14.10
8 NORMA JEAN Polar Similar
9
FILE UNDER: ISIS SLAYER NIRVANA
OOZING WOUND Whatever Forever
Solid State Records (2016)
It would be an understatement to call this one a “solid record”. Metalcore titans Norma Jean may have just released a record that sums up all the great assets of their sound throughout the years, one that is bound to defy the often dated nature of the genre. Getting close to Deftonian territory, Polar Similar is pretty rough, heavy and unsetting when it has to, but where it really seems to shine is in its very well-conceived melodic leaps. With no founding members still on board, Norma Jean set themselves to explore new territory without ever sacrificing the trademark of a sound they’ve been mastering for the last 19 years, and that’s why the name Polar Similar seems so appropriate. This one is definitely among our 2016 favorites.
Thrill Jockey (2016)
Lulling you in with a static burst of guitars and bass, like a radio finding a severe weather warning Oozing Wound don’t want you to be comfortable, they do not want you well rested or happy, they want to pummel you with their sonic malice and curb stomp your head until you are begging for more. This is angry, doom infused post-metal that bends you in ugly contortionist ways and throws you discarded to the ditch when it’s done. Guitars are fast and thrash flecked, drums are like angry engine strokes, pounding ever forward, momentum not relenting for much of the album entire run, and vocals are barked, spat, vicious screeches of anguish and agony, lamenting at your life’s inadequacies and laughing all the while. This is an album of some incredible ugliness. And it is all the better for it. Not a second goes by your heart is not verging on utter panic, and its final seconds reveal only your deep need for silence and breathe. An utter success. ANDI CHAMBERLAIN
RICARDO ALMEIDA
6
8
9
OF MICE & MEN Cold World
OKKERVIL RIVER Away
OKKULTOKRATI Raspberry Dawn
Of Mice & Men have been classed as revivalists, true pioneers of the genre that they choose to play. Their new record Cold World represents maturity and hopelessness, as the world seems to be failing. The band members have crafted an honest opus that has flashes of brilliance. But, then there are songs that don’t quite light up fully. That’s not to say that the album is truly flawed or exempt from being listenable. It has its moments of grinding guitar lines and volatile drumming, vocals that would rip your ribcage apart. Songs such as “The Lie” and “Contagious” fully showcase the talents of the band, producing an atmosphere that is haunting. And then there’s songs like “Pain”, which is drone filled. Cold World is not a packet full of treats, but it has its wonders.
A poignantly constructed, multi-instrumental paean to love, life and misery – Away is an emotionally solid, beautifully crafted album from a band who seem to have a very clear idea of what they want to be and where they want to hit their audience for maximum impact. Like a Ben Fold Five fronted by Father John Misty having a breakdown as he sings. The songs on this album are slow building confessionals that unfold in fantastic and wonderfully gloomy ways – cutting quickly to the heart of each subject they cover – unveiling its core to the sun in painful and savagely beautiful ways. A joyful heartbreak of an album, where there is optimism in amongst the darkness, and multiple listens will uncover it, and each listen will be a revelation. Pretty great work.
From word Go on this sparse fuzzed-up fever-dream of grumble voiced garage rock you are pulled into a deep well of uncomfortable and dense darkness. The album screams at you like an angry radio stuck fuzzy between stations, the production a barely finished growl of loose bass strings and muted drums, cymbals and guitars sounding like they are being heard through four or five rooms away. The vocals are a fearsome spit and sizzle, crawling over the music like a creature stalking the Serengeti. It’s garage rock, but not as we know it, darker, edgier, more miserable. A goth tinged nightmare sound that is utterly unique and utterly gripping. Pretty mind-blowing in its almost mockingly under-produced own way.
Rise Records (2016)
MARK MCCONVILLE
120
Southern Lord (2016)
ATO Records (2016)
music&riots
Oct-Nov
ANDI CHAMBERLAIN
ANDI CHAMBERLAIN
FLE UNDER: Bauhaus, Suicide, The Icarus Line