Heavy New Music
Hum Surprise Release New Album Inlet, First LP in 22 Years: Stream
Alternative rock band Hum have returned with the surprise release of their fifth studio album, Inlet — their first new music in 22 years. The long-awaited follow-up to 1998’s Downward Is Heavenward comes as a delight to fans who’ve been wondering whether Hum would ever release new material following their ’90s heyday. The band rose to prominence with its 1995 major label debut, You’d Prefer an Astronaut, and the iconic space-faring single “Stars”. The track garnered considerable MTV and FM airplay, to the point where Hum are sometimes erroneously labeled a “one hit wonder.” Downward Is Heavenward would be equally beloved by fans, despite falling short of Astronaut‘s commercial success. Hum would go on hiatus in 2001, infrequently reuniting for shows and small tours, sparking rumors of...
Lamb of God Unveil Self-Titled New Album: Stream
Lamb of God are back with their first new studio album in five years, a self-titled effort filled with poignant tracks that focus on a number of sociopolitical issues. The veteran Virginia metallers’ new effort was lauded as the band’s “strongest album to date” in our review of the LP. Frontman Randy Blythe tackles topics such as mass shootings (“Reality Bath”), immigration (“New Colossal Hate”), the Standing Rock pipeline protest (“Routes”), the Trump administration (“Checkmate”), and more throughout the album. As Blythe told us in a video interview earlier this year, “The best punk rock and hardcore and metal … has always come out of tumultuous times. Right now seems to be an extremely tumultuous time … and it’s not just Trump, it’s not just America — [world leaders in] many different co...
Alekhine’s Gun Premiere New Song “21”: Stream
Brooklyn band Alekhine’s Gun, fronted by Jessica Pimentel, have been working on the follow-up to 2014’s …And Things Will Fall EP. The group is now premiering its new single, “21”, exclusively via Heavy Consequence. The track picks up where the band left off in 2014. Building from an angular riff, the song is blast of blackened death metal, with improved production over past Alekhine’s Gun releases. The six-year hiatus paid dividends for the band, which sounds as strong as ever on “21”. Pimentel, best known for her role as Maria Ruiz during all seven seasons of Orange Is the New Black, offered some conceptual background on the song’s lyrical themes. Like on prior records, Pimentel mines the spiritual and philosophical for her weighty, literary subject matter. She says of the track: “Inspire...
Grey Daze (Chester Bennington Band) Debut New Song “B12” Featuring Korn Guitarists: Stream
Grey Daze, the band in which Chester Bennington was a member before joining Linkin Park, has debuted a video for the new song “B12” featuring Korn guitarists Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer. The song is the latest single from Grey Daze’s upcoming album, Amends, which arrives on June 26th after being delayed due to the pandemic. Prior to his death in 2017, Bennington had approached his old bandmates about re-recording their old songs. While the singer died before they started the project, Grey Daze soldiered on by incorporating Bennington’s original vocal tracks with newly recorded music The video for “B12” debuted today as part of the virtual Download TV Festival. The clip pays tribute to Bennington, showing footage of his days performing with Grey Daze in the ’90s. ...
Avatar Release Chugging New Song “God of Sick Dreams”: Stream
Swedish metallers Avatar have released a new song, “God of Sick Dreams”, from the band’s upcoming studio album, Hunter Gatherer, out August 7th. “God of Sick Dreams” features heavy, chugging riffs and a catchy, almost punk-inspired chorus. The song is the second track to arrive off Hunter Gatherer. The album’s first single, “Silence in the Age of Apes”, has amassed more than 1 million YouTube views since its release in May. Hunter Gatherer promises to be “an unflinchingly ruthless study of a clueless humankind’s ever-increasing velocity into an uncertain future, furthering the reach of the band’s always expanding dark roots,” according to a statement. “The forthcoming album,” the statement continues, “is the darkest, most sinister version of the band yet, with deep studies of cruelty, tech...
Dead Cross (Mike Patton, Dave Lombardo) Cover Black Flag’s “Rise Above” in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter: Stream
The hardcore supergroup Dead Cross, featuring living legends Mike Patton on vocals and Dave Lombardo on drums, have covered the Black Flag classic “Rise Above” in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) and Lombardo (Misfits, ex-Slayer) are joined by Dead Cross bandmates Michael Crain (guitar) and Justin Pearson (bass) on the socially distant performance. The song is preceded by an audio recording of a resident’s profanity-laced tirade against the LAPD as he called in to an actual police commission meeting on Zoom. In posting the video on Facebook and YouTube, the band stated that the performance was “created in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and staunchly opposing police brutality and systemic racism.” Dead Cross hit the studio ...
