BEST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 11/08/2023: Doja Cat, Duckwrth, ††† and more…

No 'worst' tracks this week. I've got too many good tracks to talk about. Artists featured this week include Doja Cat, Duckwrth, †††, Open Mike Eagle, Soda Blonde and The Fierce & The Dead...

Review of '72 Seasons' by Metallica

Metallica continue to stay true to their thrash roots. But with so few risks taken and such clunky songwriting, you have to ask yourself ‘is this really more enjoyable than St Anger?’.

Review of 'God's Country' by Chat Pile

Grab a teddy bear to cuddle. The new Chat Pile album is absolutely harrowing.

Double Review: ‘Immutable’ by Meshuggah and ‘Parrhesia’ by Animals As Leaders

Immutable and Parrhesia both succeed in being face-meltingly heavy and impressively complex metal albums - even if they are both utterly exhausting to listen to.

Review of 'Fortitude' by Gojira

Forget black metal. It’s time for some green metal.

Review of 'Ohms' by Deftones

 

Deftones are back sporting 9-string guitars, seagull sound effects and tighter songwriting.

Review of 'Fear Inoculum' by Tool

Tool’s first new album in 100 years is a disappointment.

Review of 'The Wake' by Voivod

14 albums in, Voivod still sound like no other metal band.

Review of 'Emperor of Sand' by Mastodon

For the first four tracks, Mastodon had me worried.

Review of 'Hardwired ... To Self-Destruct' by Metallica

Brimming with chugga-chugga riffs and double-bass drumming, the thrash metal vets’ new double album is a firm return to their roots. Why then am I still left underwhelmed?

INTRODUCING: Forest of Harambe

Meet Forest of Harambe

INTRODUCING: Okilly Dokilly

Meet Okilly Dokilly.

Review of 'You Will Never Be One of Us' by Nails

‘FAILURE, FAILURE, YOU’RE A FUCKING FAILURE!’

Review of 'Magma' by Gojira

Magma sees the French metal champs maturing like camembert. In other words, they’ve turned soft. Softer but stronger.

INTRODUCING: Japanese Fighting Fish

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It’s time to interview another batshit crazy band. Meet Japanese Fighting Fish.

Review of 'Gore' by Deftones

Who would have thought an album called Gore would be so pretty?

Review of 'The Anthropocene Extinction' by Cattle Decapitation

San Diego deathgrind band Cattle Decapitation have dropped the hippy ethos. No longer are all their members vegetarians and no longer do they write songs about mankind's mistreatment of animals. Instead, they've turned to psychopathic songs about their hatred of humanity.

Review of 'The Mindsweep' by Enter Shikari

St. Albans metalcore/electronica outfit Enter Shikari want to be fun party animals and political activists, but don’t how to be both at the same time. It’s a precarious balancing act that only the most skilled songwriters can pull off.

Review of 'Bloodstone & Diamonds' by Machine Head

You can always tell a Machine Head track from a number of motifs – namely lots of harmonic notes, lots of beastly grooves and lots of blood-pumping sing-growling courtesy of Rob Flynn. Over time, the Oakland metalheads have also brought in a number of new stylistic features. The Blackening saw them garnering more progressiveness and old-skool thrashiness, whilst The Locust introduced orchestral strings and more symphonic tracks.

Review of 'Soused' by Scott Walker & Sunn O)))

There are some people who understand the appeal of drone metal and good for them, they’re clearly more open-minded than I am. Personally, Sunn O)))’s schtick - playing one guitar note over and over again at a glacial speed – strikes me as a waste of a fretboard and a waste of my time.