After a busy month, we take time to look back on the records that may have gone under our radar this month. Including the likes of Metal To The Masses participants Convey, sublime black metal act Wretched Blessing, and ruthless Second City act NERVE AGENT.
Convey – The Broken Anonymous (Independent)
Delving into the muddy and dark atmosphere of the 00s while drawing off the rawness it also presented in its sound, Cheltenhamshire unit Convey deliver a spectacle on debut EP The Broken Anonymous. Juicy riffs and harsh vocals are delivered with a force that aren’t polished away with neat production, making for a listen that is authentic towards it roots.
FFO: Black Coast, BASTOS & Break Fifty
Minuet – all i did to avoid (Independent)
Ohio band Minuet blend hardcore, post hardcore, and post punk together for a fresh sound and palpable attitude. They brandish instrumentation that aches with warmth and nostalgia on “next wave” and “remnants“, but the semi-harsh vocals couldn’t be more dejected. 80s chorus gives the guitars a welcoming character, beaming with summer energy, and ready to form walls of sound on the big “cracks in the concrete“. They’ve captured it all with a brilliant recording, beyond what you’d expect from a debuting band, indicating they’re ready for the big leagues already.
FFO: Phoxjaw, Sorcerer & GEL
Wretched Blessing – Wretched Blessing (Two Mongrels Recordings)
Chicago duo Wretched Blessing, which includes members of Yautja, Immortal Bird & Coliseum, blend death metal, black metal, hardcore and punk, with each track showing their own unique style of the genres. Their lyrics taking aim at oppressive and parasitic structures around us, and the duo have delivered one hell of a listen.
FFO: Bolt Thrower, Celtic Frost & Full of Hell
Perpetual Paradox – Condemnation (Independent)
A ferocious offering of ’00s metalcore goodness, London’s Perpetual Paradox provide a dense, groovy and riff-heavy five-track EP that leans closely into the classic sounds of the genre’s golden years, with many modern bells and whistles to boot. With truly fierce performances across the board, particularly in powerhouse vocalist Adrian Graven and drummer Will Armstrong, Condemnation is a tightly produced, well-crafted and expertly executed take on the foundational era of the genre, with the band’s own twists and turns along the way.
FFO: Chimaira, Killswitch Engage & All That Remains
GrayWeather – The Soma Collective (Independent)
Taking the innovation and excitement of progressive metal and presenting it in a concise and bite-sized package, GrayWeather present The Soma Collective. Connecting seamlessly across 7 tracks, the release manages to pack a ton of detail into its relatively short runtime. With a debut this strong, GrayWeather should not be overlooked in the prog metal scene.
FFO: Periphery, VOLA & TesseracT
Abul Mogard & Rafael Anton Irisarri – Impossibly Distant, Impossibly Close (Black Knoll Editions)
Individually legendary in their own right, the union of Abul Mogard and Rafael Anton Irisarri feels like perfect fate. With sweeping synths, ear-candy crackles, distinct emotion, and wordless-narrative structure, Impossibly Distant, Impossibly Close is a lovely ambient record. To make things even more exciting (yes, ‘exciting’ for an ambient drone album), it’s a live performance, as the applause demonstrates when side two comes to a blissful close.
FFO: Klaus Schulze, early Oneothrix Point Never, Fennesz
Remember – Heathen, To Mind And Soul (Dream Catalogue)
Almost 10 years after the vaporwave comedown, the ‘dreampunk’ microgenre has proved to hold lasting appeal. Remember‘s ルートバックホーム was one of its defining records, and the just-released Heathen, To Mind And Soul is its closest continuation in his dicography. It takes us back to the soundscapes of forgotten alleys bathed in rain and neon. Deep synth sweeps keep the record both sparse and engrossing, and the half-heard digital voices never went out of fashion. Save it for a sweltering summer dawn in the city.
FFO: t e l e p a t h, Subaeris, Deepchord
Winter At Sea – Unfound (Independent)
Unfound is the opposite to Winter At Sea‘s debut singles. Putting their industrial sound aside, they strip back to simple and satisfying compositions that patiently develop as far as they need. Some post rock elements are clear, such as the stunning vocal drones in “Unfound (Piano I)“, but Unfound is more a chamber classical record. It exudes a cold and unfriendly mood, but one can easily picture the tender friendship between the musicians infused within each composition.
FFO: Dirty Three, Mono, Robert Haigh
NERVE AGENT – Game Of Death (Independent)
Finishing off our recommendations with a blunt-and-simple record, Game Of Death is a crossover thrash-core EP coming out of the West Midlands. Get two-stepping with “Government Issued Violence“, tempo-switching with “Game Of Death“, and respect the frantic vocal skills on closer “S.Y.M.“. This band is popping up on hardcore bills up and down the country, and has even supported Frozen Soul cementing their crossover status. I hope that all debuting hardcore bands can come out swinging with a debut this strong.
FFO: Wise Up, Nothin’ But Enemies & Pest Control