Napalm Death – Cesspits
After Sabbath, Priest and Maiden, Napalm Death are simply and obviously the most important heavy British band of the past 40 years. Now middle-aged veterans of the extreme metal underground, the band’s steadfast refusal to compromise or shy away from evolutionary changes of direction puts most younger bands to shame. New album Apex Predator – Easy Meat, which comes out at the end of January, is an extraordinary and frequently terrifying piece of work that once again redefines what it means to be extreme in this corner of the music world. Cesspits is by no means the most vicious or deranged track on it, but it does give some indication of what to expect. Not for the faint-hearted, obviously.
Periphery – The Scourge
As pioneering co-founders of the so-called “djent” scene that, as all such things do, has now become oversaturated with workmanlike copycats endlessly repeating the same ideas from five years ago, Periphery have good reason to aim high. In keeping with their progressive reputation, the band’s forthcoming new album is a double-disc concept piece that showcases the bewildering breadth of their sonic vision, while simultaneously showing all the dead-eyed newbies where they’re going wrong. Fans of eight-string guitars and dense polyrhythmic arrangements will doubtless enjoy The Scourge, but Periphery are shrewd enough to write great melodies, too. Clever bastards.
Ne Obliviscaris – Pyrrhic
The Australian metal scene has hit its stride in recent years, but the sheer audacity of Ne Obliviscaris’s music is still a shock to the system. Avowedly extreme but fully immersed in the principles of progressive rock, these unhinged virtuosos sound quite unlike anything else around. Fans of Opeth and Between the Buried and Me will certainly recognise the ambitious structures and gleeful cross-pollination, but songs like the nine-minute Pyrrhic exhibit little interest in adopting other people’s ideas. Instead, this is wildly original, wonderfully atmospheric and, as the kids say, epic as fuck.
Hacktivist – Deceive and Defy
Despite seeming hellbent on sabotaging their own careers by taking a ludicrous amount of time to complete their debut album – which may or may not emerge in 2015 – these masters of tech-metal grime, djent-hop or whichever preposterous soubriquet the poor sods will eventually be saddled with, remain one of the most exciting metal bands in the UK. Deceive and Defy is the latest new song to be tossed casually into the digital ether, and while it is unmistakably Hacktivist, there are hints that the band may be tinkering with their formula and becoming even sharper as a result.
Danko Jones – Gonna Be a Fight Tonight
OK, so this is not technically a metal song, but Danko Jones play with as much bug-eyed vigour as any metal band. Plus, Danko is one of the biggest metal freaks on the planet. Their new album Fire Music wears those influences loudly and proudly, with some very specific nods to Iron Maiden adding a mischievous sheen to the whole pummelling shebang. Gonna Be a Fight Tonight sums up the band’s sound and appeal in just over three minutes of jaw-shattering punk’n’roll with Danko’s lascivious bellow, while one of the tightest rhythm sections on Earth collide in a shower of beer and broken teeth.
