New Music Now XXII
New releases from Mary Todd, Chepang, Succumb, Full Of Hell, Mister Lizard, Artificial Brain, Night Raids, John Frum, SYNDRØMES, Joseph A. Peragine with Chris Pennie, Thundercat, POLLEN, fluoride, Landbridge, Autarch, HIRS, Cloud Rat, and Moloch with loads of free music samples and links for purchase to further support these acts!
Editor’s Note: Below you will find a hodgepodge of mainly quick reviews by our staff, a few paraphrases of press information, and in some cases, we simply quote other notable music publications where we felt they summed it up best to compile our New Music Now picks. Enjoy.
Band: Mary Todd
Album: Bone Stock
Release Date: 4/20
Genre/s: grindcore, hardcore punk, experimental metal, screamo
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
FFO: Botch, United Nations, SIEGE, Weekend Nachos
Mary Todd absolutely destroy. One of the finest bands Brooklyn has offered up to the Music Gods in a hot minute. Chabois are cooking a mean stew with latest offering, Bone Stock, that hit streets yesterday (4/20) and is simply chock-full of blazing guitar work by vocalist/guitarist Ashley Levine. Mary Todd is a three-piece unit without a weak cog to be sure, as rhythm section of Christopher Day (bass and vox) and Josh Harris (Drums) more than hold up the blast-wave of intensity. Mary Todd unapologetically drill through and un-Earth layers of riffs that draw on everything from powerviolence to 90s-esque screamo and so-called ‘mathcore.’ A standout work of 2017 and band sure to make waves soon. -BTS
Band: Chapang
Album: 2017 Demo (Tascam 4 track cassette recorder)
Genre/s: grindcore
Hometown: NYC
FFO: Scum-era Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, Repulsion
Release Date: Out Now
It doesn’t get much rawer in the grindcore world than Nepalese unit Chepang. The band’s current home base in NYC has a rich history of blistering grindcore and what better way to bring forth the rawness than with a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder. That is indeed what the band used to capture this stinger of a 4-track demo you’ll find below. Where the band’s previous and brilliant release, LATHI CHARGE, captured a girthy studio sound with Kevin Bernsten at Developing Nations, this current, self-recorded effort pays homage to Napalm Death, Scum-era recordings and early Extreme Noise Terror– Lo-fi and unrelenting. All hail the love of old-school grindcore. -BTS
Band: Succumb
Album: s/t
Record Label: The Flenser
Release Date: May 5, 2017
Genre/s: black metal, death metal, war metal
FFO: Vermin Womb, The Secret, Oathbreaker
San Francisco’s Succumb offer up a blistering slab of hateful death metal complimented by the unusual cavernous howls and sophisticated lyrics of Cheri Musrasrik. The band’s self-titled debut will be released by The Flenser on May 5th. You’ll hear the band’s love of Canadian death metal and war metal surface in these tracks. Not surprising to find Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Bosse-de-Nage, Botanist, Oathbreaker, etc.) recorded this effort offering a natural, yet near overwhelmingly-full bodied sound to transpire. Lyrically- Musrasrik sites authors and poets like Yeats, Jean Genet and Emile Zola as her primary influences. Throughout Succumb she tackles themes such as human experimentation, autoerotic asphyxiation, BDSM, prostitution, opium dens and dystopias with a literary flair.
Band: Full of Hell
Album: Trumpeting Ecstasy
Release Date: May 5. 2017
Record Label: Profound Lore Records
Genre/s: death metal, experimental metal, grindcore
Home Turf: PA/MD, USA
FFO: Wormrot, Converge, Masakari
Maryland/Pennsylvania experimental death-noise band Full Of Hell are set to release their most punishing, virulent, and dynamic album in their 8-year long career; titled Trumpeting Ecstasy, the 11-song album will be available May 5th, 2017 via powerhouse label Profound Lore Records. On Trumpeting Ecstasy, Full Of Hell build upon their progression since the Merzbow collaboration and the releases succeeding it. This time the band decided to go into God City Studios with Kurt Ballou at the production helm to help achieve their intended vision; the result being the best, strongest-sounding, and most towering Full Of Hell release to date. Sky-tearing and sonically cataclysmic, the aural deluge that is Trumpeting Ecstasy also features guest appearances by Aaron Turner (Sumac/Old Man Gloom/Mamiffer/Isis), Nate Newton (Converge/Old Man Gloom), Andrew Nolan (Column Of Heaven/The Endless Blockade), and Canadian singer/songwriter Nicole Dollanganger.
