Rather than delivering heavy-hitter upon heavy-hitter, November has been a month packed with smaller and special releases. Counterparts returned in a new and enticing form on Heaven Let Them Die, Chaos Reigns showed their promised on Sweet Violence and OBEYER made a spectacular debut on Chemical Well. Now we take a look at some the other special releases from the month of November.
SPLITJAW – Dread’s Comforting Embrace (Independent)
Gnarly metallic riffs lead much of Dread’s Comforting Embrace, as SPLITJAW noodle away and offer up harsher moments that succinctly match the vocals. The band delve into topics of introspectiveness, despair and revenge, hoping to make the perfect soundtrack to righteous violence. The two guitars are mixed brilliantly, and the bass absolutely shines through with uncommon vibrancy for a hardcore band. Weaving between sounds of hardcore, thrash and metal, SPLITJAW have more than created an exciting listen that should see them garner some much deserved attention.
FFO: Nameless, The Hirs Collective & SeeYouSpaceCowboy…
Smother – GARDEN2GRAVE (Independent)
A surprise release from Stoke-On-Trent based hardcore outfit, Smother, put out a brutally heavy three-track EP this month. Containing material which they’ve been showcasing live for a short while now, it feels long overdue, however, the wait was absolutely worth it. Seamlessly combining fresh ideas with modern hardcore roots, Smother are here to help put Stoke back on the map for the hardcore scene. Catch these songs, and no doubt some more unreleased material later this month when they support fellow local acts Mercury and Black Coast for a hometown show.
FFO: Long Goodbye, Splitknuckle & Dandelion
drive your plow over the bones of the dead – tragedy as catharsis (Independent)
tragedy as catharsis is s rancid screamo record, an orchestration of anxiety and inevitable collapse. Tracks are as short as 20 seconds and come in a flurry, and when it’s not shrill beatdown, it’s burning feedback in every the pause. The three piece have been captured live, preserving the desperation of the dual vocals and fury of the drum fills. Much of it is panic chord cacophany, the type of sound you should just let wash over you, but there are plenty of stand out moments too. To see this band getting some solid numbers from only their second release feels like justice.
FFO: Blind Girls, Bloom Dream & Frail Body
Codespeaker – Scavenger (Independent)
From one frigid piece to another, Scavenger is the new record from this Scottish post metal band. Codespeaker operate in shades of grey, much like the atmospheric sludge greats they take influence from, but a keen attention to engaging structures makes every track special on Scavenger. The first few songs will convince you of the band’s technical and songwriting chops, peaking with “Signum” as they blast out tappy solos over a tech groove. The gutteral vocals will shake you across the album, but on “Enso” it’s sent to a shrill, agonishing high register. The dynamic tracks “Hecatomb“, “Karst and “Verte” offer some shafts of light, before snuffing them out with heaps of distortion. It’s been a strong year for post metal and Scavenger shows us there’s even more out there waiting to be discovered.
FFO: Cult of Luna, Sumac & Callisto
Ritual Error – Dial in The Ghost (Independent)
Ritual Error have a uniquely wierd take on post hardcore and screamo that embraces dissonance and discomfort. Well practiced on the London gig circuit, their idiosyncracies can be seen as a new vision for blistering post punk, or perhaps a cruel parody of britpop. The trio is vocalist and guitarist Okala Elesia, drummer David Thair, and bassist Alessandro Incorvaia, and on Dial in the Ghost they prove to be a band that is tight, focused, and dynamic. With just one sample across the whole record, their sound is dialed into their instruments and voices alone. Elesia’s raw, treble-heavy guitar work and impassioned vocals are anchored by Thair’s steady, precise drumming, while Incorvaia’s driving bass injects relentless energy. The result is a sound that feels unpredictable yet perfectly balanced – a defining strength of the band.
FFO: Kulk, Black Midi & Birds in Row
Mouths – A Lower Process (Moment of Collapse Records)
Mouths offer a unique take on heavy and emotive music through their dual vocals – gutterals paired with operatic cleans. A gritty mix positions these close together in uncomfortable disharmony, and the progressive songwriting wraps all of this in wild tragedy; it’s a combination that sounds dubious on paper, but it really, really works before your ears. The structures on “Pendulums” and “Leibowitz” will bend your mind, but the link down to earth comes from the emotional gravity of the riffing. “Informers” focuses on Jemma Freese‘s vocals, and the harsh vocals on “A Feast of Days” slip into cleans for a tender conclusion. Something really special is brewing in Sheffield.
FFO: Hidden Mothers, Julie Christmas & Agriculture
ALL GODS DIE – Demo (Independent)
Showcasing their debut Demo, ALL GODS DIE put forward a compact and impressive set of tracks, with a production style rooted in the old-school. Neatly walking the line between hardcore and metalcore, the guitar melodies and riffs standout along with the vocals that are loaded with anguish. We will no doubt be hearing much more of ALL GODS DIE going forward and hopefully this is just a sample of future material.
FFO: Silenus, Pure Bliss & Blood Runs Cold
Damage Over Time – Demo (Undercity)
What Damage Over Time have cooked up here is nothing short of nasty and feral. They take the extremities of the old school deathcore revival and stick them on steroids. It will take several listens to comprehend the madness of the kicks, toms and fills, and the intense vocals and speaker-breaking riffs that come with that. If you thought this trend of deathcore was becoming too saturated, Damage Over Time are here to smack you over the head.
FFO: PSYCHO-FRAME, Killing of a Sacred Deer & Lilth’s Demise
Deprivation Of Liberty – Soul Stripped Bare (South Wales Collective)
Deprivation Of Liberty give a fuck about exactly what they need to make their music work, and nothing more. Soul Stripped Bare‘s production is absolutely rudimentary, as the whole band fights against brutal compression, creating the perfect environment for their angry, low-tuned metallic hardcore. Every track is a strong showcase of what we love about the genre. Take “Numb” as an example, with its evil riffing, belt-worth choruses over (“suffer in your misery“), circle pit riffs with that metallic hardcore snare, and an obligatory closing breakdown which will shift the gravity beneath you. Soul Stripped Bare ought to be Deprivation Of Liberty‘s ticket into the line ups of the best of the small-capacity hardcore shows, far from their South Wales home.
FFO: Ordeal, Splitknuckle & Final Form