Cold Hard Steel
Birmingham, AL's Cold Hard Steel issued their latest EP earlier in the month, and deals out some of the better metallic hardcore I've heard as of late. Perhaps "typical" in its blend of chugging rhythms, hardass breaks, and occasional bursts of more metal-leaning fare, but they don't sound like a carbon copy of so much else that's out there right now. There's an arguable emphasis on the slower-paced breakdowns, which is common from the genre these days, but they're not over-the-top about it, and possess a great sense of bounce 'n' groove that heightens the pace a touch and keeps things moving. The lyrics aren't so much the "tough" angle that the band name and artwork might suggest either. Of course, they're bitter and pissed—as they should be—but the content seems to deal more with mental anguish and day-to-day hardships. I'm never really looking for these bands to reinvent the wheel, I just want solid riffs and memorable moments delivered with strong production (this thing sounds fuckin' excellent), and that's definitely the case here. This is a band to watch, absolutely.
Vicious Cycle appears to be digital-only, but Cold Hard Steel certainly deserves more. For now, hit Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, or some other such outlet...
Family Dinner
I somehow stumbled onto Long Beach, NY's Family Dinner a few years ago and have been eagerly anticipating their debut album, which finally hit the streets a couple of weeks back. One might argue that they have the slightest little bit of that grungy/gazey thing goin' on in the texture of the music, but really this is just great alternative rock that occasionally leans into an almost poppy frontier, because some of the hooks are just so damn catchy. That's just a songwriting characteristic, though, because while excellently produced, the material doesn't have an overly-polished pop sheen to it or anything like that. I don't know shit about shit when it comes to what makes bands "popular" these days, but this feels to me like a group that could make some decent waves in that regard. Awesome songwriting, and some of these choruses are truly undeniable. Worth the wait.
God Looks Out for Fools is not on Bandcamp, which always kinda drives me crazy, but you can snag vinyl (limited to 250 on coke bottle clear with red, orange, and yellow splatter) from Other People Records. It doesn't say it's a pre-order, but mine hasn't shipped yet, so who knows!? Streamers, head to Spotify or Apple Music or something.
Fear of the Known
This debut 15-song full-length (following a 7" back in 2021) has been the first I've heard from Fear of the Known—an international outfit with lineup ties to Chaos U.K., Disorder, War//Plague, and more. Coincidentally, I happen to have been revisiting a bunch of old crust punk lately, so I gave this a shot and must say: this is an incredibly well-executed and impressive album. The foundation is of course classic, hard-charging crust punk that's both furious yet "catchy," at times leaning into an almost Motörhead-ish direction that on rare occasion develops a harsher, blackened edge when the tempos start to increase in intensity. There are scattered slower, darker moments as well, but for the most part it boils down to killer vocals (textbook perfect for this genre), great songwriting, and effective production. I can't remember the last time I was this enthusiastic about a post-'90s crust punk release. Recommended.
The Last Song is out now on LP or digital through Bandcamp, Organize and Arise (U.S.), or Phobia Records (U.K./Europe). If you're the streamin' type, find it on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
Heavytrip
Where They Can't See has been my first exposure to the aptly-named Heavytrip (Durant, OK), offering up four tracks of heavy grungegaze that, while it does fall into droney vocal territory, certainly does so in a manner that's active enough to work with the energy of the music. Though its hard-hitting nature leans more alternative or even post-hardcore than nu, there is a metallic undercurrent at work here, such that I could see this appealing to fans of early Deftones and the like. Certainly better than average. The crunch of the distortion combined with the pacing of the tempos definitely sets their work apart from the bulk of what I hear from this niche, and I'll be very curious to hear how they'll develop moving forward.
A three-label teamup between Candlepin Records (U.S.), Best Life Records (U.K.), and Summer Darling Tapes (Europe) makes sense given the popularity of this style and the quality of Heavytrip's writing, but Candlepin is the only label with tapes on sale thus far. "Expected to ship mid-fall," but... based on past experience, be prepared to exercise patience. In the meantime, the band also has digital on Bandcamp, plus there's Spotify and Apple Music and all that.
Robber Robber
Robber Robber (Burlington, VT) landed on my radar thanks to a tweet by Courtesy Desk, and upon checking out their debut album I was instantly impressed. I have to agree that I don't know how I'd classify this. At times there's a lush, experimental undercurrent to it that makes me think of Portishead, but there's more often an artsy, angular weirdness that can summon aspects of the Dischord discography, plus some quirky vocal repetition that brings the Pixies to mind. "Post-punk" seems to get tossed around a lot, but while technically true in that it chronologically follows and certainly strays beyond the traditional confines of "punk," this is not what I would generally think of as "post-punk." Even the elements that start to fall under the catchall "alternative rock" umbrella are just... unusual. As I've said countless times over the years, it matters not in the least what you want to call it, and is always a mark of quality when trying to describe intriguing music results in a head-scratching struggle. This is interesting work worth seeking out.
Wild Guess is out now on CD, LP, or cassette through Strange View Records; or via Bandcamp. If your music "collection" exists inside of an application, Spotify and Apple Music and those types of services will have you covered.
Rot Coven
Philly project Rot Coven has made their truly proper debut with a massive double-album of dark ambient/death industrial/doom-sludge hybridization that tends to come across like the soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic film or video game. From rumbling low-end drones and tribal percussion to the overdriven and overloaded intensity of squealing feedback and indecipherably distorted vocals, with a rhythmic churn that does at times stumble into tangible riffs (could be guitar/bass, could be electronics, could be all of the above)—often accentuated by abstract-yet-melodic guitar solos constructed through fluidly sustained notes. Even the "calmer" moments are relentlessly sinister and essentially feel like recordings of a near-dead Earth smoldering to its ultimate demise. Almost every song tops eight minutes and two of them are damn near 20! Rot Coven certainly extends beyond the bounds of experimental noise and takes that type of foundation on a different journey—not necessarily something that would appeal to doom "metal" diehards, but that potential does exist. The cinematic quality of this duo's output remains highly underrated. Highly.
Nightmares Devour the Waking World is out now on double-CD through Aesthetic Death, or straight from the band through Bandcamp. I don't believe it's on streaming, but I fully back that decision!