Band: Mister Lizard
release: s/t EP
Record Label: Hominid Sounds
genre/s: spazz, grindcore, psychedelic, hardcore punk
Home Turf: London, UK
Release Date: May 15, 2017
FFO: Ceremony, HHLL, Negative Approach
I don’t even know where to start with this band…Their label, Hominid Sounds hits the nail quite firmly with ‘Mister Lizard play fast, short, and warped hardcore.’ From the absolutely insane live shows that are as blistering as they are outrageous to the band’s limited but infectious recorded output, Mister Lizard are one of the most important bands coming up in the UK. Their songs are caustic, racing by quickly, sometimes flailingly, while dodging any modern genre classification. The vocals are intense and perhaps the most centered wheel in this machine, delivered with an intensity that brings to mind early Negative Approach. This four-piece outfit will embark on a maiden US voyage where they will link up with Die Choking and Bathe in August to tour throughout Midwest, Great Lakes, and East Coast regions. This is a band you do not want to miss in a live setting. Blowthescene.com is very pleased to be presenting this tour. -BTS
Band: Artificial Brain
Album: Infrared Horizon
Record Label: Profound Lore Records
Release Date: April 21, 2017
Genre/s: death metal, atmospheric death metal
Home turf: Long Island, NY
FFO: Gorguts, Revocation
Produced by Colin Marson (Gorguts, Dysrhythmia, Krallice) at The Thousand Caves, Infrared Horizon sees Artificial Brain traveling towards a sonic realm where the music has become more brutal and dissonant, technical, atmospheric, and just overall more otherworldly. Lyrical themes delve into concepts within a dystopian future in which robots and cyborgs have outlived human beings and who believe themselves to be not of the creation of the long extinct humans but a perfect evolution of them. These themes are portrayed in the appropriate cover art crafted by Adam Burke. With Infrared Horizon, Artificial Brain has created an album far more advanced than their lauded debut album, Labyrinth Constellation. By taking their brand of singular brutal guttural yet technical and ambient sci-fi death metal to a new galaxial plateau, Infrared Horizon sees the sonic architecture laid down by the band go further into the beyond and infinite.
Band: Night Raids
Album: s/t
genre/s: grindcore, metal
Home Turf: Philadelphia, PA
Release Date: Out Now
FFO: Capitalist Casualties, Magrudergrind
We have a love of 2-piece grindcore here at Blowthescene.com and Night Raids are a band that we’ve caught and enjoyed live on a number of occasions. With a dedication for real, no-frills grindcore and metal, this duo have offered up a new self-titled E.P. just in time for their maiden voyage to Maryland Deathfest where they will join Terrorizor, Iron Lung, PLF, War Master and many more. This latest offering showcases the band’s aptitude for blasting, driving double-bass, and piercing crusty metal with several nods to the old-school. Fans of the genre who dabble in anything from Repulsion to Magrudergrind should find a lot to enjoy here. Definitely a band to see in a live setting. -BTS
Band: John Frum
Album: A Stirring In The Noos
Label: Relapse Records
Home Turf: Philadelphia, PA
genre/s: Death Metal, experimental metal
FFO: Ulcerate, Artificial Brain, Gojira
Nearly 6 years in the making, featuring past and present members of The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Faceless, John Zorn, Cleric and many more, JOHN FRUM has crashed into the metal world with its unorthodox debut. Maneuvering through 40 minutes of darkly psychedelic and meticulously crafted death metal, A Stirring In The Noos is a poignant first offering. Acting as a medium for malefic musings or the backdrop of a bad trip, JOHN FRUM borrows its name from a relatively isolated group of natives in the South Pacific islands, known as a Cargo Cult. Their encounter with the outside world led to an awakening of new beliefs and lifestyles. The mysterious JOHN FRUM is the manifestation of four musical minds coalescing in a collective consciousness developed from time spent playing with elite projects. A Stirring In The Noos is a dismal distillation of oneiric transmission and a totem to modern primitivism in heavy music.
