Monthly Metal Mixtape: November 2020

What a weird fucking month. The stress of election night turned into the stress of election week and 45 is still all-caps tweeting nonsense (nonsense almost sounds too kind). Covid numbers are skyrocketing again, while everyone is throwing a fit about losing their Thanksgiving. And we’re gonna get that onslaught of capitalism encouraging everyone to buy, buy, buy, cause it’s still Black Friday. Fuck all that. Here’s the records we’re using to escape from reality this month.

Fuck the Facts – Pleine Noirceur (2020, Noise Salvation)

Canadian grindcore veterans Fuck the Facts are back after five years off the clock dishing out an at once beautiful, groovy, melodic, and brutal slab of eclectic deathgrind. It has been years and years since I listened to these folks, who I once discovered on MySpace of all places so long ago. There’s always been something special to their sound, something that’s always been held reverently by grindcore fans keeping track of all the best, but there’s really not a lot I could ever remember from their past works. They’re great when I throw them on, but I can’t really recall them after, you know?

Not so here. On Pleine Noirceur, Fuck the Facts sound like the important band they are. The genre mesh blur on display here is a forward-thinking push for heady grind. Post-metal, melodic death metal, death metal, beatdown hardcore, power violence, and really even emoviolence (big vibes like contemporary blackened emoviolence-grindcore blenders Portrayal of Guilt) create atmosphere and groove and emotional weight in the grind like you wouldn’t believe. It pushes beyond Nasum’s (that has got to be an influence for them) Entombed meets In Flames melogrind. It’s as experimental and genre hopping as late Napalm Death. It’s as emotionally crushing, riff onslaught-bringing, and chameleon-like as grind contemporaries Cloud Rat. For as progressive as it is, it feels like nothing is out of place. It just has that fantastic songwriting that only a 20 year band could bring and bestial, tight, unmatched performances—Mel Mongeon is a legendary vocalist and the rhythm section is just fantastic all the time—they’re what carry this album to greatness.

My personal favorite moment, and it may be my metal song moment of the year, is the full stop silence in the hardcore banger “Everything I Love Is Ending” that punctuates an absurdly huge emotional statement about the instability of life. Smack dab in the middle of a maelstrom of ideas and riffs, a moment of silence is very appropriate for this year. I keep getting wracked with goosebumps every time that silence hits. Fuck the Facts reminds us that extreme music can be stunning, emotional, and breathtakingly beautiful. – Mike Tri

G.I.S.M. – Detestation (1984, Dogma Records)

I stumbled onto this record recently, surely due to the upcoming reissue on Relapse Records. The Tokyo-based band straddles crust punk and metal with a steady dose of gross-out humor along the way. Depending on where you stand, this is metal for punk fans or punk for metal fans. Either way, it’s nasty, aggressive music – song titles like “(Tear Their) Syphilitic Vaginas to Pieces” and “Death Agonies and Screams” should give you an idea. Released in 1984, it has surely influenced many bands around today. Yet, G.I.S.M. retains an originality not easily found these days. The reissue includes three bonus tracks, bringing the runtime up to right around 30 minutes. Detestation will leave you confused, curious and within a few days, coming back for more. – Phil Collins

Sweet Tooth – Soft White Underbelly (1990, Earache Records)

Sweet Tooth’s 1990 release Soft White Underbelly, fronted by none other than Justin Broadrick of Godflesh fame, is a sludge metal album without the industrial bells and whistles. The vocals sound reminiscent of Helmet, the guitars raw with some flourishes, the drumming jams out right before speeding up for a quick burst, and the bass is unsurprisingly heavy. Speaking of jamming out, the record has a feel to it like the rolling waves of the ocean right before an abrupt moment of violence, which coincides with the cover art invoking the closeness of a shark. Track 4’s “Ultimate Muscle Bible” kicks things up into a washing machine of sound and is custom-built for a mosh pit. The following track, “Reducer” sounds like a slowed down piece taken from Helmet’s Meantime. And the final track, “Soul Shark” may just end up being the soundtrack to your very own death. Slow and sinister, like the patient movement of a great white shark out on the prowl for its next meal. – Richard

Unleash the Archers – Abyss (2020, Napalm Records)

It’s been eight years now since the last 3 Inches of Blood record. I’d argue with anyone about the absolute excellency of their discography, but today I’m gonna shine a light on a spiritual successor, fellow Vancouverites Unleash the Archers. But while 3IoB might have a BA in Destroying the Orcs (BA clearly standing for Battle-Axe in this case), Unleash the Archers have their PhD. in world-building. True, Unleash the Archers have a foot more firmly planted in the power metal world, which feels even more prevalent with the role synths play on Abyss, but both bands craft metal epics with memorable riffs, skillful leads and solos (played at dizzying paces in places), and absolutely stellar dueling vocals.

Just like late-era 3IoB, Unleash the Archers lean heavily on vocalist Brittany Slayes, who does exactly what her name implies with an impeccable range, while relying on growls tastefully added in all the right places courtesy of guitarists Grant Truesdell and Andrew Kingsley. The title track is an absolute blazer, highlighting Slayes’ vocal range and the chops of Truesdell and Kingsley to take the lead. After a couple of mid-pacers, “Return to Me” utilizes the growls to add a layer depth to the vocals, giving off a vengeful vibe. “Soulbound” and “Faster than Light” are both catchy as fuck, fervently upping the velocity and dropping some sick solos while at it. Drummer Scott Buchanan excels throughout but his absolute hammering during the raging of “Faster than Light” is mindfuckingly excellent. “The Wind That Shapes the Land” and “Afterlife,” (which guides us out of the record with some short orchestration) are both epics that wrap up Abyss on a grand scale, showing off all the elements that define Unleash the Archers. If you’re on the edge about anything close to power metal, this is a good abyss into which to take a plunge. – Steve O

Whiplash – Ticket to Mayhem (1987, Roadrunner Records)

RIYL: Speed & Thrash Metal

This New Jersey speed metal band released this shredder 33 years ago! Fortunately for you, this album holds up and doesn’t feel dated as far as speed metal and thrash records go. The vocals and guitars rip and the drums are fast and on-point. I bought this record several, several years ago on vinyl from a discount bin at a music store at the mall (showing my age!) and I had no idea what it was. It has since become one of my favorite metal releases of all time. I’ve tried to get into the band’s other releases but, in my opinion, none of them hold a candle to this one, their second full-length. The production is raw and dirty and the sound is menacing. If you feel that you must “bang yer head,” well then, that’s okay, you might as well. – James Bauman