STEVEN BATTELLE
MIDNIGHT BETWEEN MONTHS
(SUFFER FOR MY ART)KKKKK
FOR FANS OF:Gerard Way,
Queen, Devin Townsend
■ There is something truly wonderful about
Steven Battelle. As frontman with LostAlone, the
Queen-obsessed eccentric proved himself to be
a songwriter for whom melody and hooks come
easy, but for whom the notion of doing anything
standard or by the book is something approaching
anathema. Sadly, LostAlone are no more, but the
boy’s appetite – indeed, need – to create music
that is weird, wonderful and completely untethered
from convention remains unmoved on this second
solo album. He hasn’t harmonised a Jurassic Park
dinosaur sample this time around, but Apple
Tree and the brilliant Shark Infested Stalker are as
perfectly odd slices of pop-rock as you’d want.
Elsewhere, Relax!!! mixes a super-heavy riff with
a thumping electronic beat, while Running Wild
In New York City is a sugar rush and a freak-out
battling inside one melody. It’s a superb, creative,
slightly unhinged return from an oft underrated
but never copied talent. NICK RUSKELL
HALSHUG
Drøm
(SOUTHERN LORD)KKKKK
FOR FANS OF:All Pigs Must
Die, Baptists, Martyrdöd
■ It’s been three years since Halshug’s last LP
Sort Sind, but the Copenhagen trio have kept
their fuzzed-up guitars razor sharp on this return.
From the moment opener Kæmper Imod kicks
in, breathing becomes a struggle as they blast
through any obstacle like a runaway train fuelled by
crust-punk. It’s grotty and lo-fi, melding together
the darkest and most nihilistic elements of D-beat,
post-punk and hardcore. The jackhammer drums
and chainsaw guitars create a cacophonous frenzy
that grinds its way into your skull, while Jakob
Johnsen’s barbaric vocals crush any hopes of radio
play. It does get a bit samey, but Drøm (Danish for
‘dream’) also takes on a more nightmarish form as
it progresses. With the sinister metalwork interlude
of 02.47, the jazz sax on Taenk På Dig Selv, and the
frenetic mid-section of closer Illusion, Halshug do
exercise their experimental muscles here. However,
as a piece of work, it still struggles to stand out in a
crowded scene. LUKE MORTONKILONOVA
OMNICIDE
(SELF-RELEASED)KKKKK
FOR FANS OF: Gama Bomb,
Power Trip, Testament
■ Hurtling out of Newcastle, Brit metal crew
Kilonova arrive with a six-track EP that makes
an impactful first impression. With a sound that
at its heart is rooted in thrash – of the ‘80s Bay
Area-dwelling variety – it’s a mean, skilful collection
that establishes the quartet as ones to watch.