Power Trip Release Surprise Album Live In Seattle 05.28.2018: Stream
Modern thrash-metal masters Power Trip just dropped a surprise on fans, releasing the full concert album Live In Seattle 05.28.2018. Power Trip have risen up the metal ranks thanks in large part to their dynamic high-energy live shows. The new album captures the band’s May 28th, 2018 gig at Seattle’s Neumos club, where they played during their tour with Sheer Mag, Red Death, and Fury. The 11-song set has been mixed and mastered by the band’s front of house engineer, Zachary Rippy. Among the songs played that evening are fan favorites like “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)”, “Firing Squad”, and “Soul Sacrifice”. The album can be streamed below via Bandcamp, but is also available on most other major streaming services. Fans can also purchase Live In Seattle 05.28.2018 via Amazon or Bandc...
Inter Arma Unveil Cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “March of the Pigs”: Stream
Inter Arma recently announced a covers EP titled Garbers Days Revisited, and now they’ve unveiled the second single from the forthcoming release: a metallic version of the Nine Inch Nails classic “March of the Pigs”. In a press release, Inter Arma acknowledged that it could be construed that the timing of the single is tied to the current unrest across the nation, where protests have broken out following the death of George Floyd in police custody. In fact, the band actually quietly released the song last week, but didn’t announce it until today. “We released our cover of Nine Inch Nails’ ‘March of the Pigs’ this past Tuesday, but felt it would have been inappropriate to latch onto the outrage we’re all experiencing to promote a cover album, even if by happenstance,” stated the band. ...
All Them Witches Announce New Album, Premiere New Song “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”: Stream
All Them Witches are offering up a nice respite from all the chaos going on in the world. The Nashville rockers have announced the forthcoming release of a new album, Nothing as the Ideal. Moreover, the band is teaming up with Heavy Consequence to share a taste of what’s to come with opening track “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”. Nothing as the Ideal will arrive on September 4th via via New West Records. The album was recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles famously laid down most of their iconic catalog. Regarding the song “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”, guitarist and songwriter Ben McLeod tells us, “We very specifically wanted to lead with this track. I think it’s the most well-rounded track on the record; it’s constantly changing, it has a lot of different vibes to it.” He giv...
Mr. Bungle Unveil Cover of The Exploited’s “USA”, First New Recording Since 1999: Stream
Mr. Bungle have just released their first new recording in more than 20 years. It comes in the form of a cover of The Exploited’s “USA”, with all proceeds going to COVID-19 relief efforts. Mike Patton joined fellow original members Trevor Dunn (bass) and Trey Spruance (guitar) for a series of reunion shows in February of this year, with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo rounding out the touring lineup. The shows focused on the group’s hardcore roots, as they performed their early 1986 demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, along with a number of cover songs. Then in March, news came that the very same touring lineup had convened in a studio shortly after those shows to re-record the 1986 demo, and lay down studio versions of the cover songs ...
Mining Metal: Ara, Cryptic Shift, Goden, Lascar, Mekong Delta, Oozing Wound, Patrons of the Rotting Gate, Xibalba
“Mining Metal” is a monthly column from Heavy Consequence writers Joseph Schafer and Langdon Hickman. The focus is on noteworthy new music emerging from the non-mainstream metal scene, highlighting releases from small and independent labels — or even releases from unsigned acts. This month’s mining metal veers away from the traditional and toward the esoteric. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many labels have postponed hotly awaited releases for months or indefinitely. Because of this, bands not beholden to (or resistant to) commercial scheduling take the lead — Chilean black metal and Irish progressive deathcore, both the passion projects of independent musicians, lead the pack here. Musicians with long histories on the fringes take center stage, such as German neoclassical thrashers...
Behemoth Share New EP A Forest, Unveil Trailer for Nergal Documentary: Stream
Behemoth have just released their new EP, A Forest, which includes two different covers of The Cure’s song by the same name, as well as two new original tracks. Previously, Behemoth shared the studio version of “A Forest”, which puts an extreme-metal spin on the goth classic and features guest vocals from Shining’s Niklas Kvarforth. The EP also boasts a live version of the Cure song that was recorded at a December 2018 gig in Poland. Along with the EP’s release, Behemoth have unveiled a visualizer for the song “Evoe”, one of two previously unreleased original tracks on the EP that were recorded during the sessions for 2018’s I Loved You at Your Darkest album. In other news, a trailer has been revealed for an upcoming documentary about Behemoth frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski. The film, ...
