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!
Hooded Menace, The Tritonus Bell (Season of Mist)
For fans of: Coffins, Gatecreeper, Asphyx
Standout track: “Blood Ornaments”
Why isn’t every band Hooded Menace? The Finnish death-doom legends have been one of the world’s most enjoyable metal bands for over a decade now, and The Tritonus Bell only furthers this legacy. A little more kinetic and heavy-hitting than some of their oozier material, the record will still undoubtedly bring more traditional death metal fans into the fold while pleasing the diehards. Don’t worry, the whole thing still sounds like a church crumbling around a horde of sightless, crust-faced undead.
Spirit Adrift, Forge Your Future EP (Century Media)
For fans of: Haunt, High Spirits, Randy Rhoads-era Ozzy
Standout track: “Wake Up”
Wow, Spirit Adrift’s aggressive positivity is really on full blast with the Forge Your Future EP. Frontman Nate Garrett has obviously decided not to bury his messages of hope and perseverance in Frazettan metaphor anymore; instead, the album’s delicious old-school heavy metal songs go right for your better nature. It makes for a powerfully sunlit sound that never derivates from its fun-as-fuck riff-fest ethos. Crank it.
Oxygen Destroyer, Sinister Monstrosities Spawned by the Unfathomable Ignorance of Humankind (Redefining Darkness)
For fans of: Deicide, Hypnosia, early Kreator,
Standout track: “Slaughtering the Guardian Monsters”
So the gimmick with Oxygen Destroyer is that they write about Godzilla monsters, right? The Seattle-based band are kaijiu-obsessed, their name is a weapon from a Godzilla movie, et cetera. What we should be talking about, though, is just how fucking great these guys are. Thrashy, wily, and super evil around the edges, Sinister Monstrosities… is just a pleasure to listen to. Glad the monster thing has gotten some feet in the door, and hey, fuck yeah, Godzilla, but damn, these guys slay no matter what they write about.
Jinjer, Wallflowers (Napalm Records)
For fans of: Avatar, The Agonist, Whitechapel
Standout track: “Disclosure!”
Ukrainian hard rockers Jinjer are definitely erring on the side of pure metal on Wallflowers. The album goes hard in the double bass and snarling — at least for the first half, until everything slows down a little bit. Still, some metalheads who have been put off by the band’s branding as an international chart-topping hard rock megaforce or whatever will be surprised to discover how much they like this album.
Other crushers:
- The Bronx, The Bronx IV (Cooking Vinyl)
- Leprus, Aphelion (Inside Out Music)
- Wormwitch, Wolf Hex (Napalm Records)
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Words by Chris Krovatin
