With 2021’s ULTRAPOP, the world saw a new iteration of what we thought we already knew about the Detroit collective, with a wider cast of characters taking part in album creation and live performance under pseudonyms at times. Leader Tony Wolski (yes that is his real name and identity) and his cohort have now removed the veil to reveal the not so well-hidden faces, yet to add further intrigue have invited a cast of some A-list musicians to add their styles to the mix, most notably Queens of the Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen who jumps on not only as collaborator but producer alongside maestro Ben Chisholm for the new record.
Lead singles ‘Sport of Form’, ‘Liar 2’ and ‘Everything’s Glitter’ saw this far-reaching reinvention and chase for global domination laid bare, however The Armed never play it as straight as they seem with this new direction. Liar 2 is a direct nod to the hardcore remnants of their past through title alone maybe, while the lyrics of Clone and Sport of Form refer to ‘iterations’ which could be read as a linking arm to the past. Alienation of their ‘hardcore’ fans has never been the aim; rather they want the Daniels to join them in this exciting new world.
Not only do they indicate their journey but hints to inspirations with the likes of ‘In Heaven’ mentioning an ‘everlasting glaze’ a reference to Smashing Pumpkins, a band they once covered. With guests like Matt Sweeney in tow it is impossible not to see the connections. This isn’t just music to consume, this is a world to dive into, goggles, air tank and deep-sea torch equipped to find the treasures.
While it has been in discussion for over two decades at this point, Neil & Vennart have only recently been sharing ideas non-stop at the back of the Biffy Clyro tour bus to make this album and vision come to life. Fast forward to 2023 and we’ve finally got a taste of the album as Rivers of Heresy drops with none other than the legendary Dave Lombardo behind the kit. You think you know what you’re in for as lead single, and album opener, Harvest burrows deep into your ear canal with its low chugs and Neil’s chaotic vocals switching from his cleans back to his near incomprehensible screeches. Vennart puts his guitar strings to the test keeping up with Lombardo’s percussive bludgeoning. But as the album pushes on, the band throw in far more than just extremity, from thrash metal, punk and even some heavy stoner riffs with Moi?.
Fiddlehead never intended to write a trilogy of albums. The Boston based post-hardcore supergroup delivered their debut LP, Springtime and Blind, in 2018, and went on to follow it up in 2021 with Between the Richness. Each of these albums explored grief in a distinct way, with the former dealing with the immediate aftermath of the passing of vocalist Patrick Flynn’s father, whilst the latter took a more hopeful approach and examined how life continued on for Flynn in the wake of this event, especially given that he was now a father himself.
Now with Death Is Nothing To Us, Fiddlehead elect to grapple with the paradoxical allure of sorrow, the weight of holding on to burdens, and the importance of simply feeling your sadness instead of seeking an answer to remedy it. In doing so, Flynn pulls on references as varied as the Roman philosopher Lucretius to the hardcore punk pioneers Bad Brains, culminating in a body of work that, whilst short in size, feels rich in depth.
We’ve covered Canada’s London, Ontario on multiple occasions recently. With that being said, readers are sure to see a lot more from the Forest City’s insanely vast music scene. Up next, however, is what we might like to call Ontario Canada’s “hidden gem”. Atria are here with their brand new independent sophomore release Ground Zero.
Combining elements of old school Metalcore with a more modern Progressive Metalcore styling, they’ve managed to put out something we are sure both older and newer generations of Metalcore are going to enjoy. Using bands such as Killswitch Engage, Mudvayne, Tool, and Slipknot as just a few influences in not just this new release but their music as a whole; there’s a reason this Canadian five piece not only won this years Forest City Music Awards Best Metal Act, but has also managed to grab opportunities to share the stage with the likes of Goatwhore, Upon A Burning Body, The Agonist, and As The Structure Fails. Ground Zero is the only reason one would need for this success all in one EP. Mixed, mastered, produced, and engineered all by Jon Howard over at Woodward Studios in Hamilton, Ontario, who was clearly putting in the work and showing it on every second of this EP. It really goes to show that when you get a great band and pair them with an equally talented producer, fireworks can be made. Alas, that just may be the case within this 25 minute piece of Metalcore art.
Opening the album out is the title track, ‘Ground Zero’. Talking about the moment one prays to God and realizes there is never going to be an answer; it not only sounds heavy to the ear drum but is also may be heavy on the conscience. Lyrically, our leading man Tom Emmans comes in and out with a chorus melody that’s soothing enough to sleep a baby. A clean vocal similar to Breaking Benjamin while also throwing in some heavy verses that sound close to the likes of Wage War with a bit of Meshuggah tossed in the mix. This will not be the first Meshuggah reference in this review by the way.
