Gimme Metal Program Director Brian Turner delivers the week's top five office buzz-worthy tracks.
Werewolves – "We Are Better Than You"
As if the pandemic and bush fires weren't enough to distract, Australia's Werewolves spring back quickly after their last outing with the new From the Cave To the Grave. It's an utter misanthropic blast of more of the same blackened tech-death they've done so well, complete with Psycroptic's drummer back in the seat, but despite great adherence to hyper-precision, it's a punk/anarchic mess.
Astral Tomb – "Inertia (Crashing Through the Doorways of Eternity)"
Recently interviewed on Anthony Bartkewicz's Grave Convulsions show on March 18, Denver's Astral Tomb at first seem a caterwauling tarpit of space-reaching death metal. Their latest Soulgazer on Blood Harvest however finds them as expansive as they are crushing, brutal passages leading into tripped out explorations. The gore-and-grate moments slowly unfurl into cosmic dust, nods to the Butthole Surfers and Bestial Warlust sharing the same confines.
Municipal Waste – "Grave Dive"
After trotting it out live on their last tour, "Grave Dive" slams down as the new Municipal Waste single, an ode to digging up dead fans and throwing them off stage. Such is the mind of singer (and onetime Gimme DJ) Tony Foresta, it's a slammin' party wherever they go. Razor-sharp riffs sidle up alongside his inimitable bark, headsnappin' thrash coolness all around. Their new album Electrified Brain hits this summer.
Godless – "Cormorant"
The visually wild video located in a blazing red crypt sets it up well, India's Godless on their November-released States of Chaos triumphs in a death/thrash meld of irongrip hold. The evolution of 80's-style thrash on display here shows them to be a band not content with nostalgia, but dissection and mutation of a high order. On this track, hyper-intense pummeling her recedes into a truly terrorific vocal squall, and it's all over.
GGGOLDDD – Invisible
The challenge of addressing victimhood via music is a delicately-weaved tapestry, this Dutch unit fronted by Milena Eva projects working through her own trauma with equal parts power and vulnerability of her ordeal, with bare-boned lyricism that is far from candy-coated. Musically, they wowed everyone at Roadburn with a combination of stark skeletal techno, illuminated acapella moments, and swooping outbursts of dissonant, sliding-down-the-wall string sections. A triumphant piece of art, and a band to revel in the growth of.
Gimme Metal is the premier online radio station for metal fans around the world. It's the first 24/7 metal music-focused community where listeners can tune in to hear world-class DJs like Dave Mustaine, Randy Blythe, Johan Hegg, Danny Lilker, Jessica Pimentel, Brian Posehn and many more play the sounds that you just don't hear anywhere else. Check it out for free at GimmeMetal.com. Also available for iOS and Android. Be sure to browse their store for killer selections