Good Tiger (Credit: Artists Facebook page)
Back at it again and mulling over the month’s offerings of all things metal here’s Getintothis’ Mark Davies with a veritable selection of treats.
We’re now at that frustrating part of the year where the sun is out, and happily blinding you on your way to work, yet it provides no warmth or comfort to your weary winter-beaten body. All about dat vitamin D though, am I right?
If it’s comfort you’re after though, you need look no further than our very own metallically-inclined source of all things heavy, Dysgeusia. As usual we’ll be mulling over the past month’s offerings and giving them to you, dear readers, with hopes of enriching your lives. So let’s get on with it shall we.
Nightmarer, masters of discordance, are a German/American 3-piece formed in 2016. Though they have only a two track EP to their name thus far, that is about to change very soon with the release of their debut full-length album Cacophony of Terror, via Season of Mist in March 2018.
The band, following in the footsteps of Deathspell Omega and Dodecahedron, have forged their own monstrous take on dissonant death metal, and nowhere is this more apparent than on their latest single Skinner.
The track lurches along like a monstrous heartbeat, with detuned 7-string guitars and guttural vocals aplenty, along with the distinctive yet unquantifiable sense of unease and foreboding of their own creation. We look forward to seeing how deeply into the pits of hell Nightmarer are going to drag us upon the release of Cacophony of Terror. Watch this space.
Nightmarer – Skinner (Season of Mist)
As we mentioned last month, there be a new Between the Buried and Me album on the horizon, two in fact, the first of which Automata I is due out in less than a month on March 9 2018 via Sumerian Records, and we could not be more thrilled. As promised, the band dropped the first magnificent single Condemned to the Gallows from this forthcoming release in the interim, so we present it here for you can all appreciate it’s sheer majesty.
This track honestly has everything we love about BtBaM encapsulated in one six minute track. The acoustic finger-picked opening, Tommy Rogers‘ genre-defining mix of clean and distorted vocals, the keyboard parts sitting nicely in the foreground, the arpeggiated guitar leads, the mosh-worthy choruses and all of the tempo changes you could ask for.
This band have yet to make an album that was any less than brilliant, even when they stepped away from the heavy a little for their previous record, 2015s Coma Ecliptic, it was still a stonker. From what we can tell here, they have definitely added the heavy back in, and it only makes us want to hear more. No doubt there will be some kind of interesting story or theme woven into the lyrics, which we look forward to unpicking, exciting times!
Between the Buried and Me – Condemned to the Gallows (Sumerian Records)
Way back in March last year we mentioned MASTER BOOT RECORD, an electro/metal crossover artist from Italy, and we said something along the lines of “heaviest electronic music in existence” and that title would still belong to them were it not for the almighty GosT, the skull-mask wearing, electro-death master, an artist who makes MBR look like Dire Straits in comparison.
Metal, metal and more metal – check out the storied history of Dysgeusia here
GosT‘s music has always had that satanic flavour to it, but it was usually alongside a heavy helping of 80s synth sounds and samples. Well prepare yourselves for a death-screaming, battering ram of synths and drums, just waiting to sacrifice your soul and smash your face in.
Our featured track Garruth is the most devil-worthy and agressive track GosT has put out so far, and believe us when we say that this two-and-a-half minute track is only the tip of the iceberg. The forthcoming album Possessor, due out on March 23 2018 via Blood Music is one of our most anticipated albums from the label, also known for putting out synthwave brethren Perturbator and Dan Terminus. Expect to be throwing those electro-horns in the air when Possessor drops.
GosT – Garruth (Blood Music)
Those prog-metal titans TesseracT have come once more to bludgeon our ears and tickle our souls with their potent and instantly recognisable mix of blistering highs and gut-wrenching lows. The band have been around since their inception in 2003, and are credited as being one of the main proponents of the djent (wash your mouth out) movement in progressive metal, alongside bands like Periphery, Uneven Structure and Monuments.
As ever, on their latest track Luminary, from their upcoming album Sonder, due out April 20 2018 via Kscope Records, that blend of Dan Tompkins soaring vocals, low mid-heavy detuned guitars, and jangly backing riffs is ever present, only in a much more streamlined and direct way.
Luminary feels like they have taken the criticisms of their previous album Polaris with it’s radio-friendly riffs and predictable song structures, and given those critics a big “fuck you” in the form of that opening riff, because dear god that thing rips the universe a new hole.
TesseracT – Luminary (Kscope Music)
Good Tiger are an interesting beast to get to grips with. A super-group of sorts but not in that horrible kitschy rock band way. Formed from the remnants of UK prog-metal band The Safety Fire on guitars, ex-TesseracT temporary vocalist Elliot Coleman, and ex-The Faceless drummer extraordinaire Alex Rudinger, this is not your dad’s supergroup.
Their previous release A Head Full of Moonlight was one of our favourite releases from 2015, it was fun and punchy, and the band have somehow stepped it up a few notches in all areas for their new album We Will All Be Gone which was released just days ago on February 9 2018.
Seriously, these are top-tier musicians, and this is songwriting at its most profound and elegant. Vocalist Coleman has easily one of the biggest vocal ranges and best voices in modern metal, and it is put to excellent use in Good Tiger, where it had felt squandered in his time in TesseracT. Whatta set of pipes. The rest of the band are just as well-rounded too with those open riffs and tight rhythms. Give these guys a go!
Good Tiger – Salt of the Earth (Blacklight Media Records)
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