Brat - Social Grace (Prosthetic Records)
"One part prom queen, one part killer queen, all parts ultra violent."
Some might say it takes guts from an extreme band to play samples of hit songs from Shakira, Britney Spears, and Vanessa Carlton in between songs during a live show. But if you're not careful, New Orleans powerviolence/grindcore sluggers Brat might just tear out your own guts and show them to you.
Dolling up the aforementioned sub-genres into their self titled 'bimboviolence/Barbiegrind', the quartet's debut full length Social Grace is as simultaneously cute, yet deadly, as a Benelli M4 tactical shotgun in rose gold finish. At just under 20 minutes in run time, vocalist Liz Selfish delivers every punch on point, backed by a devastating audio assault over ten blistering songs.
Between tracks such as "Ego Death", "Hesitation Wound" and "Blood Diamond" to name a few, the shades of influence from Converge, Pig Destroyer, Full of Hell and others are mixed with hues of pink and purple - which here means Brat's own iconic touches.
A quick search of the band's live shows that, while both the band and the crowd throw down to the many samples, the intensity of Brat's music is as serious as a zit on prom night, or a bat to the head. Visit your local record store and pick up Social Grace, out March 15.
Leather Lung - Graveside Grin (Magnetic Eye Records)
"Getchya fix of Boston brand boozed 'n' bruised boogie"
Though sometimes cliché to describe a band's music as a 'potent sonic brew', few bands can literally embody this concept like Leather Lung. If their chug worthy music isn't proof enough, consider their line of lager beer, labeled 'Dive Bar Devil' for their 2022 EP of the same name, which has a tendency to sell out with every batch released.
Falling somewhere in the stoner/sludge/doom metal realm, while influenced by heavy hitters like Crowbar and High On Fire, the eleven tracks on Graveside Grin, Leather Lung's first full length album, replace misanthropic lyrics with grit and grime. In place of a loner in the back of the bar, these tales come from the bottom of a brawler with attitude's bottle.
Starting with "Spit In the Casket", an anthem worthy of a fist fight and a 'hell yeah', the punches turn to a sneer with a shot of something strong on "Big Bad Bodega Cat" and again on "Empty Bottle Boogie". Whether one looks to throw down with "Cornered Animal" and "Guilty Pleasure", or vibe out with "Twisting Flowers" and "Headstone", the album makes even a midday listen feel like the pub down the street at 2am in the best of ways.
With four EPs released in the last decade, Graveside Grin marks the beginning of a new chapter for Leather Lung. Drop the needle on the record, pour yourself a drink and getcha fix on March 15 when the album comes out!
Suldusk - Anthesis (Napalm Records)
"Behold the voice that bewitches and soothes from beyond the deep fog."
What it is about an unexpected grey morning that is both captivating and melancholy? A slight chill and a bit of mist awaits outside, will today bring good news or dreadful? These are the questions asked in many ways on Anthesis, the much anticipated sophomore album from Australian post-black metal enchanters Suldusk.
Beginning with the atmospheric black metal infused "Verdalet", the immaculate voice of Emily Highfield over mournful strings quickly showcase the scale of musical elements to come over the album's nine tracks. Dancing on the edge of tragic, orchestral metal, "Crystalline", "Sphaera" and "A Luminous End" will surely win the hearts of fans of early Abigail Williams, Cradle of Filth and Ghostbath.
At the other end of the musical spectrum, songs such as "Crowns of Esper" and "Mythical Creatures" call upon ambient folk elements. Falling somewhere in Heilung territory with a dash of Sigur Ros for good measure, these tracks bring together a sense of self reflection with a bit of sorrow. Almost as if to ask what good are one's eyes when the world around them seems so colorless?
Spiritually a heavy album despite the absence of consistent blast beats and screams from the abyss (though both do make some appearances as appropriate), Anthesis is an excellent journey through deep forests of fog and lore.