Speaker 1: Hello everyone, and welcome to That's not Mattal. We are
your weekly rock and heavy music podcast, and welcome here
to andition of Hyperplasts, which is our short form news
show where we let you know every single Friday what's
been going on. This is another one of those almost
like it was a couple of weeks ago. I said
something on the lines of like, man, it was really
really slow dead news week until the day that we record,
and then suddenly week like the week was saved with
some like really interesting pieces of music and such being dropped.
But we'll get into all of that as well as
the releases that you want to hear about from this week.
So let's begin. My name is Parenthish across from me
Sam diging on. Hello Sam, how are you doing. How's
your week been?
Speaker 2: Yeah, not too bad.
Speaker 3: I've been you know, like listening to a lot more
extreme metal than they usually would and like pairing up
with Castlevania in quite a nice kind of like synchronized
simulization there. But yeah, they're all good.
Speaker 1: Baily going to pop shows right, Yeah.
Speaker 3: I went to one of my few pop gigs i'll
go to this week, which was very nice, very like
pleasant evening.
Speaker 1: Who is that? So, like, am I too unk to
know who that is? I say to the oldest person.
Speaker 3: Because she saw pop music mist of like classical music
and jazz and theater. And that's what's quite like out
my taste exactly. There's that she had a fucking ballet
interlude in the middle of verse set, Like that's the
kind of thing we're talking about, like appeals.
Speaker 2: To my tastes that are not greevy.
Speaker 3: But I am balancing that out of a nice, greedy
deaf course show on Sunday.
Speaker 2: So yeah, we get that. We get best at both
ards here.
Speaker 1: All right, lovely stuff. Let's get into the new music
as be released this week, and we are gonna kick
off a nice little gauntlet I think over you know,
some nice diverse across the spectrum new tracks that have drop.
Let's kick it off with I guess the track that's
going to be played in front of the most people,
Which I think is the most amusing way of phrasing
this one. It is when you say, like, yeah, it's
gouge Away, who have announced this week that they have
signed a new record deal. They're signing with a Run
for Cover Records, and they have released a new song
from you know a part of that part of that deal.
The song is called Figurine. This is, of course, the
way I've phrased it as such is this this is
ahead of them opening for the Food Fights and Queens
of the Stone Age in stadiums later this year, And
I just thought that was the interesting way to be like, Okay,
what song is a you know, a nasty, neaedly little
band like Gouage Away going to put out ahead of
such an occasion. What's your take on how they've how
they've met that.
Speaker 3: Oh, this to me just feels like kind of like
carrying on where they sort of came back on the
last album. You know, it's got that balance of like
a really agro kind of like spiky chorus, and you know,
it's got like the very kind of like pretty moments,
but again it's got that kind of like needly anxious,
kind of like agitated thing to it, which is just
hilarious that this is what they're taking into, like say,
stadiums of food Fighters. I mean, we will rag on
Food Fighters likely with the new album. But I mean
it's a very cool move for them to be like, yeah,
we're bringing gage Away because there are like Harkaband, but
they've got you know, they've got bits of indie, they've
got bits of like alternative rock in there, so it's
not the most kind of like excuse me, and they
can be like say, very pretty like they are on
parts of this track. But when this track gets agro,
there's a really like nasty, like violent mos refilm parts
of this song. So they definitely haven't gone to like, yeah,
we're playing for the normy, so we're gonna take it
easy on them. I can't wait to sort of hear
some of the confused reactions in that crowd.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I had that in mind because you know, with you know,
this track being picked up by news outlets or whatever,
a lot of them have said, you know, it's ahead
of them going on this food Fighter star. So I
was like, oh yeah, I've just you know, been reminded
of that fact pressed by the song. And it isn't
like the opening seconds there's just this horrible yelp just
like this ah. It's like, oh yeah, yeah, that's a
that's not what you really do in such an environment.
I do think this song is you know, it's like
a sub three minute song, which I know a lot
of the songs are you know, short, but this is
one that feels like it's not the most if we
compared to you know, the last album they came a
couple years age that we reviewed. There are parts of
that album and some of the album tracks where it
really does go into like really like spidery hairs coming
up on the back of your neck kind of stuff,
which is the side of them that I really like
and connect with. This is like kind of an upbeat
song like it has I would say, like a kind
of big alternative rock riff, Like that's some of the
vibe on it, but they then mix that sort of
song with a lot of the vocal delivery, which if
you take the verses for example, you can imagine these
verses being in like a super Heaven song or something
or one of those type bands, right, but instead you've
got a vocalist on it who is doing, you know,
not the soft grungey singing, but it's doing this kind
of a tonal half spoken you know, the unsesettling thing,
that gallage away kind of factory part of their music.
And it's almost like they've got a radio song here
that they've then sabotage themselves and not reading friendly part
of that.
Speaker 3: On the last album, they had songs kind of Indian
influence that's on there, but they just they just kind
of like can't help themselves and go, now we're just
gonna shout and yell all over this and make it
just a bit spikier, which is one of the things
I that makes me so drawn to gouge Away.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, I enjoyed it. It's just it struck
me as being like, oh, this is like almost so
close to being a good song to put out in
advance of like a big support slot for a huge
year stadium band, but not quite because of like what
you know, just spreading your personality all over in such
a way, which you know, I applaud props to them,
but that's just the amusing side of it for me.
We also have probably a similar fan base and a
similar TNM listener out there who was interested in both
of these things. Drug Church have also come back and
they have released a new track called Pinch. It's their
first song since their twenty twenty four album Prude, which
I must say I didn't really, you know, pay much
mind to that last drug Church album, but I know
they are a pretty well liked band. I know they've
just open for the Deaftones and a lot of people
were raising about them and saying they're actually doing quite
well themselves on that such of thing. So the new
song Pinch, and you're watching the video for the song,
it is like, oh, yeah, you have just go and
played some some big venues, haven't you. This is not
a video of you know, crowdsurfing and you know, playing
the sort of basement shows you normally do. This is
in a weird sort of way. I guess you know,
they're on the the opposite end of it where you know,
Garage Away currently are, But this is in all a
similar way, maybe a bit of like, oh yeah, Drug
Church can fill some slightly bigger spaces with what they do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean this.
