Weekly Roundup: February 24th
Featuring Justice For The Damned, Movements, Heavensgate, and more.
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Two more bonus videos for you this week. First is my chat with all-around nice bloke Sammy Ciaramitaro from Californian chillers DRAIN as part of the gnarly lineup for New Bloom Fest next month. Sammy gives us the low down on his community’s resolve in the face of natural disasters, the band’s sonic progression across records, the low-end rumblings of their work-in-progress third LP, and why pool noodles in the pit are both a blessing and a (California) curse:
Second, I’ve got our guest episode with Jack Bergin from VOID OF VISION as the Naarm/Melbourne heavy hitters wrap up their farewell tour and bring this chapter to a bittersweet close. We chat about Jack’s health struggles and determined journey of self-discovery, wrestling with ideas of mortality, thematic resonance and legacy on their final LP, and his enduring love for heavy music as the new host of Triple J’s CORE program. Check it out below:
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Now, on with the words…
SIDE A:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Movements – “Where I Lay”
MOVEMENTS frontman Patrick Miranda has always been a profoundly poetic lyricist, but on the Californian quartet’s latest single, his wounded metaphors take root in ways both botanical and bleak. The melancholic “Where I Lay” follows 2023’s RUCKUS! LP, and finds Miranda at his most emotionally vulnerable:
“It had me revisiting places with my writing that I hadn't explored in a while. It's for anyone else out there who feels like they’ve never quite fit right in the world. This one is for the outcasts.”
Watch the lyric video for “Where I Lay” below:
Chasing Ghosts – Therapy
Long-standing Naarm/Melbourne indie punks CHASING GHOSTS have announced their new album, Therapy, which will be released on May 16th through Believe Music and Summit Distro (digital/physical).
As a proud Thungutti man, frontman and songwriter Jimmy Kyle uses his voice to confront and deconstruct the challenges of being an Indigenous Australian, pairing epic choruses and arm-in-arm sing-a-longs with raw catharsis and harrowed introspection. As the record’s title suggests, Therapy seeks the “creation of a space where expression is unfiltered and allowed to explore areas of dark and light.” Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Spotify).
nightlight – “DYHM”
In October, I featured the Naarm-Melbourne outfit NIGHTLIGHT and was curious about what a proper release from the alt-pop trio might entail. Well, now I’m better informed, and it sounds extremely promising.
The group's debut EP, how does it feel?, is out on April 10th and will feature the rollicking new single “DYHM.” This cut is on some Babymetal-adjacent, hyper-pop meets aggressive, double-bass drum anime intro music, and I am here for it. Oh, and they rock the keytar live. Need I say more? Listen to “DYHM” here.
The Warriors – Burn Yourself Alive
If you put a gun to my head and asked me to name my favourite hardcore record of the 2000s, War Is Hell is probably going to leap out of my mouth in the interest of self-preservation. Following 2019’s well-received Monomyth, Californian hardcore veterans THE WARRIORS are back with their long-awaited sixth LP, Burn Yourself Alive, which arrives on March 28th via Pure Noise. Taking a leaf out of the daily philosophy of everyone’s favourite literary hobo, the band states:
“We find ourselves in dark times indeed, but while we still have a heartbeat, we have the opportunity to create: better art, better music, and better forms of governance. Bukowski said, ‘Find what you love and let it kill you.’ Find your spark. Burn Yourself Alive.”
Stream the LP’s pre-release single/s here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Heavensgate – “OBLIVION”
Sometimes, despite my often unwieldy and frankly intimidating consumption of new music releases, the simple pleasures are the most satisfying. Give me a stupid heavy nu-metalcore rager with a pissed-off “FUCK!” call-out before a bone-crunching drop, and I’m all yours.
Naarm/Melbourne wrecking crew and F.OT.S. HEAVENSGATE are taking their mosh talents global, signing with Pure Noise Records for the US and currently rocking their debut North American tour support Swedish bruisers Thrown. While I’m sure there’s more to come for the quartet in 2025, for now, you can listen to “OBLIVION” here.
SIDE B:
More tracks for you. Deep cuts for the real heads. Still cool.
House of Protection – Outrun You All
Last month, I was bummed to miss the debut Australian shows from HOUSE OF PROTECTION as part of their supporting run for Bad Omens and Poppy. However, by all accounts, the live show was a force to be reckoned with, and I won’t be making the same mistake again.
On their forthcoming second EP, Outrun You All (out May 23rd via Red Bull Records), the duo of Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta are committed to exploring more mid-tempo “heavy half-time” moods and textures beyond the fast-paced aggression of last year’s GALORE. Stream the EP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Justice For The Damned – “The Current”
It’s been a hot minute (four years, to be exact) since we got new tunes from Sydney heavyweights JUSTICE FOR THE DAMNED. “The Current,” out now via Greyscale Records, coincides with the band announcing a headline run next month with Melbourne hardcore outfit Threshold and primary support for F.OT.S. Make Them Suffer on their regional tour later in the year. According to the band, the blistering cut is an indicator of what we can expect from Justice in 2025 and beyond:
“Musically, we’re leaning further into a metalcore-mosh sound, paying homage to our early days in Western Sydney. We’re not reinventing the wheel but making sure it rolls smoother and heavier.”
Watch the video for “The Current” below:
Cardboard Cutouts – My Best Friend
My new find this week comes in the form of Toowoomba alt-rock quartet CARDBOARD CUTOUTS and their emotive new single “My Best Friend,” billed as a “tale of loss, love, and lack of purpose.”
Ostensibly about a toxic relationship watched from afar as someone close battles with substance abuse issues, the track hits (at least for me) like Futures-era Jimmy Eat World with a decidedly Aussie twang. It’s grandiose and catchy as hell, and I desperately want more. Stream the single here (Spotify).
FEATURE ALBUM:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks my boxes.
Killswitch Engage – This Consequence
Remember that Roman Empire meme that was doing the rounds last year? No? Oh, well, cheers to you and your healthy relationship with online discourse…
Anyway, here’s the latest single from This Consequence, the ninth studio album from Massachusetts metalcore OGs KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, out now through Metal Blade Records:
According to vocalist Jesse Leach, “Collusion” is a furious examination of propaganda, political divisiveness, and the ruthlessness of the ruling elite. Or, as guitarist and funny-face aficionado Adam ‘D’ Dutkiewicz offers:
“You can even go back to the Roman Empire – using religion, using politics, bread and circuses, the gladiators, all that stuff. I think it's just drilled into society. I think, unfortunately, the way that human society is built, the way that the power struggle is, there’s never going to be a moment in history where we’re sitting in a utopia without war, without greed, without all those things that make humanity what it is.”
Stream here: Spotify | YouTube