Written By Kevin McSweeney
Welcome to Seven Deadly Songs, Metal Lair’s weekly feature where we select seven songs that slap, and none that are crap. This week, we’re looking at tracks from some of the most eagerly anticipated albums to be released in the first week of June. We seem to have leaned fairly heavily in the direction of one particular sub genre, but there’s plenty of good releases to be found from across the spectrum of rock and metal, so keep listening, and keep it heavy!
Austere – Storm Within my Heart
We commence proceedings with a fairly lengthy opener, courtesy of New South Wales-based depressive black metal band Austere. There’s actually a fair few quality black metal bands from Down Under, which has always puzzled me. The Australian outback is as far removed from the icy fjords of Norway as you can get. How are you supposed to maintain a face full of corpse paint in that searing heat? I digress. Our opening track this week is in fact the closing track of their fifth full-length album, The Stillness of Dissolution, due to be released on June 6th, courtesy of Prophecy Productions. It’s 9 minutes and 25 seconds of anguished screams, ominous tremolo picking and startlingly rapid blast beats: what more could you want from a bit of black metal?
Battlesnake – Murder Machine
And here we have another Australian offering, courtesy of Sydney’s Battlesnake, who release their third full-length album independently on June 6th. Its title? Dawn of the Exultants and the Hunt for the Shepherd! The tongue is firmly in the cheek with this one, as they treat us to an old-fashioned helping of heavy metal at its most gloriously silly in the form of Murder Machine. What else is to be expected from a band that previously gave us a song called I Am The Vomit? There’s harmonised lead guitars, epic synths and hilarious histrionics galore. It also has a chorus that I’m not going to get out of my head anytime soon. All in all, it’s a lot of fun. Fair dinkum, fellas!
Eudaemon – Karst
Next, we have some more black metal – this time of the progressive variety, courtesy of Minneapolis band Eudaemon, who release their second full-length album, Spiritual Anguish, via Riff Merchant Records on June 6th. Karst is the opening track from the album. The vocals are pure black metal, as are the blast beats, but there’s almost an element of Silent Alarm-era Bloc Party to those riffs, and more than a hint of jazz about the lead guitar work. It’s an intriguing blend, and it works well. They certainly don’t look like a black metal band in their promotional photos. In fact, they look more like they’re going to go off solving mysteries in a van with a talking Great Dane, but they sound like a black metal band, albeit a highly experimental one. Well worth checking out!
Gaahls Wyrd – Braiding the Stories
And we have even more black metal! I normally prefer to add a bit more variety to these lists, but when an album drops courtesy of the Season of Mist label, we simply can’t ignore it, so consistently excellent is the output of their artists. This is no exception, especially as Gaahl is of course a legendary figure in Norwegian metal. He is known for his work primarily with Gorgoroth, and for his astonishing vocal range. Braiding the Stories is the first single and the title track from the second Gaahls Wyrd album, due to be released on June 6th. Season of Mist describes it as: “a composition that transcends mere sound, a vivid exploration of contemplation and sonic experimentation that bridges the realms of consciousness and dreams.” And who are we to suggest otherwise?
Goya – Depressive Episode
This is heavy in more ways than one. Goya, the sludge/stoner metal quartet from Phoenix, Arizona, release their fourth full-length album, In the Dawn of November, via Blues Funeral Recordings on June 8th, and it’s certainly heavy musically, with guitars tuned to somewhere below the Earth’s crust. It’s even more heavy lyrically, with sombre sentiments expressed throughout. It’s a great song, but it’s best approached with caution. We urge you to remember that it’s OK not to be OK, and to seek help if you experience thoughts similar to those expressed in the lyrics of this song. There’s absolutely shame in it. We also urge you not to let the lyrical content put you off this powerful piece of music. Just remember that the world is a better place with you in it, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.
Gruesome – Silent Echoes
There’s a lot going on in this one from Gruesome. Deemed to be progressive death metal, we have black metal-style tremolo picking to kick things off, giving way to a more traditional death metal sound, before lurching into a groove metal section. Then we have a change of time signature, leading to a passage of music reminiscent of classic Chuck Shuldinger songwriting, followed by… Oh look, you get the idea. It’s a multifaceted piece of music that is worthy of your time and attention. Silent Echoes is the title track from the third full-length album by the Californian/Floridian band. It is due to be released on June 6th via Relapse Records. We hope you echo our sentiments and check it out.
Haema – Delta
I feel like I’ve been transported back to the 1990s by this one. (Returning to a time when I was young and slim with a full head of hair? Sign me up!) Our final selection comes courtesy of a noisy bunch from Northamptonshire, UK, called Haema, who released their self-titled debut album independently on June 2nd. Delta sounds like Demanufacture-era Fear Factory (though shorn of the more overtly industrial elements of their sound) jamming with L.D. 50-era Mudvayne. There are many who look scornfully upon that era of metal, and so it won’t be to everyone’s taste but, If nothing else, they made me feel young again. Hell, I might even head to the mosh pit if the artificial hip is up to the task.