Speaker 3: Still sounds like you'd be well at home in like
outbreakfast and dingy clubs whatever one is piling on top
of each other.
Speaker 2: Because Drug you've got vocus. When when you've got vocus.
Speaker 3: That rowdy who like is just kind of always shouting
in this kind of like.
Speaker 1: Good use of from a lot of shout on the
song though.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but he has gone a long shot, but he
has still got you know, it's rowdy, it's in your
face Musically, this is this definitely feels like it's kind
of like on the more kind of upbeat end.
Speaker 2: Of what Drug Church can do.
Speaker 3: Where again it it is quite like, well, you know,
like spans like Military Guide and that sort of thing
where they've kind of drawn like the brit rock sid
of things that I think there's a bit more of
that music on this. But Drug Hurts they just have
a rough edge to them where they never let this
get too nice and pleasant, where you know, it's bigger
than they might sound normally, where it does feel like,
you know, you could be onto bigger things than just
you know, the club circuit. But it's still, like I say,
it's still kind of hits enough and it's got enough
punch to it that I was like, yeah, this, this
is this kind of given me that that fix I
want from what Drug charts specifically offering the kind.
Speaker 2: Of all rock scene.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree, because the riff did give me some
of those you know, sort of quicksandy you know, melodic,
bouncy alt rock inflected sort of vibes. But as you're saying,
you know, both this Gageway song and this drug Churt song.
They give you some of that flavor, but maybe in
a you know, with a mouthpiece at least that is
more identifiable and not just the you know, the woshy
worry side of that thing. That is you know, so
so ten and plenty. So again if you're a fan
of both of those things, and it's probably a good
week for it, drug Church and Gageway. But that new
song's drug Church has also comes with an announcement of
a UK tour which is happening around the Burn It
Down festival in Torquie where they are playing. They're also
going to be hitting up Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol and London.
So good stuff if you are a fan of those bands.
Speaker 2: Great.
Speaker 1: Let's move on to a I would say the most
interesting album announcement out this week, which comes from Devin
Townsend who has been long, long talking about this very
thing that has now seemingly come into fruition. Devin Townsend
have finally announced his album, which is called The Moth,
which he has been discussing and teasing, saying he was
working on for something like a decade, like it's been
a long long time that he's talking about this album.
He was describing it as, I mean, his quote was
a symphony of cox and vaginas and death, which is
a very Devin Townsend quote, isn't it. But you know
you got the vibe that it will be a massive,
incredibly layered, primarily orchestral, I suppose album, But you know
it's been in the works alongside many many project. He's
obviously a guy who has a you know, many many
albu on the go at once. He's released several albums
since he first mentioned this moth one, but this is
one that if you are, I suppose a Devin superfan,
you've probably you know, had your is to the ground
being like when will we hear what is that thing
that he's spoken about? It seems to be huge. It
has twenty four tracks on it, and it's gonna be
coming out on May the twenty ninth. And there is
a track that has come out from this called Enter
the City, And I don't know if you heard this track, Sam, Yeah,
well let me tell you it is a considering. Again,
he was describing it as like a super layered, symphonic
type record, and Devin does so much you're never actually
sure if that means it's a heavy record or not,
you know, like it is this going to be just
some like total you know, ambient streams, gapes I've does
that he does maybe leaning on the classical side it is.
I would wager just from this advanced track that there
will be metal involved on the record. This Entered the
City track feels like a like an introduction, like it's
less than three minutes long, this track, and it feels
like the sort of overture or most of like a
piece of musical theater, particularly if you know it's called
Enter the City, and if you watch the video with it,
there's this sort of lots of imagery of you know,
a kind of heavily industrialized city and all this you know,
workers at playing all that kind of stuff, and it
feels like it's this could be the start of a
musical being like now we're entering into our setting and
these are the citizens of the you know, the location
where this story plays out, and we're gonna see what's
going on with them. And there is like a hint
of heavy guitar, which is what makes me believe there
will be some more metal on the album. But majorly
it's like layered choirs just being like, you know, hello,
welcome to the city, that whole kind of thing that
you can imagine it doing as I just described to you.
So it's not necessarily given away, you know, the scope
of how f other thing may go. But I get
the feel just from it being a less than three
minute long, primarily choir led introductory track that feels like
it's bringing you into a world and as very specific
set and the fact that he has been working for
so long. I mean, the light Work album I liked,
but I wasn't blown away by it necessarily. It's not
one of my favorite Devon records. The Power Nerd album
I thought was all right, but you know, kind of
disappointing really for what we expect from Devon. This feels like,
just the vibes of it feels like this could be
the most I suppose, full scale Devin project as we
know it in coming since EmPATH, you know, and that
was seven years ago now, So this does actually feel
like a you know, I don't want to just completely
put all my eggs into the basket of its quality
or whatever in comparisons to anything else ever done, but
just in terms of the seeming scale of the project.
Like I said, this does feel like if you've been
a Devin fan who has been you know, maybe you know,
floating away a little bit from being like completely on
top of what he's doing. This feels like one of
the oh, we should actually check in for this when
this feels big.
Speaker 2: No shit, that does sound interesting.
Speaker 3: I've kind of been a bit more casual on the
more recent Yeah, something like this that does have a
bit more of that kind of like wider scope to
it could be that kind of like gets me back
on board of his recorded output of recent.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So I'm certainly curious about what the new Devin
record The Moth is gonna sound like. And we'll hear
in May. Venom I've also come back. This is you know,
the main Venom, not Venom Ink, who have been much
more prominent of late, but the main Venom have come
back with a new album called Into Oblivion. It's also
out in May, but it's May the first. It has
an album cover that kind of looks to be a
sort of ugly AI reimagining of the famous Black Metal
Face cover. The song that's come out it's not great,
it's not very good. It amuses me that they've still
not really worked out how to produce things, Like it's
been so many decades, and at least it's not the
same like a band of Venom's you know, legacy and stature.
