In learning about the musical influences of the British band Magnetar you might imagine the re-emergence of the three-headed Cerberus once more stalking at the gates of Hades. They describe the musical inspirations encompassed on their debut album There Will Be No Peace in My Valley this way:
Primarily the great melodic Black/Death Swedish bands of No Fashion Records in the early 90s. Then also the muscularity and speed of 80s North & South American thrash/death acts such as Slayer, Sepultura and Infernal Majesty. And last but never least, the hallowed British bands of the 80s including Judas Priest, Motörhead and Iron Maiden. Also, of course, is a passing nod to our Black Metal forefathers Darkthrone, Immortal & Bathory.
So maybe this hound has four heads instead of three. That’s a hell of a list of influences, to be sure, but may leave you wondering how in the world all those heads could work together in a coherent way. We’ll help you answer that question today through our premiere of the album’s opening track, “SCUM“, in advance of the album’s release by Vendetta Records on September 27th.
Who are the scum that Magnetar rail against in this song? They tell us:
SCUM opens the album in brutal fashion. An ode to the wave of sycophantic and spineless populism currently ruining our planet, and for nothing more than the fear of losing power. Their alternative-fact, double-think, conspiracy theorist acolytes now unwittingly ushering in a society reminiscent of Orwell’s “1984”.
There’s righteous fury in those words, and the song is also unmistakably furious — but it’s also packed to the brim with hooks, and before it ends it will blow the top of your head clean off.
Not only hooks, the song is also packed with changes (which you might guess after looking at that list of influences), but Magnetar intertwine them to create a thoroughly exhilarating (and thoroughly savage) experience.
After a quick but riotous drum overture, the song leaps into the fray with blazing thrash riffs, rapidly roiling leads, gut-punch and galloping drums, and bared-teeth blackened snarls. The sound is wild and incendiary, whirling and eviscerating, and punctuated by glorious blasts of sound and hammer-force grooves.
The drums eventually start blasting away, quickly setting the stage for the glorious spiraling and sinuous slithering of an arena-ready solo. But there’s still more to come, as the band shift into a highly headbangable heavy-metal riff, accompanied by yet another thoroughly head-spinning guitar solo that arcs toward the skies.
But that’s still not all! After that the band explode in an episode of violent delirium, still wild but also, grim, cruel, and slashing, and at the end they spin up toward the skies again, as if your heart weren’t beating fast enough already from this black/thrashing heavy metal spectacle.
“SCUM” isn’t the only song on the new album that delves into serious subjects with rage in its veins. To quote from the press materials: “Elsewhere the adherence to religion is eviscerated; superstitious nonsense that unnecessarily pits man against man. There is companionship for the fractured mind in the title-track, a tale of bygone warriors returning home with an unknown horror in their midst.”
And in the other songs, Magnetar also bring in more of the influences identified at the outset of this article, resulting in an album-length experience that shuns repetition, yet is still coherent.
MAGNETAR is:
Dan Walmsley – Guitars, Bass, Synth, Clean Vocals
Nick Wallwork – Vocals
Rob Harris – Drums
There Will Be No Peace In My Valley was recorded and mixed by Joe Clayton at No Studio, and it was mastered by the formidable Arthur Rizk. The striking cover art was created by Misanthropic-Art.
Vendetta Records will release the album on vinyl LP and CD formats, as well as digitally. It’s available for digital pre-order from the band now. Keep an eye on the links below for physical ordering opportunities in the coming days.
PRE-ORDER (Digital):
https://magnetar666.bandcamp.com/album/there-will-be-no-peace-in-my-valley
VENDETTA:
https://vendetta-records.com/
https://vendetta-records.bandcamp.com/
MAGNETAR:
https://www.instagram.com/magnetar_band/
https://www.facebook.com/magnetar666