Lesser known to most outside of their native Australia, this hard punk quartet are no newbies. Playing with the likes of Cancer Bats to mclusky as well as headlining many of their own tours, they have gained a dedicated fan base. Built by moulding music and shows that bring a certain amusement and chaotic energy with them. Vocalist Drew Gardener regularly stripping down to just underwear and hang Ben Weinman-esque from any available inanimate object. Backed by a trio that won’t be sitting down quietly any time soon.
This record however lyrically explores the darker realms of life, getting older and how those rose-tinted lenses of youth begin to fade as the reality of life and change sets in. Drew’s gruff bear, twenty cigarettes a day vocals throughout deliver this realisation and the man social injustices with every ounce of energy and emotion in his bones. Straight off the bat single ‘Yeah, Coach’ is everything Totally Unicorn embodies. Dancably heavy and shout along lines, it is hard not to pine to be in the same room with the band throwing yourself around.
There are very few moments for breath as every track is as intense as the last. What really stands out the closer you listen is the extra spices and flavours that are added. ‘Tip Your Tinfoil Hat’ uses a terror inducing squeak or finger sliding guitar. ‘Old Mate’ has an almost twang of old western sounds. Topped off with tongue in cheek lyrics about being a ‘man’s man’ and prodding the 5G conspiracy theorists, it is a truly enjoyable listen.
All three musicians sonically pummel you. From the frenetic heartbeat of the drums, the anxiety inducing guitars to the deep bass sounds. ‘Weekday Warriors’ a top example of how each gets their moment to shine. Bass breakdowns, drum fills and a head bobbing riff, this is some of the best hardcore punk around.
Melodic metallers Once Human have a lot to prove. At least, that’s the impression latest album Scar Weaver gives off. The band have been away from eardrums with any new material for five years, but in that time they’ve honed in on what it is they want to be and what they need to say before returning with a vengeance. Scar Weaver exudes confidence and self-assuredness, carving itself out a niche in modern metal that doesn’t quite sound like anyone else.
The band waste no time in showing they mean business, with opener ‘Eidolon’ boasting riffs that churn and bludgeon while vocalist Lauren Hart roars atop. Switching between guttural bellows and more pitched screams, there’s a sense of melodicism even amongst the brutality. ‘Deadlock’ boasts a collaboration with none other than Machine Head’s Robb Flynn as he offers his gruff barks and almost rapped delivery in an indictment of political deadlock and politicians. What he lacks in lyrical grace is more than made up for in attitude, the nu-metal groove and bounce of the song powering it forwards.
Spanning a meagre 12 minutes, whilst some freshly faced bands would struggle to even begin to establish themselves in such a short amount of time, Inhuman Nature hammer home their sound and intent with the subtle grace of a leather boot to the base of the skull. Channeling evident inspirations of the likes of Slayer, Morbid Angel, Obituary and the rest of their ilk, Under The Boot is crossover thrash in it’s most barbarically primitive yet uncompromising form. It’s a callback to those halcyon days when thrash and NWOBHM reigned supreme, where shows by bands of this nature actually where mortally perilous and when this genre was seen as thrilling, and quite frankly, threatening.
‘City Of The Dead’ establishes all of this essentially immediately. Following on from a melodic albeit nefarious opening, the track erupts. Here, Inhuman Nature thrashing through a multitude of lacerating riffs that bend around time signatures being warped by the sheer breakneck speed of the track. The title track follows in similar suit, with the band revelling in the trash metal obnoxiousness easily reminiscent of the likes of Nuclear Assault, Exodus and Toxic Holocaust. But behind the beer-guzzling, barked vocals and violent demeanour there is a surprising amount of depth and technicality present. Despite it’s transparent adoration of the old-school trash aesthetic, Inhuman Nature step into other areas here, with D-beat riffs optimised for two-stepping making appearances amidst the chaos.