You can imagine them just having the same sort of stock,
big old metal band production job that any you know,
sort of thrash or heavy metal band of their generation
might have. And it's not quite that. But why is
there a douvet over the top of this, Like they've
just still not quite worked out to produce and make Venom,
you know, obviously in a very different way to what
it was forty years ago, but like they've still not
quite touched there, which in no way is charming, But
there you go. And there's also a new announcement from
Six Feet Under that they've got a new album.
Speaker 3: Coming up, Big Hitters coming out all of the legendary
bands who we know are still reliably great in this
day and age, Yeah, all of those.
Speaker 1: Indeed, it's called Next to Die, which does sound like
a threat, doesn't it. That's out on April twenty fourth,
And there is a track out called Unmistakable Smell of Death.
I would say, as a you know, I check in
every now and then were six Feet underd just to
see what level we're working at. I would say this
song is mostly better than you know, a decent bit
of what has come out of late. Certainly I think
was it like Nightmares of the Decomposed. The twenty twenty
record is the one that everyone just sort of turned
to look and go, what the fuck are you doing?
Because he kept going on every single song.
Speaker 2: That's the one.
Speaker 3: Every time I heard that a really stupid noises making,
I was like, this is you know, the guy who
was on those you know, legend they Cannibal Corps albums.
Speaker 1: And now he's just going, yeah, this track, he mostly
sort of stays in a mid range, and you know,
the riffs are okay. So it's certainly not the worst
six Feet Under and put out by any means. But
it did amuse me that when I watched the you know,
the the video for this that's come out on Metal
Blade Records. As far as I could see, it's one
of the only recent videos of theirs which has the
comments turned off, which is certainly endorsement, isn't it. But really,
my favorite thing about this is just the promo pick
that's come out of you know, Chris and Jacko in
the former Camical Corps guitarist who is now in six
fet Under as well. And Chris is just kind of
like pointing out at the camera and he looks like
he's going get a load of this guy. This guy
doesn't know the graveyard classics.
Speaker 3: Like.
Speaker 1: It's just a very amusing picture to me. But that's
coming out. The most interesting, I think piece of music
that has been you know, put out there this week
comes from Eternal Champion, who have finally reappeared. They just
today as we're recording this, they put a surprise EP
which is called Friend of War. And Eternal Champion are
like one of, if not maybe the scene leader in
the contemporary age when it comes to you know us
power metal basically kind of the old schooled trad heavy
metal revivalism stuff that's actually popular sort of cross scene
like they have really like they're a big part of
making that into kind of a wave again. I suppose
along with bands like Visagarth and so and who, those
two would be like the two leaders of that really
for me. Arthur Rizzik, the you know, very renowned producer
is guitarist in this band Jason Tarpie, formerly of the
great Texas harcore band iron Age, is the vocalist in
this band, very very revered band. It has been six
years since they last released any us it. Their album
Ravening Iron came out in twenty twenty and it's fucking great.
But we do have to wait a little while between
Ternal Champion releases, which is why it was such a
brilliant thrill seeing that they had suddenly just surprised dropped
an EP today. It also comes saying that there will
be album number three coming later this year, which great stuff.
I like that this is a I don't want to
say it's a taste of the album because it's not
very deliberate, like this is a different thing and the
album will arrive later and you know, follow up in
it in a different manner. But very brilliant news, having
not only new Internal Champion on the way, but something
new of theirs right now to hear and Sam. When
I open this EP and I saw it was thirty
one minutes long, consisting of two tracks. One is about
like thirteen minutes long, one is eighteen minutes long, I
did not really know what it would entail because, like
you know, they've done. They've done like synth releases before,
but like in a short form, you know, and they
are like an epic heavy metal band, but their songs
have not really exceeded like the ten minute mark before
this suddenly getting this like large and expansive in Eternal
Champion project, I was like, what does this? What does
this mean? Because they've never done this before. And we
will go into detail in just a second about what
these songs are, but just that as a sort of
bold statement to appear after I said six years and go,
here's a new EP and it is the largest and
most out there I suppose tracks they've ever done. And
considering what we've just said, and I know that you
will back me in terms of the different demographics, I
suppose that Total Champion have managed to like worm their
way into It's quite a bold booth, isn't it.
Speaker 3: I opened it and I was like I was only
turned and I was like very omene something as like
again even having to play I've not actuallyen the individual
song names, but I was like, what do you mean?
Reminded me of was when Blood Incutation they came up
with that like EP or like, yeah, two songs I
was kind of like, Okay, is this because I know,
obviously quite different having bands, but they feel like they're
kind of part of the same.
Speaker 1: There are certain things on this release that I would
draw direct parallels.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So I was kind of like really curious.
I was like, I'm guessing at the very least we're
getting like a proper like I was. I was like,
around fifteen minutes and minutes in the song, I was like,
we must be getting these one real like epic heavy
metal kind of like you know, Latter Day Maid and
like full on those kind of like things. But when
that doesn't sound ship and when that actually has a
bit of to it because it's Eternal Champion doing it
and not Old Iron.
Speaker 2: Maiden, which you know, I don't thinking, but I was.
I was intrigued. And again my immediate kind of thing
I put in.
Speaker 3: The chat was I was like, man, a total sheppin,
are really trying to scare off the the hardcore contingent
that has like worm. This went again because adult Chapmen
have been able to sell trad metal to hardcore fans,
to people who would go to Outbreak and Sound and
Fury and those kind of places and wouldn't go to
Bloodstock or like anyone.
Speaker 1: I said that they have members people directly you know,
linked to Iron Age, Iron Age and War Hungry and
these are the kind of bands that you know are
in the past lineage of them, these guys.
Speaker 2: So I mean, that's popping pup it.