Band: Joseph A. Peragine with Chris Pennie
Album: Diagnosis: Schizophrenia
genre/s: progressive metal, experimental, instrumental
Release Date: Out Now
FFO: Animals As Leaders, Russian Circles, The Dillinger Escape Plan
Perhaps the best 2-piece effort in recent memory as (9-string guitarist) Joseph A. Peragine teams up with renowned drummer Chris Pennie (Dillinger Escape Plan, Coheed & Cambria, The Armed) for an exceptional release aptly dubbed, Diagnosis: Schizophrenia. Musician and artist Joseph A. Peragine has long documented and made public his living with schizophrenia and the many subsequent trials, tribulations, and triumphs that have ensued. The music speaks volumes to this unique and no doubt challenging perspective that has also laid the foundation for some incredible artistic production. Chris Pennie fills out the music like only he can, with laser-sharp polyrhythmic drumming at speeds inaccessible to most of his peers. Fingers crossed we may see a live outing with these two talents together. -BTS
Band: SYNDRØMES
Release: s/t EP
Label: Halo of Flies
Home Turf: NYC, Brooklyn
Release Date: 4/21/17
genre/s: punk, crust
FFO: Tragedy, CØNDITIØN, Cursed
The first EP from Brooklyn’s SYNDRØMES hit streets today via Halo of Flies. The four-piece hardcore/crust group features members of genre stalwarts:
“Two other bands from recent times, His Hero Is Gone and Masakari, nailed the art of the anti-melody. Now members of those bands have collided to form SYNDRØMES, an NYC-based crew that deals in anthemic hardcore, crust, D-beat and more. Beneath the growl-barks and occasional ambient intros, you’ll find dark, minor chords and leads that play out like a Mahler or Mussorgsky symphony — a glimmer of light shining out of the darkness.” – Clrvynt
“The awesome self-titled debut from Syndrømes is a force to be reckoned with. It packs as much punch as the bands that came before but ends up being something that sounds greater than the sum of its parts. In today’s over-crowded hardcore scene this entire album feels like the first drag of a cigarette on a crisp winter night after emerging from a sweat-plagued basement show. It’s filling and choking at the same time, bringing to mind highlighted experiences with bands like Cult Leader, Trap Them, or Young and in the Way.” – MetalSucks.net
Band: Thundercat
Album: Drunk
Record label: Brainfeeder
Release Date: Out Now
Home Turf: Los Angeles, CA
genre/s: Jazz fusion, Contemporary R&B, Alternative hip hop
FFO: Flying Lotus, Erykah Badu, Victor Wooten, The Roots
Our only pick for this month’s NMN column outside of the punk/metal spectrum and it’s a great one; Bass guitar prodigy Thundercat and his latest LP, Drunk. Having laid the low-end foundation for such greats as Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus, Kendrick Lamar, and more, it should come as no surprise that Thundercat‘s growing catalogue of solo material is quickly climbing the ranks with leading R&B, soul, and new jazz artists coming out of the US. Thundercat pools a very eclectic fan-base which was evident on his most recent tour and Philly’s sold out Union Transfer performance. Apart from the virtuosity of the music compositions featured throughout this release, Thundercat weaves his sense of humor and knack for vocal hooks with ease. Featured tracks below ‘A Fan’s Mail (Tron Song Suite II)’ was stuck in my head for a month following this album’s release. And the following track ‘Lava Lamp’ is so eargasmic I want to crank the volume until the rhythm melts my bones. A top pick of 2017 even for us D.E.A.D.R.A.M.O.N.E.S. out there. -BTS
Band: POLLEN
Album: FEAR OF ANOTHER WAR
Record Label: Brain Solvent Propaganda
Release Date: May 1, 2017
Home turf: Philadelphia, PA
genre/s: crust, raw punk
FFO: Crude SS, Pisschrist, Bastard
