New Loud Rock Adds: Belzebong, Intronaut
Belzebong - Greenferno: One time in college, you go to pick up a friend from their apartment. That friend has a notoriously sloppy roommate. When you arrive at their apartment and enter the doorway, you are blasted with hot air reeking of skunky cannabis. As you near the living room, a dimly lit haze grows thicker, and the sound of extremely heavy instrumental metal becomes excessively loud. On the couch in the living room is a dirty, long-haired 20-something smoking a three foot bong. “CHAD!” Your friend yells through the sounds of psychedelic guitars dueling over slow, sludgy riffs. “Turn down the Electric Wizard bullshit!” The roommate looks up and coughs heavily, shrouding his face in smoke. “What’s up, bro? You guys wanna rip?” Your friend sighs. “It’s 10 A.M. dude. We’re going to class.” That roommate was listening to Greenferno by Belzebong. This music descends directly from the legendary stoner influences of Bongzilla and Electric Wizard in the 90s. It’s a genre that some may consider outdone, but there’s definitely still room for excellently executed records and that’s exactly what Belzebong has delivered. “Diabolical Dopenosis,” the opening track, is nine minutes of glorious fire! CHRISTIAN
RIYL: Electric Wizard, Sleep, Bongzilla
Recommended Tracks: Diabolical Dopenosis (1), Goat Smoking Blues (3)
Intronaut - The Direction of Last Things: I didn’t know Intronaut until the release of their 5th studio album, The Direction of Last Things, which is surprising since they have routinely opened for bands like Tool and Mastodon. I have genuinely never heard a band quite like Intronaut before. To me, The Direction of Last Things sounds like someone took a handful of very different metal subgenres and put them together into this new indescribable work of art. I frequently write about albums that incorporate variety across the tracklist, between songs. The Direction of Last Things is welding together movements within each song. This record DEFINITELY possesses the progressive and experimental feel of Tool. It also incorporates heavy djent-like breakdowns ala Born of Osiris (see last email). Alternative metal, think Deftones, is highly prominent in this record. Check out “The Pleasant Surprise” to see what I mean. Through all this, vocalist Dave Timnick is just absolutely slaying it. He’s got a fantastic range between soft melodic vocals and full on death metal screaming. That was a relief, when vocals can ruin a band for me pretty often. I really like this album, end of story. CHRISTIAN
RIYL: Deftones, Born of Osiris, Tool
Recommended Tracks: Pleasant Surprise (3), The Unlikely Event of a Water Landing (4), City Hymnal (7)