Blacklisted “Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God” CD

"Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God" is the latest "full-length" (I suppose? 11 tracks in just under 20 minutes?) from Philadelphia's continually improving Blacklisted (again on Deathwish Inc.), whose newest material always seems to be their best, which is somewhat of a rare feat. But this is without question their strongest sounding release to date, which certainly plays a role. The mix is incredibly well balanced, the guitars are thick and warm with an unexpectedly fiery grit hovering at the outskirts (which works great against the raging vocals, which actually have a hint of "melody" to 'em from time to time), and the rhythm section holds down the fort with a nice and natural drum sound and absolutely punishing basslines filling the gaps. And the songwriting and performances are also gold in that they're still managing to diversify from the metallic hardcore base of their sound while still honing the explosive edge of their earlier work through loads of tracks that blast right past in less than two minutes apiece. You'll still find plenty of those chunky midpaced breaks and straightforward hardcore chord progressions, but there are also a few borderline sludgy riffs and subtle little discordant/melodic twists and turns in the slightly longer tracks—namely the excellent closer, "Wish". And what about those quick shots of acoustic guitar in "Touch Test"!? Never saw that comin'! What can I say? I often forget how good this band can be, but this record generally just tears through and has a great flow and energy to it that really caught me by surprise straight from the first listen. Nicely done.

Blacklisted "Touch Test"

This one's not officially out until April 1st, but you can pre-order it from the label for just $8 (or $10 on LP), and I'm guessing the pre-orders are gonna start shipping any day now, if they're not already.

Get It

Deathwish Inc. (CD)
Deathwish Inc. (LP)