The return of Racetraitor, plus new bangers from Bewitcher, Brazilian thrash crew Nervosa, Lord Dying and more.
This week’s shortlist of brand spanking new essentials source a rich, classic pedigree of extreme music to tap into a sound that is both timeless and contemporary simultaneously. Each of the bands featured on the latest installment of Mandatory Jams come from an old school lineage that understand the importance of honoring your roots, while moving the culture forward.
The result is a collection of tracks that assert all the musical muscle we love about extreme art, without imitating something already done. The tunes are timeless, fresh, modern and menacing.
Check the Mandatory Jams of the week.
The third cut from the band’s now available Jailbreak LP, “Elements of Sin” is maelstrom of chugging guitars, charging percussion and commanding performance from Prika Amaral that underscores her prowess as Nervosa’s lead. Incorporating accents of thrash’s speed and death’s brutality, the final preview of the album offers a emphatic snapshot of the band’s well-rounded approach to classic heft.
An important, formative band in the early powerviolence movement in the 90’s and a champion for social reform in hardcore, Illinois collective Racetraitor have been an underground fixture going into their third decade. The veteran assembly of artists and social advocates are set to release Creation and the Timeless Order of Things this fall – a mammoth undertaking of experimental hardcore that includes contributions from Dennis Lyxzen (Refused), Tim Kinsella (Joan of Arc, Cap’n Jazz), Stan Liszewaki (Terminal Nation), Sanket Lama (Chepang) and Ethan Lee McCarthy (Primitive Man).
On the album’s opening track, “Eid” singer Mani Mostofi and guitarist Dan Binaei source their Iran lineage and family stories following the 1979 Revolution for a daring track that implements Persian classical instrumentation and a guest vocal spot from UK-Iranian vocalist, Patrick Hassan of xRepentancex. The video itself speaks to the authenticity of the band, with videographers filming in public spaces in Tehran – an act that could have led to arrest from authorities in the country.
Spearheaded by Volbeat vocalist/guitarist Michael Poulsen, the trio of veteran players in vocalist Marc Grewe and Morten Toft Hansen offer homage to classic extremity with a presentation that nods to the greats like Death, Bolt Thrower, Entombed, Autopsy and Grave to name just a few. For the latest serving from the band’s debut, Impii Hora, “Wolfpack Laws” worships at the altar of classic brutality with a brand of no-frills savagery that translates as wholly timeless.
Portland sludge practitioners Lord Dying went full tilt with the introduction to their next full length, Clandestine Transcendence due out at the start of next year. “I AM NOTHING, I AM EVERYTHING” offers the complete range of the band’s sonic arsenal. Bolstered by the production of the legendary Kurt Ballou, the tandem of Chris Evans and Erik Olsen execute a blistering performance that culminates with a mammoth solo that punctuates a promising first glimpse of their next full length.
Speed metal mystics Bewitcher have confirmed a comprehensive compilation in Deep Cuts & Shallow Graves: Ten Years of Black Leather, Black Magic & White Hot Fucking Steel which features original demo recordings, rare and previously unreleased music and two new gems – including “Manifesting Darkness”. The furious five-minute tall whip is helmed by frontman/axeman M. von Bewitcher with the kind of performance that can best be described as bulldozing.
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