Speaker 3: But they have just but whilst not playing particularly hardcore
tings music, hardcore fans really like Eternal Champion and like again,
I like hardcore and I do like heavy metal, So
Til Champion one of those kind of like ideal bands
for me, kind of like marrying that kind of like
cultural thing with just doing proper like eighties like you know,
bare chested, muscle ripped dudes with swords, heavy metal, and
so I was like, okay, so that they are going
to be pushing this.
Speaker 2: To the limit.
Speaker 3: And you know what Track one, I mean is fucking
awesome on this I think is great.
Speaker 2: I mean because it is that kind of.
Speaker 3: Like you say, thirteen minute progressive, expansive but still kind
of hitting you with that real just kind of like
awesome traadmill thing that Turnal Champion do and ask are
like wicked. I'm I'm so glad we're getting this. And
then you know, track two happens, and this is where
I mean, this is gonna be the bigger talking point
track I think for a lot of people when it
comes to.
Speaker 1: EP, isn't it I'm not actually sure about that because
I think both tracks together really do push the boat
out for Eternal Champion because the first song. You could
argue that maybe the weirder of the two, because the
first song is this apparently the whole EP is like
specifically based around the Dark Crusade fantasy novel by Carl
Edward Wagner, which is a very Eternal Champion thing to
be doing. Put in such specific reference points. Overall, the
EP it works together for me because it has this
like slower breathing, methodical kind of metering out the journey
you're going on approach with Eternal Champion and the first song,
which is the metal one of the two, but it's
the most like layered heavy metal song. It is what
they have done.
Speaker 3: Patient it's not like kind of like in a media
like they do. They do build on it, but I
still feel like they're kind of layering in the different
ideas and moving the pieces along at a decent clip
where it never feels like two drawn out that it
is impenetrable for.
Speaker 2: Someone who doesn't like excessively long.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but it's just it's a very layered and dense
and it feels like there's a lot of different ideas
throwing to different passages of it songs. Overall, I would
say that there is a sort of mystical atmosphere to this,
which does link it into the second track for me.
But when you think about like the score and the
atmosphere of something like the Arnold was watchenegger Cone and
the Barbarian film, and it has that sort of like
that empty, meditative kind of landscape to it, I think
that's the sort of world that this, you know, lives.
In the first track, it has one of those like bruising,
you know, kind of mosh worthy Arthur Rizzik epic doom riffs,
but it is slow. It's not one of their fast
songs for sure, and it slowly advances building all these
harmonies and stuff. It does have gang vocals in it,
going the dark crusade, so that's great, but then you
get like a fucking mental sort of flamenco guitar solo bit.
It's about seven minutes in and similarly, like that's what
they kind of do. There are a lot of passages
without this first song, which is again on its own,
like thirteen of minutes long, that sprinkle in weird like
it feels like they have been in the studio really
like tampering and toying with things and trying to make
it just this first song alone as sort of you know,
intricate as any piece of music they've done before. And
that's cool and that's interesting, And just that first track alone,
I feel like I need to you know, I've listened
to the overall EP twice. Now just that first track alone,
I feel like I need to give plenty more goes
to really get inside all the different parts that are
going on with it. And then we get to the
second track, and it's where they go full Tangerine dream.
And when I saw the first you know, the two
songs and the two lengths, I did not presume if
there was going to be a standalone synth track on
the record, which is not alien at all, right, but
you would not necessarily assume that the longer of the two.
This is where I would say that they are clearly
even though this is an epic heavy metal band and
not a progressive death metal band. It's a group of
musicians because Arthur Rizzick produced you might remember the last
Blow Incantation album, right, and we were talking. We were
talking about the incredible like organic attention to detail on
just like the synth tones and stuff like that that
are involved with that kind of thing. So even though
obviously there are a different mode of band, they clearly
share so many interests and so many reference points and
stuff like that, and it is a world where like
both from the death metal world and the sort of
epic heavy metal world, something like Tangerine Dream and their
soundtrack work and stuff like that is like a common
reference bruit, Yeah, between those things that both could lean into.
And for that reason, I think the instrumental sound of
this and the tones of it is so rich and
it's so textured and just like it's not just a
fucking you know, shit cassio keyboard or whatever. It's like
fucking blooding cantation do. It's proper molded worked over like
droney organic synth worth and stuff like that. And the
melodies I find are pretty gorgeous, and I think I
would say, like, you know, obviously there's an even more
since Drenched record that we can refer to here as
time Wave zero from Blooding Cantation, which was there fully
by Electronic Record, And I'm a big fan of that release,
and I would say if you like that particular relief
from blood Contation Record, you just definitely check out this
second Eternal Champion song because it's similarly beautiful, similarly full
of kind of yearning and elegance and stuff like that.
What really then sold it to me is about halfway
through it kind of morphs seamlessly from that like tangerine
dreamy synth work stuff into like harps and there's all
sorts of like different distrumentation that suddenly comes in and
it's like this shimmering dream where that just like the
way it blends the sounds and kind of hands off
one to the other is really wonderful.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So this is that I think this is really
fucking cool that they've done this. Like I don't want
to like proof them to do something. It is a
hell of a swing that I just that isn't necessarily
for me. I do agree. It is way more kind
of like sonically rich than any kind of like you know,
MIDI keyboard like like attempt at it. There was you know,
a message because I did can I se in the
group by them scaring off the hardcore fans?
Speaker 2: And then about like ten minutes later, I was.
Speaker 3: Like, like eight minutes of record, it was a bit much.
Speaker 1: If Jordan from a Loud Dispute was wiping snot out
of his nose talking about when his scooter got run
over when he was eight years old over that instrumental,
you would like it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't disagreeadist people don't do that for eighteen minutes, Like.
Speaker 2: I do agree.
Speaker 3: I think there are passages in this amount of trucks
that I think are really nice. And again I think,
as I kind of like go at it, I'm like,
I mean, I mean, I'm not gonna like say it's
bad or anything. I mean like, he's really sonically interesting.
