Territory's Edge - Best Metal of September 2021

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.
 

Sevendust - Blood & Stone (2020)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rise Records, October 23, 2020

Tracklist

1. Dying to Live

2. Love

3. Blood From a Stone

4. Feel Like Going On

5. What You've Become

6. Kill Me

7. Nothing Left To See Anymore

8. Desperation

9. Criminal

10. Against the World

11. Alone

12. Wish You Well

13. The Day I Tried to Live

 

 Twelve albums in, Sevendust has little to prove.  The band long ago established their longevity and status as a respected and influential alternative metal group.  However, while Sevendust has gained a dedicated fanbase, they've remained slightly below the radar for an active rock band that's been around since the late 1990s.   In their earlier years, Sevendust was known for being one of the first prominent African-American fronted alternative metal bands at the time.  Lajon Witherspoon and his powerful, soul-influenced vocals have given the band a distinctive, unmistakable sound.  Looking at the track titles, one might assume the band to be in a state of turbulence and internal conflict, but that is not the case.  In actuality they get along well, and Sevendust's lineup of five has remained remarkably steady over the years.  The only change came in 2005 when guitarist Clint Lowery left temporarily and Sonny Mayo took his place for three albums.

Blood & Stone is not as intense as its predecessor, All I See is War, which was heavy and riff-driven on eleven of twelve songs.  Tracks like "Dying to Live", "Kill Me" and "Blood From a Stone" are fairly standard Sevendust songs similar to previous material on Cold Day Memory or Black Out the Sun.  These tracks are solid for what they are but don't deviate from the band's previously established sound.  "Desperation" is a spiritual, passionate track where Lajon sings about the desire to be free and finding a place to breathe.   It's unclear whether these references are in the context of an interpersonal relationship or addressing society at large, but they could easily apply to both.   Sevendust has had a larger social message of antiracism and unity from the very beginning with "Black", the first track on their self-titled debut and a quote that appeared inside the album credits.   

Other songs are focused on melody and hooks.   The fourth track, "Feel Like Going On" is the album's first power ballad of sorts.  "Alone" is reminiscent of the direction Sevendust took on Seasons.  Lajon's singing drives the track and the backing music stays restrained until the bridge.  Another slower, Seasons-style song "Criminal" pairs its frustrated lyrics with a moody post-grunge/nu-metal guitar sound.   Now these songs are nothing I would describe as "arena ready" hooks but left to their own devices, Sevendust have never aimed for being commercial anyway.   They are focused on making great music together.   The most accessible cut is their cover of Soundgarden's "The Day I Tried to Live", which has been pushed as a radio single. 

Overall Blood & Stone offers a strong performance from everyone involved.  Guitarist Clint Lowery has been an integral part of the band's quality since his return from a three-album absence.  He does seem to have a more significant role on here as a backup vocalist for Lajon, with "Love" being the song where he is the most prominent.  Lowery has stayed busy with his own solo material, releasing both an album and an EP earlier this year.  The same could be said for drummer Morgan Rose, who has a solo EP on the way this year.   The album does not have any songs that stand out as being bad or unappealing, with the weaker tracks simply being average at worst.   Sevendust maintain all elements of their signature sound.  They don't deviate from what works for them, though it is clear growth and change has happened when you look back at their discography.  In contrast to the passionate and often vitriolic lyrics on albums like Alpha and Animosity, subsequent albums used swearing sparsely, some dropping it altogether.  You get the sense that the band achieved a real catharsis on Alpha and would not write an album that angry again.  Progression is vital for a band to stay relevant over time.  Sevendust has maintained their core sound, not losing what made them a prominent band in the alternative metal scene, while growing and maturing along the way.   Blood & Stone earns a score of 9/10.

Sevendust - Cold Day Memory (2010)

Asylum Records, April 20, 2010

Tracklist

1. Splinter
2. Forever
3. Unraveling
4. Last Breath
5. Karma
6. Ride Insane
7. Confessions (Without Faith)
8. Nowhere
9. Here and Now
10. The End is Coming
11. Better Place
12. Strong Arm Broken

Sevendust has been known for their solid track record in the alternative metal scene. This particular album had a lot of hype from the bands fanbase, and when you combine a fantastic vocal performance as always from Lajon Witherspoon with the return of founding guitarist Clint Lowery, the end result has to be good. This album remains their highest charting project to date. Alpha contained a few fantastic songs like “Burn”, and the experimental Chapter VII explored interesting new territory for the Atlanta alternative metal band, but you could tell that Clint brought something special to the band when he came back. In between that time, Clint had stayed busy with Dark New Day and touring as a temporary guitarist for Korn.

“Unraveling”, their highest charting rock single to date, showed that Sevendust is one of the most consistently talented groups to be part of the active rock scene. There are no bad songs anywhere on Cold Day Memory, however there are a couple of tracks on here that, while still good, didn’t quite live up to their full potential. Namely, these are “Confessions (Without Faith)” and “The End is Coming”, both of which had excellent buildup and verses, but choruses that weren’t so strong. I was listening to the first part of these tracks expecting to hear something amazing and they just came up a little short of that. However, elsewhere on the album, songs like “Unraveling” and “Karma” ramp up the anticipation with the introductory sections and each has just as strong of a hook as it were building up to be. “Better Place” and “Last Breath” also stand out nicely. The heaviest cut “Strong Arm Broken” closes out the album with a bang and really showcases Clint Lowery’s guitar work, proving that his return only made the band stronger. I’d say this album is on equal ground with their self-titled debut in terms of how I view it.

Looking at their subsequent releases over the decade, I see that this group has not looked back since in terms of consistent quality output. While the band may have albums like All I See Is War and Animosity that I enjoy more, Cold Day Memory is nothing short of another solid release from Sevendust. It earns a score of 8/10.

Wolves at the Gate - Eclipse (2019)

Solid State Records, July 26, 2019

Tracklist

1. The Cure

2. Face to Face

3. A Voice in the Violence

4. Drifter

5. Enemy

6. Evil Are the Kings
7. Eclipse

8. Response

9. History

10. The Sea in Between

11. Alone

12. Counterfeit

13. Blessings and Curses

A step above the majority of Christian rock/metal, Cedarville, Ohio's Wolves at the Gate has gained a positive reputation in the metalcore scene along with several longer-running Solid State label mates. Eclipse is seven years removed from the band's full-length July 2012 debut Captors. The band is notable for their strong influence of 2000s post-hardcore bands such as Thursday, Blindside, The Receiving End of Sirens, and especially Thrice. Since Captors, Wolves at the Gate has experienced minor lineup changes and explored different territory with each album.

The eclipse theme is clear and consistent throughout in the lyrical content of the album. Imagery of light and darkness, faith and doubt, and truth and lies is prevalent throughout. While Eclipse goes in a more hard rock direction compared to a metalcore sound, the back and forth interplay between clean and harsh vocals remains prominent. Drummer Abishai Collingsworth makes his presence felt with a strong rhythm section behind each track. "Face to Face" and "The Sea in Between" introduce spoken word into the band's sound. Opener "The Cure" is a melodic metalcore single comparable to "Flickering Flame" from their last album in tone and structure. The next two released singles "A Voice in the Violence" and "Drifter" also appear early in the tracklist. Discussing doubt and faith, "A Voice in the Violence" is contextually similar to "The Cure", and "Drifter" follows more of a heavy alternative rock structure. The final single "Counterfeit" shows up near the end of the album as the second to last track and is one of the weaker tracks. Elsewhere, "Face to Face" is a clear highlight, bolstered by an anthemic hook and symphonic overtones. "Enemy" is likely the most straight-up hard rock track and is comparable to Thrice's "Hold Up a Light". The lone ballad and title track "Eclipse" thematically explores doubt and questioning one's faith. It is the album's strongest moment, offering a nice contrast between the calm atmosphere of the verses and the progression to a heavier rock sound.

About the only element Eclipse lacks lacks a standout, emotionally moving track that covers the entire soft-to-heavy spectrum of Wolves at the Gate's sound. The penultimate Types and Shadows track "Hindsight" exemplified this and helped that album make a lasting impression. Previous closers like "Man of Sorrows" showcased a buildup and a clear contrast, so I would have liked to see a dynamic track like this one on Eclipse, since "Blessings and Curses" is rather anticlimactic as a closer. Wolves at the Gate has done better with past releases Captors and Types and Shadows, but overall Eclipse is another strong release from a skilled band. The musicianship is solid and the album concept is well executed, strengthening the whole of the project. I give it a score of 7.5/10.