Following some inactivity, I plan on reviving this blog through a new review format. Here I discuss my own favorite new releases in the world of heavy music within the previous month in a feature called "Territory's Edge". Like a wildcat patrolling and roaming the edges of his or her home range, the act of finding and listening to new metal music is an often solitary one of exploration. Whether it's current material from personal favorites or discoveries of exciting new or underground artists, there's always more metal to track down. In the midst of long full-time work hours, my goal is to make this a recurring feature. Singles, EPs, and albums are all eligible for this list. As always, go purchase the music and support the bands if you like what you hear!
Silent Planet - "Terminal"
The Azusa, California resident metalcore band unleashed a fantastic pair of songs this year from their upcoming album Iridescent, which releases on November 12. The two tracks provide a study in contrasts. While "Panopticon" is characterized by glitchy industrial electronics over aggressive bass lines (no guitar appears on that song) and contains only screamed vocals, the newest single, "Terminal", explores Silent Planet's most atmospheric and experimental depths to date. Ambient verses flow into bleak, crushingly heavy guitar riffs. Frontman Garrett Russell's incisive, spiritual and eloquent lyricism - an aspect that helped Silent Planet stand out from the crowded metalcore pack during their early years - takes a more personal turn on this song. "Terminal" addresses Russell's experience with mind-altering medications while he was admitted to a mental hospital in November 2019. Ethereal clean vocals convey that disassociation and undercurrent of despair. The music video ties in with the one for "Trilogy", released last year and inspired by the same events. Iridescent is ultimately an overarching story meant to be listened to as a whole - "Terminal" is one piece of that narrative. To say I anticipate hearing the new Silent Planet project in full is an understatement. We've got a potential album of the year.
Rivers of Nihil - The Work
On their fourth full-length album, Rivers of Nihil expand the boundaries of their progressive/technical death metal sound. The Reading, Pennsylvania band are coming off their critically acclaimed 2018 project, Where Owls Know My Name. Like its predecessor, The Work integrates saxophone (courtesy of Zach Strouse) within Rivers' dark, expansive soundscapes. Melodic and versatile, this album comes across like a tech death take on Pink Floyd. Of particular note is the track "Focus", with guitarist Brody Uttley's programming lending a sinister Neurosis/Nine Inch Nails industrial atmosphere. The Work is a multi-faceted experience, ranging from more straightforward death metal of "MORE?" to the progressive rock balladry of "Wait". While sticking closely to its concept, the album has no shortage of variety, and individual songs incorporate a range of push and pull dynamics of their own. At 64 minutes in length, there's plenty for fans of complex and heavy music to consume here. Rivers of Nihil are poised to continue their trajectory as true juggernauts within the metal scene.
Inferi - Vile Genesis
Since their formation 2006, Nashville technical death metal ragers Inferi have not let up in intensity. Their particular breed of death metal is a fearless yet calculated aggression, much like a snarling mongoose about to sink his teeth into a cobra. The band's sixth full-length album, Vile Genesis, is a relentless onslaught of speedy melodic guitar shredding and death metal ferocity. The clean guitar break on the title track provides a sparse moment of contrast that further emphasizes the surrounding chaos. These eight tracks average five minutes in length, yet maintain a breakneck tempo through the guitars - Inferi packs plenty of technical riffage here. "Carving Thine Kingdom" is a standout cut that recalls Brand of Sacrifice with its backing orchestration and infectious guitar riffs, and "Heirs of the Descent" fades out with a ominous final note.
Invent Animate - "The Sun Sleeps, As If It Never Was"
Shortly after signing to UNFD, Invent Animate released their latest single, which is split into three separate tracks but is in essence a single ten and a half minute song. "The Sun Sleeps, As If It Never Was" comes on the heels of 2020's full-length Greyview, the band's first album to feature new vocalist Marcus Vik (ex-Aviana). The result is an ambitious single that impresses more than the album that preceded it. Thematically, this techy metalcore composition explores the impact and aftermath of addiction from dual perspectives. Drummer Trey Celaya has called the release a highly personal one, as it was inspired by his family's drug addiction crisis. "The Sun Sleeps" is an honest discourse about a real-life scenario that allows the music to speak for itself.
Spiritbox - Eternal Blue
It's no exaggeration to call Spiritbox's debut full-length one of the most anticipated releases of the year. Led by singer Courtney LaPlante and her husband, guitarist Mike Stringer, the Vancouver based band has built up momentum steadily until they have become one of the biggest new names in the hard rock and metal world. Spiritbox strategically released many singles spanning late 2019 to 2021, including a few that came long before the release date was announced. Between the buzz that these songs created and Courtney's multiple guest features on other bands' songs, Spiritbox has made a seismic impact in 2021. Their breakthrough song is "Holy Roller", originally released in summer 2020 and by far the heaviest on Eternal Blue. Cold, mechanical and caustic, a spoken word verse drops into a brutal breakdown, and back again. Other highlights include the haunting Evanescence-style opener "Sun Killer" and the venomous "Yellowjacket", the latter featuring guest vocals from Architects' Sam Carter. The closer "Constance", titled in memory of Courtney's late grandmother, concludes the album on a moving note. While one of the few songs to contain no screaming, it is perhaps the heaviest of all in tone. The music parallels the slow loss of memory to dementia by initially sounding calm and serene, gradually growing more dissonant, and finally fading into a void of distortion. With just one album, Spiritbox has lived up to the hype and are here to stay.
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