(As explained over the weekend, I’m taking a 10-day hiatus from rounding up new song and video premieres in order to focus on reviews, but fortunately we have at least one volunteer stepping up to fill the void. Here’s a post by Leperkahn that focuses on two recent premieres.)
Hey guys! Since Islander is taking a sabbatical from daily round-ups, I figured I’d take a stab at being his fill-in for a few days here, or at least until I realize that my problem sets won’t do themselves and Wealth of Nations won’t read itself. This shall serve as part 1, with future parts coming at likely very irregular intervals. If you feel like I’ve overlooked something that the peoples of the NCS universe should be cramming into their ears, feel free to shoot me an email at brendan@sdmetal.com. Anyway, herein we have two new song premieres, from opposite corners of both the globe and the metal spectrum.
TREPALIUM
A few weeks back France’s Trepalium unleashed upon us “Moonshine Limbo” (featured here), a glorious little ditty that was easily the best swing jazz/metal combo I’ve heard since Diablo Swing Orchestra’s last album back in 2012. It came replete with a bitchin’ horn section and the first time I’ve ever truly heard scat-screaming. I mention this because the group have now released the second song from their forthcoming EP Voodoo Moonshine, “Fire On Skin”.
The song is perhaps a bit less overtly jazzy than the title track – I didn’t hear the aforementioned bitchin’ horn section this time – but the arrangement and progression of the song is still rooted pretty firmly in jazz territory, only remaining death metal because of the instrument choices and Cédric Punda’s eviscerating roars. The jabbing verse riff in particular gave me the sensation that I was in the ring with Muhammad Ali at his prime, jolting left and right with each nasty hook the chugging riff planted into my sides.
Certainly join me in anticipating this ever-more intriguing new release due October 6 on Klonosphere, or preorder it here if you feel so inclined.
https://www.facebook.com/TREPALIUMBAND
USNEA
Usnea’s debut self-titled record caught me by surprise with its cavernous funeral doom, with quite a few elements from other genres mixed in. The same could be said for their contribution to a split with Ruins that was released by Halo of Flies earlier this year, though perhaps this time I was a bit more prepared for their aural depression. They’ve now unveiled a first taste of their second record (and Relapse debut) Random Cosmic Violence, in the form of a colossal 14-minute behemoth of a track by the name of “Healing Through Death”.
The title, on a surface level, seems to express the feelings and thoughts of those who believe that suicide is the only way to heal their mental wounds, and the music therein does a damn good job of conveying the excruciating despondency and mental agony anyone with such thoughts must feel. Even when the music doesn’t flatten your senses with its hefty tone, it still leaves you in a sense of despair with its hopeless, vast, vacant ambient sections. It’s reminding me quite a bit of Windhand’s latest record Soma in that respect, which was one of my favorite doom releases of last year.
Give it a listen if you have a coffee break to spare, and be sure to look out for Random Cosmic Violence November 10 via Relapse, or preorder it here.
https://www.facebook.com/usneadoom
https://usneadoom.bandcamp.com/album/random-cosmic-violence
http://www.usneadoom.com/