Usually there’s a pretty wide variety of rock and metal in Thank Satan It’s Friday, but this week is all about skull-crushing heaviness. We’ve got new tracks from Morbid Angel, ex-Nile guitarist Dallas Toler-Wade’s Narcotic Wasteland, The Black Dahlia Murder, Exes, and All Pigs Must Die. There’s also a touch of progressive in here with new Enslaved and Ne Obliviscaris, but even those are heavy.
So… to the heavies!
Morbid Angel – “Piles Of Little Arms”
Morbid Angel fans, breathe a sigh of relief. Long gone are the days of Illud Divinum Insanus, and here are the ones wrought with battering death metal. To be fair, even though 2010’s Illud Divinum Insanus was a massive departure from Morbid Angel‘s usual sound, there were a few good tracks on it. By and large it was a miss but there were a few hits.
Anyway, “Piles Of Little Arms” is exactly the return to form Morbid Angel needed to make in 2017. The band welcomes back on-again-off-again vocalist and bassist Steve Tucker, as well as welcomes ex-Abysmal Dawn drummer Scott Fuller and Vadim Vom guitarist Dan Vadim Von. Actually, it’d be easier to just say everyone who isn’t founding guitarist Trey Azagthoth has gone and been replaced, and replaced well.
Kingdoms Disdained is out December 1.
Exes – “Nothing But The Knife”
Exes is a brand new band is out Salt Lake City who I’d imagine are going to be much bigger than they are right now pretty soon. Exes doesn’t beat around the bush or add any fluff to its songs, it seems. Instead, they go right for the throat the second things start and won’t stop until there’s more of your blood on the floor than there is inside you. At least that’s the impression “Nothing But The Knife” gives off in its brief runtime, but what a runtime it is!
Exes‘ debut Fire And Fury is out now and you can get a copy here.
The Black Dahlia Murder – “Gone But Not Forgotten”
The Black Dahlia Murder‘s new album Nightbringers is in stores now but the band isn’t done releasing new material. The Black Dahlia Murder teamed up with New Noise Magazine to drop a standalone single titled “Gone But Not Forgotten,” and it’s actually a little frustrating that it’s just one song. Where’s a whole entire EP of blistering, hardcore-punk-meets-death-metal like this?! Clearly they’re capable of it considering songs like “Den Of The Picquerist” and the 2014 Grind ‘Em All cover 7″.
Get a copy of New Noise Magazine here, and go listen to Grind ‘Em All here.
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Enslaved – “The River’s Mouth”
Enslaved‘s new album E is a whopping six tracks long, and “The River’s Mouth” is the shortest of the six by about two minutes. Though extending “The River’s Mouth” any further than its five minute runtime into the realms of noodly progressive wouldn’t make any sense. Enslaved penned just the right amount of Håkon Vinje’s clean vocals, Grutle Kjellson rasps, straightforward grooves, massive riffs, and soaring choruses into the track that there’s really no need to go on any longer.
It’s also worth remembering that Enslaved hardly ever makes mistakes, especially at this point in its career, and E seems to be the next in line to be labeled “infallible.” E is out now and you can buy a copy here.
Narcotic Wasteland – “Return To The Underground”
Guitarist and vocalist Dallas Toler-Wade doesn’t mean the man is done bringing the world insanely heavy and ludicrously fast death metal. Toler-Wade and company are back with the second Narcotic Wasteland album, titled Delirium Tremens, and it fits the aforementioned descriptors perfectly and then some.
One of the many things I really dig about “Return To The Underground” is that it doesn’t stick to one specific genre. It’s grindy as hell, but there’s bits of Carcass-esque melodic death metal in there, a few touches of black metal, and of course grooves for days.
Delirium Tremens is out now and you need to grab a copy here.
Ne Obliviscaris – “Urn, Pt. II – As Embers Dance In Our Eyes”
Speaking of shorter songs that get to the point, here’s “Urn, Pt. II – As Embers Dance In Our Eyes” by Ne Obliviscaris! I understand there’s a touch of humor in calling this song short considering Urn Pt. I & II total around 14 minutes, but for the sake of argument we’ve only got the second half right now. This is also the album’s closer, and plays a lot with noisy aspects and a little bit of drone, really driving home the darkness and all-consuming fire that is Urn.
It’s cool to see Ne Obliviscaris playing with its sound as a band three albums in. Ne Obliviscaris could’ve easily done another Portal of I or Citadel and fans would’ve been pleased as piss, but nope. Ne Obliviscaris, for the third time in three album, s going to push its boundaries and see where things go.
Urn is out October 27.
All Pigs Must Die – “Hostage Animal”
I’m near positive All Pigs Must Die chose the singles for its new album Hostage Animal to be released in the order of least violent to most violent. We’re on the third single now, which is also the title track, and it’s just devastatingly heavy. It’s also nice to know that despite the fact Trap Them is calling it quits this year, guitarist Brian Izzi plans on bringing the obliterating riffs until he’s either too old or his hands literally catch fire from playing the heaviest riffs in existence.
Allow Hostage Animal to annihilate your world on October 27.
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