Destroyer, arguably one of the more influential bands of our times. Nor does anyone need the name of JR Hayes embellished; he’s one of the founders of the seminal…
North Carolina’s Violent Life, Violent Death released an outstanding slab of metallic hardcore last month in Come, Heavy Breath. The six-track album is packed from wall to wall (of death) with stomping hardcore riffs, custom designed to open up pits and get busy throwing down. Both band and record wear…
If you’ve been around these parts since the early days, you’re sure to recognize the name Tre Watson. Proprietor of his own solo project to being the driving force of deathcore act Carthage, Tre was never content with just sitting still. Early TW material was in keeping with the then-burgeoning…
Secret Cutter is one of those bands that I try to tell everyone to listen to, every time their self-titled debut comes on shuffle. I remember fondly the day I hit play on that, expecting d-beats and screeching but getting much, much more. The Bethlehem, PA natives were one of…
Last week, I had the extreme privilege of receiving Hoth’s new record, Astral Necromancy. It is a wondrous album that takes up a unique niche in metal: blackened melodic death metal. It’s a unique blend of death metal stylings and black metal themes all set within an established space opera…
Looking at the influences that made Soldat Hans happen sheds a bit more light on where the band members come from when approaching these issues; many of the acts listed below tap into this same desire to feel, face and excise such emotions in a healthy and productive way. Especially noteworthy is the wide range of artists presented below. Most of them have some melancholic or even depressive edge but they take different approaches in expressing these edges. Thus, we get a glance into how a diverse sound such as Soldat Hans was forged and the many places in other music from which it came. Enjoy and don’t forget to spin Es Taut when you feel up to it; it’s a ride you should experience at least once.
