DREAMHOUSE

Obsidian Wreath - Infant Island

The larger American hardcore and screamo scene is beyond alive and well. It’s maybe the most vital rock subgenre on the continent at the moment. And VA outfit Infant Island might have made the best album in the scene. Obsidian Wreath pulls from the anthemic metal of Deafheaven and Envy while never ignoring the crushing low end. There are sections of true beauty here, always perfectly balanced with an ceaseless hammering that ends up being just as cathartic as it is punishing.

Παραμαινομένη by Ὁπλίτης (Hoplites) 

Someone should check on the Hoplites guy and make sure he’s human/ok. After releasing three, count ‘em, three albums last year that all made our end of the year list, he’s back with another slab of crusty, disgusting metal. His fast sections are deliciously punky, his skronky interludes play with free jazz of the Imperial Triumphant sort. It is a brutal undertaking to dive into, but infinitely rewarding. For those about to thrash, we salute you.

To Bare the Weight of Death - ANDRACCA 

Black metal is emotional, romantic and, above all, dramatic. ANDRACCA gets this, stuffing his sweeping songs with soaring solos that bring to mind the greats of the ‘80s. No not Metallica, more Van Halen, or even Night Ranger. Furious bursts of emotion in the midst of a maelstrom.

Suffer and Become - Vitriol 

Good album art should reflect on the music waiting to be released. And Portland’s Vitriol fucking nailed it. Suffer and Become  is a deeply fucked up, blackened and crusty album, but the production and engineering makes me think these guys could play arenas. There’s a scope to all of these songs that defies belief considering how concise the record is. I wouldn’t call it beautiful, but the art (both sonic and visual) is precise and elegant in its brutality.

Lower Form Resistance - Dissimulator

Formidable Pittsburgh label 20 Buck Spin are undefeated taste makers: as long as your tastes are techy, metallic and have a slight taste of iron. Montreal’s Dissimulator are their newest boys and thanks to their French Canadian lineage, Lower Form Resistance harkens back to the age of Voivod, thrash that contorts at acute angles and indulges in some welcome synthesizers.

Sacrifice - Olhava 

Oh to be an old man tree. Though, truthfully, Olhava’s newest nature worshiping epic gives me the taste and smell of the deep sea, rough waves and salt overloading my senses. Part of that is the scope of the album, each song delving into prog-rock lengths and ever shifting suites. They claim they are looking for a “new self built from dust” but I see a brand new human, reborn from the dark comfort of the oceans.

As Spoken - Knoll 

GRIDLINK locked down my favorite grind album in recent memory, but no band baffles and thrills me in the genre like Knoll. The Tennessee arcanists brutalize every genre they can, black metal, punk and occasional jazz-ish freakouts all crushed under their steel-toed boots.

Carrion Angel - Cerulean

Get as weird as you want, but it’s still gotta have riffs. The ever forward thinking I, Voidhanger records is always looking for bands that push the boundaries of their sounds, and San Jose’s Cerulean is certainly progressive. But their spin on tech death reaches into ‘80s trash as much as it does the esoterica of say Gorguts. And the light-speed carnage they bring makes the breakdowns all the more welcome and mosh-worthy.

Revelation - Serpents Oath

Look, we’ve talked a lot about bands that warp genres and eschew scenes. But sometimes you just need some goddamn, straightforward, no bullshit BLACK METAL. And Serpents Oath is here to provide with riffs to fill Cathedrals and drum solos to summon the beast with seven heads.

Quatro Vientos // Cinco Soles - Massa Nera & Quiet Fear

Punk and hardcore has been not so quietly dominated by Spanish speakers over the last few years, whether that’s Spaniards Viva Belgrano, or the collection of state side bilingual folks tearing shit asunder. This split between East and West finds both bands battling the demons of pain, regret and grief and finding new found strength in violence. Más!