Top Picks
The 69 Eyes – Death Of Darkness (goth rock, glam metal)
Coming to The 69 Eyes as I did during the Angels–X era, I’ve never thought too much of Finland’s finest purveyors of gothic glam metal. Having been given to delve back into their more recent output, however, I was pleased to discover that not only have the band have spent their last few albums getting back in touch with their original sleaze rock stylings but that they’ve managed to channel it into some of the best albums of their career.
Death Of Darkness isn’t going to usurp albums like Blessed Be (2001) or Devils (2004) in the wider consciousness, but for me, it and previous effort West End (2019) stand apart as some of the best and most consistent albums of the band’s surprisingly dense discography. The brooding cool of bands like Sisters of Mercy is still there, but the songs on Death Of Darkness have far more in common with the stadium-sized anthems of The Cult. The opening title-track is an instant classic, with high-octane tracks like “Drive”, “Call Me Snake”, “California” and a masterful, fist-pumping cover of Finnish rockers Boycott’s “Gotta Rock” driving the message home. Whatever its legacy ends up being, Death Of Darkness is easily the most fun of any of the band’s fourteen albums so far and, whether or not it’s because I’m still gothing out pretty hard, following my H.I.M. binge at the start of the year, has made for one of the most pleasant and unexpected surprises of the year so far.
Brand of Sacrifice – Between Death and Dreams (progressive? deathcore)
Most eyes might be on Lorna Shore, when it comes to deathcore at the moment, but for me Brand of Sacrifice are the band to watch. Their 2021 album Lifeblood blew the doors on the whole symphonic deathcore thing wide open and if this EP is anything to go by, the next one should be even better. There’s more variation and memorability on any one of Between Death and Dreams four songs than there was on the entirety of Lorna Shore’s much-hyped Pain Remains (2022), with Brand of Sacrifice adding Summeriancore-style tech riffing, melodic choruses and electronic flourishes to their already ample arsenal. Add to that some Cattle Decapitation-esque, quasi-clean sections, thematic symphonics and vocal chants that frequently bring to mind the original Ghost in the Shell soundtrack and breakdowns that bisect you as though they were a heap of raw iron too big to be called a sword. I really hope this isn’t one of those “EPs” that’s just a bunch of singles that end up being on an album in a couple of months but, at the same time, I’d quickly sacrifice an entire band of loyal and beloved mercenaries for more of this.