Territory’s Edge - Best New Metal of January 2022

One month in and 2022 already has an impressive selection of material to cover.  

Meshuggah - “The Abysmal Eye”

Widely credited as the forefathers of the djent movement, this influential Swedish technical death metal band just released their first new song in six years.  Meshuggah is the kind of name whose music speaks for itself, and "The Abysmal Eye" is reliably aggressive, with a blistering guitar solo to boot.  An April 1 release date has been set for their ninth album, Immutable.  It's new Meshuggah, they deliver their signature sound, complete with off-kilter time signatures, and not much else needs to be added.  The Swedes' technical sound occasionally experimented with avante-garde compositions, especially on the underrated Catch Thirtythree.  The band may venture into a similar headspace on Immutable, which they summarized as "their wildest sonic adventure yet."

Loathe is currently working on a full length album to follow up their breakthrough 2020 project I Let It In and It Took Everything.  This abstract, experimental track appears to be a stand-alone single.  "Dimorphous Display" remained unreleased in demo form for a while before Loathe finished it last year.  The song still maintains the spontaneous nature of a demo, as well as the spirit of a 1990s alternative track, much like I Let It In and It Took Everything deep cut "Screaming".  Frontman Kadeem France's feral snarls interject at the just the right moments, countering the brooding clean singing that comprises most of the vocals.  The sonic cacophony represents a raw expression and experimentation moreso than an indication of how their upcoming material will sound, so it’s still a question of where Loathe will go next.  The sky's the limit for the Liverpool band's creativity.  Don't forget that they had the boldness to put out an entirely ambient instrumental project the previous year.

Northlane - “Plenty”

Now an independent band, Northlane return to the signature cyber-djent style they perfected on 2019’s Alien.  The third single from their upcoming April album Obsidian is dark and technical, forgoing the poppy nature of the previous two.  A stunning vocal performance from Marcus Bridge alternates seething snarls with his impeccable clean singing on the chorus.  Over an unorthodox time signature, "Plenty" contemplates the question of whether you would start your life over again if given the chance.  It is by far my favorite of the three Obsidian singles.  While the first two took a few listens to get on board with, I found myself loving "Plenty" almost immediately.  While Northlane have received multiple ARIA awards in their home country of Australia, I still think they don't get enough credit for their ability to hybridize genres - and blend the old with the new - in a way that rivals crossover superstars Bring Me the Horizon.  Northlane's recent material masterfully incorporates early 2000s influences (the first Celldweller and Linkin Park albums come to mind) within the context of a heavier, modern progressive metalcore sound.   They are also one of the frontrunners in terms of promotion, writing a theme for a tactical video game esports league and launching the Worldeaters patreon this past year.  With tracks like "Plenty" in the band's arsenal, Obsidian is on track to be one of the best heavy albums of 2022.

Wolves at the Gate - “Lights and Fire”

Wolves at the Gate got their start as an aggressive, fervent post-hardcore band with a dichotomy of light and dark, tension and release, screamed and clean vocals.  That duality was in full force on the band's debut full-length Captors, one of the finest metalcore releases of the 2010s.  Every track on that album, including the heaviest ("Amnesty") and the softest ("Safeguards" and "Man of Sorrows") incorporated both aspects of their identity.  In contrast, "Lights & Fire" is an entirely melodic rock track that exhibits Wolves at the Gate at their most accessible, and in fact has been receiving some attention from satellite rock radio station SiriusXM Octane.  There are no screamed vocals here, which is rare for a non-acoustic Wolves at the Gate track.  What hasn't changed is the band's love of Thrice, and their creative interpretation of that influence continues to take on new forms.  The lyrics are also evocative, as vocalist Steve Cobucci sings about about a moment of clarity that came with the realization that he was holding on to something self-destructive.  While upcoming album Eulogies is unlikely to top their first three, this is a strong single that proves "radio-friendly" doesn't always mean stale. 

Absent in Body - "The Acres/The Ache"

Composed of Neurosis vocalist/guitarist (and frequent Mastodon collaborator) Scott Kelly, former Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera, and two members of Belgian doom metal group Amenra (Colin Eeckhout and Mathieu Vandekerckhove), Absent in Body has proven to be a formidable metal supergroup.  The first released song from their upcoming five-track album Plague God is powerful and surprisingly dynamic.  Starting with a measured drum cadence over an ominous hum, "The Acres/The Ache" descends into Stygian depths with Igor Cavalera's echoing percussion evoking a dark underground dungeon.  This crushing sludge metal onslaught suddenly gives way to atmospheric post rock halfway through.  Around the four minute mark, a slow melodic guitar line breaks through the gloom, and ghostly clean vocals follow.  The dark, cavernous atmosphere returns in the end, capping off an otherworldly eight and a half minute journey.  This song proves to be an intriguing start to a promising collaborative project. 

