It’s Friday, which means two things: giving the week the finger and 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!
Wolves In The Throne Room, Primordial Arcana (Relapse Records)
For fans of: Emperor, Uada, Woods of Desolation
Standout track: “Spirit of Lightning”
Man, anyone who chalked Wolves In The Throne Room up to the whole hipster black metal thing back in the late 2000s is now eating their words with hot sauce. Like its predecessor Thrice Woven, the band’s new album Primordial Arcana is as eerie and dramatic a piece of black metal witchery as we’ve ever heard. Grand but grounded, melodic yet dirty, the record is a woodland witchcraft ritual set to music, the sonic equivalent to a rite one stumbles upon in the forest outside of town. Absolutely breathtaking.
Deafheaven, Infinite Granite (Sargent House)
For fans of: U2, Cynic, Sigur Ros
Standout track: “Lament for Wasps”
Aha, here’s the hipster black metal! Or is it? On Infinite Granite, Deafheaven have decided to jump the nail-ship entirely, and have traded in their beautiful deluges of fuzz and melody for, well, goth-y jangling shoegaze with an indie rock twist. The result will definitely prove divisive to fans, who will either love that they’re going in a new direction or wonder what the fuck happened. Just know that this isn’t the stygian tidal wave you’re looking for.
Bonehunter, Dark Blood Reincarnation System (Hells Headbangers)
For fans of: Hellripper, Devil Master, Toxic Holocaust
Standout track: “Virgin Devil Princess”
Sweet fuck, man, Finland’s Bonehunter never disappoint. Dark Blood Reincarnation System is the kind of blistering, all-teeth blackened thrash that modern heads dream about. ‘Old-school’ could be used to describe the band’s dedication to delicious riffs and twisted subject matters, but that term does these motherfuckers an injustice — they’re not retro or remembering when thrash was great, they’re making extreme speed metal for the modern age, informed by the music in the underground around them. An absolute sackload of fun that’ll have you kissing a goat’s O-ring in no time.
Sodom, Bombenhagel EP (Steamhammer)
For fans of: Exodus, Municipal Waste, Kreator
Standout track: “Coup de Grace”
So yeah, Bombenhagel is mostly just a vehicle for a rerecorded version of “Bombenhagel” off of 1987’s Persecution Mania. That said, this EP is three songs of absolutely ripping thrash metal the likes of which we just don’t get that much anymore. Angelripper is in fine form, his rasp and gurgle sounding creepier and meaner than it has in some time. Simply put, it’s a new Sodom album, so it’ll always get a beery thumbs-up from uys.
Other crushers:
- Between The Buried and Me, Colors II (Sumerian Records)
- Warkings, Revolution (Napalm Records)
- Witchcryer, When Their Gods Come For You (Ripple Music)
***
Words by Chris Krovatin
