ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Pit commander, riff lord, and all-around good bloke Dane Evans joined the show last week to chat about coming out of mosh retirement for not one but two bands. We discuss why now was the time to revive Byron Bay heavy outfit Crime Scene and how writing sick breakdowns has evolved over time.
Dane also gives us the lowdown on joining QLD metalcore crew Wildheart, the process for writing and recording with an established band, and the need for respect and consideration when stepping in to sing someone else’s words. It’s a fun one, and Dane is a total legend. Check it out:
Additionally, if you like what I do here, signing up for the TPD Patreon is the best way to support me, support the show, and help keep the lights on.
We’ve got perks and fun stuff over there, with more on the way, so please do me a solid and check it out. *salute emoji*
Now, on with the words…
SIDE A:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Slowly Slowly – “Forgiving Spree”
Australian indie rockers Slowly Slowly announced their fifth studio album last week. It’s titled Forgiving Spree, and it’ll arrive on January 24th, 2025, via Nettwerk Music Group. I was a massive fan of 2022’s Daisy Chain LP, and frontman and songwriter Ben Stewart has a real knack for sticky choruses and inventive wordplay.
On the record’s title track, Stewart says:
“‘Forgiving Spree’ was written at the end of the writing period for the album. It's a song about moving on, real deep, lasting change, and the act of forgiveness as a tool to achieve it. It is also a reminder that forgiveness can be a tool used to move forward, let go, grow, and not look back.”
Watch the video for “Forgiving Spree” below:
HORSEPOWER – A Tear Or Two
Naarm/Melbourne hardcore crew HORSEPOWER have been building hype over the last twelve months, and I’m excited to see them this week at Kingpin Fest alongside Day of Contempt, Miles Away, and a slew of other Aussie hardcore staples.
The band are teaming up with life.lair.regret and New Ethic Records for their new seven-track 7-inch, A Tear Or Two, due out on November 1st. It’s billed as advancing “their signature blend of hardcore and punk with greater emphasis being pushed onto the band's hardcore energy.” Stream the pre-release single here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
It Dies Today – “Son of Dawn”
Last week saw It Dies Today return with a (not-so) new track release. Originally titled “Son Of Dawn, Brilliant Star,” now “Son Of Dawn,” the song first appeared in demo form online in 2014 following the band’s initial post-breakup emergence. It’s since had a spiritual rebirth in a much-improved studio version, and it finds the Buffalo veterans sounding as catchy-yet-heavy as ever.
If you’re into any mid-2000s metalcore, I likely don’t need to tell you how much you will enjoy this, but I will anyway. (It’s dope.) Listen to “Son of Dawn” here.
Mat Kerekes – To Dream of Something Wicked
Citizen frontman (and F.O.T.S.) Mat Kerekes is a busy guy, and he’s already finished his sophomore solo record following last year’s debut, You Look Like A Stranger. (Not to mention Citizen’s excellent Calling The Dogs LP, too.) The new LP is titled To Dream Of Something Wicked, and it’s out on October 18th through Wax Bodega.
After returning to his native Toledo, Kerekes turned the record into a full-blown family affair, with his uncle contributing guitar, bass, and melodica. At the same time, his brother Chris is also featured as a critical songwriting partner. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Planes Mistaken For Stars – “Fix Me”
Back in 2022, I wrote some thoughts about the tragic passing of Planes Mistaken For Stars frontman Gared O’Donnell a year earlier. I certainly didn’t think the band would ever continue, let alone have a completed album in them, recorded before Gared’s death and finished posthumously. And yet, here we are, and I’m still coming to terms with it.
I feel a mixture of excitement, euphoria, and trepidation, along with a deep well of profound sadness that I fear will never be filled. But I’m willing to let Do You Still Love Me? (out November 1st through Deathwish Inc.) try. Listen to the harrowing single “Fix Me” here.
SIDE B:
More tracks for you. Deep cuts for the real heads. Still cool.
Ece Era – Bedside Tunes
This week, the new artist on my radar is a little outside my sonic wheelhouse. Ece Era (pronounced “edge-uh air-uh”) is a Brussel-based, Turkish-born electronic musician. Their debut album, Bedside Tunes, is dropping on October 25th via Brooklyn-based indie label 2MR. If you’re into warm layers of electronica, oscillating vocal layers, vibrant beats and throbbing pulses with uptempo breaks and a tender atmosphere, this is for you. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Underoath – “Teeth”
In a statement regarding their latest single, “Teeth,” Underoath guitarist Timothy McTague had this to say:
“Nothing is ‘not us,’ and I think we remembered we can do whatever the fuck we want. Instead of trying to write a specific type of song… we just let it write itself.”
Say what you want about the genre-defining outfit, but “Teeth” is about as left-of-centre from their blackened metalcore roots and post-hardcore ascendancy in the 2000s as the band can get, and I think that’s pretty brave. Whatever you expect “Teeth” to sound like, I guarantee you’ll have those expectations pleasantly subverted. Watch the clip for “Teeth” below:
Mastodon & Lamb of God – Floods of Triton
Metal icons Mastodon and Lamb of God are heading out on a co-headline arena tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their classic albums Leviathan and Ashes of the Wake, respectively. To commemorate that union, they’ve released a collab track titled “Floods of Triton,” and it sounds exactly like you think it does: like Mastodon and Lamb of God in 2004 (aka riffy and cool). Stream the track here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
FEATURE ALBUM:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Zetra – S/T
I’ve been writing about UK outfit Zetra in this newsletter for years, and I feel like I’ve already exhausted all the different ways to say, “Hey, this band rocks.”
So, with the duo’s self-titled Nuclear Blast debut finally seeing release, I will now retreat to every writer’s cowardly backup option: the cheeky bullet-point list.
Do you consider yourself a “goth”?
Do you like synths? Especially the 80s post-punk kind?
Do you like corpse paint and macabre imagery for its own sake?
If I called something “Bowie Deftones,” would that excite you?
Have you ever listened to Svalbard, Creeper, Unto Others, or HIM?
If you answered with an emphatic “yeah, dawg” to any or all of the above, I implore you to listen to Zetra immediately.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify