Ancient Death
Somewhere I stumbled upon a reference to the debut full-length from Massachusetts outfit Ancient Death that compared aspects of their work to the classics of technical and progressive death metal such as Atheist, so of course I had to give it a shot. It turns out that I completely disagree with those comparisons, but it's all for the best, 'cause this is a very cool album that has caught my attention a bit more than much of the significant wellspring of contemporary death metal that's out there. Their approach blends murky, gnashing rhythms and some of the more traditional aspects of the genre across a wide range of tempos with some intriguingly fluid atmospheric passages and ripping melodic solos that do shift the character of the output. It would be fair to describe such tactics as "progressive," I suppose, but this is atypical of what I think of when it comes to "progressive death metal." Still, as I said, this is quite good. I'll be curious to monitor how this band continues to evolve...
Ego Dissolution is available on CD, cassette, and vinyl through Profound Lore (and on Bandcamp). Streaming is for poseurs, but... Spotify and Apple Music are out there, amongst others.
Eyes Have It
The debut four-song outing from New York act Eyes Have It came out digitally back in March, then properly on cassette last month. The lineup features members of a few projects that I've covered in the past—Chain Gang Grave (and therefore Cement Mind), FRKSE—amongst others, and is generally similar in style to the odd form of dark, noisy, metallish hardcore/punk that Chain Gang Grave started to explore over a decade ago—though slightly more aggressive and with more clarity and punch to the production (granted, there's still a rugged nastiness to the textures and mix). Expect maniacally yelled vocals over at times blasting riffs that are equal parts dense, churning sludge and lightly reverberated, unusually post-punked dissonance. It's increasingly rare to encounter bands that are cool and weird and doing their own thing, and this work absolutely falls into that category.
One is out now on limited edition cassette and digital over at Bandcamp. I'm not seeing it on the key steaming services, and I always support that decision for a number of reasons...
Reflection
A reader with superb taste pointed me in the direction of Cleft Stick, the sophomore outing from Serbian group Reflection, and I was quickly enthralled by the peculiarly balanced intensity of their emo/screamo approach. Even the warmth and feeling of the strange cover art had me sensing that this was going to be somewhat of a gripping piece of work. The music tends to fall toward the somber, ruggedly lush (if that's possible) aspects of jangly emo, but the vocals are borderline Converge-level abrasive screams, mixed deep in the heart of the instruments so as not to overpower the more subdued and melodic aspects of the compositions. Quite stirring material here. Nicely done.
Cleft Stick is out now on LP and digital through Geenger Records (who also handled the new Dead Dog Summer LP that I mentioned in last month's roundup), as well as Bandcamp. If you insist on streaming, Spotify and Apple Music have the goods.
夢遊病者
Wait, has it been almost a decade since I last covered 夢遊病者 (Sleepwalker)? Fuckin' hell. I guess life happens and time rolls on. I'm finally finding the time to sit with this otherworldly behemoth that was released last month, and for which my words will surely fail to properly capture its essence. РЛБ30011922 is a 10-track full-length presented as one seamless 37-minute experience—a droning and experimental form of what feels to me like jazz with subtle nods to the textural aesthetic of (at times faintly blackened) post-metal. Certainly there's some truly metallic grit to some of the rhythms and of course the leads, but even those moments seem filtered through the lens of, say, '70s prog rock, so... the sense of fusion is constant. The material is largely instrumental, with only occasional spoken passages (samples?). It's also important to note that this effort is artistic and exploratory without being pretentious. It's very listenable, with tangible melodies and a fluidity that could appeal to fans of ambient soundscapes and the like. There's a live/improvisational type of feel to it, too—quite interesting considering that the recording was apparently handled remotely from Tver, Osaka, and New York (i.e. all over the fuckin' planet). Wild.
Physical copies of РЛБ30011922 appear to have already sold out, and digital's handled exclusively through Bandcamp (a fine move, in my opinion).
Squint
The latest EP from St. Louis, MO's Squint has me realizing that it appears I somehow totally missed their debut full-length about this time last year!? WTF!? Well, anyway, Drag is a truly killer 11-minute outing of heavy-yet-catchy alternative rock that should appeal to fans of Drug Church and the like. There's definitely a grungy type of aesthetic, but with plenty of melody and tactful use of effects to extend the breadth of their sonic palette; while the vocals are surprisingly throaty yells-in-key. Strong recording, admirably zesty songwriting... this shit's great. I'm shocked that I missed an entire album, and very much need to go back and catch up!
Drag is available on a few vinyl variants through the excellent Sunday Drive Records, as well as digitally on Bandcamp. Stream using some awful service like Spotify or Apple Music, and so on.
Summer Blue
This four-song EP is my first exposure to San Jose, CA's Summer Blue. Billed as "timeless pop for fans of The Sundays and Velocity Girl," I suppose that's not off the mark (except that it's certainly not full-on "pop" music). The overall vibe is very '90s, with a certain lushness to the soft/loud dynamics, and everything's a bit more crisp and punchy given the fact that it's 2025, not 1995; so in terms of contemporary comparisons, I'm certainly reminded of bands like Momma, for example. The writing is relatively straightforward—just good, solid songs and a cool atmosphere, not drowning in effects, not doin' the 'gaze thing, the singing is up front and excellent, strong energy to the distorted rhythms, etc. I definitely need to check out their earlier tracks, and will be looking forward to hearing what comes next.
This one's available on disc and digital via New Morality Zine/Bandcamp. Streamers can head to Spotify or Apple Music or whatever.
