Born of the ever-thriving Brighton alternative scene, they’ve been something of a hidden gem following 2018’s Tides EP. Held with lofty yet quiet acclaim, uttering their name is met with grins from those in the know. Still, even showing such fantastic promise, it’s likely the sheer calibre and excellence of their new EP Temple Corrupted was unexpected. Marrying the gargantuan progressiveness of hometown heroes Black Peaks with the uncanny, ominous stylings of Phoxjaw, the desolate riffs of Sugar Horse and the passion of Thrice, Temple Corrupted sounds rich, dynamic and utterly colossal. Not only is it musically phenomenal, it’s also a record of great thematic importance.
Related: El Moono – Temple Corrupted | EP Review
It doesn’t take a doctorate to understand and diagnose the lyrical themes of Temple Corrupted; it’s title plainly alludes to it. We are a sick nation, not one just ill with Covid, but one crippled with mental anguish. Not only has the scarcity of our minds been compromised, but the cultural temples we live in have been become corrupted with anxiety, fear and depression. These feelings, alongside general feelings of hopelessness, have become ingrained in our cultural DNA, and with recent talk of the cost of living rising and personal satisfaction dropping, it seems the issue is only going to get worse whilst we suffer in collective silence. It’s a grandiose subject borderline unfathomable, but one that Temple Corrupted explores and discuses with impassioned and personal articulation.
“As a band, we’re very close. We share a lot of kind of our own struggles together and we get each other through. It’s always been a very important part of our friendship, regardless of the music”, states guitarist and vocalist Jamie Haas on the origins and concept of the record. “So when we started writing Temple Corrupted just before shit hit the fan in March 2020, it really felt like the world was just no place for anyone to thrive in. We just kind of realised that the world being created is just something that just does not line up with any kind of healthy living. Mental health has always taken a backseat in this society that we’re living in. We wanted to make a record about mental health and the stigma around it. Take ‘Miseria’ for example”, he continues, in reference to the hulking track dead-centre of the record. “There we address head how the only people who have access to actual help are the wealthy. There’s a lyric in there, which is just how self care is for the rich and the poor is left to fend for itself. It’s actually one of my favourite bits of the whole record because it just cuts you. You’re just like, damn, you can’t argue with that.”
From sharing stages with the likes of Napoleon, Reclaimer and Blood Youth, it is clear that the influence of these bands has had a lasting impact on the band’s development – and has continued on to project itself onto the later years of their career.
On the 26th of June 2020, We Struck Gold delivered the explosive full length To Conquer a Fear/All Life Is Divine before entering the studio once more almost a full year later. Time away from social distractions over the course of the pandemic has allowed the band to sit back, graft hard and document the process, all boiling down to their latest instalment.
It’s difficult to summarise ‘Giving Up On Giving In’ in a few words, and without listening to the bands prior releases you may never full understand the concept. Looking back over the bands discography there is a distinct progression through different era’s, from influences old and new alongside obstacles and knock backs – slowly moulding the project into the latest model of themselves. It’s a track the band are understandably proud of, and we strongly hope we won’t be waiting around long for another dose. The band have poured all of their frustrations surrounding social norms into one crushing three minute single, bringing a brutal combination of stadium sized guitars and a passion akin to The Here And Now era Architects. The band have always had a fearsome reputation for relentless touring, and following the release of ‘Giving Up On Giving In’ we’re certain that there will be plenty more enthusiasts scrambling for tickets.
We caught up with the Bristol collective to ask about the single, the new lineup and plans to get back on the road.
