Hello, dear readers! Welcome to yet another installment of Music Monthly. I, your host with the most, have brought forth yet another riveting selection of music from this past month for you to tantalize your ear holes with. My choices this month are mostly on the metal/hardcore side of things this time around, but I’ve got one pretty major release from the pop world thrown in the mix that I think merits at least a short little chat. I feel like these preambles are getting shorter and shorter every time, but hey, y’all are some pretty smart cookies, so I think you’ve got the drill down by now. With that said, let’s do this thang, shall we?
Bleed From Within – SHrine
This is a SUPER fun one for me, and if you grew up on early/mid 2000’s metalcore too, I bet you’ll be with me on this. Bleed From Within are one of the finest torch bearers around today for that now classic style of riffy, melo-death inspired metalcore that invokes names like As I Lay Dying, old school All That Remains, and especially old school Parkway Drive. Frankly, I’m just gonna come right out and say it…this is what Parkway Drive wishes they sounded like in 2022. No, there’s nothing mind-blowingly inventive here, but nothing here that feels forced or pandering in anyway either. All this record is, and all it needs to be, is just a fun slice of old school metalcore, and that’s really all a guy like me wants sometimes. To pick out some highlights, “I Am Damnation” has the most fire main riff I’ve heard in a hot minute, “Sovereign” shows off some Gojira influence alongside the consistent nods to Parkway Drive, and “Stand Down” is sure to be a epic chant-along anthem for the live shows. So yeah, like I said, if you grew up like me, and you’re itching for something old school that still feels fresh and modern, definitely get this new Bleed From Within on your radar.
Post Malone – Twelve Carat Toothache
Ok, I have a lot of thoughts about this one, but I’ll do my best to keep it brief. Post Malone is unquestionably one of the biggest names in all of music right now, so naturally, anything this guy puts out is gonna pop up on my radar along with anyone else who gives a care about what’s happening in music. Plus, fame aside, I really do love me some Posty jams. Hollywood’s Bleeding is easily one of my favorite mainstream records of the past few years, and no, that’s not just because of the Ozzy feature (though that was a major plus). Our boy, Austin, just has such an impressive knack for pop songwriting, and the stats are proving it. So, the big question today is this: how does Twelve Carat Toothache compare to such a widely beloved back catalog? Well…honestly…its ok. That’s about the most fitting description I can give it. It’s a perfectly ok pop record. Though having said what I did earlier, it should be obvious that this is definitely a step down in my eyes. There’s a couple reasons for this, the biggest one for me personally being some of the…unconventional…production choices. “Lemon Tree” is perfect example of a song that I feel like I really could’ve gravitated toward if it weren’t for the really obnoxious effects placed over Posty’s vocals (he doesn’t need it, y’all). Also, a lot of the songwriting on this album consistently gives off the vibe that the main goal of this record is simply to make more hits and top more charts, and it definitely will, but that’s always been something that happened organically on previous releases. There are definitely positive moments on here, but I really hope the next Post Malone outing just feels a little more natural.
Thornhill – Heroine
So, this new era of Thornhill has been quite the divisive topic in the heavy music community as of late. The Dark Pool was an incredibly well received debut, and it gifted the band with a fast growing fanbase that was eager to hear more of their take of modern progressive metal. Then last year, they dropped “Casanova,” and the response was…we’ll say mixed. As we would come to piece together with this song and the other singles that followed, Thornhill would seem to have traded in the sound of their debut to something more akin to a Deftones/Muse hybrid of sorts, and now that the full product is here, this sound definitely defines the majority of the whole body of work. So what’s my opinion on the switch in sound? I freaking LOVE it. Like seriously, this is a very high contender for album of the year as we stand right now. I love The Dark Pool, but that progressive metalcore sound is really oversaturated right now, so even bands like Thornhill who’ve done it really well still run the risk of getting lost in all the output. This sound on Heroine feels much more fresh, and as a result, it’s definitely getting attention whether it’s positive or not. But like I said, I’m head over heels for this. “Leather Wings” is an awesome, hard hitting cut that has all the energy you want on the front end of a record, but then just a few tracks later we get the total opposite on “Valentine,” a slow, smooth, sexy jam that lets the guitars rest for a moment in favor of some tasteful production that has night drive vibes for days. “Varsity Hearts,” on the other hand, has a perfect balance of both of these dynamics and stands as what I could probably single out as my favorite track on the record. This might not be the Thornhill you know, but I still think if you give this an honest chance, you might find yourself having a good time with this thing.
Kardashev – Liminal Rite
I’ve already sung the praises of Kardashev on this blog before when I listed The Baring of Shadows as one of the best EPs of 2021, but this new full-length takes everything that I loved about that EP and just maximizes all of it. The music is bigger and more grandiose, and Mark’s vocals sound more accomplished than they ever have before. However, what really helps Liminal Rite stand above the pack are the storytelling elements incorporated not only through the song lyrics, but through the addition of these narrative interludes that really help this record feel like a complete experience. Even the variety in song length demonstrates the care put into what each individual song needs. Whether its a cut like “Lavender Calligraphy,” which doesn’t even breach five minutes, or the nearly twelve minute long masterpiece of a closing track that is “Beyond the Passage of Embers, every song feels exactly how long it needs to be, never too short or too long. All this talk of run-times aside, I’d would just recommend you set aside the hour to soak this whole project in front to back, because that’s truly the experience that Liminal Rite was made for.
Emery – Rub SOme Dirt On It
We’ll finish out this month’s selection of new music with a band that means more to me than y’all will ever know. Emery has been one of my favorite bands since I was seven-years-old (I guess it would’ve been ’06 the first time I heard “Studying Politics”?), and as I’ve gotten older and gone through stages of my life where their lyrics became applicable to things I was actually feeling and going through, I’ve only grown to love them more than ever. In fact, The Weak’s End and In Shallow Seas We Sail are both albums I would call perfect 10/10s (NOT something I throw out lightly). Though despite all of this, I have to admit, the last handful of Emery records haven’t really grabbed me as much as I would’ve hoped they would. I mean, every album had its stand-out tracks, but the whole experience isn’t something I’ve found myself coming back to. However, I think Rub Some Dirt On It is gonna be a different story. Right from the get-go, this record has an energy and a fire behind it that I haven’t felt from Emery since the We Do What We Want days. That triple punch of “You Stole God From Me,” “Concussion,” and “Enemy” is absolutely relentless, and even when we move into the more chill sections like “Wizard” and “I Don’t Know You at All,” there’s still so much intense emotion there. I think Emery’s decision to record the whole album live in studio really contributed to the realness of all this emotion put on display, but the other important thing here is that these feelings are supported by the really strong songwriting that I’ve always felt is the band’s strongest asset. Also, “Be Cool” is a blast and a half. Just had to throw that in there. So, indeed, this is the first Emery album in while I could totally see being an AOTY contender for me, and it’s definitely one I’ll be jamming for some time to come.
And, that’s all I’ve got for this month, folks! As usual, be sure to let me and the rest of the MC crew know what your favorite albums of June were, and also let me know if you decided to actually check some of my picks out along with your own thoughts. Thanks for reading, everybody! I’ll be back with y’all in August!
