Weekly Digest august 9-15
Let’s go, new releases are here! The quarantine live by friends of Sepultura, the second full-format of rappers $UICIDEBOY$, post-hardcore at its best by Quicksand, deathcore release or even two – cool EP from Lorna Shore and a "cranberry" by Slaughter To Prevail, GosT treat us with their synthwave among industrial and post-punk they play too, Joey Cape tries to forget the previous year and much more in our Weekly Digest.
Diskord – Degenerations
The eccentric Norwegian death metal band Diskord has made quite a reputation for themselves over the years by playing some twisted, unhinged death metal that takes the best elements of old school death metal, dissonant death metal, technical death metal, even progressive and jazz music. Their death metal is wonderfully concocted, full of unpredictable twists and turns, while retaining ample causticity and drive throughout.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
GosT – Rites of Love and Reverence
It's no secret that synthwave has become a staple in the playlists of heavy music fans over the past decade. Kyivans can remember the American synthwave producer GosT thanks to the Perturbator concert in 2016, where GosT warmed up the crowd. Since then, he has signed a deal with Century Media Records and gained a good reputation in the genre. "This album is the culmination of everything I have learned during the last eight years or so I have been making electronic music," he states. "I feel like I have found my full confidence sonically and vocally with this album. Other than just feeling more in tune with how I am able to create, this album does explore some new sounds. I’ve pulled some new influences from industrial and post punk into what I was already creating".
spotify | apple music | youtube music
Joey Cape – A Good Year To Forget
Joey Cape, the frontman of the iconic punk band Lagwagon, releases his brand-new solo LP, "A Good Year To Forget" on Fat Wreck Chords. A reflective album that was written during a year that saw him losing his father, separating from his wife after 20 years of marriage, contracting COVID, and moving back in with his parents as a result of a livelihood lost. "A Good Year To Forget" is a warm and beautiful record that encapsulates all the trials and tribulations over those challenging 12 months.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
Lorna Shore – …And I Return To Nothingness
The first release from Lorna Shore after last year's LP "Immortal" and parting with the vocalist CJ McCreery because he turned out to be a bad person. Now the vocalist is Will Ramos (Monument Of A Memory, ex-A Wake In Providence), who originally joined the band as a replacement during last year's tour, but now has been accepted by the band as a permanent member. Probably, it’s the only deathcore band whose work I'm really interested in following. The vocals are top notch, the drummer is a goddamn machine, the arrangements are epic, and the breakdowns are really devastating. It is good that, despite the loss of the frontman, the musicians were able to return even stronger.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
Quicksand – Distant Populations
The legendary post-hardcore band Quicksand is a favorite band of your favorite bands (Deftones, Thursday, Higher Power and many other bands who named Quicksand as one of the bands that influenced their sound the most). Created by Walter Schreifels (best known as guitarist and songwriter of Gorilla Biscuits and bass guitarist of Youth Of Today) in 1999, the band is currently experiencing the longest period of activity in its history (active years: 1990-1995, 1997-1999, 2012-present) and the album "Distant Populations" will be the fourth LP in their discography. I listened to new singles on repeat for some time already and I am very glad that I can finally enjoy the album as a whole.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
Sepultura – SepulQuarta
Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser comments: "SepulQuarta" was born at the very beginning of the pandemic when everything was halted. We had a new album out, but we couldn't tour for it. Therefore, we created this recurring event where we could talk with our fans around the world, play our music and exchange ideas. It was a blast! "SepulQuarta" kept us alive and strong throughout one of the most difficult times in human history." Album features lots of really cool collaborations with very talented and iconic musicians, so be sure to check it out.
Slaughter To Prevail – Kostolom
Usually, I don't cover releases from the Russian Federation, except for a few very interesting albums from bands whose non-imperial views I'm sure of. And if I do really like the release. This time it’s a bit different, but still I decided to talk about this band, analyzing a little its secret of success. If you are interested in deathcore scene, I'm sure you came across the Russian band Slaughter To Prevail, which, by the way, will soon perform in Kyiv, and its vocalist Alex Terrible. Before the band was put together, that Alex just recorded and posted vocal covers on social networks, including youtube and VK, and gained some popularity by this. So later he was able to find musicians to form the band.
Slaughter To Prevail is followed for several things: competent promotion on social networks (aforementioned covers of popular songs), the love of foreigners for their exotic (Slaughter To Prevail as well as their colleagues from the Moscow Death Brigade, for example, who are also very popular among Europeans, are not ashamed to be a Russian stereotype – gopnik style, vodka, bears, etc.) and the visual component (branded masks, the sale of which is also a solid part of the band's profits). As for the material, the band is still more about the gimmick than about the music, and listening to the album becomes redundant, but the band is very successful in playing and earning $$$ on extreme music. What conclusion can be drawn? Haters gonna hate (like I do), but Slaughter To Prevail have already been able to climb quite high in the genre and they are still going up. So there is that.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
$UICIDEBOY$ – Long Term Effects of SUFFERING
The heroes of soundcloud rap from New Orleans are back with their second full-length album. As always, the very cool tracks titles and edgy lyrics, musically $UICIDEBOY$ also do not stand still and do not become boring self-repetition. Also, a dope album cover to be mentioned.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
Trash Boat – Don’t You Feel Amazing?
The British pop-punk / post-hardcore band Trash Boat was very inspired by the latest releases of their compatriots BMTH and changed the sound quite significantly. It turned out unusual and interesting. Definitely the band's most diverse album to date.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
Unreqvited – Beautiful Ghosts
Those who follow Weekly Digest remember this very productive blackgaze project (the reminders are here and here). This time 鬼 sets love, passion and devotion as the main theme of the album, and the listeners will enjoy a unique cocktail of seemingly incompatible depressive and uplifting melodies. But isn't that what’s happening with love?
spotify | apple music | youtube music
More Weekly Digest here.
