Weekly Digest July 19-25
Without Kanye West, but with new releases from Descendents, great London soul from Joel Culpepper, party metalcore from Attila, Metallica-influenced thrash and more by Archangel AD, occult rock, black metal and blackened crust, old school thrashing death metal (twice), cancelled metalcore and more in our Weekly Digest.
Archangel AD – Casus Belli
Even though Archangel is a pretty generic band name, (check Metal Archives if you don’t believe me), these Texas thrashers with their new LP are quite different from the output of other, mostly christian bands, with the similar name. The artwork is not that different though. Turning on the first track, I immediately get strong Metallica vibes (which is, in my opinion, pretty cool), later on "Casus Belli" Archangel AD add the elements of doom to the classic thrash metal, and also release not a metal track in the style of flamenco (I!), and have bass solos there. Still, even Metallica itself has not been able to make good Metallica record for a long time, so here Archangel AD deliveres more than just a tribute to the most successful metal band on the planet! I recommend it.
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Attila – Closure
Party metalcore / trapcore band Attila continues making the sound for which they are loved / hated on their new album. Money, women, alcohol and more. Unexpectedly, the album features a tribute to Marilyn Manson in 2021, after his "cancellation", but we know how Attila likes to attract attention.
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Azok – s/t
Barbaric Catalan blackened crust from the suburbs of Barcelona. Azok does not try to create a mysterious atmosphere, or show the elitism of black metal or surprise with original solutions. Their debut full-length is just a very cool smash in the head, and you don’t need more.
Craven Idol – Forked Tongues
Old school death metal, inspired by the first wave of extreme metal and traditional metal like Bathory, Mercyful Fate, Master’s Hammer, Manilla Road, Gospel Of The Horns, Sodom, Satan, Poison (Ger), Candlemass, Mystifier, Cirith Ungol, and Absu, among others.
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Descendents – 9th & Walnut
What can I say – one of the few punk bands from the 80's and 90's, whose album releases still excite me. The band wrote some material for this album at the very beginning of their career, in the early 80's, then, in 2002, they played it on rehearsals and even shows again. Finally, during the pandemic Descendents were able to record those compositions and released the album worthy of their catalog.
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Flame, Dear Flame – Aegis
Occult epic doom from Germany with the very beautiful female vocals. It's hard to call it metal somehow, despite the presence of doom riffs, Flame, Dear Flame turns out as relatively light music, melancholic and enchanting at the same time, listening to which you are completely immersed in the atmosphere. The album consists of two stories "The Millennial Heartbeat" in three parts and "The Wolves and the Prioress" in four, so "Aegis" is not just a collection of songs, but the story told through the music. Liked it a lot.
Hexorcist – Evil Reaping Death
White Ward's label mates from Debemur Morti, Hexorcist, released another old school death metal album this week, it perfectly paired with Craven Idol. However, in this case I want to single out the drums sound, there is something in it.
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Joel Culpepper – Sgt. Culpepper
Debut LP by London singer Joel Culpepper, "Sgt Culpepper", is an incredible contemporary soul album and the product of two years of activity, which has attracted many respected producers and musicians from the UK and abroad and testifies to his reputation as a producer, dynamic songwriter, and performer among his contemporaries. A very cool, energetic, full of groove and interesting moves album, in which funk, r&b, and new soul intertwine and create a sound that is simply impossible to sit still to.
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Kryptan – s/t
New black metal project from Mattias Norrman (October Tide, ex-Katatonia). Taking his October Tide colleague Alexander Högbom on vocals and putting Samuel Karlstand of Wretched Fate on drums, Norrman brings modern power to the Scandinavian 90's classics with melodic riffs, and his synths add a wintery feel and depth to the sound. FFO: Old Man’s Child and Dimmu Borgir.
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Lotus Eater – Where The Body Goes
A Swan song of British metalcore act Lotus Eater, which officially ceased to exist in early July due to accusations of psychological, physical and sexual violence by the vocalist. And the album features Oli Sykes from Bring Me The Horizon, who screams like it’s 2008 all over again, along with Loathe, who was the hope of British metalcore... This is what happens. Try not to be an asshole, then you will not have to worry about your career.
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