The most interesting releases of the week!
Nuclear Dudes is like if Agoraphobic Nosebleed didn’t take themselves so seriously. Unshackled from expectations and obligations, this side project has quickly become one of my favorite powerviolence groups. Truth Paste was apparently written to be easier to play live, which makes the heavy use of electronics somewhat confusing. This album belongs to the Jackson Pollock subgenre of powerviolence/grindcore.
Truth Paste‘s memorability surprised me the most. I found myself hanging onto individual riffs with much more clarity than I usually do. Nuclear Dudes have crafted an album that simultaneously manages to invoke absolute chaos and to give a live audience plenty to hang onto. Truth Paste is my favorite release of the week, created with so much passion for fun and love for music. It’s overwhelming in all the good ways.
Hasard is an offshoot of Les Chants Du Hasard, an interesting orchestral band that combines gothic and romantic music with black metal aesthetics. Hasard‘s first release, 2023’s Malivore, was well-received generally but left me feeling cold. Something interesting and unique had turned into another dissonant black metal project. Hasard‘s second full-length, released on I, Voidhanger, is a step up. The band still play dissonant black metal and are not breaking new ground. Maybe it’s just the passage of time, but I found Abgnose much fuller and more grandiose than Malivore.
The chord progressions in Abgnose maintain the band’s symphonic roots. Hasard generates tension through building dissonance as notes spiral upward via the strings. Eventually the songs explode into a resolution, and Hasard starts building again through arpeggiations that work their way through various keys. The instrumentation sounds like it contains many non-traditional metal albums and uses them as a core part of the sound rather than as lawn decorations. Through it all, Abgnose fully presents itself as a dense, claustrophobic, rooted-in-tradition black metal beast. Abgnose is one of the most successful symphonic albums of the year.
Emellan Träden is a slow grower. The atmospheric blackgaze album released on Hammerheart Records is Jord‘s fourth full-length. On initial listen, I was bracing myself. However, the beautiful guitars, excellent production, and patience of Emellan Träden left me hooked. This is an atmospheric record that nails the atmosphere. What a concept. Fans of Falkenbach will enjoy.
This album has a hefty runtime, and you feel it as you go through this journey. The opening track has a simple four note pattern that the rest of the song builds around. And while the building and the climax are both quite successful, the use of such a simple motif over a long-ish track makes the listener keenly aware of the passage of time. Follow-up tracks use similar tricks. Emellan Träden is an unapologetically large album that uses the passage of time to help strengthen the emotional impact of the music. Combine that with beautiful singing and clear guitar melodies that swirl around the tracks, and you get an album that should be returned to many times over. Jord sound like a winter band.
Interceptor is Fury‘s fifth full-length, released on Target Records. Right away, you get a kick of infectious riffs followed by raspy hard-rock vocals about burning gasoline with a backing chorus. Fury play music that might not fully cross the genre line into metal, but most purists will forgive them based only on the sheer number of over-the-top guitar solos. The Hotline Miami cover vibes fit the music well.
Fury play everything teetering over the edge of the absurd. Traditional hard rock song structures lead the listener’s focus towards the earworm melodies shared by every lead instrument. The gripping manner in which the guitars and vocals latch onto my memory reminds me a bit of Safe on the Other Side by High Spirits. The album is unapologetically 80s. While this does mean that the production leaves something to be desired, the performances and energy are all that you could ask. A good gym album for those that shy away from death metal.
