Sure, it’s been kind of a quiet week thanks to Canada Day and Independence Day. But you know what they say: One man’s quiet is another man’s Grindhouse. OK, nobody says that. But they should. And someday they will. Make my words. In the meantime, let us come together across borders to celebrate the sonic carnage wrought by these fearsome tracks (not to mention the ginormous balls it takes to name your band Onchocerciasis Esophagogastroduodenoscopy). BYO fireworks and hot dogs:
Thirteen Goats | Murder Lives In The Heart
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Capricorn Rising is the upcoming concept album and extreme metal rock opera from Thirteen Goats. Is it thrash? Death? Groove? Thirteen Goats don’t care, and neither should you. This Vancouver four-piece trample all over subgenre conventions to create an alchemical style of infernal riffs, huge hooks, and uniquely theatrical songwriting. They have a video out now for Murder Lives In The Heart, which lead vocalist and guitarist Graham K. Miles comments on: “The song is about the nature of vengeance. Vengeance feels good when you’ve been wronged. But just because something feels good, that doesn’t make it right. I wrote the song after getting my heart broken, to remind myself that the pain would make me a monster if I let it. In the story we’re telling on the record, our main character Shepherd experiences that when he loses his faith in humanity and sells his soul to become the Antichrist. The video explores the same theme from a different perspective. It’s about three women who murder the members of the band one by one and reanimate them into zombies. Their reasons are never shown, but we get a strong sense that they feel justified in what they’re doing. Whether it’s right or wrong is left up to the audience. We’re not here to tell you when revenge is okay or not—but we want to show that it always has a spiritual cost.”
Gelatin Skelatin | VHS
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Canadian glam-metal band Gelatin Skelatin will release their new album Big Trouble in August. The album contains nine tracks including the lead single and video VHS, a song that hearkens back to the summer of ’89. “It makes the listener mentally revisit the days when going to the beach and requesting ’80s hard rock on the radio was the way we spent our time. It was some of the best times of my life and I wanted to capture that feeling in song.” says frontman Brett Kelly. Recommended for fans of Kiss, Alice Cooper, Winger and Warrant, Gelatin Skelatin’s Big Trouble is due out on Aug. 9.”
Harpazo | Ichor
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Crucible is the debut album from Harpazo, the supergroup formed by guitarist Marc Centanni and producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery, Ayreon). This progressive metal rock opera is a thrilling journey through a dystopian future, merging elements of progressive and power metal with symphonic and Celtic influences. Today the band share the lyric video for Ichor. DC Cooper (Royal Hunt) shares mic duties with Wehrkamp while prog-rock drummer Mark Zonder (Warlord, Fates Warning) lays down creative beats. The song incorporates dramatic dystopian symphonic orchestration and merges it with potent melodic guitars. The chorus features a large and expansive vocal melody that we believe will immediately capture your attention and stay stuck in your head for days.”
Derelict | Venus Entropy
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After unleashing their album Versus Entropy in June following a 12-year hiatus, Montreal’s Derelict deliver a new drum playthrough from Tommy McKinnon for the record’s title track. “I decided to choose this track because I thought it represents the album very well as far as style,” says McKinnon. “It mixes groove, melody, and brutality… The drums on the video are recorded in one take, and I left the timing 100% natural. I wanted this to be sort of a live version of the song and the sound has no triggers at all.” Known for their brutal yet melodic technical death metal, Derelict are driven by collaborative synergy between singer Eric Burnet and guitarist Max Lussier. Each song on the album is a joint effort, with contributions from bassist Sébastien Pittet and McKinnon adding layers of complexity and depth.”
Necronomicon Ex Mortis | Jason Lives
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Necronomicon Ex Mortis just unveiled new tales from the crypt with the EP You and Your Friends Are Dead: Game Over. Now they bring you the video for the record’s closing track Jason Lives. The song is a death/doom retelling of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. Fusing classic death metal, ’80s shred worship and creating gory lyrics about B-horror movies, Chicago’s Necronomicon Ex Mortis unleashed two EPs in 2023, and return in 2024 with their third. “We are slowly trying to bring back the glory of the ’80s dual-guitar attack,” says guitarist Michael Nystrom Bala. “This EP shows Necronomicon Ex Mortis at our most versatile, proving we have multiple ways to rip your face off! We think the fans will love the variety on this release. We want to have the listener have their expectations constantly challenged on this record. These tracks were chosen specifically because they’re all incredibly different from one another.”
Onchocerciasis Esophagogastroduodenoscopy | Facial Gutting
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Quebec City’s Onchocerciasis Esophagogastroduodenoscopy continue their legacy of slam brutality on their upcoming fourth record The Fallen Lament being unleashed digitally on July 19 and on CD Aug. 9. Designed to be both a cerebral and visceral experience, it is a relentless barrage of apocalyptic chaos. Their latest single Facial Gutting, featuring guest vocals from Kiryu Zhang (Dehumanizing Itatrian Worship) teases what’s to come, as the band explain: “With this album, we’ve done what we’ve always done, simply better. We don’t want to stray too far from our original DNA; from what makes the band who we are, but there’s always going to be progression in some direction. This record marks our longest gap between releases, which isn’t something we had in mind, but great art can’t be rushed out the door, and while it may have taken some time to materialize, I’m certain that this record will be everything fans have wanted and then some, because it certainly was for us.”
Turbo | No Savior
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Set to release their high-octane NWOTHM album Broke & Ugly on July 12, Halifax’s moshpit instigators Tutbo sharing the next single and heartbreak anthem No Savior. The track was written by drummer Sylvain Coderre and singer-guitarist Evan Frizzle while both were going through nasty breakups. Say the band: “The lyrics talk about that, and issue a warning of sorts to future ladyfriends: ‘I ain’t no savior, I’ll burn here forever.’ It is definitely one of the album’s standout anthems.” Fast, heavy, and raw, Turbo’s highly anticipated second album Broke And Ugly takes the signature sound that they cultivated on their debut album Fast As Fvck and sees the quartet fine-tune it along with throwing in some peppering and experimentation into the songs, it’s certainly no rehash, fans of the first album’s sound will certainly rejoice.”
Feed After Midnite | Doomed
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Feed After Midnite are a five-piece metal/hard rock band from Ottawa. We have been active on the scene since 2018. They take a large amount of inspiration from horror movies, current events, and childhood memories. When they started they had a predominantly hard rock sound which evolved into heavier stylings but at the same time, remaining catchy and simple. RIYL Deftones, Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage and Faith No More.”
