Burial Ground
Pennsylvania's Burial Ground has unleashed their first new recordings in over 20 years, since the passing of original vocalist Jamie White (R.I.P.). Obviously there are some slight differences in the vocal attack here, but for the most part the vibe is consistent with the dark, meaty metalcore of the band's heyday—with a dash of added acerbity to some of the textures for good measure. I believe the final song, "Forever Friends," even repurposes an old live recording of Jamie for the vocals. Very cool.
Ashes From the Human Flame is available as a pro CD-R in a digipak from the guitarist's webstore. I don't see it on Bandcamp, but you can stream using Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, and so forth.
Ha•zel
Well, Sunday Drive Records is still a top-notch source for an assortment of high-quality alternative sounds. The debut EP from L.A. outfit Ha•zel offers an excellently memorable brand of almost nu-ish, post-hardcore-tinged alt-rock that's surprisingly heavy. Portions bring to mind some of the stronger early-2000s emo bands that had a harder-hitting edge, but the occasional presence of intense backing screams and rhythms that full-on chug lend this material an unexpectedly churning groove. This is really damn good, and I'm quite looking forward to hearing more. Awesome. Yeah.
Grab a CD direct from Sunday Drive or via Bandcamp. If you'd prefer to stream, Apple Music, Spotify, and other such outlets exist.
Jøtnarr
It doesn't feel like it's been over two years since I last covered U.K. group Jøtnarr, whose latest effort features a new vocalist and a new drummer and continues their interesting explorations of sludgy, blackened hardcore/punk meets noise rock. A few areas remind me of some of Catharsis' harsher moments, while some of the darker melodic elements bring to mind a 20-year-old SuperFi release—the great Mondo Dell'Orrore by Geisha. There are some unexpectedly post-rock-ish textures overlaid from time to time, too. In general, there's certainly more experimentation going on this time around, which adds further diversity to the group's already wide-ranging palette.
Feet First on the Corpse Path is available on CD and cassette through the cooperation of SuperFi, Prismatik, Bunkland, and Squidgypop. I'm not seeing it on streaming, but streaming is garbage anyway; plus, it's name your price on Bandcamp!
Meketa
Amongst the latest from the impressively prolific Meketa Power Electronics is the six-song Cult Crusher LP, and as I've touched on in the past, while not religious myself, there's something fascinating about a Christian-themed power electronics project that in no way tones down the delivery despite its message ultimately intending to be a positive one. Overall the work is a continuation of Steve's decades-long history dishing out explosively abrasive noise: we're talkin' earsplitting output volumes, vocals that can shift from a whisper to a maniacal shriek within a breath, and an assortment of distorted tones 'n' textures—from sizzling drones to glitchy wails of feedback as well as some traditionally dense harsh noise grit. I definitely appreciate that it's not a one-sided approach, both the vocals and the noise transition and provide an array of dynamics throughout the listening experience.
Cult Crusher is available as a limited edition of 200 copies on black vinyl—50 with screen-printed covers, 150 with standard covers (both featuring the always strikingly badass illustrations of Dwid Hellion)—with a double-sided black and white insert containing additional imagery and credits. Hit up Phage Tapes on Bandcamp.
Miscreance
This Italian outfit basically sounds like if Pestilence had done one more album with Martin Van Drunen in 1990, before crossing into the full-on synth-tinged progressivity of Testimony of the Ancients. The material is more melodic and involved than Consuming Impulse, but the vocals are so Van Drunen it's wild, so the delivery retains that harsh aggression. This isn't a "Carcass worship" type of situation, though. I don't want to imply that Miscreance are just a literal photocopy of Pestilence. They're certainly offering some of their own twists and turns to the musicality and compositions, but... this really is a must-hear for Pestilence fans, so I can't help but place some degree of emphasis there! I'm incredibly picky about modern technical, progressive death metal, so I'm surprised that an absolutely killer band like this had managed to elude me for at least five years!? Better late than never, though!
Reminiscence is out now on CD and LP through Season of Mist, as well as via Bandcamp. Streamers can fire up Apple Music or Spotify, I suppose.
Sweet Teeth
And last but certainly not least, as usual Swedish greats Sweet Teeth—one of the finest bands of the decade—have cranked out one of the best albums of the year. Their punked-up, power-poppin' alt-rock gold draws frequent comparisons to Hüsker Dü, which is fair enough, but I personally don't really make that connection, and would absolutely blaspheme that Sweet Teeth is better than Hüsker Dü. Just sayin'. To my ears, they have an easily identifiable sound of their own in terms of the vocal character, the somber resonance of their riffing, as well as their production aesthetic. I've yelled about this band a few times in a few places in recent years, and if you enjoy absurdly catchy songwriting that tactfully rocks, you need to peruse this band's discography instantly. Like, right now. They simply never miss. The best.
The Void That Eats the Heart LP is a collaboration between a slew of labels—De:Nihil (Sweden), Skeletunes and Double Helix (U.S.), Engineer (U.K.), and Scene Police (Germany)—so check around for assorted colorways and shipping costs based on your location. Streamin' types head to Apple Music or Spotify or whatever.