Erra - “Nigh to Silence”

 

This new track was recorded last year for a special edition of Erra's self-titled album.  "Nigh to Silence" starts off sounding like a track from Jesse Cash's Ghost Atlas project, before incorporating previous eras of Erra into one song.  "Nigh to Silence" is a song about loneliness, which Jesse described as "set on an empty earth observed by the moon."  As proven before, the band's lyricism continues to stand out, with lines like "wolves of ash, howling in a present past" and "walking in the shadow of my own ghost" vividly describing a cold solitude.   Simultaneously emotive and pummeling, "Nigh to Silence" displays Erra's mastery at progressive metalcore. 

Fit for an Autopsy - Oh What the Future Holds

While rooted in deathcore, Fit For an Autopsy have always worn their Gojira influence on their sleeve.  This is most notable in "Far From Heaven," with a memorable guitar rhythm and chorus hearkening back to Gojira's album L'Enfant Sauvage.   Produced and written by guitarist Will Putney, Oh What the Future Holds spans a spectrum of heavy music that incorporates more subtle influences.  Whereas some deathcore records follow the same formula for every song on the album, Fit For an Autopsy make a clear creative choice to branch out.  Of special note are the contemplative, melodic "Two Towers" and "The Man That I Was Not", spaced apart as tracks 5 and 10 respectively, which venture into progressive metal.  Elsewhere, straightforward deathcore cuts like "Collateral Damage" are absolutely relentless.  As one of several albums released by prominent deathcore bands on the same day (January 14), this held its own against some competition.

Underoath - Vouyerist 

 

Underoath have left a lasting legacy over the years.  The band's sound has always been distinct and recognizable, particularly since Spencer Chamblerlain came into the fold, but the Florida metalcore stalwarts never made the same record twice.  Nothing will top ø (disambiguation) for me (one of my favorite albums of all time), but Underoath's latest project is very solid.  The self-production has a heavy, sludgy tone that works well for the bleak mood of the album, especially on the experimental closer "Pneumonia".  The two-track sequence of ambient Sleepwave-esque interlude "(no oasis)" and fierce post-hardcore dichotomy on "Take a Breath" is the finest moment on Vouyerist.  The only aspect that might prevent me from listening to this album more throughout the year is its relentlessly bleak and futile lyrical tone.  I can certainly relate to the Ghostemane-featured "Cycle" as it echoes the frustrated inner dialogue when my mind is on a negative spiral, but it's not a headspace I want to succumb to or remain in for long.  However, that brutal honesty also works in the favor of an album this cathartic and furious in sound.  Vouyerist leaves no doubt that Underoath still has new avenues to explore. 

 

Other Noteworthy January Releases:

Singles:

Haunted Shores - “Hellfire” (Jan 12, instrumental djent)

Bad Omens - “Like a Villain” (Jan 18, post-hardcore)

Ghost - “Call Me Little Sunshine” (Jan 20, doom/rock)

Vein.fm - “Fear in Non Fiction” (Jan 24, hardcore)

Shinedown - “Planet Zero” (Jan 26, rock/post-grunge)

Albums/EPs: 

Animårum - The Gaian Mind EP (Jan 14, djent/technical death metal)

Shadow of Intent - Elegy (Jan 14, deathcore)

Enterprise Earth - The Chosen (Jan 14, deathcore)

Worm Shepherd - Ritual Hymns (Jan 14, blackened deathcore/symphonic black metal) 

Pridelands - Light Bends (Jan 14, metalcore)

Mizmor - Wit’s End (Jan 14, black metal/doom)

Aethereus - Leiden (Jan 14, technical death metal)

Great American Ghost - Torture World EP (Jan 20, hardcore)

SOM - The Shape of Everything (Jan 21, doom/shoegaze)

Krosis - E.V.I.L. (Jan 31, deathcore, technical death metal)

On the Psychology and Theology of Silent Planet: "Am I Terminal?"

Silent Planet's frontman Garrett Russell has never been one to shy away from the subject of mental health.  He lives with bipolar depression and anxiety, and has been very open about his diagnosis in several interviews.  The band's second album Everything Was Sound has an entire meta-narrative about mental illness, informed by Garrett's master's degree in clinical psychology and internship as a college counselor.  However, his own struggle with mental illness would soon inform the band's music in a rawer, more painful way.  In November 2019, Garrett attempted to take his life while suffering a scary mental breakdown in Belgium in between shows on a European tour.   Shortly after, he checked himself into a psychological rehabilitation facility for a month.  Hospitalized and at the lowest point of his life, with the band's future in doubt, he tried to make sense of the broken pieces.   That traumatic 24 hour span and the resulting psychogenic struggle shaped Iridescent, the band's fourth album.  In Garrett's capable hands, lyrics about living with a stigmatized mental health condition are written with a rare depth, care, and raw honesty.  

Iridescent is visceral in sound.  Like  “Native Blood”, which I wrote about previously, the intensity of the lyrics is matched by the music.  Throughout, Alexrene Camarena's relentless percussion and Mitchell Stark's fast technical fretwork keep pace with Garrett's rapid-fire vocal delivery.  Atmospheric passages both melodic (the ending of "Second Sun") and ominous ("liminal") weave in and out.  Bassist Thomas Freckleton has traditionally handled almost all of the clean singing, but on here the duties are much more spread out, which adds further to the unpredictability.  The opening tracks "112" and "Translate the Night" convey a dissonant, eerie atmosphere on the same level as Loathe, while the aggressive industrial-laced djent of "Anhedonia" and "Panopticon" echoes Northlane's recent forays on Alien.  The emotive "Second Sun" and "Terminal" counter the chaos.  On tracks like "The Sound of Sleep", this album is also reminiscent of Underoath's Ø (Disambiguation) (Garrett's favorite Underoath album as well as mine).  Like that landmark album, Iridescent reflects its dark sound with desperate, soul-searching lyrics. 

Whether intensely personal or discussing broader overarching issues, every track on Iridescent conceptually fits into place.   "Trilogy", initially a standalone single on February 2020, was penned in one session by Garrett during his hospitalization.  The band finished and recorded the song shortly after he was released.  In it, he expresses a longing to heal and feel human again amidst the cyclic, clockwork structure of life in a mental facility.  The sole break from the chaos is when Thomas enters on the chorus, singing "Be still and human."  This frantic, fast-paced song encapsulates the manic state, as he screams about static in his head before the sound dissolves into distortion in the final seconds.  Iridescent's second single "Panopticon", named for an observation tower centralized within a circle of prison cells, alludes to a concept introduced on Everything Was Sound.  In an in-depth 2016 interview, Garrett explained how the panopticon on that album represents "the stigmatization of mental health and the way that we understand disorders", with the prisoner of each cell representing a different mental illness.  At the end, the prison is destroyed.  The track "Panopticon" has no guitars at all - just bass, drums, and electronics - and takes this concept in a more dystopian direction ("They see all but we see one/Shut down the system/Burn away the veil/What waits? A face behind a face behind a face").  The buzz of the bass strings is audible as Thomas’ low-end crunch provides the ideal backdrop. Lyrics allude to addiction to technology and screens, something Garrett was experiencing in an unhealthy way prior to the November tour.

On a similar note, the furious "Alive, As a Housefire" rages against the dehumanizing, machine-like nature of unjust systems.  Written during the June 2020 protests, it lyrically parallels "No Place to Breathe" as both tracks reference police violence against African Americans and generational trauma ("Cold as the empire that stole away your breath... and long as the history they poured inside your chest").  "Alive, As a Housefire" notes how it often takes a drastic event to recognize corruption ("We hide in the guise of benevolence until the system burns").  While this track is obviously about brokenness on a large scale, its catharsis and anger make its inclusion on Iridescent ideal.  Fire is also referenced multiple times throughout the album, including "Terminal" ("Burn the forest for the splinters"), "The Sound of Sleep" ("Bastard sun/you'll burn alone"), and "Anhedonia" ("Lost inside a fevered dream/Set fire to the forgery").  The latter track specifically addresses the devastating fires that occurred in northern California, not far from Garrett's hometown of Redding.  "Anhedonia" takes its title from the depression and numbness he felt for a while afterwards, unable to take pleasure in things he normally enjoyed. 

While Garrett's mental health struggle has been referenced on previous Silent Planet material, Iridescent is more akin to a trip into his own psyche in metalcore form.  The beautiful, haunting "Terminal" reflects raw desperation with nothing lost in translation.  This song is dominated by disassociated sounding clean vocals (sung by Garrett and guitarist Mitchell) floating over dissonant guitar riffs.  The ghostly, detached atmosphere echoes Garrett's shift from reality as he took mind-altering medications in the hospital.  He wonders if the anesthetizing, mood stabilizing drugs are only masking the hopelessness and brokenness he feels.  The way he tentatively sings, "The hourglass is vacant/Sand turns to medication/You can fill me but I'll never be full/I'm slipping to sedation/The seconds are contagious/Can you tell me if I'm terminal?" is beautiful and heart-wrenching.  Every lyric reflects this existential and spiritual tumult as he underwent treatment.   During the months leading up to Garrett's mental breakdown, severe depression, anxiety and fear of failure (often centered around losing his voice) weighed heavily on him.  "The Sound of Sleep" is about his insomnia leading up to his mental collapse.  As a central symptom of bipolar disorder, disturbance in sleep cycles is very frequent during manic episodes. Garrett's thoughts of lying awake at night ("I learned to forget how to lose myself in a dream until I sink/I learned to forget the intervals of syllables that sound like sleep") tell just how routine his sleeplessness has become.  Alex’s drumming is standout here, as he lays down an ominous rhythm.

Garrett's lyrics contain many attachment themes of self-worth, despair, and questions of brokenness.  In his words, "This album, for me, was the first time that I allowed myself the space to look at my demons long enough to give them names and try and describe their faces."  Iridescent doesn't conclude with easy answers or a neat resolution, allowing room for a present ambiguity.  To do so on an album this unflinchingly honest would be disingenuous.  However, a few rays of light and faith remain present.  Most notable is the penultimate song "Till We Have Faces", which takes its title from a C.S. Lewis novel.  Metanoia, a term in Christian theology meaning spiritual transformation and repentance, is referenced in the lyrics.  In the midst of instability, he finds grace within the darkest depths ("Laying inside the lowland, I bowed within the reeds/I gave myself to consequence when grace devoured me").  "Second Sun" echoes faith in the divine presence in the closing line, "Every turn returns to You."  In the midst of self-doubt and guilt, the grace and support Garrett received from the band and community ensured that those 24 hours wouldn't mark the end of Silent Planet.  The Night God Slept's opening song "The Well", is also interpolated: "Hold us together when the fear tears us apart/Lovers, forever, you are the answer to the dark".  The closing title track, a tribute to Garrett's dog Birdie who passed away that year, contains glimpses of eternity in the midst of a farewell - where all that is broken will be made new again.

Silent Planet's Iridescent deals with mental health in a more personal and painful way than their previous material, and the entire band handles this concept to perfection.  I wish all the best for Garrett and his bandmates going forward and hope he can find a space of peace, recovery, and happiness.  Simultaneously volatile and introspective, Iridescent is well deserving of a 10/10 score.  I'll leave you with a link to a 2020 interview between Garrett and former Sleeping Giant vocalist Tommy Green.  While difficult to listen to (be aware that it contains detailed discussion of medication, mental illness and suicide attempts), ultimately grace, hope and resilience is present in the midst of darkness, much like Iridescent itself.  There is a beautiful prayer at the end that speaks of how every broken piece is gathered and not one lost.  If you are going through any of the struggles described here, please never be afraid to seek the help and support you need, wherever that help may be for you.  Lovers forever.  Birdie forever.

On the Psychology and Theology of Silent Planet: "You Built Your Father's House Over My Mother's Grave"

 

Silent Planet.  Photo credit: Rod Cooley

While Silent Planet may remain under the radar within the broader heavy music scene, they've gained a substantive respect within progressive metalcore circles.  This band is truly one of a kind.  Conceptual lyrics are no anomaly for music dominated by technical riffs and crushing breakdowns, yet this Californian band's songwriting approach remains a unique one (though the riffs of their brilliant guitarist Mitchell Stark are definitely a selling point as well). Silent Planet's lyrics have a tremendous depth and sincerity that resonates with their listeners. 

