Are you still there? After three doses of this drivel? Well, that’s good ‘cos I’ve got some new tunes to share with you all and some recommendations to help you all live your best lives musically. So, without further ado, as the great Biff Byford once said… COMMENCE!
DIMINISHING
American noise mongers Diminishing have just released their Debut album, The Unnamable, and very good it is too. Founded in early 2019 by Gridfailure creator Dave Brenner and Yatsu guitarist Lane Oliver, this new project is a tense, emotionally devastating project that paints in shades of industrial, dark ambient, drone metal, harsh noise, and more. On The Unnamable, semi-improvisational, destructive guitar work collides with haunting atmospherics, mechanical rhythms, and walls of cacophony to create a unique, soul-crushing sound that resides somewhere between Godflesh, Nurse With Wound, Merzbow, Khanate, and Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral. Thematically, the record touches upon existential crisis, anxiety in the face of the unknown, and personal failings (all the good stuff then – Ed).
The Unnamable was performed, recorded, and mixed by Brenner and Oliver, the dense tracks constructed with a wide range of vocals, guitars/bass, keys/synth, drum machines, field recordings, and more. Mastering for the album was handled by Dan Emery at Black Matter Mastering (Kool Keith, Chrome Waves, Thetan), and the record is completed with photography/design by Brenner.
Now this isn’t heavy metal I know, but if you’ve liked any of the Gridfailure stuff I’ve raved about in the past then you’re going to be wanting to add this to the collection as it’s prime David Brenner – get some into your ears now!
THE ANIX
Next up we’ve got The Anix and their electro-grunge hybridising… Not something I’d usually give the time of day to actually but there’s something strangely compelling about this one man band’s new offering Nightvision…
The Anix is the alternative/electronic-rock project of Los Angeles artist/producer Brandon Smith. From an electronic rock cover of Björk‘s industrial single Army Of Me, to a soulful Just Like You, and the turbulent Spit You Out, Nightvision is a tour de force launching fans into nineties styling of Grunge and Alternative Rock with a touch of Cyberpunk in the raw untamed track See Nothing. Describing the album’s general mood as “Infinite sadness + infinite power” The Anix blends raw power with fewer ingredients for this album. Bittersweet soundscapes grounded with passionate vocal performances drive the emotive album forward with provocative lyrics covering a range of human emotions and even the dichotomy between life giving water and how deadly it can be. Nightvision also includes an appearance from Failure band drummer Kellii Scott on the electronic rock track Vitamin D. The musical stylings of the nineties are back and The Anix is here to deliver.
As with much of the stuff I feature in this column, The Anix aren’t for everyone reading Sentinel Daily, but if you enjoy a bit o’ quasi-industrial synthwave with your regular diet of metal and punk then this might just be something you’ll be listening to a lot over the next little while – have a listen and tell me what you think..
KILL DIVISION
Well, this is more what you’d expect! For those uninitiated, Kill Division are a grindcore act that embody and honour the essence of grind’s humble beginnings from luminaries in the scene such as Gus Rios (Gruesome, Left to Die, ex-Malevolent Creation), Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth, Bent Sea), Kyle Symons (Hate Plow, ex-Malevolent Creation) and Jeramie Kling (Inhuman Condition, Venom Inc)!
Their debut album, Peace Through Tyranny, released last year received critical acclaim and now these brothers in grind are back with a brand new single and a grip of covers under the guise of the Thoughts and Prayers EP. Within you will find a slightly more groove focused anthem damning those who sit on the sidelines with only their “thoughts & prayers” to offer as well as three well digested and refluxed covers from the likes of Slayer, Minor Threat, and Suicidal Tendencies.
Speaking more about the music, guitarist Gus Rios said: “The music for Thoughts and Prayers is really all about emphasizing the “core” in grindcore. I love blast beats but heavy riffs with a solid groove can be just as effective in my humble opinion. Add Kyle’s poignant lyrics and furious delivery along Dirk’s pounding performance and Matt Laplant’s aggressive mix and I’m extremely stoked for everyone to hear this!”
Couldn’t have put it better myself!
NOCTURNAL BREED
Any band calling a song Thrash Metal Hate Saw is sure to get my vote – so It’s a big welcome to Norway’s Nocturnal Breed!
Since the mid nineties, this band has spread terror and destruction through the metal scene with their extreme take on blackened thrash metal, and they still do with their seventh album, Carry the Beast. Nocturnal Breed is now a trio consisting of S.A. Destroyer, T. Terror and I. Maztor, but they’re shredding like ever before, and have even thrown in some awesome old-school heavy metal in the mix. So, there’s a small evolution in the sound, without straying too much from the path. This is pure Nocturnal Breed delivering it yet again for all the Speed Metal Legions!
This album mirrors a lot of the darker sides of humanity that has crept to the forefront these last two to three years. And it shows in the intensity and vileness bleeding through this composition. Recorded without modern equipment, the sound of this creation is mercilessly unbridled and raw as a war wound. A wholehearted look back at what inspired the band and the extreme metal scene. As the band says: Give’em Hell, take no shit from anyone, and Carry the Beast with splendour your own way!
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