The New Music Thread : The Fallen Edition

The seventh full-length album from LA sludge metallers Thou hits the shelves tomorrow & is called "Umbilical". I've had mixed experiences with Thou on record over the years but there's no doubt that they're a fantastic live act.

I've been checking out their debut, Tyrant, over the last couple of days and been loving it, so this is one I really want to hear.

I actually did a double-take on the "seventh full-length" thinking that Thou had a lot more.  In fact the majority of their slew of releases are EPs and splits. For some reason I find their frequency of output off-putting.  I have engaged with a couple of releases but just find them to lack memorability even though they have little else wrong with them.

Gave it a listen during this morning's walk and although it's early days yet, I'm very satisfied with what I heard. It's exactly what you would expect from Thou and won't do anything to change anyone's view of the band, I suspect, but if you're a fan then I would be very surprised if this didn't float your boat.

The new split album between US sludge metallers Melvins & Japanese drone metallers Boris "Twins of Evil" hit the shelves a week ago. I'm a fan of both bands so I'll probably check this one out at some stage.

London stoner metal kings Orange Goblin will be releasing their tenth studio album "Science, Not Fiction" on 19th July. I can't say I've ever really given them much time over the years as stoner metal isn't exactly my musical sweet spot. I did quite like their split E.P. with Electric Wizard & their "Nuclear Guru/Hand of Doom" single but those came more than 25 years ago now so perhaps it's time I gave them a long overdue chance o impress me with their new record.

The new "Pray for the HOLLOW Sun" release from Japanese sludge/doom/drone metallers Corrupted hit the streets yesterday & will be one that I'll likely check out as I've invariably enjoyed the couple of other releases I've heard from them, particularly 1999's "Llenandose de gusanos" which was a really big record for me. This one is an archival release that includes material recorded between 2010-2014.

US stoner metallers Elder also have a brand-new live album coming out later this month in "Live at BBC Maida Vale Studios" which was recorded last year. The trio of Elder records that fell between 2011-2017 were all pretty big for me so I'm pretty keen for this one too.

Eagle Twin & The Otolith - "Legends of the Desert: Volume 4"

I haven't heard Utah stoner/doom outfit Eagle Twin before but I thoroughly enjoyed The Otolith's 2022 debut album "Folium limina" so this collaboration album might be worth a look.

Chat Pile - "Cool World" [Noise rock/sludge metal from Oklahoma City, USA]

I really dug their 2022 "God's Country" debut album so I'm looking forward to this one.

The Flight of Sleipnir - Nature's Cadence (2024)

I know we have a pretty big fan of this group around the Academy, so how have you been enjoying these guys' latest offerings Sonny? 

I thoroughly enjoyed Eventide but haven't had a chance to really dive into any of their older stuff, so this is my first shot at seeing what else these guys have in store. So far this one isn't hitting me as hard as their 2021 effort, but it's undeniably gorgeous so far. I think this one will be more of a grower for me personally as I spend more time with it. 

I haven't checked it out yet, Xephyr. The reason being that, as you say, I'm a massive fan and I blind-ordered the vinyl from Bandcamp and I'm waiting until it comes so I can get the whole vinyl experience, fresh out of the box, so to speak. I am looking forward to it immensely, though.

Finnish doom/death outfit Swallow The Sun have a new album coming out entitled "Shining". I've enjoyed everything I've heard from these guys over the years so I've got this one on my list to check out during the year. I don't think I got to their last few releases though so it'll be interesting to see where they're at musically these days.

The Body - "The Crying Out of Things"

This Arizona-based drone metal act seems to put out a new release or collaboration every second week these days. Another one that I've had mixed experiences with so I might watch from afar & see what the hype's like before exploring this album.

The Flight of Sleipnir - Nature's Cadence (2024)

Released: 27th September

Nature's Cadence sees Coloradan blackened doomsters, The Flight of Sleipnir, continuing down the path they have been treading for some time now. This means another dose of well-written doom metal that is given a frosty edge by the black metal-style vocals of drummer David Csicsely and the occasional deployment of tremelo riffing. This has been tagged on RYM as Pagan Black Metal, but I don't really think their material deserves a black metal primary tagging, though, because there is a complete absence of blastbeats and the tremelo riffing is used only very sparingly, leaving Csicsely's grim shrieking vocals as the only major black metal influence and vocals alone do not a black metal band make.

