It is once again my favorite time of the year, Spring. As always, this is because of the season itself but also because of the indescribably massive deluge of fantastic music which the season brings with it. And most of the great releases I can't even tell you about here, since they're not out yet! Still, there is so much great music being released that it's hard to choose a specific trend or flavor from the mass. For me personally, the trend appears to be falling deeper in love with bands I'm very familiar with or falling back in love with bands I've known for a while but have neglected over the years.
Which seems to fit right in with the themes of rejuvenation and rebirth that Spring is associated with and so, we ask ourselves (for the hundredth time) what came first: the chicken (an absolute amazing amount of buoyant, uplifting music) or the egg (Spring giving everyone inspiration to release said music). To be honest with you, who cares? As long as we can greet the green tide with open arms, screamed lyrics, and fine melodies, I am fine with leaving the question of causes and reasons unanswered.
And so, here are no answers but some very, very, very good albums.
- Eden Kupermintz
Plini - An Unnameable Desire
Is there a better feeling than falling back in love with an artist you used to be passionate about? This is what happened to me with Plini’s An Unnameable Desire. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the last few Plini albums have been bad to any extent. Plini’s ability to play the guitar and compose for it are second to none but I did feel like he was stuck in his own design, fascinated with the images, sounds, and textures that first propelled his rise to fame. I listened to every single one of them several times, looking for that original spark, for another push forward into something new. And, finally, I got it with An Unnameable Desire.
Of course the building blocks are still Plini and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There are a lot of tasty licks, a bright production, and an overall sense of wonder. But there are a lot of new ways for these to manifest. Even moving away from the “loudest” example, which is the inclusion of furious blast-beats and tech-death riffs on “Manala”, there are so many new ideas and sounds on An Unnameable Desire. My favorite example is probably “Now & Then”, which has an absolutely bizarre sounding segment right along its one and a half minute mark. Of course this unique sounding passage comes right after a classic, “rising” Plini guitar line, all explosive exuberance, creating the contrast which makes the album tick.
It’s not just the guitars either; there is more dynamism and contrast on this album alongside all of the other instruments. I especially think the drumming on this release is excellent, as evinced by the agile work performed on the aforementioned “Now & Then”. The percussion does so much to lend An Unnameable Desire a kinetic feeling, a drier and more incisive tone than Plini’s previous releases. This works incredibly well in offsetting the inherent Plini “sweetness” and is another great way in which this release diverges from previous ones. It’s all still there: the licks, the crazy virtuosity, the feeling that your heart is going to burst with joy. But there’s also deeper layers, a darker edge, a willingness to go deeper into some crystalline, echoing coldness that does wonders for the overall sound.
Welcome back to my heart, Plini. Thanks for still pushing.
-EK
Archspire - Too Fast to Die
Archspire are one of those rare bands that, at least to my ears, have grown consistently with each subsequent release. Evolving steadily with each new release, Too Fast to Die, the band’s fifth full-length outing, is in my perspective their most well-rounded feat of insanity to date. Which, after the absolute masterclass that was Bleed the Future, is certainly saying something. Time will tell if this perspective sticks, but man. This thing rips.
As far as general Archspire commentary is concerned, the edict remains simple: As much as they can, as fast as they can. As is the case with each of the band’s previous releases, the push toward absolute sonic extremity continues unabated. Too Fast to Die is replete with face-melting riffs and enough mind-obliterating blastbeats to fill the entire careers of less talented bands, with tracks like “Limb of Leviticus” and “Red Goliath” representing some of the band’s tightest and most memorable performances and songcraft. The latter quality is one of the most striking components of Too Fast to Die, as the general songwriting here is surprisingly legible and catchy. While I absolutely adore Bleed the Future, their latest feels like an appropriate refinement of the abject chaos found in that record, and mileage may vary depending on what you come to Archspire for. But as a unit, I don’t know if they’ve ever sounded more cohesive.
I could hang out with particular tracks on the record but honestly Too Fast to Die is just something you need to experience for yourself. No one in the extreme music world sounds like Archspire, and their latest offering is as mightily impressive as every other incredible record in their thus far unassailable discography, if not more so. Over the past 15 years they’ve become one of the most consistently hard hitting acts in the metal world, matching the likes of Decrepit Birth, Spawn of Possession, or even the mighty Necrophagist in both technical proficiency and uniqueness of their approach to the genres they inhabit. One of the few modern metal bands that feel like underground legends already, and I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon. A once again impressive record from a universally impressive band.