There's really there's individual bikes, and I was like, I
really like that. I just don't think I'm ever gonna
sit and listen to the for l eighty minute whatever. Again,
that was my kind of takeaway from I was like,
good on you, until Champion for being this bold on
your first music in six years and really not caring
and like doing.
Speaker 2: What He's for you.
Speaker 3: I think that's fucking awesome, and I think I would
love it if they can integrate parts of this kind
of like tantine dream soundscape stuff into the next album,
like like what Blood in Cantation did on Apple Elsware. Again,
I don't particularly care time with Zero Sure, but I
love that stuff being used within the wider context of
what Blood Incantation do. I'm totally down for Eternal Champion
kind of having this kind of like more kestral or
like just sort of soundtrack soundscape stuff weaved in and
out of the heavy metal stuff more.
Speaker 2: I hope we do get more of that.
Speaker 3: I just think as an eighteen minute track, I'm not gonna,
you know, reach for this again necessarily, but you are right,
this is the most interesting piece of music that has
been released this week.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I was just thinking about just how how
nice and boundaryless stuff seems to be these days. But
like we said, this is a band with you know,
origins and background in bands coming from the hardcore scene
like Iron Age and stuff like that. And then they
have you know, formed this Man of War, Kirathung Goal
Manilla road worshiping epic heavy metal band, and they are
able to take that into doing a eighteen minute drone
synth track that's also then you know, obviously that's the
second part of this EP, and the first song alone
has loads of layers and ideas and stuff in it,
and this it has an air of like, you know,
when we get the third Eternal Champion album later down
this year, I would imagine that you'll probably like it
a lot more than the EP because I imagine that
will deliver more traditionally the good.
Speaker 3: I do agree, yeah, but I don't want the stuff
that I'm not as king on the EP to almost
be absent. I would I would like them to sort
of continue to experiment with this. I just would liked
it more.
Speaker 2: Within the framework of the heavy metal.
Speaker 3: I can't believe I'm saying I want more heavy like
we've got the road now my sam is begging for
more heavy.
Speaker 1: Mans you're begging to them to bring back the manor
War for sure. But yeah, I just I just think
it's really cool for them to have done this EP
that just really feels like they're pushing the boat out
on it, you know, and it is a it's not
just a stop gap EP that leads you on to
it the next thing. It is like a genuine work
and a self sufficient kind of universe in its own right,
and they've clearly worked so fucking hard on it, and
it's really really cool. I they get really really really nice.
It's again, it's not on Lessard my favorite Ternal Champion
material ever, but it's certainly the motion you know, compositionally
and texturally ambitious, and it does get me really excited
for you know, album number three coming down, when I
imagine not only will we have you know, some of
this textual stuff, but we'll also have some straight up
horns in the air bangers to go with it as well.
So yeah, if you don't know Eternal Champion, so some
mad times to get on board with them put out,
but it is there the Friend of War ep and
in terms of again similarly you know heavy metal and
epic minded stuff, spirit Adrift just now as well. They
have put out a standalone single. It's called Eternal Celestial Energy.
It is ahead, so it's stand alone. It's not included
on but it comes ahead of their album that will
come later this year. They have announced it. It's very likely.
I mean, they seems quite final in the way they're
phrasing it, it's going to be their final album. They
are playing a show quite shortly in America where they
are going to be saying that's their final performance. I
you know, it's Nate who is the and the front
man and the main creative kind of drive behind Spirit Drift.
I know that he's been going through a lot of
fucking hard stuff lately.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: I listened to his his podcast and he's his wife
has been going through a cancer diagnosis, and they've got
like a go fund me over there and that kind
of thing. And you know, if you've enjoyed Spirit Drift
and you're able, then you know you could head over
there and throw something in their way. I bring that
up specifically because the lyrics on this song are unavoidable
if you, you know, have any knowledge of their situation.
It's a more doomy song, then you know, it kind
of throws back a little bit too. Spirit Drifts more
doom beginnings compared to the more kind of ass kicking
heavy metal stuff they've been doing lately, and considering the
emotional Contex stuff. But that makes a lot of sense
because you know, it still has a really strong, powerful
main doom rift that has those like great Crowbarry sort
of harmonies. They can do that kind of thing, you know,
the Paul Bearer sort of atmospheric into it as well.
But you know, vocally and lyrically, there's a lot of
kind of genuine, you know, sorrow and Catharsis going on
through here as well. So yeah, pretty unavoidably you know,
emotional and powerful track, but comes ahead of the final
supposedly spirit a Drift album, so of course we'll you know,
keep our eyes on that as well. Let's move into
back to some hardcore stuff, because if you got too
scared by the long long since, then we could talk
about some hardcore again. This is interesting. I suppose sixty
eight Josh Googin, formerly of Normal Gene and the Chariot,
his band that he's been doing for however many years now,
six d eight they've announced that they are embarking on a
farewell tour, another band, you know, departing our world, and
I guess let's just address that on its own. First
of all, Josh Goggin is you know, one of those
really legendary vocalist figures in the worlds of you know,
sort of metallic hardcore. I absolutely love as we've discussed
various times, I absolutely love the normal Gene record that
he is on, I Know, the Chariot of this very
like legendary band as well. Sixty eight. I have to
say I've never like gotten into They're just kind of
in my head they're like, oh, yeah, that's Josh Goggin's
current thing. But I've like not really like gotten into
sixty eight. So in terms of this specific band in
his you know Uvra coming to an end, what are
your thoughts on you know sixty eight?
Speaker 3: I suppose overall, yeah, I like I've seen him like
a couple of times and I'm like, I was like,
it's cool because just Scogin doing this is the way
he's or something that's a bit cooler because he's just
one of those vocalists. But it's him doing the garage
rock two piece that everyone decided they wanted to start
doing in like the sort of the mid twenty tens.
It was good like and as you can I mentioned
that or just skogging does have a bit more kind
of like bite to it. But as someone who loves
his Normalgy record, loves the Chariot and never quite hit
in the same way for me, but it seemed like
he was kind of like so he was, he was
always enjoying doing and was sort of very creatively.