Having taken the scene by storm with their debut The Language of Injury, the world was at Ithaca’s feet. They took the enforced downtime of the pandemic to hone in and evolve their sound, and their new single, the title track of second album They Fear Us, proves it. Stabbing guitars sit atop a crunching breakdown and vocalist Djamila Boden-Azzouz roars “bow to your blood / your queen and your god” in a contender for one of the boldest vocal lines of the year. Their sound has only gotten thicker and more imposing, due in part to the considerably larger guitar tone, as well as electronic screeches and flourishes and a bass that doesn’t so much rumble as it does roar. An intense, visceral assault from start to finish that the sparing melodic vocal lines only accentuate further, it’s a scintillating indication of where Ithaca will be heading – straight to the head of the pack. – Will Marshall
Nobody that heard Pupil Slicer’s debut Mirrors forgot it; whether it was your bag or not, its polyrhythmic and disorienting metalcore was seared into minds mercilessly. Their latest single ‘Thermal Runaway’ is a taste of the sonic evolution we can expect from them as they continue pushing their boundaries. Featuring none other than The Armed’s Cara Drolshagen on guest vocals, also responsible for the fantastic line “don’t steal stars”, it’s both immediately identifiable as Pupil Slicer while having an identity all its own. Vocalist/guitarist Kate Davies brings a new style to bear alongside that employed on the debut and their use of almost spoken-word that descends into demented fervour is terrifying in the best possible way. ‘Thermal Runaway’ is no less intense, with the squealing, swirling guitars still present but with added heft for the breakdown which even features a “blugh” from Davies. Mirrors was already great and with this taste of their evolution, Pupil Slicer are set to make a serious case for one of the UK scene’s best, most vital new bands. – Will Marshall
Genre-bending breakout stars Nova Twins continue their impressive path of conquering in excellent form. The duo’s new single ‘K.M.B’ was released this week accompanied with the news that the band’s sophomore album Supernova will be released on the 17th June on Marshall Records. ‘K.M.B’, standing for Kill My Boyfriend, leans towards the duo’s hip-hop sensibilities but is as bold and bombastic as we have now come to expect with a Nova Twins release. Imagine TLC and old school hip-hop were merged and remixed by Bring Me The Horizon then you’d have the feel for the track. That said, there is a certain poise and character that oozes out of Nova Twins that is alike no other, a big charismatic fuck you to all the parts of society that are in dispute and turmoil at present. This is modern punk at its absolute finest. Between Supernova being described as fearlessly itself and the message ‘K.M.B’ delivers we wouldn’t blame you for getting excited, you can bet that this album is going to be an absolute knockout. – Jac Holloway
Alchemised deep within the confines of the Sheffield sludge scene by the red-eyed enchanters Kurokuma, Born Of Obsidian is less of a standard concept record and more of a mind altering musical conduit that drags one right back into the esoteric violence of ancient Mesoamerica. Through the group’s carefully cultivated blend of Psilocybin-tainted psychedelia, corrosive sludge and tangibly thick atmosphere, the band transport you right back into the gored heart of the Aztec and Olmec civilisations. Times where human sacrifice to appease the gods was a part of daily life, where the holy obsidian was used in both magic and construction and when the almighty jaguar was feared and revered. It’s a deeply vivid record rich in the power of influencing the minds eye into staring past the primordial chaos and astrally viewing the bloodstained magic long dormant in our collective genetic consciousness.
With Born Of Obsidian out now independently, we got in touch with drummer Joe Allen to guide us up the steps of the great pyramid of Tenochtitlan and to break down the record, track by track.
Related: Kurokuma – Born Of Obsidian | Album Review
“The first track on the album was written around the theme of Tezcatlipoca, Smoking Mirror. He was the Aztec god of the night sky and obsidian, among other things.”
“Obsidian mirrors were instruments of magic, and it’s said sorcerers could travel to the world of gods and ancestors through gazing into them. Scrying basically. Of course, they would reflect the viewer as well, and so Jake also turned the lyrics to introspection on the self, particularly the darker aspects.”
“Linked to this, we picked ‘Born of Obsidian’ as the album title because you could say the Aztec civilisation was founded on obsidian. It was used in daily life, for weapons and in a lot of sacrificial rites as well. They basically never had a need for metal because they had this substance.”
“I think this track had to be first on the album. The way it’s structured it’s like the perfect introduction, almost like an opening to a play or something as the curtains raise. That’s how I hear it.”
“Track two is about human sacrifice to the sun god, Huitzilopochtli. The Aztecs thought that if they ever stopped sacrificing people the sun would stop and an eternal night would come. There’s plenty of documentation of this practice so we know it’s not fiction.”
“Human sacrifice was a huge part of Aztec civilisation. It set the tone for everyday life and was the very visible focus in the centre of the capital. It’s always fascinated me since I was a kid learning about Aztecs in school.”
“Basically as this track is more of a straight ahead death metal one we wanted some simple but gory lyrics for it.”
After establishing themselves as one of the most vital and reinvigorating names in modern punk with their 2020 debut Without The Eyes – something they reinforced with their recent tour with Svalbard – Brighton electro-punks CLT DRP with their frantic new single ‘Torx’. A continuation of the frank and abrasive stylings presented with their debut, the track once again see’s Annie Dorrett’s distinctive flow battling against a totally unstable riffs in a way that’s irresistibly infectious. Quite frankly, it’s this a showcase of what punk should be in 2022; it’s dynamic, eclectic and utterly refuses to comply with the exhausted stereotypical perceptions of the punk genre. Considering the band are set to strike the live scene mercilessly this year, with a mammoth headline tour already under way, if you don’t willing hear ‘Torx’ now there’s a very good chance that CLT DRP will be forcing this upon you very soon regardless. – Dan Hillier
Meshuggah need no introduction to fans of progressive, angular music; they’re in large part responsible for the explosion of djent and tech metal, but none have ever surpassed them. ‘The Abysmal Eye’ is the first taste of their new album Immutable and it’s everything you could want from a Meshuggah song. While the pace is more middling, it’s just as pummelling as they’ve always been, mechanically precise drum patterns and riffs capped by Jens Kidman’s iconic bark. While it may be Meshuggah-by-numbers, the bar they continue to set themselves and every other technical band is so ludicrously high that ‘The Abysmal Eye’ still straight up rips with its mechanical patterns and menacing atmosphere. – Will Marshall
Following on from the aural terror that was first single ‘The Killing Womb’, Vein.fm’s latest single ‘Fear In Non Fiction’ is another exercise in sheer savagery. This time, they’ve recruited legendary Thursday vocalist Geoff Rickly for a soaring melody that appears around the halfway mark, offering a brief respite that makes the erratic brutality either side of it hit all the harder. Splenetic roars bring in churning, jagged guitars and pummelling drum work that’s unrelentingly heavy. Their penchant for the avant-garde side of hardcore is tempered somewhat in favour of outright viciousness, but it’s still there in the industrial and noise elements that sit underneath, making ‘Fear In Non Fiction’ an emotional and unsettling listen. – Will Marshall
Taken from their upcoming record Symbiosis – which is released independently just next week – ‘Faceless’ is yet another phenomenal post-rock offering from the masked and mysterious Nordic Giants. Featuring vocals from folk musician Alex Hedley, ‘Faceless’ is a piano led slow burn on the nature of the ancient ouroboros; an allegory on the trappings that we face in life and how we as a species and culture more often choose to wallow in the comfort of fatal ignorance. Whilst the track is a poignant and deeply atmospheric exploration of such a concept, the respective short film that accompanies the single is where such a documentation becomes palatable. Showcasing their skill as visual artists, the video for ‘Faceless’ is a borderline surrealist showing of how we chose to self-sabotage in daily lives, with the concept being fully presented with fantastic and stunning cinematography. It’s a display of musical and cinematic finesse, one that can only be achieved by this special act. – Dan Hillier
After capturing the hearts and minds of the subterranean indie-pop scene with their 2017 EP Are You Sure?, Peaness are back to herald the announcement of their new record with their new single ‘How I’m Feeling’. Coming in hot of the hells of previous standalone tracks released throughout the past several years, the single is an irresistibly charming dosage of sugar-coated melancholy that reinforces Peaness’ finesse when it comes to writing brilliantly gritty pop songs full of nuance. Going off this track alone, it’s easy to see why how the band have become the subject of an almost fanatical following recently, and with their debut World Fully Of Worry landing May 6th via the band’s own Totally Snick Records, it’s inevitable the fanbase ranks will be swelling dramatically this year. – Dan Hillier
Many thought it might never see the light of day, but after 12 long years, Ibaraki – the black metal side project of Trivium’s Matt Heafy – has been unveiled. After years of teasing fans, hinting at it being something he’s always wanted to do and the most concrete hint that something was happening of all when it was announced he’d been working with Emperor mastermind Ihsahn, who has stepped into a brand new role not only of friend, but collaborator and producer. Heafy has now launched the first single ‘Tamashii No Houkai’ in a flurry of blastbeats and… Super Mario chimes? Despite the incongruousness of them, they’re still folded in masterfully to the swirling maelstrom of melodic black metal he conjures forth. Heafy’s passion for gaming is well-known, and here he takes it a step further, finding a way to incorporate all of his influences and hobbies into one excoriating blast of black metal. Both named after a demon of Japanese folklore and drawing inspiration from these myths, Ibaraki is, according to Heafy, “everything from the past, present, and future of what I thought black metal was, is, and could be.” – Will Marshall
The first original material from the grinding hardcore trio in almost five years, ‘Wraiths Of Memory’ simply shows that the passing of time has not dulled Helpless’ sense of nihilism in the slightest. The first single to be taken from the South West group’s forthcoming second record Caged In Gold – released March 25th via Church Road – this is stands as the re-establishment of the ill-natured vitriol and unrhythmic ultraviolence that was initially ratified with their 2017 LP debut Debt, a record that thrusted the band into the eye of the UK grindcore scene. Those who experienced that record will surely know what blackened pursuits await, but for those new, this is a two and a half minute misanthropic ravaging that will play into the interests of anyone who enjoys the darkly furled stylings of acts such as Full Of Hell, Cult Leader and Knoll. – Dan Hillier
With the announcement of a new record comes ‘Robot Writes A Love Song’, a ballad with that signature PUP twist in the form of it being upbeat and singable yet with undertones of melancholy that they do so well. The emo-punk mix that PUP have managed to fine tune sets them apart as one Canada’s most standout bands right now, and their new album The Unraveling Of Puptheband set to be their boldest and best yet. The awkward conviction of the robot themed lyricism, how it strikes a chord by feeling familiar in its emotional output yet strange in its subject matter, this is a band who don’t need to follow in the footsteps of any that came before them, they’re walking their own path, unafraid and unashamed to wear their hearts on their sleeve and walk the line between relatability and obscurity. – Elliot Grimmie
