New Spins: 24th August 2020

I'm hopefully going to be posting a New Spins every Monday from now on, I've been getting sent some great requests from bands to check out their music recently, so plenty of awesome stuff to talk about. This week three very different releases I've been enjoying...

Sail - Mannequin

Sail are a really interesting group, their style of sludge generally evoking the likes of Torche, Baroness and Mastodon. Delving into their previous works definitely gives me the feeling of those bands, and they include some really great vocal hooks and nice details to the songs, showing off a really strong and layered song-craft. However their latest single Mannequin takes this sound into even more unique territory, with vocals that, in both tone and melody, remind me of the post-punk of Grave Pleasures, and even the poppy post-hardcore of Don Broco. It's a brilliant mix, and if they continue down this path I could genuinely see these guys getting big. Check them out if you haven't already.

https://thebandsail.bandcamp.com/ 

Krallice - Mass Cathexis

I've been a big Krallice fan for many years, their mind-bending style of Black Metal puts them right up there with the best in the genre for me, and Years Past Matter still holds up as one of my favourite Black Metal albums. Their new record Mass Cathexis, surprise released a few weeks ago, might be the band's most technical, abrasive and discordantly harmonic record yet; but this is what Krallice do best! It's the second time they have had vocals from Neurosis man Dave Edwardson on record, and across tracks like Set and the death-metal infused title track, his booming growls give another layer to Krallice's sound. Krallice are still pushing themselves forward into new terrain, and it's another mightily impressive album from them.

https://krallice.bandcamp.com/album/mass-cathexis 

Stitchfork - Dead Man / Delia / Demon / Preacher

Stitchfork play a high-octane, southern-fried style of sludgey groove metal. If Crowbar drank a couple of espressos before playing, or if  High On Fire had a few whiskeys before jamming, then it might sound like Stitchfork. They're from the Netherlands and have released four singles this year, all of which are full of heavy riffs, gruff but powerful vocals and pounding drums. The band put in fantastic performances across all four of these singles, my personal favourite of which was Preacher. If you like your sludge on the more southern rock end of things, then definitely check out Stitchfork.

https://stitchfork1.bandcamp.com/