Speaker 2: Fulfilling for him.
Speaker 3: So that's why obviously it's been maybe like probably his
longest sort of like going project at this point. I
think he was in the sixty longer than he was
in the chart because they were like say like early
to mid twenty tens. They got going after the Chariot split,
so like kept it going for a good while.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but this announcement coming, like, you know, the week
after or whatever, Better Lovers announced that they were you know,
splitting from from Grappa Chatto on Vocals and you know
throw ourselves back at you know, a week or two
whatever it was, that announcement came, and just the discussion
online aside from just Keith Buckley, the name that people
were throwing out to be like go get him, go
get that guy, would Joss Goggin, because I suppose that
you could almost put those in a like a trio
of the legendary Live Wire hard or front Man from
like you know who came out of that specific area
in like the early noughties. You know, like Joss Goggin
is one of the other guys who could throw into
that camp. So when this announcement came right after the
Better Lovers announcement, naturally or maybe unnaturally, I suppose this
is what we're about to debate, but lots of people went,
oh my god, Josh Goggan must be joining a better others.
What's your take on that? Sam, And I think he
said that Joss Coggin has specifically come out and said
he's not joying Better Lovers, So I guess it's more
about the actual We're not theorizing here. It's more just
about like the culture that that you know, people have
jumped on that so much. What's your take on that
whole scenario?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, like I said, he like was immediately
in Instagram comments saying like, yeah, no, this fair olds
aways been in the worlds for a while.
Speaker 2: I'm not joining Better Lovers. I love those dudes.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 3: He's like like six eight have toured with Better Lovers
fairly recently, so like there are linked bands, but he
has specifically shot down those rumors. This to me was
kind of like, ah, this is immediately laid out the
sort of the herd or Better Lovers is gonna have
to overcome now, which is everyone is expecting their next
vocalist to be an established kind of like yeah, superstar
in the sort of metallic hardcore scene vocalist to step
in and feel the roles, and I'm like, that's going
to be a that's gonna be something they're going to
have to kind of like reckon with when if their
new vocalist isn't, you know, a Josh Skoggin type character,
an established due that every one knows and likes and
is just some guy, which I mean I get, I
would almost quite like it to be some new guy
to kind of like just give some because it will
take off away of expectations of kind of like the
the the difficult explation was, you know, the every time
I dial in your thing with lovers in the first place,
So having that with the chariot normal geen guy, I
was like, that's again putting away of expectation. I mean,
my first thing was like, why are we jumping to
Joss Goggin joining better lovers when they were like, bring
back the fucking chariot lads, come on, like I want
to see.
Speaker 2: The chariot line like that would That was my first thing.
Speaker 3: Of like if because I never got to see the Chariot,
so I'm like, if six done, I.
Speaker 2: Was like, go back to that.
Speaker 3: But I mean I'm like, I imagine just Scoggin will be
back to do something. But yeah, I never kind of
when I saw the breaking that was not my first foot.
I was kind of like, ah, man, this is this
is going to be just something a better lover is
gonna have to kind of like reckon with potentially, and
fans are particularly might have to accept we might not
be getting the superstar hardcore vocalist again funning better lovers.
Speaker 1: It might be a guy, Yeah, quite possibly. Let's stay
in hardcore drama. I suppose this is just like, this
is almost several weeks worth of stuff that I've like
largely ignored putting in because it just seemed nonsense. But
I suppose it's just happened so often.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: Brady Ebert, who was guitarist for quite a long time
in Turnstile. He was then later in a band called
The Set, I mentioned this, you know. He just also
say that I did forget to include their EP release
in last week's release Random. It's just the one that
I just overlooked and didn't put in there. I know
obviously some people have ha been spinning that, but that
was yeah, yeah Brady from Turnstile, who immediately or you know,
fairly swiftly started getting headlines for you know, talking some
smack about Turnstile I suppose, and you know a bit
of a bit of back and forth, just just just
back and nothing I suppose going on there. The really
funny butt was when the set then kicked him out
and seemingly for talking to smack about Turnstar be like yeah,
tursdarll are great, we just don't want this like this,
this hater band. So he's out and now Brady Eber
is launching his his next new band, which is called Experience,
and is you know, as you could predict here, starting
to talk a bit of smack about the set and
he kicked him out and spose the headline here is
just hardcore drama. Brady Ebert's entire existence as someone who
have probably paid more attention to this guy than I have.
What's what's this guy's whole deal? What's going on with them?
Speaker 3: So again, like I never knew when he was removed
left removed from terms of whatever, I kind of stopped
paying against that, and then saw you know, Brady Bit's
about for a new band and they're kind of heavy again,
and I was like, yeah, there is those riffs that
you know, people who really like early Times, in particular
the SEO self evident truth it is like they had that.
Speaker 2: I was like cool.
Speaker 3: And then he was going off on a tire rade
about Turnstile, saying like quite kind of like libelous, slanderous.
I can't in one way back like which when it
like accusing them of stealing money from charity gigs and
stuff like that. And so I can imagine then that
if you're a new band in the bottom of hardcore
scene and you're like, our guitarist is accusing the biggest
band Arsen has ever produced of stealing from charity. This
is kind of overshadowing the new music we're trying to
put out. I don't blame the guys and seven of
them who going like we don't want any part of this,
please like take this elsewhere, and again like I've not
been trying to take side this, but I, like a
lot of people quite quickly refuted his claims about Turnstile
and all of that, and it's kind of like, right, okay.
But then the funniest one is the when he said
this new band and he's gone, yeah, don't listen to
the cover's EP, the self evident truth just put out,
and I'm like, hang on a second, Like, Okay, I understand,
it's a bit interesting. You just recorded an EP and
they've kicked you out right as come out.
Speaker 2: But you didn't do everything on that EP.
Speaker 3: The other guys in that band are entitled to have
their work appreciate as well.
Speaker 2: So I was like, are you, like.
