The music that powers the staff of this ungodly service.
Gatekeeper – "Twisted Towers"
With new guitarist Adam Bergen replacing Kenny Kroecher in 2019 and lead singer Tyler “Tex” Anderson taking duties from Jean-Pierre Abboud, Vancouver’s Gatekeeper return with another mighty blast of classic heavy metal. Epic, infectiously hook-laden, acrobatic, yet downer simultaneously, you can hear a litany of influences and touchstones from Thin Lizzy to Dio-era Sab and even some unicorn-calling moments of Rhapsody, amalgamating into something quite heavy and unique. From Western Shores is out late March on Cruz Del Sur, and we have a guest DJ special from Gatekeeper on February 3 so tune in. Buy Now on Gimme Metal.
Mammoth Caravan – "Petroglyphs"
The Arkansas trio continue to illustrate how the American South yet again defines its own brand of swampy doom. These guys play with a very different hand though, “Petroglyph” starts off with some downright pastoral sketches of post-rock, slowly seeping in with circular motion until the pedal stomp obliterates everything in site with a solid concrete wall of impenetrable distortion that takes you on the crawl you need out into the neighborhood’s environs. Tune in February 22 as these guys spin for a couple hours on Gimme, and grab their self-released Ice Cold Oblivion out on the 25.
Wretched Fate – "Utterance From the Unhuman Tongue"
Carnal Heresy finds this Swedish deathgrind troupe back in action four years after their debut, a crushing meal of tempered stop-start surges, Cannibal Corpse-style septic-smearage. Deeply probing the essence of death metal, the scale of reinvention and boredom for what it’s become this far down the line is evident in these grimy grooves. Look out for a Gimme DJ takeover February 17!
Big | Brave – "carvers, farriars and knaves"
The trio of guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie, guitarist Mathieu Ball, and drummer Tasy Hudson return with another rich, emotional maelstrom of sound. Their expansive take on dark music as a trio is bubbling with continual ideas, oceanic swells, tempered feedback and soundscapes, Wattie’s diverse colors of vocal approach. Their minimalism enables space and slowly-painted brush streaks, flickering drones that guide the music along it’s pathway with controlled moments of light. Their latest nature morte is out on Thrill Jockey February 24.
Negative Vortex – "Cicuta"
An amazing slab of doom-death from this Brazilian-American hybrid saws at your face immediately with chunky riffage, atmospheric steam and complete hopelessness. Repetition engulfs the listener into hypnotic state, gurgling vocals battling against the sludge motion helplessly, it’s all a churning cauldron of fuzz and loss.