There’s one theme that consistently comes up with Sweden’s post metal titans Cult Of Luna; quality. Since 2006’s Somewhere Along The Highway, they’ve carved themselves out a niche and scratched an itch nobody else has come close to. 2019’s A Dawn To Fear represented, in some ways, a big change for them as it was one of the first times they moved away from writing to explicit themes and instead seeing how things felt and just writing emotionally. The results speak for themselves; in a back catalogue full of highlights, it stood out as a towering achievement. Its successor, 2021’s The Raging River EP continued the unofficial trilogy and this year’s The Long Road North not only completes it, but surpasses all they’ve done before.
‘Cold Burn’ is ushered in with Hans Zimmer-esque “BWAHMs” in typically grandiose fashion, before Thomas Hedlund lays down his signature drumming, progressive grooves that have provided the foundation for post metal’s finest for two decades. The loose-limbed, but never sloppy, drumwork feels tightly controlled and purposeful without ever being showy, and the melodic crescendo around the halfway mark carried by guitar and synth alike is truly stunning. Despite its ten minute runtime it flies by in what feels like half that; it’s utterly gripping in its majesty and splendour.
The Metalcore heavyweights promised to be releasing their most visceral, relentless and ambitious record to date whilst incorporating experimentation within their most personal songs so far in their musical careers with Deadlock, and for the most part they’ve done just that. Across the album, feelings of self-doubt, frustration and fear are explored to give a poignant sense of the feelings that we all may have felt over the last several years. Conceived and self-recorded by the band in lockdown and mixed by producer Joe Graves, Deadlock is the band’s most complete statement to date, one that promises to showcase their hunger and promise.
Opener ‘The 6 6 9’ presents a subdued start before the chaotic whirlwind ensues with Vocalist Ben Ville announcing his arrival with the aptly timed “You must have lost your fucking mind”. It’s a bouncy energetic opening that flits between time signatures and vocal styles with a sporadic nature that moves effortlessly between faster thrashier sections and atmospheric ones.
‘Half Life’ brings the energy of All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us era Architects and is the first real sign of the band’s shift in sound, relying less on relentless heaviness and powering through multiple breakdowns and instead bringing sonic elements and defined choruses to allow for a different kind of heavy. ‘Annihilis’” shows further change in the band’s sound following its opening verse, with a chorus that is clearly their most melodic to date it is a seismic shift that doesn’t sound out of place or jarring in any way. Opting for more ambient breakdowns that include synths InVisions instead use the track to drop elements of their heaviness into the lighter song, it’s both brash and bold.
It has been two years since grindcore founding fathers Napalm Death released their most experimental and critically acclaimed album Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism, which saw them push the boundaries, refine them and redefine their sound as they have done countless of times before to rapturous applause. Recorded during the sessions of Throes Of Joy…, Resentment Is Always Seismic is half an hour of absolutely skull splitting riffs, speed and noise. It sees Napalm Death continue with their mind bending exploration of their traditional sound’s outer limits. Incorporating insane speed alongside the animalistic bawling and production that sounds like it has gone through a Birmingham steel factory, the album wastes no time in pulverising your brain into small clumps of grey mush. Despite Resentment Is Always Seismic being classed as the mini album extension of Throes Of Joy…, it is unique in its own right whilst reiterating the supreme premiership of Napalm Death in the extreme metal genre.
Whilst many bands at this stage of their career seem happy to stagnate and reinvent the wheel whilst trying to cash in on the glory days of their youth, this is not the case for Napalm Death. These punk stalwarts are not content with standing still, restless, relentless and brimming with creativity. Having gained fresh impetus and momentum in recent years, this is one of the most virile and fertile periods for the band. This youthful energy and penchant for constant evolution has helped the band’s music immeasurably. In regards to Resentment Is Always Seismic, we’re simultaneously witnessing the expansion of what has come before but also the dawning of a new age in the band’s illustrious career. Whilst it is hard to talk about one without mentioning the other the synergy between both Throes Of Joy… and Resentment Is Always Seismic is palpable, as if they are the cogs that are driving the modern Napalm Death machine. Given that this is an album of left over material and bonus tracks, the standard and quality of each individual track is testament to the band’s songwriting pedigree. In many ways it is hard to believe how some of these songs didn’t make the final cut. The visceral rage contained in this album tangible.
