See, I told you I was gonna be back later in the week. I couldn’t let Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force slip by me without a review, especially not after the first Tzompantli album from 2022 gave me an actual traumatic brain injury from headbanging so hard. Tlazcaltiliztli still reigns as some of the most fun, insanely brutal death-metal-by-way-of-hardcore that I have heard in a long time, and who cares if I don’t know how to read anymore? On Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force, the collective double-down on the dumb-guy riffage and Mesoamerican flavor that made their debut so captivating for me.
These days have been pretty damn long, I’m not gonna lie.
Harm’s Way are on the road with Kublai Khan TX as we speak, so let’s start with their new video for “Terrorizer”. That, of course, is a track pulled from Common Suffering, their latest full-length out through Metal Blade.
Another piece of news out of Metal Blade is their recent signing in Dead Heat. The California crossover outfit also announced some upcoming live dates, and like always we’ll keep our eyes out for new tunes as well.
For a dose of darkwave this evening, we have the latest new track from Cold Cave, titled “Blackberries”. That’s their third new single in as many months, and falls ahead of a brief run of shows in Mexico and South America.
And now for some post rock. Pijn unveiled new album details along with a leading single. From Low Beams Of Hope will be out on June 28 through Floodlit Recordings. Give “On The Far Side Of Morning” a listen here.
New Mono is always worthy, so on that note I’m going to leave you with the video for the new track “Run On”. That’s the second single taken from their upcoming 12th album, Oath, which arrives on June 14 through Temporary Residence Ltd., Pelagic Records, and New Noise.
One of my favorite things about the state of the music scene right now, including the heavier corners we pay most attention to, is the diversity within it. It seems like every week I’m struck by yet another project that introduces me to something completely unfamiliar in sound, energy, or both. It’s awesome. To that end, Lying Beside You was the entry point to the Ohpen Ahrms project for me back in March, and I took to their heavy progressive rock identity pretty damn quickly. Recorded between 2021 and 2023, you can feel some of the tension of the recent world translated in these passages. It’s thoughtful, and stylistically it brings plenty of shoegaze and post-rock leanings in its overall weight. And it is heavy, to be very clear. Simply put, there is a lot of appreciate in Lying Beside You. It’s a super enjoyable listen start to finish, and it’s complex in a way that asks for some focus and makes it hard to put down listen after listen. So, to help familiarize us with Ohpen Ahrms more, and introduce more of the context around this album, Alan Strathmann (guitars / vox / synths) was kind enough to answer our series of questions. Give it a read below, and as always, be sure to hit play in the Bandcamp link while you do so.
And it’s officially hot out. Not quite too hot, but we’re getting close.
Here’s an intriguing tour. Lorna Shore are headlining a run in September and October, where they’ll be joined by Whitechapel, Kublai Khan TX, and Sanguisugabogg. Better still, they’ll be performing Pain Remains in its entirety.
New England Metal & Hardcore Festival announced a fresh batch of bands have been added to the bill, including Emmure, Xibalba, and Peeling Flesh. That event takes place on September 21 and 22 in Worcester, MA at The Palladium.
Next up, a new track from The Hope Conspiracy, titled “Live in Fear”. That beast of a single is taken from Tools of Oppression / Rule by Deception, which is out on May 31 through Deathwish Inc.
You know what we should all be getting ready for? Cutting the Throat of God, the new album from Ulcerate. It’s out on June 14 through Debemur Morti Productions, and it’s going to be incredible. For the latest dose of new material, check out the video for “To See Death Just Once” below. That’s the final installment of a video triptych from Dehn Sora.
I love Botanist. That should be evident from the review I had the good fortune to pen of their most recent release, VIII: Selenotrope. I’m also a pretty big fan of paleontology, as you may have picked up on throughout the years here. So when I was randomly lurking the planner last night and saw there was a new Botanist release titled Paleobotany, I dropped everything to cover it. And I do mean that: there was a different review I was supposed to be writing right now (don’t worry, it’s still coming), but this takes precedence in my heart.
Nine Circles 