It’s the last day of our Best of What You’ve Missed series: we’ve collected twenty-five albums that haven’t created much of a stir yet this year that we think you should hear before diving into the second half of 2014. Of course, today is the 4th of July, which for Americans means BBQ, beer, and explosions: the perfect time for some heavy metal. With that in mind, today we have a band from Sweden, one from Portugal, one from both Australia and Austria, and one from…Canada! Yes, Last Rites is truly international.
But no matter where it came from, we hope you’ve enjoyed our little series. That said, we know that there’s good stuff out there that even we haven’t heard yet. Be sure to share your Best of What We’ve Missed in the comments. Now, here’s the final five!
• • • •
HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY – AOKIGAHARA
I’ve never pretended to understand the world of music. Last year, everybody everywhere was all atwitter over Deafheaven; this year Austrian duo Harakiri From the Sky come along with a similar post-metal-infused black metal and nobody has even noticed them. Perhaps their unfortunate band name is holding them back—I almost skipped over them myself because their moniker was just so unappealing. But I’m glad I gave them a chance. I actually prefer Aokigahara to Sunbather.
J.J. and M.S. draw less from shoegaze than Deafheaven or Alcest, with songs like “Homecoming Denied” reminding me of later Isis while “69 Dead Birds for Utoya” has a more hardcore influence. There are lots of glistening guitar arpeggios and tremolos, and a number of guest vocalists help keep J.J.’s howl from getting too old. The album isn’t without flaws—it’s damn long, and the lyrics read like an eyeliner-heavy poetry open mic, but I don’t mind overly melodramatic lyrics when they’re delivered in the right package. Like an Isis or Explosions In The Sky album, you have to get into the flow of the music, otherwise it seems less than palatable. When you do hit that zone, though, you’ll eat it right up.
• • • •
EREBUS ENTHRONED – TEMPLE UNDER HELL
There’s a reason so many demons from Down Under are worth listening to. Most notably because Australian extreme metal bands often cut straight to the marrow, and make some of the nastiest metal around. So it is with Sydney-based black metal horde Erebus Enthroned. The band’s second full-length, Temple Under Hell, doesn’t waste time trying to reinvent the wheel, but if you’ve a taste for Watain, Marduk, Mgla or Funeral Mist, then the torrents of ritualistic black metal found here are bound to appeal.
Erebus Enthroned might not be an original entity, as such, but what’s important about Temple Under Hell is that is was recorded live in studio, capturing a wholly misanthropic and militant moment in time. The album is crammed with Ye Olde Swedish screeds threading through an aura of ice-cold atmospherics, and there’s no mistaking Erebus Enthroned’s determination to promote the transformative glories of embracing evil. There’s melody to be found here, and plenty of impressive musicianship lurking amongst the swarms of riffs and percussion, but what Temple Under Hell brings most of all is a sense of channelling Satan and all his malevolent glories, in real time. Ferocious, wicked, and profane. All the things we love.
• • • •
SKULL FIST – CHASING THE DREAM
Cigarettes, snow, and skateboards are central to the Totontonian’s attack in their latest video, but all I feel is phantom fists in the warm summer air while rocketing down the highway. Sure, a cursory listen may yield comparisons to stateside analogues like White Wizzard and Holy Grail—or if you wanna stick to the Great White North, Striker and Cauldron—but unlike the Americans who are inexplicably aiming for longer compositions, Skull Fist and their Canadian brethren aim for that precious 40-minute mark on their releases.
Don’t overthink music like this. Bless us with memorable riffs; blind us with blazing leads; recenter us with impassioned vocals; and for fucksakes, keep us interested. It’s easier said than done, true, but Chasing the Dream is proof positive that composing within a limited template doesn’t mean the end result won’t be awesome. And because Skull Fist so completely excel on their third proper release, the most appropriate parallel I hope you draw is between them and Sweden’s Enforcer (just 20% less glossy). This is traditional speed metal done right.
NASHEIM – SOLENS VEMOD
For black metal, Nasheim’s debut full-length might be severely lacking in the blasphemy department, and it’s probably less politically incorrect than a rainbow flag on Desmond Tutu’s balcony. Nevertheless, Solens Vemod contains the best collection of black metal compositions from the first half of 2014 and is most likely—and so unfortunately—destined to slide directly into relative obscurity because it was not released by the right people and with the right amount of shock value. No mockery of Abraham’s descendants. No idolization of the dark mothers. No propaganda. Nothing explicit. Just four glorious Scandinavian hymns to the perpetual darkness that lies in wait in the back of our minds since birth, spreading slowly to each and every corner of our consciousness before finally devouring everything that’s left of it.
As such, highly recommended.
• • • •
BLACK BOMBAIM – FAR OUT
Portugal’s answer to Earthless are as prolific and adventurous as any artist working in heavy psych-rock today. Every release is worth a listen, and some are worth many more. Far Out, their first album for British label Cardinal Fuzz, is one of those that invites and rewards repeated plays. The trio builds a solid base through repetition, anchoring a rhythm before breaking bits and pieces off to explore before reassembly. Joined here by tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado for the alternately blistering and entrancing “Africa II,” and by modular synthesist Luis “The Astroboy” Fernandes for more eastward-leaning sounds of “Arabia,” Black Bombaim once again prove themselves able improvisors who avoid the trap of mere pointless jamming. This is a conversation and exploration of themes and ideas that keeps the listener fully engaged.
