Spread the Disease : " The Darkness. The Dread. The Suffering"

 Self-identifying as blackened hardcore, this Canadian band puts a particular set of expectations on itself. The vocals' scowl is black metal, as is the guitar playing that opens the album. Are there some deliberate chugs? Yes, but Watain does that as well. The production is where the lines are a bit blurred, as it is very in-your-face, with little atmosphere. For Black Metal, I like what they are doing on the opening track. Let's hear if the rest of the album can hold up. The second song, "God and Politics," finds that they are not screaming about the devil, so perhaps that is where the hardcore is coming in. It is very blasty and in your face. It does not feel as effective as the first song. There is a more deliberate riff that surfaces, but the vocals become obligatory screaming with little purpose.

The more they race through things with the fast and furious speed adopted by most black metal bands, the more they are going to lose my interest, which is why I am looking for black metal bands that are true to bringing sonic darkness but taking a different approach. They go darker and more dissonant with a deliberate riff leading the way into "Indoctrinated," which finds them exploding out of this in some more raging but also more typical. 

"Summer Wanes' is the first song with a hardcore feel going into but they blast this away. A lower growled vocal comes in on this one to balance the scowling vocal out some. The blast part gets old fast to me. There is a bit of a breakdown section, and while I am glad this is not just black metal with breakdowns, I could stand to hear more hardcore here. There is a catchier riff that comes in the final act of this one. They have a great deal of ground to make up in the last song. The abrasive beating they throw themselves into. They are decent musicians, and perhaps this might be a good starting point for metalcore kids getting into black metal. I will give it a 7.5 

Man/ Woman/ Chainsaw : "Cannonball"

 This quirky band from the UK is hard to pin down, though they have a sense of 90s alt-pop about them. Too progressive to be BritPop or Dream Pop, there are those elements in play as a violin dances around what they do whih might be simplified without the layers they have so cleverly added. The whimsy of what they do takes you by surprise, but after the first song, I began to wonder what kind of songwriters they are. This is not easily answered in "Canyons" as it is not as hooky as the first song, but is more dynamic.. So I give them a pass for the willingness to be marginally more explosive. 

The vocals are handled by three people, Billy Ward, who sings "Goddamn Lizard Man" with a smoky baritone in the vein of Leonard Cohen. Vera and Emmie handle the vocals most of the time. The guitar adds more rock to this one, but I am not feeling that it is their stock and trade. "Lighter" is a more delicate ballad. It is more atmospheric than what pop normally does with a jazz underpinning. The movement that drives "Nosedive" carries the tension of 90s indie rock, and proves they can write songs. Ironically, "Get Up and Dance" is not a dance song at all, but I like it as it's darker and moodier.

"Snake Bite" is more of an abstract ballad that feels like upbeat trip-hop that turns into more of a show tune."Flick of the Wrist" is back to a more Nice Cave-like place as the male vocals are the dominant force. It is not as dark as Nick Cave. They continue down this path but with a more rock emphasis on 'the Thing" . "Still Angry" feels like it would have been a pop song from the 90s. The last song kind of meanders, but I appreciate where they are going with it. A great deal of this album makes me think of HAIM jamming with the Dave Matthews band whichc should let you know there is no lack of tlanet here, I will give it a 9.

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Bloodbather : " ANAYNGSTTA'

 

This album came out in April, and I am just now catching up with it. This hybrid of SLAM and metal core carries a great deal of deliberate groove. The vocals are sometimes a gurgled death growl, at others a higher pitched scream, and then sometimes a more spoken rap. This finds them flirting with the line between hardcore and nu-metal. Despite its clever title, "Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off" is all abrasive metallic force without anything to really hook me in. 

Then things take a wild turn as "Closed Curtains Close Caskets' is a rap song. They are more deliberately catching a groove for "Dog 2 God". This is a pounding with a purpose that I can get behind.  There is some creepy dissonance to the guitars, so the yare working on more levels than we have heard from them up to this point. The vocals are screamed, but you can still discern what is going on. They have an eponymous song on this album that is more syncopated and has a call and response between the lower gurgle and the scream, with a more drugged-out nu-metal vocals muttering in the din. There is a even actual singing which works well in this context. 

One thing I like about this album is that it is dark. The last two tracks are pretty short, so they are almost like two thoughts' worth of an outro. It is a shame because 'Consequence" has a cool that would have been fun to hear them develop it further..The tits track that closes the album is under a minute. I will give this album a 9, as they are tapping into something cool here. I just wish they would grow the songs out, as the promise is there. As is, if you are a kid looking to do your karate dancing to heavy shit, this band has you covered.

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Die Antwoord : "Zama Zama"

 You can't cancel muthafokers from the Zef side. This album might have come out a little more under the radar since we know how the music press likes to play it safe with whatever the mainstream narrative is supposed to be, leaving actual punk rockers like myself, who give the middle finger to all establishments, no matter the side of the fence they are on, to cover this one. It's a weird one, leaning more on the electronic music side of things tahn hip-hop, though they have always been more experimental than what the idiot-appeasing assembly line pumps out. They are more atmospheric than what we have typically heard from them before, though they had begun to head in this direction.

"Tigers Don't Cry" was one of the lead singles. It's not as high energy as something like "I Fink Ur Freaky" with Ninja finally bringing it on this one, where the first two songs Yolandi carried. He brings more of an edge, and his lines carry more aggression, not to say Yolandi is not capable of bringing the tude as we have heard her go off in the past. The backing tracks are more like chilled-out 90s rave music. "Brutal" finds them building momentum and beginning to get in your face. There is more dynamic ebb and flow here. Yolandi finds herself getting marginally more aggressive. The title track has a groove that works well. 

