Written By Kevin McSweeney
Welcome to Seven Deadly Songs, Metal Lair’s weekly feature, in which we offer up seven satisfying morsels of metal for connoisseurs of the finest sonic cuisine. This week, we’re savouring the songs that have our mouths watering for the new albums and EPs released between the 12th and the 18th of May – those that are certain to be the most sumptuous of repasts. Bon Appétit, one and all!
Cadaver Shrine – The Writhing Desperation of God
We thought we’d start with something religious in honour of the announcement of the new Pope, so we’ve gone with this gloriously lo-fi piece of old school death/doom metal from Cadaver Shrine. The band is actually a one-man project from the Netherlands – the handiwork of Maurice de Jong – and is about to release its second album, Into the Horrible Depths, via Chaos Records on May 16th. The Writhing Desperation of God is the opening track from the album, and sounds to me like early Bolt Thrower, but with Chris Barnes of Cannibal Corpse and Six Feet Under on vocals, which is a combination bound to appeal to fans of the death metal of the late 20th Century, of which I am certainly one.
Death Before Dishonor – Overruled
Now this is a welcome return! Death Before Dishonor, the veteran hardcore punk crew from Boston, Massachusetts, will roar back on May 16th with their sixth full-length album, Unbound, released via Bridge Nine. Overruled is the first single from the album, and according to the record label: “The pummeling track blends the band’s roots in heavy hardcore with catchy hooks and impassioned lyrics.” Said lyrics, according to the band, are: “…a calling out of those who don’t lead with their true intentions. With this song, we set out to draw the boundary between bonds forged in principle and bonds born from convenience.” There’s absolutely no doubting the intentions or principles of this legendary band, nor indeed the quality of their music.
Death Whore – Noyé Dans le Sang
Continuing the theme of bands with “Death” in their name, we have this furious little ditty from the delightfully-monikered Death Whore. My ability to speak French is limited in the extreme – almost as extreme as the music on offer here, in fact – but I believe the title means “drowned in blood”. (Who am I kidding? I know it does. Merci beaucoup, Google!) The trio from Nancy in Northeastern France, who deal in: “Death Metal, Crust Punk and total sonic filth”, according to their website, have delivered 1 minute and 46 seconds of impassioned intensity here as an apéritif for their forthcoming debut album, Blood Washes Everything Away, due to be released on May 16th via Duality Records, Specific Recordings, Crypt Of Dr. Gore, Hecatombe Records, and No Good To Anyone Productions. Furthermore, the stop-motion video accompanying the song is as dark and unsettling as any such promo from Tool.
Executionist – Serrated Shadows
We have another exciting debut album on the cards here, this time from Executionist, a death/thrash metal band from Gallagher, Virginia, who released Sacrament of the Sickindependently on May 16th. Serrated Shadows is the first single from the album. The American quartet blend death metal vocal styles with big, thrashing riffs and melodic lead guitars that harken back to the glory days of the classics of the NWOBHM era. It’s thoroughly exhilarating stuff, though the murderous winged figure on the album cover with the plague doctor mask is giving me distressing flashbacks from the pandemic. I’m happy to look back to the 1980s but definitely not keen to be reminded of 2020, thanks all the same.
Full Of Hell – Knight’s Oath
Knight’s Oath is taken from Broken Sword, Rotten Shield, the forthcoming EP by Full of Hell, Ocean City, Maryland’s purveyors of powerviolence, grindcore, death metal, noise and one or two other subgenres that might have fallen out of their pockets and rolled down the back of the couch. It is due to be released on May 16th via Closed Casket Activities. They have certainly been prolific in terms of their releases, with a discography that is twice as long as most band’s setlists, but the aggression has not abated at all since 2009’s Savages. That said, the ferocity of this song is juxtaposed strangely but brilliantly with lyrics so poignant and elegiac, they bear comparison to the mournful poetry of Laurence Binyon or Wilfred Owen. Highly impressive stuff!
GaiaBeta- Get Your Freedom
Classic. That’s the best word to describe the sound of what Brazilian heavy metal band GaiaBeta have produced on Get Your Freedom, and hopefully on the rest of their debut album – it’s a great week for debut albums – Gate of GaiaBeta. The album is due to be released via Pitch Black Records on May 16th, and, though It’s brand new, it would sit comfortably alongside the finest heirlooms of the genre. I don’t know if it’s the vocals being so reminiscent of Klaus Meine, or the opening riff bearing something of a resemblance to Bark at the Moon, or maybe it’s that the harmonised lead guitars and the solo sound so much like Iron Maiden, combined with the drumming of Painkiller-era Judas Priest, but whatever it is, I’m looking forward to hearing more. It’s not easy for Brazilian bands to live in the shadow of the mighty Sepultura, but GaiaBeta might be about to step into direct sunlight.
Novelists FR – Say My Name
We’ve had some very heavy stuff on the list this week, so lastly, we turn to something more melodic in the form of this offering from the second of our featured bands to hail from France. Novelists FR, a metalcore band from Paris, are due to release Coda, their fifth full-length album, and their first with vocalist Camille Contreras, on May 16th via Out of Line Music. Say My Name is, thankfully, not a cover of the Destiny’s Child song of the same title, though its chorus is just as catchy. To be honest, on this song at least, they sound more like Paramore than metalcore. I probably should not say the name Linkin Park, but they have followed in the footsteps of the nü metal giants by replacing a male singer with a female vocalist. I definitely should not describe them as a French Spiritbox fronted by Stephanie from Lazy Town, but I’m going to anyway, because it’s far more important for me to be funny than it is to be fair. Je suis désolé, mes amies.
