Gimme Metal Program Director Brian Turner delivers the week's top five office buzz-worthy tracks.
Human Impact – "Imperative"
Hitting the road this summer with a rejiggered lineup to include Made Out of Babies' bassist and Daughters' drummer, Human Impact return with their thick, swirling brand of aggro post-rock. Creative layers of swirling sounds and colors sit aside their bulldozing drive, remnants of NYC's noise rock scene loom (departed drummer Phil Puleo did time in Cop Shoot Cop), but overall this is a very 2022 sound, awash with much to drive the soul and tickle the ears.
Druids – "Hide"
On Shadow Work (out next week on Pelagic) this trio take it slower, adding a myriad of elements to accent their penchant for psychedelic immersion. Sludgy outbursts emanate from languid passages of almost Radiohead-like tension, melodic flourishes segue to a tranquil kind of fury, anchored around a fat rhythm section that often gets some comparisons to Mastodon and OM as well. It's a rich output for three members without doubt, and an interesting and introspective listening experience.
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – "Gaia"
It seems like yesterday (2013) when I first checked out these guys live while Australia (I mean, the name alone kinda had me), and suddenly I am shocked to learn that they have 20 slabs of wax out in a mere 10 years! Obviously one would assume they must put out every blurt uttered in a studio, but no, here's a 2LP set Omnium Gatherum of rebooted lost song sketches and some more new stuff on top. Needless to say these guys seem purely ecstatic at the idea of glomping every possible heavy influence into their thick soup: Kraut pandemonium, Thin Lizzy riffology, psychedelic FX and shred shred shred everywhere. Great to see them back for a few minutes until the next heap of sounds are unloaded.
Church Of Disgust – "Arrogant Death"
Flailing in the stench of the Gulf Coast since 2010, Church of Disgust hop from Maggot Stomp to Hells Headbangers for their third LP Weakest Is the Flesh hitting racks last week. Fine tuned in the art of suffocating death metal, the band continues to build on its powers of presenting top-tier sick guitar buzz, necksnapping drums and gristly vox placed perfectly in the mix.
IATT – "Prima Materia"
A wild outing from this Philly black metal combo, who take both symphonic prog and chaotic/pounding elements with equal doses into a whirlwind of ideas. Plenty of unexpected twists and turns in the road, this track in particular roars like a beast and then settles into an eerie odyssey down darkened streets with heart-wrenching streams and the emergence of a sax solo from Rivers of Nihil's Zack Strouse.
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