"Hippie" is almost too happy with its techno bounce. This is the effect that smoking pot has on them these days. "Misfit" sounds cool even though the vocals are more of just a droning texture thrown in. There is a more experimental feel to this album that I respect. "UIT DE HEMEL" is more ambient, with her vocals grounding the song.. The hypnotic pulse of 'Chosen" is darker and hooks me in faster. The last song "ZWARTE"  is more of an ambient outro. I like this album, and glad they are back. I just wish there were more high-energy grooves on here and they were less stoned and more angry, but this is where they are at in life, so here we go.I will give it a 9.5 and see how it grows on me.

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Vulgar Mephitis : "From Dust"

 

The atmosphere of this album's opening track feels more black metal, leaving me waiting for them to blast into the brutality, which they do on "Martyr". The gurgled vocals dominate the mix, as everyone else has a spasm under them. There are breaks of ambaince even in this, which I appreciate as it's these creepy moments that are more unsettling..They show a willingness to experiment, which goes a long way with me. Without that, I would be bored even before the first proper song was over. They are not compromising the heaviness by breaking it up and are certainly on the more extreme end of the genre. 

There is some grindcore influence, and they keep their songs typically under the three-minute mark. Though they cram a great deal in over the span of a minute. "Exterminating Prone" is a little more straightforward in regards to what kids expect from death metal these days. Their drummer pulls this off impressively, and that is coming fro ma genres where you have to be a beast to keep up, but he plays with finesse as well. There is, however, little in terms of groove in their attack. The little bit that does begin to develop gets lost in the rapid-fire shuffle of the riff.

"Scorn of My Flesh" is where things begin to blur and are not helped by the rapid-fire intro to "Gorging Green' though to their credit, this song does a better job of finding its footing. It is still a collision of sound. This is certainly death metal for the karate-kicking kids. The title track is more like Cannibal Corpse's brand of raw, bloody death metal. . This means more groove than the brutal first hammering of the last song.I will give this one an 8, it has more atmosphere than your average band of this kind.

This drops  September 11th on Willowtip Records

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The Pretty Reckless : "Dear God"

 

Their last album 'Other Worlds' did not live up to the height they hit with their songwriting on "Death By Rock N Roll," which ight be why there is less fanfare with the release of this album. The opening track "For I Am Death," however, delivers pretty solidly with Taylor Momsen dialed in where she needs to be to carry this band. "When I Wake Up" might not be as hooky, but it works when it comes to straight-up rock n roll. There is a pretty heartfelt performance to "Love Me".The song s is pretty dynamic even if it brushes against some common tropes. 

The strum of "Dragonfire" has a more rootsy blues-based sound.  It opens things up for her to belt it out more easily, as the band is allowed to stretch out a bit. The title track is the darkest so far and has a bit of Alice Cooper influence in the guitar playing, so it is not surprising that it is my favorite song so far. The album is broken up by interludes called "Life Evermore". "About You" is more of a punk-influenced ditty that works for what it is. "Spell On You" is not the Screaming Jay Hawkins song, but it's an angsty grunge banger. They use the 90s production style but do not feel the need to check off the grunge boxes for"Rollercoaster of Life." While this works for the verses, the chorus is not the strongest as it's too happy. 

Taylor is at her best with some brooding introspection in the equation, which finds its balance on " Eye of the Storm". She tackles the introspective part from another angle on "Devil in Disguise."  This shows another side of her voice with its folky feel. She doesn't always have to rock out to keep me happy. I was not expecting what they do on "Dark Days," so that gets points for not following the most obvious paths and spreading things out dynamically.. I think this album is better than her last and touches on the kind of magic that worked so well on "Death By Rock n Roll," so I will give it a 9.5, out on Fearless Records.

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Dead Pony : "Eat My Dust"

 I really liked the nu-metal-tinged pop of "Ignore You"; it earned a 9 here. But this trip into the studio, they have refined what they were doing there and made it heavier; there is less pop-punk in the mix. Though some of the emphasis is still on hooky, infectious vocals, after hearing the first few singles, I was looking forward to this album. Anna Shields has more emphasis placed on her.. She is a strong front woman and should be front and center for more reasons than what might seem to the two that are most in your face. The first track is more of an intro, building into the title track here. There are more electronic elements driving things, but her vocal lines are airtight. You hear this song and can't imagine why they are not already on bigger stages. 

"Freak Like Me" is more dynamic, and there is a sexual element not only in the lyrics but in the groove, and is seems perhaps in showing more skin in their promo materials, she has grown into her own skin, and this is displayed in a more confident vocal performance. This defines girl power to me , as its not something that should prudishly repress the sex image and empower objectification. The lyrics might also be alluding to this. While many women trying to pull this off simply make videos that are better to watch with the sound muted, this is a well-balanced presentation, as the songs here matter.

"Fury" finds the chug of guitars laying down the foundation for her vocals to dance over. She is not trying to be Katy Perry, but the pop melding with metal hee works organically and benefits from stellar production. It makes sense that this is an ep as these songs were given meticulous attention to detail in the mix and a whole album of this might have pushed this back to a 2027 release. It also ensures that there is no filler. There are some interesting sounds on "Boom: that carries a more 90s alternative feel. It makes me think of bands I used to love, like the Guano Apes. The last song might be the msot melodic, and while it might not be as hooky as some of the earlier songs, it still works. I think they nailed what they do and presented a perfect sonic picture as who they are as a band, so I will give this one a 10.

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