Speaker 1: Is he the data of contemporary hardcore risks? I don't know.
Speaker 2: It's everyone's like it's chromags again.
Speaker 3: It's it's like a Harley fangm for the new age,
Like I'm just gonna like bitter hardcore dudes kind of
just like getting angry and like again, if he wanted
to know sid Zone bands and let the muta the talking,
I think that would have been totally valid and then
and I think a lot of people would have gone
with him because his guitar tone is one of the
things that he people have maybe said and someone who's
riffing is the things that people have kind.
Speaker 2: Of missed from some of the later Turnstile stuff.
Speaker 3: But then it's just come of so much baggage and
like bitterness and like jaded hardcore nons, and so I'm
just kind of gone, I've stopped paying attention you. You
chat your shit and everyone's going to ignore you. In
turns are going to be massive whatever.
Speaker 1: I look forward to the Farewell Experience album in thirty
years time, ending on a bonus track of Brady but
recording a version of Never Enough. I think it's the
unnatural way, isn't it. It's gonna end right torn you.
It's quite exciting in I guess it's a long fucking
way away now. But in early twenty twenty seven, Whitechapel
and Psilosis have announced a co headline European run, specially
in the UK. You know, if you're one of our
native listeners, then Silosis our builders like you know, closing
the run. But everywhere else it's you know, together and
you know in the UK they're going to be playing
Glass Go London, Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham. This is obviously
that's a great bill, good time, very very tempting. I
suppose it. It's it's weird how small the venues are,
considering they are smaller than the venues that Silosis just
headline on their own. And this is with a you know,
arguably as big band in Whitechapel.
Speaker 3: A band I've seen sell out the Electric Ballroom, which
is where they're.
Speaker 2: Playing in London.
Speaker 3: It's a it's and I mean this to me feels
that the natural package that could, like where Solos is again,
I don't think that last socio when I would in
the Forum the same night as Deathtones and all that,
they had bad like bad luck on that one a
little bit, but like combining with the Heaven Shabano seem
to make it a lot more successful. But I thought
they could do bigger venues when you do this package,
especially when you're bringing along two hundred stab Wounds and
Tribal Gays, two of the kind of like buzzier hardcore
adjacent deafine bands. This feels like a sort of package
that you could could take to some quite seriously big
venues just because of the excite around the bands.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I like, I wonder if.
Speaker 3: They've just gone out, we're going to just do you know,
such my venus sort of this is what was available
at the time that tour was going ahead.
Speaker 2: I know, it just kind of took me.
Speaker 3: I suppose I would imagine these shows are probably going
to sell out pretty quickly if these are not huge
venues and you are getting, like I said, silos or
the back of a really good album, white chapel of
the back of a great album with like two really
cool supports. But yeah, this is a great bill that
you should definitely go to. But I'm just I'm surprised
it's not going bigger.
Speaker 1: Yes, in December of this year, November, if you were
in parts of the Europe, then I PEERI Triumphant are
going to be doing their final run, as they are
describing it, of the gold Star album cycle before they
presumably go off and you know, bring us something new,
because they are very very regular, aren't they. But their
final run of the gold Star cycle is going to
be in Europe, and it actually ends in the UK.
The last three dates of the gold Star Cycle are
in London, Leads and Glasgow. They are bringing it along
the grind band noll As support back with them as well,
so that's a nice tasty, extreme gnarly package. I'm personally
annoyed at this because they're not playing Manchester and on
like the last like two three albums Imperia Triumphant. They've
made at least like three, if not four, or five
separate trips to the UK, and for some reason, the
only time they've played in the Northwest was the half
hour support slot for Eagle And like, I've never known
a band so adverse to playing Manchester, that normally the
second most regular touring city.
Speaker 2: It's really weird. I don't know why.
Speaker 1: And I'm annoyed there because obviously I want to see
this band as much as I can. I've only seen
them doing a half hour support slot. But if you
are in London or Leeds or Glasgow or you know,
somewhere else in Europe, then Imperia Triumphant I have to go.
You should you should.
Speaker 3: Like say, this is like the gold Star sort of
one where they've done that. I'm like, given that, you know,
by far my home people, trumph Alm, I kind of
want to see them on this, So I'm mining this
up and kind of like I'll see Dane Naticket's still available.
I reckon I'll grab on for this. It'll be really interesting.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a ridiculous twin Peaks a Walk with Me
themed tour poster for as well with all their very
regular sort of pop culture referencing they're doing, and for
you know, our international contingent, particularly the extreme metal leaning contingent,
then there is some good news for you over in
the US. SI the Japanese Haven't Guard Black metal legends
are doing their first US eights in twenty years around
the Fire in the Mountains festival. So that's great stuff there.
And to are Australians down under Candle Mass, the iconic
one of the most important seminal do metal bands of
all time. I didn't realize this. They're doing their first
Australian appearances ever. They never went that far south, and
that's like one of thos, like the greatest bands of
all time in that scene. So if you are on
Australian doom head, I bet you are flipping the fuck out.
So I'm happy for all of you. Go go forth
and be bewitched right on Patreon. This week from US,
it was a big week hit at T and M
because we've finished off finally the first like two three
months of this year, we were all in deep on
this project. We did the final concluding part of our
nineteen ninety seven year retrospective special, this particular part having
already covered the bigger ends of metal and then the
sort of alternative rock and punk side in the next part.
This part was cleaning up the underground and the incredibly
diverse slate of extreme metal in nineteen ninety seven. We
also then, at the very end of it, if you know,
listening to some people will talk about black metal and
doom metal and death metal for like several hours is
not your thing. At the very end of it, we
did also then pick our own individual albums of the
year from across the entirety of you know, everything that
we had covered in that special. This is, of course, Sam,
why you led today's episode saying that you've been deep
in the extreme metal pits. Some highs and some lows
for you, I'm sure, but overall a positive experience.
Speaker 3: Oh way more highs than like I's been like like
generally liked almost every record that you kind of like
highlight for me to check out this because this again
was the most kind of like stuff like the stuff
I knew the least about.
