GONZO’S HEAVY ROUNDUP, AUGUST 2024

(With the month of August nearly over, our Denver-based writer Gonzo has brought us reviews of four albums released this month — by Summoning the Lich, Yanos, Generation of Vipers, and Zeal & Ardor.)

As we trudge through the final days of August into summer’s last inexorable gasp, there’s still a veritable battalion of quality new releases on the horizon. Hell, even by the time you read this, new albums from Amiensus, Anciients, Leprous, Nails, and Wintersun might even be out – all are set to hit streaming services this Friday.

Unfortunately, my upcoming travel schedule won’t be conducive to getting this Friday’s (August 30) releases included in this month’s roundup, but at least Andy Synn already offered a top-shelf review of the new Leprous last week.

All that being said, August had more than enough quality to kick up a circle pit or two. Dust yourself off and give these releases a spin.

 

 

SUMMONING THE LICH, UNDER THE REVILED THRONE

The St. Louis techies in Summoning the Lich got my attention in ’21 with their awesome debut album, and then really kicked me in the face when I saw them open for First Fragment and Inferi last year. Their live show is an exercise in tech-death precision warfare, and Under the Reviled Throne captures that energy magnificently.

Throughout the album, vocalist Ryan Bruno gives a 40-minute clinic on the boundaries of the human throat that has Trevor Strnad grinning from beyond the grave, while the dual ax deforestation of Nick Muckerman and Ryan Felps take turns decimating everything in their path. Behind the kit, TJ Chilton’s unrestrained double bass and unpredictable time shifts are just as dizzying as they are impressive.

“The Forest Feasts” and “My Horrors Unending” are early standouts, with lumbering riffs and percussion that hits like a jackhammer into cracked pavement. Later, “Will to Survive” unfurls furiously, and “Praise to the Bog” closes us out on a particularly grime-soaked end.

https://summoningthelich.bandcamp.com/album/under-the-reviled-throne

 

 

YANOS, ELYSIUM

Every time I write one of these columns, it seems like another German powerhouse grabs my attention – to the point where I’m scratching my head wondering how the hell I haven’t heard of [band name] before.

Leipzig six-piece post-metal stalwarts Yanos are my latest entry in that category. Their newest post-everything effort Elysium should be more than enough to get the attention of new fans on this side of the Atlantic; its ambitious length clocks in at just under an hour with only six songs. Think YOB meets Cult of Luna and you wouldn’t be too far off.

Elysium comes packed with monstrous riffage that would intimidate the most fearsome of beasts. It’s hard to listen to songs like “At Spectral Shores” and “The Roots Wither” (both of which are really just two halves of a greater whole) and not think of Aaron Turner and how much influence his music probably has on the Germans here. “Illusionist” is the album’s shortest track, still at a beefy seven-and-a-half minutes, building the requisite amount of atmosphere until it comes crashing down like waves pummeling a rocky beach.

Elysium is a mammoth record, and with it, post-metal fans have a lot to dive into.

https://yanos.bandcamp.com/album/elysium

 

 

GENERATION OF VIPERS, GUILT SHRINE

Remember that nasty nail-spiked bat wielded by one of the teens in Nightmare on Elm Street 3? If that thing was a metal album in 2024, it’d be Guilt Shrine by Tennessee’s Generation of Vipers.

Hard to believe it, but this sludge-injected hardcore trio have been cracking skulls for 20 years – even though they had a noticeable 10-year absence between this release and 2014’s Coffin Wisdom. Hiatus aside, the band have come back swinging in fine form, enlisting Kurt Ballou and God City Studios to churn out Guilt Shrine. Featuring lyrical themes from everything about the loss of identity and generational trauma to isolation and depression, the acerbic lyrics belted out by Josh Holt are a perfect complement to the viciousness of the music.

You’ll probably say “no shit” to this, but Ballou always has a knack for conjuring the most devastating version of practically any band’s sound. He’s the perfect guy behind the knobs to do just that for Vipers. Songs like “Joyless Grails” and “Lux Inversion” rumble and roar as some of the best music this band have ever played, and the brooding “Elijah” shows how far they’ve come in the songwriting department. It’s not until the interlude “Doesn’t Mean Anything” that we get much respite from the bludgeoning at play here, and you might even find yourself playing some of these tracks on repeat before you finish the whole thing.

https://generationofviperstl.bandcamp.com/album/guilt-shrine

 

 

ZEAL & ARDOR, GREIF

I am nothing if not a raving fucking fan of Manuel Gagneux and his erudite accomplishments with Zeal & Ardor, a band nobody saw coming and shouldn’t work as well as it does. But here we are, four studio albums and seven years later, and Gagneux’s unique vision has surpassed any expectation anyone could’ve had for it.

I still think 2018’s Stranger Fruit was one of the best metal albums of the past decade, with its inimitable crossroads of soul, black metal, and gospel daring anyone to replicate it. But in some ways, Zeal & Ardor are victims of their own success after that album – 2022’s self-titled release was damn good, but it wasn’t quite Stranger Fruit. With GREIF, (why the hell is it misspelled?) the band continues its unlikely evolution.

“Fend You Off” and “Kilonova” both see the band ascending into a more cinematic version of itself. The triple-layered vocals of Gagneux and his accomplices still work audial wonders, most notably with the former. As with all Z&A releases, there’s focused attention on atmosphere and dynamics, but “Kilonova” never seems to really get off the ground despite that.

The bluesy dirge of “are you the only one now?” resonates and haunts, and the truncated chant of “Go home my friend” is a bit of a head-scratcher. “Clawing out” comes to the rescue with acid-soaked riffage and nightmarish intensity, highlighted by Gagneux’s signature distorted shrieks and growls. “Disease” is a gem of a song, with bluesy elements and one hell of a catchy hook.

With 14 songs total, this album seems like a bear to get through. Oddly enough, I’ve listened to it more times this month than probably anything else I’ve heard, so that’s got to account for something. The second half of GREIF makes up for whatever shortcomings are present in the first – “Sugarcoat,” “Hide in Shade,” and closer “to my ilk” are all rife with trademark Zeal & Ardor moments, but the subtlety here might require more patience than some are willing to give.

This album, admittedly, has taken a lot longer to grow on me than anything else the band have released. Call it “challenging” if you must, but it’s slowly starting to get more appealing with each spin. Maybe my expectations were too high from the start?

https://zealandardor.bandcamp.com/album/greif

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