What a week! Thy Art Is Murder worshipped Behemoth‘s late 2000s sound with a new song called “The Son Of Misery,” Chelsea Wolfe recruited Sumac frontman Aaron Turner to take her industrial-tinged quiet black metal song to new depths, The Contortionist decided to chill out with “Absolve,” and Dyscarnate returns with a fist to the teeth on a new track called “Iron Strengthens Iron.”
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll punch your work desk – here’s what you missed in the metal world this week.
Thy Art Is Murder – “The Son Of Misery”
Thy Art Is Murder always struck me as an artist that sticks to doing what it does best, and doesn’t deviate from the path too much. Which is fine – the band know its audience and is good at what it does.
Now that we’re two singles deep into Dear Desolation, the previous statement has serious potential to be false. Thy Art Is Murder‘s initial single “Slaves Beyond Death” is a straightforward death metal track, and now “The Son Of Misery” has been unveiled and is straight up Behemoth worship at its finest. Plus, who doesn’t want a Behemoth track with a breakdown in it?
Dear Desolation is out August 18, and you can pre-order it here.
The Contortionist – “Absolve”
I love Jonathan Carpenter-era The Contortionist, but man am I glad Last Chance To Reason vocalist Michael Lessard took over for him. Lessard’s debut album with The Contortionist in 2014 was Language, which retained all the insane, technical progressive leanings of the previous two albums, but brought a unique jazzy feel to them.
Now The Contortionist has announced its new album Clairvoyant, which stands to be maybe a touch less technical and about twenty times catchier. “Absolve” sounds like it could’ve been the calmer counterpart to something off the core-heavy Exoplanet in 2010 with all its delay-driven riffs and sliding synthesizers.
The Contortionist will release Clairvoyant on September 15, and you can pre-order that here.
Ne Obliviscaris – “Intra Venus”
Ne Obliviscaris has one hell of a task ahead of it, and that’s following up 2014’s masterpiece Citadel. As usual, the band’s album consists of a few massive songs that are split up into movements, though the initial single from Urn is a standalone song called “Intra Venus.”
For Ne Obliviscaris, this is a fairly straightforward and succinct song, and also the only track off Urn under 10 minutes. Dudes like to write long, but they do such a damn good job that it’s hard to call bullshit on the self-indulgence.
Pre-order Urn here before its October 27 release date to satiate all your violin-related metal needs.
Der Weg Einer Freiheit – “Aufbruch”
Der Weg Einer Freiheit is just relentlessly heavy black metal, though unlike its peers focuses on getting a damn good drum sound. The band’s upcoming album Finisterre seems like it’ll have better production than ever before, and focuses on longer-form writing than previous efforts.
Check out “Aufbruch” below, which is eight minutes of everything from building tensions to outright blasts of violence, and then pre-order Finisterre before its August 25 release date here. Der Weg Einer Freiheit hasn’t disappointed yet, and I highly doubt Finisterre will be the album to do so.
Chelsea Wolfe – “Vex”
Chelsea Wolfe has been slowly pushing into the metal world album by album, and her new effort Hiss Spun seems to be finally breaking through that membrane. Wolfe‘s new, industrial-tinged, nearly black metal song “Vex” features Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, and more importantly the absolutely fucking guttural bellows of vocalist Aaron Turner (Old Man Gloom, SUMAC, ex-Isis).
Fun fact – Aaron Turner is incapable of making bad music! He just can’t because it’s not who he is. Therefor without even listening to “Vex,” it’s automatically great… and fortunately it lives up to that expectation. Hiss Spun is out September 22, and you’re gonna need this one in your life.
Converge – “I Can Tell You About Pain”
Converge has been in the studio knocking out its first album since 2012’s All We Love We Leave Behind, and earlier this week they surprised everyone with a two-track EP called I Can Tell You About Pain. The EP is two songs – the typically violent title track and the Neurosis-esque “Eve” – and was released without warning digitally.
The band is still in the studio recording its full length, though “I Can Tell You About Pain” is an excellent way for the band to tide fans over. It’s under three minutes, it’s chaotic, and it just scratches that distorted itch that only Converge can scratch.
Grab yourself a copy of I Can Tell You About Pain on vinyl here.
Dyscarnate – “Iron Strengthens Iron”
We’re gonna end this week’s edition of Thank Satan It’s Friday with a mosh anthem, courtesy of Dyscarnate. This is Dyscarnate‘s first song in five years, and they clearly haven’t gotten any less heavy in that timeframe.
There’s really not a ton to say about Dyscarnate aside from the fact that the music is made to absolutely crush everything to. They’re not a band who take you through a wide range of emotions – just anger.
Fuck shit up with Dyscarnate‘s new album With All Their Might on September 15.
