GONZO’S HEAVY ROUNDUP, JULY 2024

(With July now in the rearview mirror, Gonzo has brought us another monthly collection of recommended albums.)

As a reasonably respectable writer who can form coherent sentences, I’d sooner die than kick off this column with some banal trope like “Summer’s heating up, and so are these new releases!”

Fuck that nonsense. But I suppose it’s worth mentioning that I’m sitting here in my air-conditioned apartment while temperatures outside flirt with triple digits, and that means staying inside and listening to music is a much more preferable option than sweating it out in that godforsaken heat.

And….sigh. Yes, these new releases are pretty goddamn spicy, so feel free to form any heat-related tropes at your own discretion. Just listen to these albums first.

 

WORSHIPPER, ONE WAY TRIP

For all the technical prowess and tempestuous fretwork that dominates so much in the metal world these days, it’s nice to occasionally listen to something free-flowing and loose as goose shit. Enter Boston’s Worshipper and their fun-as-fuck third album One Way Trip.

With nodes of everything from Witchcraft to Blue Oyster Cult to Horseburner, the New England foursome make the kind of music that’s ideal for blasting loudly out of open windows on sidewalk-scorching summer days. For having their roots firmly planted in stoner doom, there are a lot of up-tempo bangers on One Way Trip – see opener “Heroic Dose” for the first and most obvious example. “Keep This” shines with its hook-laden melodies and keyboard overtones, allowing “Windowpane” to slow down the pace and offer some bluesy verses.

“Acid Burns” is probably the highlight here, throwing riff after catchy riff at you for almost six minutes. It’s almost enough to forget the weird minute-long closing track “Flashback” which, as the name suggests, seems to replay some riffs you’ve already heard throughout the album before wrapping up. Puzzling closers aside, One Way Trip is a ride you’ll be glad you took.

https://worshipper.bandcamp.com/album/one-way-trip-2

 

 

VOID WITCH, HORRIPILATING PRESENCE

Death metal is getting increasingly weirder as I get older. That’s not a bad thing – quite the opposite, really – and bands like Void Witch are joining the likes of Blood Incantation in bringing the weird in just the right ways.

I’ll be honest, though: any band that includes the phrase “murder ballads” to describe their sound is at least going to get my attention. After a thorough number of listens to Horripilating Presence, it’s not inaccurate phrasing. Leadoff track “Grave Mistake” was also the first song I heard from the album (thanks as always to To the Teeth on Spotify for that) and its creepy doomy intro drew me in immediately. The band fucks with the tempo repeatedly throughout, keeping the grime-stained sound as dynamic as it is unpredictable.

“Second Demon” features a knuckle-dragging riff followed by off-time arpeggios, with vocalist/bassist Luke Void roaring like an imprisoned cosmic horror the whole time. “Malevolent Demiurge” reminds me of Primitive Man, and that’s high praise coming from a Denver metalhead.

https://everlastingspew.bandcamp.com/album/horripilating-presence

 

 

REZN, BURDEN

Before you skip straight to the comments to remind me that the newest release from Chicago’s REZN came out in June and not July, allow me to graciously save you the effort: I’m aware. Call it a weed-induced memory lapse or something. Hell, the band might even be proud of that.

As modern-day stoner metal goes, REZN have few equals. Their thick riffs and glacial tempos sound like what you’d hear if you accidentally dosed yourself with DMT while scraping the resin out of your bong. Their ethereal touch to their music separates them from the rest of the stoner metal pack, and the dynamic songwriting on tracks like “Instinct” and especially “Collapse” on this record shows they’re only getting better at it. The sultry sax on “Soft Prey” and massive riffs on “Chasm” close this one out on the most grandiose of notes.

As a whole, Burden might be the heaviest yet most meditative stoner metal album released all year. It’s a slow burn, to be sure, but like so much art that’s cast out into the world, patience pays off.

https://rezzzn.bandcamp.com/album/burden

 

 

TERMINAL SUN, ALL THAT WILL BURN IS ALREADY ON FIRE

Blackened technical hardcore? And a band that does it without ripping off Rivers of Nihil? Gentlemen, you had my interest, but now you have my attention.

Through this unique smattering of genres, the UK’s Terminal Sun would like to remind you that everything sucks and life is a meaningless hell. Thunderous riffs, tortured vocals, and drums that sound like Satan slamming his car door all converge into a glorious fountain of audial rage throughout this 54-minute behemoth. After the sampled/spoken-word intro of “Catastrophic Error” leads off, “AZ-5” gets right to the fucking point with what you’re in store for on All That Will Burn is Already on Fire.

Two standout tracks here are the 10-minute “Metamorph” and the epic closer “The Space Between Two Deaths,” both of which showcase the band pushing the limits of extreme metal songwriting. All That Will Burn… is most definitely one of the strongest debut albums of 2024, and will be one to watch in December when Listmania starts.

https://terminalsun.bandcamp.com/album/all-that-will-burn-is-already-on-fire

Like what you’ve heard? Follow my best-of-2024 playlist for selections from everything you’ve just read, and a whole helluva lot more.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7zWqE685GVpuB5M3qRDvog?si=08d80939b43e4d89