As the dust settled on the frantic months of September and October, there were still plenty of gems and stellar releases to be found in the month of November. Baltimore unit Tripper dropping their debut EP, Fawn Limbs & Nadja teaming up for a dissonant grindcore project and Writhe dropping one of the heaviest releases of the month.
Tripper – People Die Every Day (Independent)
People Die Every Day is the debut EP from Tripper, a hardcore outfit out of Baltimore. The riffs say ‘punk’ and ‘crust’ in their writing but they’re not so tortured by fuzz that they become unintelligible. Alex‘s vocals are tortured on “Rosehips“, as she morphs into some sort of animal as it closes (literally some sort of animal sample, to be clear). Beyond this there are no studio tricks, just a faithful live recording by Kevin Bernsten of Full of Hell capturing bleeding edge hardcore in action. “Salt” is the catchiest ripper, but what I find most satisfying among the punchy beatdown are the little guitar flourishes, dropped beats, and drifting tempos that keep you on your toes.
FFO: Gouge Away, Punch & Jivebomb
n0trixx – rejected (NDC Records)
On rejected, n0trixx dances between genres, atmospheres and moods, making for an experience that looks to challenge musical norms. There are influences from of countries such as their native Russia, those akin to Middle Eastern leanings on the recent Racetraitor, and thrash that can be found on many Western records. A rough and intriguing listen that makes the imagination begin to tick at what n0trixx could offer up next.
FFO: Mimi Barks, билборды & Mobbs Radical
Malignant – The Defragmentation Begins… (Independent)
Another metallic hardcore release we’re happy to highlight, Malignant are showing up from Athens with three new tracks. With their 2021 LP being just twenty minutes, The Defragmentation Begins… is a short and sweet drop that is more than just keeping their machine going. It’s got wild guitarwork with fuzz that pinpoints the sweetspot, death-style vocals, and plenty of features from close and far. The wandering songs feel much longer than they are, always ending up with just one more breakdown to seal the tomb.
FFO: Knocked Loose, xapothecaryx & Serration
Stumbleine – Waterlogged Master Tapes (Independent)
There has always been a magic to the ambient musings and mixtapes that Stumbeline that have been produced for over a decade now. Offering up self-described ‘Slowed down, Saturated, Verbed out‘ remixes of some of their finest tracks, it seeks to offer up a dreamier and exposed version of the likes of “Hold On” and “Dusk“, while still invoking the heartfulness their ambience holds. And Waterlogged Master Tapes serves as a wintry reminder of the sublime discography Stumbeline has pieced together over the years.
FFO: Burial, Dedekind Cut & Helios
Trashiii – Aurora (Independent)
It has been an incredibly solid year for breakcore releases with the likes of hxly xo, Manapool and my!lane dropping standout records. A return from Trashiii took it up a level on their release, Aurora. An ethereal soundscape that drifts between each of its accompany genres of trance, drum’n’bass and dance, making for a special listen that is wrapped in nostalgic production.
FFO: wiv, Midbooze & In Explosions
Dead Cosmonauts – Parasomnia (Do It Thissen/Trepanation Recordings)
Parasomnia is the first full-length release from Dead Cosmonauts. From the textures it would be easy to call it post rock/metal, but there’s something more “prog” in the structures, and the heavy storytelling elements also hark back to fabled concept albums of yore. They’re more than happy to dedicate minutes to fading noise that mixes guitar drone, synth effects, and distant vocals. When it’s heavy, there’s big focus on guitar – it’s all soaring leads that trade and collapse into soulful noodles, with crushing riffs underneath. If you miss a tasteful synth in your rock band, Dead Cosmonauts have you covered; I’m picky when it comes to these and can confirm that they use the atmosperhic patches and sizzling control knob tweaks. See for yourself on the titanic “Kenopsia“, whose ending demonstrates they’re not completely vocal free – they’re just saving it for the best bits. A delight for those looking for cinematic yet heavy music.
FFO: Mountain Caller, God Is An Astronaut & E-L-R
Good Game – Get Good (Brock Benzel)
Get Good is the ultimate test of your tolerance for math rock-isms, as Good Game have made the twistiest, most illogical album of November 2023. Studying at the TTNG school of math with their clean-toned tapping, there’s buckets of self aware humout too like the jazz breaks in “Spin2win“. Vocal duties are mostly in Brie Emsee‘s with a few from Ben Cardine who is also noodling the bass. Amid the sonic talent on display, the lyrics are no afterthought. They’re divided between irreverent video game references (“I Can Be Your Princess“) and nagivating queerness (“Stella by Sunlight“), sometimes both at once: “Soft locked in boy mode forever / Turn me off and on another time“. Their early EP was enough to get Good Game to the math rock mecca of ArcTanGent; let’s hope their debug EP Get Good sends them far and wide again.
FFO: Standards, This Town Needs Guns & Really From
Fawn Limbs & Nadja – Vestigial Spectra (Roman Numeral Records/Wolves And Vibrancy)
Fawn Limbs are an agonal, dissonant grindcore project who have teamed up with Nadja, the biggest name in drone doom for two decades. The result is an incalculable and terrifying album that’s more noise than metal. Fawn Limbs do the groundwork with their usual precision-destruction counterplay, playing technical and chaotically, and Nadja carefully douse it all in ambigous and frigid drone. Fawn Limbs are pulled into the black hole as their short numbers stretch into six, seven, and eleven minutes epics, adrift in Nadja‘s soundscapes (and no doubts gave them the chance to make some of their own soundscapes too). They really are working together, as every dissonant chord on “Cascading Entropy” becomes larger than any recording studio could hold. Vestigial Spectra is not for the faint hearted.
FFO: Knoll, Ulcerate & Krallice
Writhe – In Filth (Filth Records)
From one type of heaviness to another, In Filth is a release that remebers deathcore should be absolutely fucked up. Currently an unknown band, Writhe unleashed this EP. As deathcore goes it’s decidedly blackened, with shrill and wretched vocals over beats most blasted. Or perhaps it’s the production, whose tasteful reverb brings a pervasive, enthralling atmosphere that invokes grand spaces; perhaps a desecrated cathedral, or cosmic pit. Opener “Hollow” repitches choir samples into contorted mockeries, like fragments of angels searching for hell. It’s unexpected, with a fresh take on the idea at every step of the breakdown. The closer “Chasm Of Slumber” earns its 7 minute runtime with breaks for angelic vocals and clean guitar buildups. This EP is twenty seven minutes of impeccable deathcore that ought to launch Writhe‘s career far and wide.
FFO: Abigail Williams, Inferi & Chelsea Grin