Speaker 2: From ninet ninety seven.
Speaker 3: There was a couple of records I had kind of
existing history with great and then a lot of those
kind of new discoveries. One album in particular is kind
of like, how have I never seen anyone? And apparently
people have talked about this album in recent years in particular,
just not in my circles, but yeah, like one album
I was like, Jesus Christ, this is unbelievably good. And
one album that is like was just selected to talk
to me. We were like, that's the only reason you
made me listen to it. But you know, I'm sure
you all had fun. But no, really like ninet ninety
seven in extreme metal and underground metal, really cool year,
it turns out, and one of those things there was
like a lot of nice discoveries and some things I
was kind of like, I've even kind of like gone
a bit further with in the wake of doing that,
which is pretty like unexpected.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and then you again add this on to the
other parts that we've done, and my god, some seminal
years across the board for several of the scenes that
we were talking about the overall special that we did,
it's like it's many, many hours long because we were
just really like combing through, pulling out as many like recommendations,
really is what it's about. As we can for you
guys from that year as it was a like these
year specials that we do, they factually they have the
largest amounts of albums in them of any specials that
we we can do. So it is like a it's
a real dedicated headspace kind of thing that we do.
And so I do feel like there's a bit of
a weight off our shoulders having now complete the whole thing,
But looking back at it, I'm glad we did it
and I'm proud of it. And we've got all of
that stuff out there in the world and if you
want to check that out then patroon dot com slash
that's none MeTL is where you can find it. Having
done that, we will now move on to you know,
for the foreseeable. We've got list stuff plans, some fun stuff.
We've got band specials planned immediately a sort of next
week sometime we are going to Sam and I with
and go back into the horror pits and we're gonna
put another T and M does horror focusing in now
on on mister Sam Raimi because he put out a
movie very very recently and we want to partner that
up with some of his other more recent horror work
and go in on why that guy is still one
of our guys and one of the top dogs and
one of the masters of our horror loving hearts still
to this day. So if you're also a fan of
mister ramy As, you bloody well should be. If not,
you're a monster and I don't like you. If you
want to hear that, then patron of common Slash, that's
on that. There's also the place TV as said that
would be come in sort of next week some time.
Let's end today with the releases for March of thirteenth,
twentwenty six. Of course, I feel like there's there's undeniable
there's one record here that absolutely dwarfs the others in
terms of I imagine what people will be saying about it.
The new Lamb of God record Into Oblivion is out today.
Been lots of I guess, hype I suppose around this record.
Obviously we'll review it when the time comes a little
bit later in the month, but the chance to hear
it is now out there. And from one Metal Titan
to another, Angus MK six with Angus MUK six and
the All Seeing Astral Eye, the former Glory Hammer sing
who for some reason is now a couple of albums
deep into Still doing the Glory and the character on
his own. But there you go into emo and alternative
rock kind of circles. First, we have Sweet Pill with
Still There's a Glow, Sam. This is a band that
you had mentioned, So what's the deal with Sweet Pill?
Speaker 3: They're one of the ones I've not matching them with myself,
But there's a lot of buzz around them in the
kind of like emo or if you like, like the Poor
Kids album from last year.
Speaker 2: They're in that kind of like vein of like emo stuff.
Speaker 3: They've played Outbreak, they kind of and them that have
popped up a fair bit in that sort of thing.
So if you're into a lot of the kind of
more nemo stuff Ben Quad Arms Length, those sort of
bands like Sweet Pill are one of the more buzzy
ones of that sort of scene.
Speaker 1: Yes, And then also from that kind of side of
the TNM spectrum, we have Shoreline with an arabat today
called is this the low point of the Moment. After
then there is Unity t X, who are a band who
were you know, you might remember we featured them something
like a long long time ago, but they are kind
of modern you know, new metally inflected rap metal if
you like X somewhere in between. This was when I
was excited to see on the schedule Gong The returning
is psychedelic you progue overlords. Gong are back with either know,
probably the Air nine hundredth album. It's called Bright Spirit.
Speaker 3: Like Gong are a band I did not know about
a year ago, and now I can't stop seeing them
pop up, and I blame Elia.
Speaker 2: I blame Ellia. This is all Elliot's fault.
Speaker 1: I hope that there are gnomes in teapots involved in
this particular record. Into the extreme metal underground. Monstrosity a
long running death metal band. They're primarily known because they
were Corpse Grinder's band before he joined Cannibal Corpse. I've
not really caught up with like all their modern stuff
since Corpse Grinder was not in Monstrosity really, but Monstrosity
is still still around, putting out record screened from beneath
the surface. Into the grindcoret underwell, there's the band No
Mass with No Peace in the UK Grimy, I mean
the abbotitle here will tell you what it is. It's
the band Wolf Bastard. The album is called Satanic Scumpunks,
and that's the vibe really. Then there is a band
called Transylvania, and of course you can imagine what their
sort of rough themes and identity are as well from
the black metal world, with a record called Magic Posthumor,
and then a couple of EPs. First there is the
long running Weedish kind of you know, retro classic rock
band if you will, Witchcraft, really seminal band in that
scene in terms of like you know, helping sort of
kickstart that whole wave in the naughties in the first place.
But they've got a new EP out there. It's called
a Sinner's Child. And then there is of course the
Eternal Champion EP that we mentioned earlier, Friend of War,
which is very very interesting. We recommend you check out.
So thanks very much for being with us. We will
be back next week. As said, we will also have
our TM does Horror, our Most Rainy Wanted date out
next week on the Patreon. Right now, there is god
so many hours of nineteen ninety seven recommendations for you,
and as I said, there will be you know, other
specials to come in the pipeline after that. And you know,
I said in a couple of weeks time, maybe we'll
be back here again with reviews for March, where we'll
be talking about that Lamb of God record, amongst many
many other records that will be coming out. Let's talk
about some of those next week as well here on Hyperblast.
So cheers everybody, Bye bye,