Anyway, the album consists of five tracks and a relatively slight runtime by modern standards of 38 minutes, but each of those minutes is well-utilised and I never felt short-changed because there is a complete absence of filler here. It kicks off with the longest track, the almost twelve-minute "North" which is a neatly-written epic that takes a number of twists and turns with chunky doom riffing, gentle folky acoustic passages, ascerbic black metal interjections and soaring guitar soloing as it weaves it's tale of seafaring Viking warriors returning home from their raiding. "North" is a great example of how the band have honed their songwriting craft over the years, it's various diverse elements flowing organically one to another with an economy of expression that they struggled to master earlier in their career as, going back and comparing them, some of their early tracks were a little bloated compared to a track like this.

Next up is "Madness" which has a really catchy refrain and is destined to become one of those tracks I am forever finding myself singing out loud, long after I have put the record back in it's sleeve. "Madness" also heralds the introduction of steel guitar into the mix, with a couple of short country-style interludes that are reminiscent of the bluegrass and american folk that Austin Lunn of Panopticon has made a signature sound. Any black metal influence is entirely absent from this track and the two seemingly disparate styles of the quite catchy main refrain and the restrained country sound work surprisingly well together.

Side two begins with "Vingthor" (an alternative name for the god of thunder himself) whose energetic main riff incorporates a psychedelic tilt to it's downtuned doominess, seemingly at odds to the black metal shrieks of the vocals, although it works just fine and a merging of psychedelia and black metal never hurt Oranssi Pazuzu did it? "The Woodsman" is an acoustic folk track which sees Clayton Cushman's steel guitar from "Madness" make a return and it's a nice track in it's own right, even more so as it leads into the intro to closer, "Wanderer" which is interestingly reminiscent of Ennio Morricone's soundtrack work on Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns, at least until the track erupts into a thundering and looming slab of blackened doom metal glory.

Now, Nature's Cadence is not really going to appeal to those who need to be constantly challenged by their metal listening fare, because this is a furrow The Flight of Sleipnir have been ploughing for some time, but no one else sounds quite like them and the introduction of elements of americana signals a slight evolution of sound for the band. Their version of doom metal is actually quite vibrant, with a rich, thick sound counterpointed exceedingly well by those black metal shrieks. For me, FoS are one of the better modern practitioners of doom metal and manage to have a signature sound and an ability to write memorable riffs and interesting lyrics in a genre that is overflowing with uninspiring copycats. This alone is reason to give them respect, but the high quality of all their work ensures that I will always be happy to lend them an ear and, in fact, I blind-ordered Nature's Cadence on vinyl because I was supremely confident that the band would deliver once more - and, luckily, I wasn't disappointed.

4/5

Boris & Skiplife - "Amplified Power Violence Worship."

Another new collaboration for Japanese drone metal legends Boris, this time with Czechian powerviolence act Skiplife which sounds like a hell of an interesting prospect, doesn't it?

Monolithe - "Black Hole District" [Death doom metal from Paris, France]

I missed 2022's "Kosmodrom" album but these guys are generally always worth checking out so I'll likely be partaking in this one at some point.

The new double live Electric Wizard album "Black Magic Rituals & Perversions: Vol 1" hits the shelves on 13th December. I haven't seen them live before & haven't explored any of their studio releases in ages either. The last one would probably be 2010's "Black Masses" album actually. I've generally always enjoyed Electric Wizard though so I might chuck this on at some point. Anyone seen them live?

The new double live Electric Wizard album "Black Magic Rituals & Perversions: Vol 1" hits the shelves on 13th December. I haven't seen them live before & haven't explored any of their studio releases in ages either. The last one would probably be 2010's "Black Masses" album actually. I've generally always enjoyed Electric Wizard though so I might chuck this on at some point. Anyone seen them live?

This isn't a live recording of an actual gig it seems. During the covid lockdowns Electric Wizard recorded tons of live jamming sessions in their basement and this is the result of those sessions, according to what I have read about it.