Describing the emergence of Rile, with their first couple of freshly recorded and released singles as impressive, is an understatement. The band's style of biting, edgy and fierce metalcore seems comparable to acts like Converge, Botch, Deadguy, while at the same time it carries an even darker and more ferocious tone.
The group, which began in 2012 as a side project of Cult Leader's Sam Richards and was later joined by Brian Fell and Matt Mascarenas, spent many years performing sporadic gigs and developing songs, and now appears to be more than ready to excite their audience with their recordings.
Explosive percussion, tensed and torn vocals, and a savage breakdown comprise the severity of Rile's debut single, Dead End, which is recorded at God City Studios by Converge's Kurt Ballou, and shows no mercy.
From Sweden, new post punk outfit, Alpha Pet, release their second single, Too Fast, part of a trilogy of offerings which reflect the band's creative approach and character at this early stage.
On a lyrical level, Too Fast has an existential sense and carries a big dose of underlying darkness, while instrumentally it doesn't disappoint, and comes across as extremely vivid piece, echoing eighties' post punk in a noticeably nervy way.
The band's vocalist Rocky Åberg comments on the song: “When Jocke and Putte started hammering out the beat, it was impossible not to get caught up in the feeling of being the superior in an action movie. HA, HA! The theme of the text came naturally – desert from society and put your legs on your back. No one is faster than he who is free.”
With strong singles being released off it one by one, Human Nature, the new EP by Los Angeles punk rockers, Reckling, quickly shaped up to be a rather noteworthy listen. Spitter, the EP's opening and focus track, finds band leader, vocalist and songwriter Kelsey Reckling delivering an absolutely searing performance.
Speaking on Spitter and their new EP, Kelsey unfolds: "Each song on the EP encompasses a different feeling that I think everyone can relate to or identify with... it's human nature.
"Spitter is literally about a girl spitting on me because she didn't like me, but more generally, it's about persevering through the difficult things in life. The song sorts through my own angry feelings that were brought on by somebody else's misdirected emotions.
"The underlying themes in this EP move through feelings of indecision, guilt, and regret...but writing and playing the songs are a way of finding resolution, forgiveness, and surrender."
Human Nature also features previous singles, In My Hair and Verbalize, as well as a fine cover of How Low Can A Punk Get? originally by Bad Brains.
TVSEXDEATH is a Nashville, Tennessee-based alternative rock band whose sound is firmly grounded in an uneasy noise rock foundation, and features influences from new wave, post punk and hardcore among other styles.
Missy Hagen Hates You is a creatively wild track with hectic rage, gritty and piercing hardcore vigor, dirty sounds, and a great deal of distortion and fuzz. It's a smart work which passes as something visceral at the same time, and its emotionality and neuroticism are very obvious.
The band describe their new single: "Despite the intense and aggressive vibe of the song, it is actually all tongue in cheek and poking fun at how serious some people take themselves and the title references a fictional character. It was a lot of fun to draw out the 'anguished' vocals near the end knowing some might take it as serious as it sounds and others might understand the undertones of sarcasm."
In accordance with the headstrong mindset usually found in the band's themes, as well as the somber post punk that's entrenched in their core, Not Gonna Take It, is the newest offering from veterans, Pink Turns Blue, arriving coupled to a really fine video.
Not Gonna Take It is the first single from the group's TAINTED Tour-2022 EP, which will be released on September 2nd, 2022, the start date of the tour.
"This is a song about standing up for oneself and for a better world," says the band's own Mic Jogwer . "Yes, the powerful, the bullies and the rich have many resources to get their way and claim that wrong is right. And yes, we all have our moments where we feel helpless and depressed because there doesn’t seem any way out of this cunning system of lies, propaganda, lobbying and influence. But every now and then, we just get fed up and decide we are not going to take it anymore. We find ways to break free, organize and fight for the things that are worth fighting for. Right now, it seems very difficult, at times impossible, naïve and all too idealistic. But if we give up fighting, we give up living. It is an uphill battle, but our defiance and our courage keep us going."
Gossamer is the title song from Spirits of Leo's new album Gossamer Blue, which is freshly out now on à La Carte Records. Ryan Santos Phillips wrote, recorded, and mixed the album in his Brooklyn-based project studio Lux Perpetua NYC, while Justin Colletti mastered it at Joe Lambert Mastering.
The dreampop perspective and more ethereal facets of Spirits of Leo's music are fairly prominent in this piece, with everything sounding indicative of the emerging band's moodiness as well as their intricate compositional style. In all respects, Gossamer supports its position as the album's title track by embodying the band's aesthetic inclination and creative purpose.
Commenting on the new track, Spirits of Leo mention that "Gossamer is a song about grief, loss, and life."
Afsind is a Danish black metal band from Copenhagen. S and O created the group in 2012 with the intention of including some fresh and challenging aspects, and result to a different take on black metal. With the addition of M in 2016, the band's current lineup was finalized. Afsind's self-titled first album, was recorded in the winter of 2020/2021 and published through Vendetta Records.
Afsind are mostly inspired by black metal, although they incorporate influences from other genres. The band includes members from Saxtorph, Tugt (session members), ex-Cryosphere, ex-Genfaerd, ex-Infernal Death, ex-Myrd, ex-Ravnesort and ex-Vardlokkur.
Asfind generate a rather piercing and melodic extreme metal sound, persistent, emotionally powerful, and gloomy, with the dark regions of the human psyche as the lyrical topic. Tortur is a forceful listen, but it also contains nuanced atmospheric elements which envelop the mind in despondency, and provide a really fascinating antithesis.
Crushing metallic post hardcore with a pitch dark bent comes courtesy of Salt Lake City, Utah’s Rile, an act which began in 2012 as the side project of Sam Richards of Cult Leader.
Pessimist is a massive sonic onslaught which features a bombardment of enormous percussion, harsh vocals, and brutal guitar work. The song is complemented by an excellent and detailed production, which intensifies its impact and enhances its message even more.
Sam Richards comments on the track: “Pessimist is about the defeat we feel as we struggle to stay creative and authentic to ourselves in a world we’re losing—the pointlessness of spending so much of our short time here in the busy routine of work.”
Pessimist was recorded at Archive Recordings with Wes Johnson, mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City Studios and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege.
Rile are Sam Richards (guitar), Brian Fell (drums), and Matt Mascarenas (bass).
Neon Funeral from Jersey City uses a modernized genre blend to express their gloomy aesthetic and pessimistic sound, combining post punk with hardcore, darkwave, and extreme metal. A Void, the band's latest single and video, is out on Cleopatra Records and exemplifies the band's tough to define inventiveness.
A Void is constructed on a complex electronic production, competent to attract attention with a distinctive melody reminiscent of synthwave aspects from the eighties. The song conveys an aggressive kind of fervor with a tone comparable to industrial and post hardcore, giving even more depth to Neon Funeral's strong genre mixture.
Mexican artist, Javier Maldonado, has been recording as Nacromatic, with the project's earlier offerings taking a rawer and grittier lo-fi approach, and more recently following a more realized route that borders on post punk and shoegaze.
Nacromatic's new song, Ozymandias, has a definite dystopian tinge to it, sounding like a dreary blend of post punk and darkwave. The song recounts a meeting with a celestial creature, and it develops a particular gloomy dimension by way of compelling lyrics, moody instrumentals and an overarching desolate ambience. It's undeniably one of the strongest examples of the project's songwriting aptitude thus far.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
