We’re about to make a bit of a detour from the usual pathways of nastiness and gloom that our site tends to follow. To be sure, there’s no clean singing in the song we’re about to premiere — because there’s no singing at all. And the music is still plenty heavy and will get your reflexive muscles in motion. But the band’s interests and talents steer them toward progressive rock and funk, albeit without completely leaving behind the harshness, darkness, and deviance of metal.

The band in question chose the name Filth Wizard, and you’ll probably understand why when you hear the music. They hail from Invercargill on the South Island of New Zealand, and the three members — guitarist Tyler Reynolds, bassist Hanna Ott, and drummer Joseph O’Donnell — originally met through the Southern Institute of Technology’s music and audio courses, and formed the band in 2018. Their debut album, Thor’s Toolbox, was released later that same year.

Since then they’ve played dozens of shows around the South Island, and now they’re focused on the impending October 8 release release of their second album, Sleepeater. It’s that album which is the source of the song we’re presenting today — “Tuskrider“. Continue reading »