-Jonathan Adams
.gif from god - Dissimulation
Virginia six-piece .gif from god have been crafting a compelling and unique amalgamation of niche hardcore and punk subgenres for a decade now, across 3 LPs and 2 EPs including a notable split with vein.fm back in 2017. Screamo has grown to be one of my favourite genres over the last decade in part for the pure unbridled emotional catharsis it delivers in its earnest vulnerability and raw passion. .gif from god channel that energy with the intensity of grindcore and the screeching chaos of mathcore for an immensely visceral and disarming listening experience. This combination of influences is often referred to as emoviolence, a play off of the grind-subgenre “powerviolence”, but .gfg blend that further with metallic metalcore for their own unique spin. The new album Dissimulation is their most varied release to date, showcasing a more approachable and digestible side without compromising their sound. It isn't quite as relentless and dense as their earlier material, but this is arguably at the compromise of just better song writing.
Those intense moments are still there, and they hit just as hard if not harder due to the better dynamic range applied in the writing and the mix itself. The vocals are a big part of the variety on display across this album, with just the right amount of sass, some splashes of clean vocals, Portrayal of Guilt-esque blackened rasps, and some Nazgul-beckoning shrieks that would evoke the glaze of deathcore fans in crude all-caps in the comment section. There’s even a brief moment in “A Gift From God” where there’s something very Korn-inspired. Their range is also on display in the instrumentation. There's some straight up metalcore riffs, at times feeding off the old-school At the Gates influenced bands, dashes of early Norma Jean, and a bit of the frantic technicality of newer acts like The Wind in the Trees. These are dispersed between some really in your face tremolo-picked grind riffs and blast beats to keep you on your toes. Dissimulation is a versatile and engaging record that should appeal to screamo, grind and metalcore fans alike. Out now on Prosthetic Records.
-TB
Further Listening
Ultha - A Light So Dim
Germany’s Ultha might be the single most unsung black metal-adjacent band on planet earth. Their fourth release All That Has Never Been True is one of the most singular, arresting, and brilliant atmoblack records in recent memory. A Light So Dim builds on the band’s brilliant traits culminating in their most epic and genuinely intriguing entries to date. This thing is absolutely stunning and wildly unpredictable, blending genres and songwriting mechanics with an almost frustrating ease. It’s their best and most enigmatic release to date, and one of my favorites of the year.
-JA
Atlantic Ridge – Atlantic Ridge (black metal/doom)
This is one of those albums you’re going to want to spend some time. It’s challenging, thick, and heavy as all hell atmospheric black/doom about sparse, abandoned areas of the world, and it will absolutely punish you before rewarding you.
-EK
Abrams – Loon (progressive alt-rock)
As I wrote in my review, Loon is Abrams’ heaviest release to date and it works so, so well. Buoyant riffs clash with groovy, chunky production and an album that just keeps hitting. Fun without the fluff.
-EK
Scimitar - Scimitarium II
Know how some bees do that thing where they vibrate so fast in a swarm together they can heat their enemies to death? That's what listening to this album feels like. Warm, droney, noisy black metal that smothers you to death.
-TB
Nequient – Avarice (weird/sludgy/progressive tech-death/grind)
At The Gates – The Ghost Of A Future Dead (melodeath)
Atsuko Chiba – Atsuko Chiba (indie/psych prog)
Cavs – Sojourn (funky jazz)
Nixil/Drouth – Toward Dead Temples (crusty black/death)
Portrayal Of Guilt – Beginning Of The End (nu black-metal, industrial hardcore)
Pure Wrath –Bleak Days Ahead (post-black metal)
Volcandra –Beyond The Will Of Mortals (melodeath)
Only Sons – Through the Night Again (progressive mello-metal)
Lividus – Scarabaeus (prog black, tech death)
Ordh – Blind In Abyssal Realms (death metal)
Immolation – Descent (death metal)
Dir En Grey – Mortal Downer (weird/progressive/nuish metal, visual kei)
El Ten Eleven – Nowhere Faster (electro-prog/pop)
Inferi – Heaven Wept (progressive/technical melodeath)
Long Distance Calling –The Phantom Void (instrumental prog, post rock)
Mire – Pale Reflection (progressive metal/core)
Poly-Math – Something Deeply Hidden (math rock)
Spirit Adrift – Infinite Illumination (heavy metal)
Squarepusher – Kammerkonzert (progressive/jazzy electro)
Sugar Horse – Not A Sound In Heaven (goth sludge)
Witch Ripper – Through The Hourglass (stoner prog)
Corrosion Of Conformity – Good God/Baad Man (stoner/sludge metal)
Lantlos – Nowhere In Between Forever (prog metal)
SolNegre – Anthems For The Grand Collapse (progressive black-metal/melodeath)
Void Of Light – Aymmetries (post/-black metal)