Frontman and lyricist Garrett Russell has referenced indie rock bands mewithoutYou and Death Cab For Cutie as major influences on his songwriting.  While sonically dissimilar, Silent Planet's music reflects both Ben Gibbard's earnest conceptual storytelling on Transatlanticism and Aaron Weiss' theopoetic spoken word on Catch For Us the Foxes.  In an interview with theologian Mason Mennenga, Garrett cited hardcore band The Chariot as another inspiration.  He noted the gospel focus of Josh Scogin's lyrics, centered around, in his words, "a narrative of Jesus being poured out".  Silent Planet's lyrics frequently tell stories of people and subject matter on the margins of society, themes Garrett saw a lack of within metalcore during the band's early days.  A key part of this approach is observation of trauma and empathy.  Garrett Russell has experience as a college mental health counselor and a master's degree in psychology.  From the beginning, he has been very open about both his Christian faith and personal struggles with mental health.  While Silent Planet doesn't self-label as a Christian band, the influence of that faith is impossible not to miss.  

Above all else, Silent Planet's thoughtful and deeply spiritual lyrics emphasize humanizing the conversation.  This holds true whether the band is discussing historical, psychological, personal or theological topics.  One single off their debut album actually addresses all four.  Titled "Native Blood", the song discusses western expansion and colonialism told from the perspective of a young Native American girl.  The girl is one of the "Seven Sisters" referenced throughout the band's discography.   The Seven Sisters are the women whose stories are told from a first-person viewpoint on the album The Night God Slept.  Beyond the historical lens of a storyteller is a more personal meaning.  Garrett Russell is of white and Native American ancestry, and was inspired to write the song after attending a conference at restoration psychology.  When asked by a fan about the background of the song in a Reddit AMA thread, he said, "I was at this conference on restoration psychology and a Native American speaker was talking about generational wounds.  This really stuck with me and led me to think about my heritage, going back to my grandmother and how there are marks of this cultural genocide all across the USA."  The concept of generational trauma and displacement is reflected within the music video, filmed at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park near San Diego, California.  This site lies within the traditional lands of the Kumeyaay people.   Regarding the video, Garrett said, "Our videographer was brilliant and found lands that were Native lands and now used as state parks - which sort of fits our theme of Native people being removed from their lands and how history is always written by the 'victor'."  Throughout the video, images of Native Americans are shown among the trees and scenery, acknowledging them as the original caretakers of the land. 

Central to "Native Blood" is how America's legacy of expansionist persecution of indigenous people and the theft of their land was committed in the name of God.  Writing from the perspective of the Native American girl, one powerful line proclaims, "You built your Father's house over my mother's grave." This song is a lament, much like the psalms of grief written by the exiled Israelites in the Bible.  "Native Blood" contrasts Garrett’s theology of Jesus Christ as a revolutionary suffering servant with the Manifest Destiny worldview of empire, conquest, domination, and entitlement.  United States government policy not only encouraged but mandated the systematic destruction and displacement of the land’s native cultures, as well as the near eradication of wildlife sacred to them, such as bison and wolves. The Dawes Act is referenced in the lyrics, “Our race is a bloodstain spattered on a profane political campaign - manifest your destiny. Stars and Stripes comprise my prison bars - the cost of liberty.” 

Garrett Russell also alludes to the Christus victor atonement model in the footnotes that accompany each song.  Through the lyric, "The suffering cross that overcame/the name of love made concurrent with shame" he sharply juxtaposes the self-sacrifical love professed by Christ with the violence, imperialism and injustice committed in the name of western Christianity.  "Firstwake", another song on the same album, expands on this further.  "Firstwake" is written as a dialogue between Jesus and Mary at Calvary, and references Jesus' words from Luke's account of the Passion.  Throughout the song, Garrett addresses the disconnect between how Christianity is largely perceived (due to the ways it has been politically co-opted and used for persecution) with the subversive and revolutionary power of the Gospel, which at its initial founding emphasized closeness with God as well as compassion and hope for the marginalized in society.  

The closing lyrics are especially moving.  When Garrett screams these words you can hear the pain in his voice and the full weight of what he's singing about.   As a lament, this song speaks of a great tragedy and does not have an easy resolution. 

"This melody - I thought it familiar

It sounds like your heartbeat keeping time,

Then you turn and remind me that this pain has a purpose

And maybe we'll fall asleep tonight."

Silent Planet's first three albums each have a central concept, as well as larger, overarching themes that connect all of their discography together.  The Night God Slept dealt with women throughout history who had to make difficult decisions under oppressive ruling forces.  Everything Is Sound addresses various mental illnesses, while When the End Began is dark and apocalyptic in nature.  Throughout this series, I'll discuss different Silent Planet songs and how Garrett Russell's approach to psychology and theology informs the lyrics.  In an upcoming post, I'll delve into the band's latest album Iridescent, which is much more personal in nature, and talk about how it addresses recent trauma and recovery.