It’s Friday, January 22nd, which means two things: Donald Trump is fucking off somewhere, and there’s new music! Tune in every Friday for The Pit’s round-up of new releases, from singalong hard rock to pus-drenched underground death metal. Keep those ears bleeding!
Nervosa, Perpetual Chaos (Napalm Records)
For fans of: Warbringer, Destruction, Hypnosia
Standout track: “Genocidal Command”
When they first came onto the scene, everyone saw Nervosa’s all-female line-up as sort of a gimmick, but with Perpetual Chaos it’s obvious that dealing with all the shit female musicians are subjected to has pissed the Brazilian band off to an intense degree. The record is thrash, but without all the good-timey throwback nonsense; instead, guillotine riffs and sneering shrieks are the order of the hour. Those who’ve been keeping up with the salty underground of thrash metal over the years will be raising the claws to this sonic chainsaw in no time. Cool, fast, vengeful metal from a contemporary fixture of the scene.
Asphyx, Necroceros (Century Media)
For fans of: Autopsy, Pungent Stench, Tomb Mold
Standout track: “Botox Implosion”
How in the fuck do you make arguably the best album of your career 34 years in? Asphyx get better with each consecutive release, and on Necroceros, the Dutch death-doomers reach a new echelon of brutality. Fast and punishing one second, plodding and malevolent the next, this record is a sweet, delicious treat for everyone who likes their music ugly, fuzzy, and primed to choke someone to death as it crawls out of its grave. One of death metal’s most important bands, even to this day.
Hulder, Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry (Iron Bonehead)
For fans of: Wolves In The Throne Room, Emperor, Sargeist
Standout track: “A Forlorn Peasant’s Hymn”
You might think the reference to peasants in this album’s title means it’s ultra-European, but one-woman black metal act Hulder actually hail from Portland. That said, there’s a lot of that hard Euro vibe here, from the churning kvlt riffs to the occasional chilly fantasy keyboards during the intros and breakdowns. The music is solid second-wave black metal, reminding listeners of how hard their underground Norwegian idols went on some romantic castle worship.
Sacrocurse, Supreme Terror EP (Shadow Records)
For fans of: Angelcorpse, Impiety, Deiphago
Standout track: “Man Became Cursed”
God, you gotta love music that sounds like an army of bipedal goats overtaking the world. International act Sacrocurse play that sort of hard-hitting blackened death metal that will always lurk at the core of the underground. But unlike the music of some of their war-mongering brethren, the songs on Supreme Terror never feel cluttered with noise; instead, the band slows down and provide enough marching riffs and wailing solos to give this EP an arch-evil. the However many spikes you’re wearing right now? Not enough.
Other crushers:
- Ektomorf, Reborn (Napalm Records)
- Here Lies Man, Ritual Divination (RidingEasy Records)
- Therion, Leviathan (Nuclear Blast)
- Wardruna, Kvitravn (Norse Music)
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Words by Chris Krovatin
