Weekly Roundup: May 6th
Featuring Unto Others, House of Protection, SPEED, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
SPEED – “REAL LIFE LOVE”
The Gang Called SPEED are back and putting it on once more for the Aussie hardcore community. “REAL LIFE LOVE” is the first single from the group’s highly anticipated debut full-length, ONLY ONE MODE, out July 12th on Flatspot Records and Last Ride Records. The band is currently in North America on a near-sold-out run with Knocked Loose, Show Me The Body, and Loathe, and the video for the track was produced by SPEED alongside friends Jack Rudder and Thomas Elliot. As vocalist (and F.O.T.S.) Jem states:
“My time in hardcore has informed the relationships I have with everyone I hold close. An unconditional sense of love and loyalty. A bond that knows no words. Relationships that now span a lifetime. To us, this unique sense of deep-seated understanding is the essence of HC; it's what we're most passionate about and grateful for. Yet there are many in, and especially outside of this space, who conflate this idea. If you stick around long enough, you might just get it. Otherwise, what's the point of all of this?”
Watch the video for “REAL LIFE LOVE” below:
Carly Cosgrove – The Cleanest of Houses Are Empty
Philly emo outfit Carly Cosgrove have announced their sophomore album, The Cleanest of Houses Are Empty, due on June 14th via Wax Bodega. As drummer Tyler Kramer says:
“We purposely wanted to make a big, very live-sounding record. Our live show is the best way to hear our music because of the energy we’re able to harness on stage.”
Vocalist/guitarist Lucas Naylor adds:
“This is an album about habit, familiarity, unfamiliarity, depression, lethargy, and self-reflection.… Every record feels like me answering the question, ‘How are you doing?’ I don’t know much, but I know myself better than basically anything else.”
Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Unto Others – “Butterfly”
I’ve been a huge fan of Unto Others for years now, ever since the release of 2019’s breakthrough Mana LP. Their unique mix of gothic rock, 80s heavy metal, and deep baritone vocals is incredibly engaging, and the Portland metallers steadfastly refuse to keep their hands idle (IYKYK, *wink wink*). The group are making their long-awaited return with a new single and music video, stating:
“... The choices we make every day: Do we create or destroy? Do we lift up or put down? Do we do this to ourselves or others? The listener can decide.”
Listen to “Butterfly” here.
Mannequin Death Squad – Safe and Warm (feat. DZ Deathrays)
Naarm/Melbourne-based outfit Mannequin Death Squad have announced their upcoming sophomore album, scheduled for release on November 22nd. Alongside this news, the indie punk duo have dropped the latest single off the record, which includes a rollicking feature from DZ Deathrays, was produced by the band themselves, mixed by Brent Quirk and mastered by Matt Gray (Violent Soho, The Veronicas). It’s got big guitars, punchy rhythms, and snarling vocals from frontwoman Elly Vex, all colliding together to provide “2 minutes and 39 seconds of guitar-driven chaos.” Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Clay J Gladstone – “Postmodern Teenage Angst”
Described as Corey Taylor’s “New F’ing Favorite Band,” Eora/Sydney rockers Clay J Gladstone are back with “Postmodern Teenage Angst,” their first single from their upcoming debut album for Def Wolf Records, slated for release later this year. The track was mixed & mastered by Shane Edwards (Trophy Eyes, You Me At Six) and engineered by Daniel Antix (Stand Atlantic). As the band’s Tim Wisbey states:
“I started getting wild panic attacks in my teenage years. They haven’t gone away; they just get managed. I have found some weird peace knowing we’re all walking towards the same fate. ‘Postmodern Teenage Angst’ is my way of saying you’ll never be able to keep up, but that’s ok.”
Listen to “Postmodern Teenage Angst” here.