Although it may seem like the weirdest combination to some it’s actually some of the more unique vocal sounds Canadian metal has heard all year thus far. Instrumentally, in a sort of biased opinion on this writers part, this track may have one of the more catchy instrumental styles on the album due to drummer Jared Sterling‘s insane skills behind the kit. There couldn’t possibly be a perfect track, out of the five on record, more suited to open up for the listeners.
Track three, ‘Dysmorphia‘, follows in the same path as the first track with its more dark and heavy meaning. Focusing mainly on body dysmorphia and how media (social media, television, radio, etc.) have no shame and are so quick to sell a dream or image that a small minority knows will never come true. A meaning that may hit home with quite a few people. Statistically, as of March 2021, as many as 350,000 Canadians suffer from a type of mental illness known as BDD or Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Upwards to 57.8 percent of these numbers experience suicidal ideation. Not only men and women, but within all genders, BDD usually is caused by what’s referred to as “lack of symmetry” or the idea of “perfection” when it comes to body image. This idea being blasted at everyone through their screens almost 24/7.
Atria hit the nail on the head when talking on this subject, while again the instrumental department absolutely delivers with ferocious intent. Insane guitar riffs coupled with blasting drums, giving off almost an amalgamation of Trivium‘s first few releases with a hint of newer Bullet For My Valentine. Not nearly as progressive as the last couple seemed to be but it doesn’t have to be because it got straight to the point and absolutely delivered on all fronts.
There’s a new life in death metal these days that hasn’t been seen for a good while. Not only are boundaries being pushed in terms of technicality and brutality, on a fan level it’s seemingly more popular than ever. Credit bands like Undeath, 200 Stab Wounds and Sanguisugabogg for bringing a youthful, almost (Whisper it, lest you get a battle jacket shoved down your throat) hardcore kid perspective on things to the mix.
However, those are all American bands…and we Brit’s can’t be left out in the cold, can we? In step Celestial Sanctuary, guitars and severed head in hand, to stake their claim to the best modern death metal band throne…and they make a bloody good go of it!
First off. Let’s talk about that artwork, which was created by James Bousema (Responsible for the similarly epic Glacial Domination artwork for Frozen Soul), because it is an absolute masterpiece. It’s a mix of Doom (The video games, not the genre), sheer Lovecraftian scale and Kaiju influence on the design is impeccable. Whether or not you end up liking the record (Spoilers, you will), you’ll at least be able to appreciate the majesty of the art work and hope the band make some delightful prints of it.
Now, the onto the music. The band themselves formed merely four years ago in 2019, releasing their full debut, Soul Diminished in 2021. A very well received record, it showed that the band were not only well versed in their death metal lore and history, but weren’t afraid to let more modern influences shine through. Now, to some death metal purists, that may be sacrilege, but they’re the kind of fan who just want every band to sound like Eaten Back to Life even in 2023. By throwing in hefty grooves, bowel-bursting breakdowns (Though not in a Deathcore way) and a tremendous ability to write actual songs, they showed that they’re not only a product of their influences. Tours with bands like Undeath, Frozen Soul and Obituary not only solidified their credibility, but clearly gave them the impetus to take their sound to the next level in a haze of slasher movies and weed smoke.
When you’re young and in love, every song about romance, whether successful or not, seems to strike a chord and it seems like those artists are singing directly at you. You begin to feel like they truly get you and your inner romantic, and often inevitable heartbreak. The same can be said with rebellion, and how lyrics about hating authority and wanting to set the world on fire resonate with your very soul, and ultimately end up shading your very being with their musical brush.
When you’re in your thirties and jaded with the world and everything just seems absolutely FUBAR, there’s been very few bands able to truly scratch that itch of expressing blunted expectations and self hatred. Then Spanish Love Songs came alone, and somehow it all made sense.
After making a small splash with their debut Giant Sing The Blues back in 2015 and the subsequent cannonball into the pool that was the incredible follow-up Schmaltz, the band emerged at a time when the malaise was really setting in for people of a certain age. The world is beginning to burn, dreams of living comfortably slip away like sand through the fingertips and an insidious political shroud creeps over the world. With a classic pop-punk instrumental backdrop, vocalist Dylan Slocum spun yarns about the constant fear of mass shootings, parental disappointment, drugs and the fear of an unlived life in a way that made you sit there and go “Well…shit” when listening.
Their last record, Brave Faces Everyone was more of an exploration of those around Dylan and the band, and his telling of others stories hit just as hard as those of his own. Yet throughout, the spark of hope remained, a single firefly against a pitch black sky.