Philly remains a hotbed for punk and crust with POLLEN being a welcomed recent addition to this continuing legacy. The band features members from several solid Philly acts including Aseptic, Pissbath, and Ectoplasm. Uncompromising distortions of ungodly magnitudes, stubborn d-beats, and guttural screams permeate this latest raw punk release hitting streets May 1st via Brain Solvent Propaganda. Taking the distorted sounds of the second wave of Japanese hardcore punk bands like Bastard and kicking it up the insanity another notch, POLLEN is a band to keep an eye on. -BTS
band: fluoride
album: s/t
Home Turf: New Brunswick, NJ
genre/s: grindcore, hardcore punk, screamo, noise
Release Date: Out Now
Here we have a smoking debut release from New Brunswick, NJ’s fluoride. A high-speed ride through tracks that peak and turn violently over blast beats, cutting punk sections, and noise-drenched movements. The consuming cyclone of sound is intensified by the furious vocal transmissions of singer Suzy Garry. Here we have another young band with exceptional promise contributing to the ever-expanding East Coast musical landscape. -BTS
Bands: Landbridge / Autarch
Album: Split LP
Home turf: Florida / North Carolina
genre/s: punk, crust
Record Labels: Alerta Antifascista Records (Europe), Replenish Records (US), IFB Records (US)
FFO: Page 99, Catharsis, Envy
Landbridge and Autarch are two bands that should be on your radar if you’re into excellent crusty numbers with a driving sense of purpose. This Split LP finds both bands at the top of their game with emotional music that delves into the foulness of politics beautifully, paying tribute to bands like Catharsis and Page 99 whom have clearly pulled these up-and-coming acts into their sphere of influence. -BTS
Band: HIRS
Release: TRANS GIRL TAKE OVER 2K17
Release Date: Out Now
Genre/s: queer, thrash, punk, grindcore
Home Turf: Philadelphia, PA
FFO: Parlamentarisk Sodomi, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Pig Destroyer
HIRS put on some of the best shows in the Philadelphia underground and have amassed a cult-like following on punk and grindcore touring circuits. Over the years, the band’s discography has evolved to capture a catacalismic presence, matching their live performances. The collective, which generally features frontwoman JP at the helm, and Esem on guitar, achieves a scorcher of a release with TRANS GIRL TAKE OVER 2K17. The album offers the blistering grind and blasts the collective have become known for while traveling down a road of hardcore, metal, and thrash to compliment the well crafted and often pre-programmed drumbeats. The song structures are keen and catchy admist a brutal concoction of piercing tones. Another best of 2017. -BTS
Band: Cloud Rat / Moloch
Album: Split
Home Turf: Michigan, US / Nottingham, UK
Record Label: Halo of Flies
genre/s: grindcore, hardcore punk, sludge
FFO: Sick/Tired, Cough, Triac
Michigan’s Cloud Rat and Nottingham’s Moloch cross the Atlantic with a new split through Halo of Flies (US) and Feast of Tentacles (EU). This grind vs sludge LP is the first of many Cloud Rat releases for 2017, blistering grindcore with a few surprises in store. Moloch comes storming back with its signature dreary sluge/doom sound.
“Split releases are the lifeblood of the underground heavy music scene (or at least, the plasma within a greater stream). I’ve sung their praises many times, but feel especially vindicated when a split like this one crosses my desk. On this one, we’re treated to the blessed union of Cloud Rat—the genre-bending, grind-doom-noise-punk-metal phenoms to whom I’ve devoted an almost embarrassing amount of digital ink over the years—and the UK’s Moloch, who continue to be truly excellent purveyors of tense, rancid sludge forged in the grand Northern English tradition.” – Noisey
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