Outlander – Acts of Harm
Birmingham slowcore rockers Outlander caught my attention off the back of 2021’s Sundowning / Unconditional two-track single, and I’m stoked to have them back with the announcement of their sophomore LP, Acts of Harm, which will be out through Church Road Records on June 28th. Speaking on the record’s lead single, guitarist Joseph House states:
“‘Want No More’ was written about giving up, resigning to the monotony of day-to-day life and how easy it is to trade yourself for a comfortable life before you even realise it's happened.”
Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
House of Protection – “It’s Supposed To Hurt”
We’ve got a wild new project from two of heavy music’s most prolific performers: Aric Improta and Stephen Harrison, who are/were members of Night Verses and The Chariot (respectively) before joining Fever 333 from 2017 to 2022. The duo have teamed up once again for their new collaboration House of Protection, and released their debut single for Red Bull Records. “It’s Supposed To Hurt” is a raging loud rock cut with a pulsating drum & bass undercurrent, inspired by the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, The Prodigy, Alice Glass, Cocteau Twins and Sleigh Bells. On the origins of the single, the band shares:
“When we started this, we had no idea how we would sound or where we wanted to take it. Neither of us had sung before; we just knew the energy we wanted to create sonically and that we’d put in whatever time it took to get it to feel right. Fortunately, this song answered a lot of those questions instantly.”
Watch the clip for “It’s Supposed To Hurt” below:
Lowen – Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran
My new find for this week comes from the good folks over at Church Road Records. London group Lowen does “crushing progressive doom steeped in the history of the ancient Middle East and the empty vistas of space,” and it is extremely my shit. (Just look at that gorgeous artwork—god damn.) The quartet’s latest single, “Najang Bah Divhayeh Mazandaran,” will feature on their forthcoming sophomore LP, Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran, due out later this year. On the track, vocalist Nina Saeidi states:
“In the Persian book of Kings, Mazandaran is a mythical realm populated by djinn, sorcerers and beautiful women who basked in riches. This realm of godless and invincible demons is referenced by even more ancient texts such as the Avesta, but it is in the Shahnameh that a King named Kay Kavus succumbs to greed and ill-considered conquest to try and seize the wealth of Mazandaran. Najang Bah Divhayeh Mazandaran" is the warning Kay Kavus receives before he sets off on his disastrous journey.”
Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Listen to all these tracks and more on the TPD 2024-7 HITS playlist, updated weekly.
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Terminal Nation – Echoes of the Devil’s Den
Given the last seven months of the world events (and their escalation in more recent weeks), it’s hard not to feel the grip of insanity tighten through constant cognitive dissonance, naked hypocrisy, and cowardly inaction. Little Rock bruisers Terminal Nation have always used their art to speak on injustice, so it’s hardly surprising that their latest offering provides the group’s most volatile collection of material yet.
While 2020’s Holocene Extinction LP lurched and groaned “under the weight of penetrating riffs, venomous lyrics, piercing dive-bombs, and colossal pit-worthy breakdowns,” its full-length follow-up, Echoes of the Devil’s Den, incorporates heavy metal flair and eerie melodies to add contrast to the group’s bulldozer heaviness. Tracks like the destructive “Written By The Victor” spit in the face of historical revisionism and bad-faith actors taking advantage of misrepresented events for political gain, and the colossal “Merchants Of Bloodshed” calls out warmongers and state enforcers profiting from the misery of others.
As the Pan-African philosopher and Algerian revolutionary Franz Fanon wrote in The Wretched of the Earth (1963), violence can be a “cleansing force” and a form of “collective catharsis,” allowing the colonized subject to resist the forces of oppression and restore their sense of self—something Terminal Nation understand all too well.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Robin Staps, guitarist and conceptual mastermind for Berlin post-metal juggernauts The Ocean, joins the show to discuss the group’s preparation for their upcoming headline tours across Southeast Asia, New Zealand, and Australia. It’s a fun, wide-ranging chat where we touch on the nailbiting logistics for worldwide touring, Robin’s set highlights from this year’s Roadburn festival, the reception of the band’s spacey ninth LP, Holocene, and what lies ahead for the collective’s sonic future. Check it out below: