Here at Revolver, we’re always on the hunt for new songs to bang our heads to — indeed, it’s a big part of our jobs. With that in mind, here are the tracks released this week in post metal, grungecore, extreme metal and more that have been on heavy rotation at Revolver HQ.
For your listening pleasure, we’ve also compiled the songs in an ever-evolving Spotify playlist.
Blue Medusa – “Checkmate”
Alissa White-Gluz ain’t playing around with her Blue Medusa project’s debut single, “Checkmate.”
The former Arch Enemy vocalist’s chess-themed battle anthem sets up the board with furiously mosh-squealy verses, earworm melodies and a run of fierce, forceful personal declarations from killer queen White-Gluz about how she’s unrestrained and ready to knock down the competition.
She’s flanked by par excellence fretboard warriors Alyssa Day and Dani Sophia, who rip pure hellfire in the back-to-back solo section. Game. Set. Match.
Boundaries – “Skies cast amber black”
“Behold my contempt for every man.”
Boundaries vocalist Matthew McDougal said that his metalcore band’s latest song — the veterans’ first for Sumerian Records — has him pushing his diaphragm to disgustingly intense new levels to express his disdain for “the growing plague of people’s self-interest.”
It’s an awesomely pissed-off performance that perfectly complements the jack-hammered snare chaos and piercing panic-chord arrangements Boundaries rain down through the piece.
There’s a storm a-brewin’, and we’re selfishly watching the skies for the next natural disaster.
Flatwounds – “Inertia”
New York grungecore unit Flatwounds just issued their four-song Chain of Command EP today. While it’s a consistently tight and groovy affair, we’re ranking new single “Inertia” as a standout among standouts.
Colin O’Hare says the song, which works a mixture of effects-railing Nineties post-hardcore rhythms around his earnestly yowling poetics, was “made to pull something out of you that you might not be comfortable with.”
We agree that the bounding track has got us in our feels, but we’re more than OK with what it’s bringing to the surface.
Mizery – “Renegade Rhythm”
It’s time to get up to the “Renegade Rhythm.”
It’s impossible to not bounce along to Mizery’s latest single, which features some of the last recorded performances from their late drummer, Cayle Sain (God’s Hate). His beats groove eternal.
The San Diego, California-based crossover group infuse this vibe-heavy sing-along from their new self-titled EP with a mix of chorus-effect-wavy guitar tones, chromatically juddy riffs and Hubba Bubba-gummy beats that bring to mind late Eighties-era Suicidal, peak Turnstile and a veneer of posi-swagging, politically-driven Nineties rap metal. Crank it up.
Neurosis – “Mirror Deep”
We’re gonna need a minute to recover from the surprise announcement of Neurosis’ comeback album, An Undying Love for a Burning World, this morning, and at least the weekend to absorb the iconic psych-sludge masters’ 12th album in full, but so far we’re super stoked to be riding the rise and fall of the record’s epically gloom-grooved “Mirror Deep.”
Neurosis throw you right into the post-metal sinkhole with a ground-rumbling two-note smackdown, then burble into unsettling synth-phonic segues, and then ramp up the full-band attack while showing off the monolithic new vocal dynamic going on between long-timer Steve Von Till and recently instated growler-guitarist Aaron Turner (ISIS, Sumac, Old Man Gloom).
It fucking crushes, full stop. ‘Nuff said.
Poison the Well – “Weeping Tones”
Pavlovian dogs that we are, the sound of Peace in Place — Poison the Well’s first album in 17 years — has us crying sweet tears of joy. Meanwhile, vocalist Jeff Moreira explained this week that their “Weeping Tones” single was inspired by bleaker themes — namely conflict avoidance and a “quiet loss of control.”
Nevertheless, he and the rest of the group meet the task-at-hand head-on, infusing both bone-snapping hardcore urgency and a heart-tuggingly anthemic chorus into the tune.
We’re guessing there isn’t a dry eye in the pit whenever they play this one live.