Ireland probably isn’t the first place you think of when the topic of hardcore bands – particularly emerging ones – comes up. Bailer are angling to change all that; with a string of EPs to their name as well as support slots with the likes of Norma Jean, Sick Of It All and Malevolence, they’ve steadily garnered attention in hardcore circles ahead of this, their debut album. Disposable Youth is a hulking beast of a record with a few things that set it apart from its peers.
The first is that the album was written in their jam space, each member contributing parts to enhance the song or take it to its next stage. It lends a free-flowing, barely-controlled chaos to the songs that’s just about kept in check though at several moments, it does threaten to go off the rails. Secondly, the production duties are handled by Lewis Johns (Employed To Serve, Conjurer, Rolo Tomassi) so it sounds huge right from the outset. The production is modern but it’s careful not to polish the rough edges off their sound to leave a rawness to the tracks so they sound like nihilistic catharsis.
This is Pierre’s third EP of 2021, following up An Anthropologist On Mars and The Price Of Salt. The original intent was to make his second full-length solo album, yet a devastating concussion in 2020 led to those plans being thwarted. What we have instead is Ghost World, a collection of five songs which delve into feelings of depression, self-deprecation, and not quite fitting in.
Opening with ‘Horse Racing’, we’re left with a mixed reaction. “I don’t know where my head is at” speaks to a muddled mind with no direction. A sentiment many are acquainted with in recent times, that line alone sets the EP up to be somewhat of a comfort. As the song progresses though, it loses focus. Pierre’s vocals get lost within the larger guitars and drums of the chorus. Becoming muddied and blurring together may indeed serve to mirror mixed thought processes, but it throws us into disconnect.
Clearly not one to rest on their laurels, the three-piece Portrayal Of Guilt from Austin, Texas have dropped their second album of 2021 in Christfucker. This time, they’ve signed with Run For Cover and are moving into bigger, bolder and darker territories than ever. This record steps away from hardcore and screamo, and more into the blackened metal arena. The amount of different genres and styles this band has tinkered with since their formation in 2017 showcases not only their wide field of influences but also their skill and craftmanship. To tackle an album such as this is no easy feat.
Not the type of record to whack on if you need cheering up, Christfucker is about as brutal as its title might indicate, both musically and thematically. Of course, there’s some religious imagery too. Explorations of hell, demons and slaughtered angels, are set to a soundtrack of extreme heaviness. Lyrically sparse, the album leaves most of the space for the music. What little lyrics the band do offer are dark, miserable and lacking in hope. Detailing pain, suffering, murder, torture in both life and whatever comes after it, Portrayal Of Guilt are painting their most dreary and inhospitable tapestry to date; an achievement given their callous repertoire.
Molybaron entered the scene in 2017, with their self-titled debut record. Catching attention with its unique sound and politically charged lyrics, Molybaron presented the band as solid newcomers. Now, 4 years on, they turn their attention inwards, taking on more personal topics, including struggles with mental health and addiction. It’s a conscious decision that has paid off. It wouldn’t be Molybaron without social and political commentary though, and the record offers plenty of that too.
Kicking off with ‘Animals’, the lead single of the record, Molybaron showcase their updated sound. Full of sick riffs, powerful vocal delivery and changing pace throughout – it’s an impressive intro. Gary’s vocals here are reminiscent of Serj Tankian and early System Of A Down, unique and raw in its authenticity. ‘Lucifer’ then creeps in with eerie simmering guitars, bursting into the storytelling of the verse. Growing louder and tenser, the chorus features masterful thrash-style shredding. Next track ‘Amongst the Boys and the Dead Flowers’ brings a more sombre vibe, presenting a first-person narrative of the fallen soldier. Touching and powerful, the track overflows with brilliant riffs, heartfelt lyrics and delivery. ‘Prosperity Gospel’ comes in with criticism of the institutional religion and is hilariously poking into its innerworkings. The lyrics on this are brilliant! ‘The Lighthouse’ then offers a slower intro, with a reassuring message to everyone going through tough times. Bursting into a guitar solo towards the end, the track develops into a powerful piece as it progresses.
While the number in the band’s name is a little bit excessive, 200 Stab Wounds are a band looking to take no prisoners, whether you’re dispatched with the first incision or the two hundredth, it makes no difference to them. After forming in January 2020 and erupting onto the underground metal scene with their debut EP Piles Of Festering Decomposition, the band have been thrust into the frontline as a standard bearer for the new breed of death metal. The band have cemented this status early on by sharing the stage with the likes of Sanguisugabogg, Knocked Loose and Gatecreeper. Adding elements of modern hardcore alongside the rustic, old school stylings like those of Cannibal Corpse and Dying Fetus, 200 Stab Wounds is not for the faint of heart. Slave To The Scalpel is the band’s highly anticipated debut album; it pulls no punches and leaves no prisoners.
Firstly, a small disclaimer, if you’re squeamish then the concepts behind this album will make your ears curl and possibly trigger your guts to spew up until the acidic bile crawls up your throat. The album’s themes are exactly what you’d expect; a cannibal’s wet dream. Slave To The Scalpel is a bubbling stew pot of body parts, entrails and offal, with a congealed skin floating on the stop. With references to human flesh being consumed as a tasty morsel, washed down with milk made from skin and finished off with “raw penis filled with curdled semen”. Even for a seasoned death metal fan, that is enough to make even the hardest of stomachs churn. Conceptually, it is fair to say that Slave To The Scalpel is a collection of songs that revel in grotesque, cannibalistic debauchery and the plethora of putrid mess associated with it.
Whilst the origins of the movement can be traced back to the work courtesy of bands such as Alcest, Lantlôs and Altar of Plagues at the tail end of the 2010s, there’s absolutely no denying that the behemoth that is the blackgaze genre was spearheaded into mainstream consciousness thanks to Deafheaven’s monumental record Sunbather. It was, and nigh on still is, a game changer of a release, one that subverted the black metal genre and utilised its stereotypically repelling and pungent conventions in order to portray something beautiful, contemporary, and most importantly, unique.
It’s been approximately eight years since the release of that record and in-between that time the blackgaze scene has swelled exponentially. Swathes upon swathes of bands inspired by the shimmering depths of blackgaze have formed since that release – some inarguably better than others – but yet one that immediately stood out from the swarm was Denmark’s MØL. Upon its early 2018 release, the group’s LP debut Jord presented a band with a masterful understanding of the form, with the group offering a record that was masterfully executed, poignant in tone and creative in scope. It was, to be put simply, a triumph of a release, one that shot the band into the higher tiers of the scene hierarchy and bequeathed them with an air of mystery, allure and praise. Now, with their second full length, MØL are on the very cusp of releasing the second game changer within the blackgaze echelon. Enter Diorama, a record that utterly transcends the genre and beckons forth a new era of blackgaze.
