Welcome to today’s episode of The Grindhouse, kiddos. Take a seat and get comfortable. Before we get started with the music, malevolence and mayhem, how about a few jokes? Here goes: What do you call a heavy metal band with financial problems? Megadebt! Did you hear about that new Christian metal band? They’re called Nuns N’ Moses. What kind of music do windmills like? They’re huge metal fans! OK, enough of that. Let’s get down to business with another roster of noisemakers who aren’t kidding around:
Morningstvr | Whispers Of A Nameless Fear
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With just a few weeks until the release of his new album A Fate Engraved, synth-based black metal artist Morningstvr has released the final advance single and video for Whispers Of A Nameless Fear. The track serves as the penultimate piece on the album and represents some of Sam Tchortov’s most atmospheric and evocative work to date. He comments on what to expect: “Taking a line from the intro dialogue to Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, the outro track of the album brings forth the themes of a dark fall, creating a more atmospheric sense, giving a taste of what the next album shall entail, the lyrical content consists of how I find peace in certain atmospheric settings and specific parts of the year, its ending with strong winds gives the listeners an eerie sense of what is to come next.”
Night’s Edge | Smite
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Set to release their fourth album The World That Never Was on Aug. 21, Baltimore band Night’s Edge unveil their latest single Smite accompanied by a lyric video. A sinister midtempo crusher, Smite is a song made for headbanging — and dancing! With unpredictable changes, Latin choirs and soaring synths, Smite is an invitation to the Night’s Edge cult. “This is one of our heaviest songs and will be a staple of the live show for years to come,” says singer / bassist / keyboardist Brian Haran. “We wrote it intending to make a heavy song that satisfies both the headbangers and the dancers in the crowd. When coming up with a BPM, I was inspired by songs like Slipknot’s Custer, which is as heavy and aggressive as it is danceable. Our plan worked, playing this song live leads to all-out brawls in the pit while people do the Macarena on the sidelines; it’s a good time.”
Derev | Darker Self
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After wrapping up their Western Canadian tour in support of their first full-length Troubled Mind, Toronto prog outfit Derev share their latest lyric video Darker Self. It is the album’s closing track and speaks of embracing our true selves. Specifically, the instinctual, animalistic side we often suppress in an attempt to please others. Ignoring the value that this side of us brings in dire times renders us weak, fragile, and miserable. “Our darker self is portrayed as a beast in hibernation,” they say. “The lyrics start by enticing this animal to ‘Rise up and shake the dust off.” As the song progresses, we begin to understand the true value of these traits that were deemed disgraceful and learn to embrace them, rather than bury them.”
Famous Strangers | L.S.C.
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Edmonton’s Famous Strangers unveil their fourth single L.S.C. as they gear up to hit the road this summer. L.S.C is meant to take you on a ride. It starts soft, like it is letting you in slowly, and then it flips the switch. The heaviness hits out of nowhere. It grabs you, shakes you, and then drags you through the rest of the track without letting go. It eases you in, then completely takes over, and by the time it is done, it feels like it has drained the life out of you in the best way. “LSC is one of the most intense and personal songs we’ve released,” says guitarist Jeff Kittilitz. “It digs deep into power, obsession, and emotional survival, all wrapped in a sound that’s meant to hit you hard and stay with you. It is heavy, emotional, and completely unhinged in the best way. Come get some.”
Moniker | Hindsight
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Vancouver progressive collective Moniker’s new single Hindsight is now available. It follows the track From The Grave, released in March, and their first self-titled full-length unleashed back in 2021. “To those who know us, it will be just as everyone expects,” they say. “For those who don’t know us, prepare for the unexpected. This single gives a balance between clean melodies and delay-saturated guitar licks, all the way to soul-crushing riffs with gut-wrenching screams. Time flows on and on, whether we want it to or not. Our vision may be clouded, but hindsight is 20/20.”
