Weekly Roundup: August 15th
Featuring Spiritworld, Regulate, Enter Shikari, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Peace Ritual – “Cold Shoulder”
Peace Ritual have announced the impending release of their debut self-titled EP, out September 2nd via Last Ride Records. With Ocean Grove’s Sam Bassal back behind the boards on production and co-writing duties, the four-track EP is set to further Joel Martorana (Endless Heights) and Thomas Elliott’s (Harbours) hypnotic take on ethereal dream-pop and lofty alt-rock. Watch the video for the group’s latest single, “Cold Shoulder,” below:
Serration / A Mourning Star – Promo 2022
I previously featured A Mourning Star’s debut EP, …To See Your Beauty Fade, back in March, and the Vancouver quintet have now returned with a split release for the good folks over at DAZE. This two-track offering pairs the group with Albertan chaos crew Serration—who also had a great split with Dying Wish back in 2018 and a solid showing with 2020’s Shrine of Consciousness LP—and should be right up the alley of fans looking for a new fix of late 90s/early 00s metalcore. Stream the Promo 2022 split in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Spiritworld – “Moonlit Torture” (feat. Dwid Hellion)
Babe, wake up; new Spiritworld just dropped! Pagan Rhythms was one of my favourite metal releases of last year, and I’ve been anxiously awaiting new material from these Nevada metallers ever since. The trio’s latest single, the ferocious “Moonlit Torture,” delivers in spades with savage vocals, quicksilver riffage, and an absolutely relentless bulldozer rhythm section. Oh, and fucking Dwid from Integrity pops by for a guest feature, so that’s also one hell of a co-sign. New album this year, please, I beg of you. Listen to “Moonlit Torture” here.
Torus – Sail
After listening to Sail, the debut EP from 90s grunge/alt-rock revivalists Torus, I’m fairly confident that these Milton Keynes lads are more than happy with wearing their considerable influences on their ratty flannel sleeves. Curious listeners will find hints of early Foo Fighters and QOTSA scattered across the EP’s four tracks, alongside notes of Smashing Pumpkins and Alice in Chains. That said, Torus are still all about those stadium choruses and catchy riffs, and luckily those never go out of style. Stream the EP in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Enter Shikari – “The Void Stares Back” (feat. WARGASM)
Did I expect a new Enter Skikari banger to be some weird Nietzschean rave riff on utopian nihilism? No. Did I anticipate that their much-hyped collaborative effort with UK up-and-comers WARGASM would go this fucking hard? Also no. However, this thing totally rocks, and after how great 2020’s Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible was, here’s to hoping we get more genre-blending material from this alternate dimension. Listen to “The Void Stares Back” here.
High Vis – Blending
Following their signing to Dais Records and the release of “Talk for Hours” back in April, Brit punks High Vis have finally announced the release of their highly anticipated second full-length. Blending drops next month on September 9th, and the quintet have since added another new single to their teaser slate. “Trauma Bonds” is a glistening mid-tempo rocker that wrestles with collective empathy in the face of youth suicide, where frontman Graham Sayle cries out to the universe, asking: “Are we still lucky to be here?” Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Regulate – “Why Can’t We?”
NYHC heavy hitters Regulate are gearing up to drop their new self-titled full-length album, out September 30th through new label Flatspot Records. The record’s lead single, “Why Can’t We?” puts a groove-laden spin on their earnest, late 90s-inspired hardcore punk, with vocalist Sebastian Paba breathing lyrical fire about authenticity, scene pretensions, vulnerability, and reaching for earnestness over ego posturing. Watch the video for “Why Can’t We?” below:
Fugitive – Maniac
Since the tragic passing of frontman Riley Gale in 2020, the members of Texan thrash outfit Power Trip have been laying low, taking time to grieve and regroup. Now, with help from current and past members of Skourge, Impalers, and Creeping Death, axeman Blake Ibanez has released the debut EP from his newest project, Fugitive. Maniac is four tracks of raw galloping thrash metal cut through with a no-frills hardcore punk attitude. The release also features a rollicking cover of Bathory’s 1984 classic “Raise The Dead,” keeping the group’s metal bonafides firmly in check. Stream the EP in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
The Halo Effect – Days of the Lost
In the seemingly crowded domain of metal supergroups, The Halo Effect are a beast unto their own. Where lesser groups are merely content to splice together members from disparate outfits to make something tangentially new, this quintet were all once members of the same band and wish to peddle something old: classic Swedish melo-death, otherwise known as the “Gothenburg Sound”.
While vocalist Mikael Stanne is also a founding member of Dark Tranquility (and sole original member), he and his bandmates—guitarists Jesper Strömblad and Niclas Engeli, bassist Peter Iwers, and drummer Daniel Svensson—were all, at some point in the 90s and beyond, part of In Flames. Together, their collective pedigree speaks directly to that band’s heyday, from 1994’s Lunar Strain to 1999's Colony and 2000’s Clayman.
One can hear this distinct and focused approach in the group’s debut release, Days of the Lost. Singles like opener “Shadowminds” and “The Needless End” harken back to an era of intricate lead riffs and relentless rhythmic progressions. “In Broken Trust” mixes things up by throwing in a soaring clean chorus, calling to mind the earlier efforts of fellow Swedes Soilwork, while tracks like “Conditional” keep things fresh and contemporary with a little Killswitch Engage-inspired hardcore aggression.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify