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 metal releases, from singalong hard rock to pus-drenched underground death metal. Keep those ears bleeding!
Unto Others, Strength (Roadrunner Records)
For fans of: Ghost, The Cult, Life of Agony
Standout track: “Destiny”
Okay, before we talk about anything else: Unto Others do a cover of Pat Benatar’s “Hell Is For Children” on this album. That ALONE makes it worth a spin. However, it just so happens that the rest of the record is also a killer mixture of goth, old-school heavy metal, and languid highway rock. This is an album that fans of metal can chill to, while fans of catchy hard rock will feel invigorated by it. It just also happens to feature the best Pat Benatar cover we’ve heard in a long time.
Rivers of Nihil, The Work (Metal Blade Records)
For fans of: Devin Townsend, Fit For An Autopsy, the lounge music one hears in a dream
Standout track: “Dreaming Black Clockwork”
Jesus, Rivers of Nihil, hold still! Every album sees RoN moving their sound in new directions, and The Work is no different (except for the fact that it is). The record is a mixture of disparate influences pushed to their extreme — crushing death metal, progressive death metal, industrial, noise, and a bunch of weird atmospherics thrown in for good measure (and, of course, saxophone). Every song feels like it could come from a different album by a different artist, which might jar some listeners but will endear fans who are sick of the same breakdowns over and over. Get your hands dirty.
Malignament, Hypocrisis Absolution (Primitive Reaction Records)
For fans of: Kampfar, Vreid, Einherjer
Standout track: “Like Rats They Followed”
Dude, get into Malignament. The Finnish duo’s new album is a beautiful crashing wave of crushing blackened death metal (or death-y black metal?) with strong Viking overtones that immediately takes the listener on a journey. There’s a real vision here, accompanied by a lush sound that sweeps over the listener and only further serves to highlight the individual moments of melody and rhythm. It’s huge. It’s powerful. It fucking rules. Get into it.
Sleep Token, This Place Will Become Your Tomb (Spinefarm)
For fans of: Deftones, Chevelle, The Contortionist
Standout track: “Hypnosis”
Hooded echo-rock collective Sleep Token are a little confusing on paper. With a name like that, one wonders if they play Tolkien-loving folk metal or doomy weed worship. But the band’s uniqueness of sound justifies their strange persona and weirdo name. Elemental, subliminal, and shadowy in its vulnerability, This Place Will Become Your Tomb is a hypnotic display of the band’s identity, staking a claim for them moving forward. It’s extremely compelling, even if you might not know what you’re in for until halfway through any given song.
Other crushers:
- Poppy, Flux (Sumerian Records)
- Succumb, XXI (The Flenser)
- Signs of the Swarm, Absolvere (Unique Leader Records)
Want to check out other great new metal releases we’ve spotlighted recently? Good. Here you go.
***
Words by Chris Krovatin