Once brief intro Descent is out of the way and
they tear into Straight To Hell, they make it clear
they’re best served at high speed, and the raw,
scrappy production is well-suited to the frantic
performance. With the exception of the brooding
Own Enemy – which actually sounds like a different
band – each track leaves bruises, while throughout
vocalist Ellen Hill shows that she possesses a snarl
that could strip paint. The best thing here is easily
Hang The Hangman, which is hair-windmilling,
neck-destroying thrash nirvana that explodes in
a fine burst of shredding. Should Kilonova return
with a full-length equalling this quality it’ll be a
beast indeed. DAN SLESSORTOMB MOLD
PLANETARY CLAIRVOYANCE
(20 BUCK SPIN)KKKKK
FOR FANS OF: Incantation,
Demilich, Death
■ If, as per its title, this is a glimpse into what lies
ahead, then the future of the cosmos is going to
be utterly bananas. Toronto quartet Tomb Mold
specialise in an admirably deranged take on death
metal, managing to hark back to the raw energy
of the genre’s gory glory days while embracing an
openness to experimentalism. Opener Beg For Life
feels its way into existence through an ominous
build-up, before the blastbeats hit and merry death
metal hell ensues. The head-spinning title-track
feels like tumbling into an otherworldly abyss,
while Infinite Resurrection and Cerulean Salvation
hit hard in terms of both satisfying heaviness and
genius construction. By the time Heat Death brings
matters to an untimely end, with its proggy lead
guitar providing an oddly iridescent counterpoint
to the nihilistic noise beneath, Tomb Mold have
proven themselves capable of reaching far beyond
the veil of death implied by their inappropriately
primitive monicker. OLLY THOMASWORMED
METAPORTAL
(SEASON OF MIST)KKKKK
FOR FANS OF: Meshuggah,
Gorguts, Nocturnus
■ Taking death metal and strapping it to the
more subtle, chilling horror of Alien, rather than
simply doing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
with blastbeats, is not a new idea, but Wormed
do it with a classiness all of their own. Not only
that, they do it without the use of cheesy, dated
keyboards. Following a science-fiction plot
based around real humans fighting for survival
in a universe where galactic empires clash for
supremacy, the four tracks that make up this EP
are all very Warhammer 40,000, but the technical
prowess on display on Remote Void and Bionic
Relic are impressive, adding to the idea of
machines taking over through its almost robotic
assault. That said, it does at times come across
as a little bit too clinical and precise, with the
dribbling frenzy from which death metal gains so
much of its power replaced by an insistence of
getting every note just-so. But as far as big ideas
and impressive talent go, Metaportal is an EP
that shows just how dedicated Wormed are to
their cause. NICK RUSKELL
METZ
AUTOMAT
(SUB POP)KKKKK
FOR FANS OF:Death From
Above, Melvins, Sonic Youth
■ Canadian noise-punks Metz may be Sub Pop
stalwarts these days, but prior to making their 2012
debut on the storied alt.rock label they released
a spate of singles themselves, all of which have
been trading hands for silly money online. Feeling
less than comfortable about this, the Toronto-
based trio have compiled and re-released them
all here, together with various B-sides, demos and
other oddities. The result will mostly appeal to
completists, but Automat certainly isn’t without a
charm of its own. With the 12 tracks chronologically
ordered, you time-travel through their past, from
the wilfully inaccessible but delightfully frenzied
early blasts of Soft Whiteout and Dry Up, to the
later stuff like Leave Me Out, a song that’s no
less heavy but far more orderly. As a collection,
newcomers can see how the band have developed
into their more recognisable modern form, while
Metz veterans can finally get their hands on those
obscurities without breaking the bank. STEVE BEEBEEGLITTERER
LOOKING THROUGH
THE SHADES
(ANTI-)KKKK
FOR FANS OF:Culture Abuse, Angel
Du$t, Gerard Way
■ The solo project of Title Fight bassist/
vocalist Ned Russin, Glitterer deal in a fuzzy
punk sound that’s not so far removed from
the Pennsylvania punk crew in which its
creator made his name. But whereas Title
Fight’s most recent LP, 2015’s Hyperview,
was a sombre affair, the vibe of Looking
Through The Shades is more relaxed. Songs
like Again and Anxious Eyes are confident,
breezy, lo-fi numbers that ooze a sunny
coolness, while stand-out track Digging
In The Trash is a joyous piece of punk
that grabs you straight away and doesn’t
relinquish its hard grip. That’s not to say
that Ned’s new endeavour lacks emotional
depth, though, with songs like 1001 finding
him searching for meaning and quizzically
asking, ‘Why do we want something more?’ And,
although he might not have all the answers, what
Ned does possess in Glitterer is an intriguingnew outlet for his music, and one that has the
potential to grow into something much more
than a side-project. JAKE RICHARDSONSTRANGE BONES
BLITZ PT 1
(SELF-RELEASEd)KKKKK
FOR FANS OF: The Prodigy,
Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes, Discharge
■ There’s an odd beauty about the modern
British seaside; those down-at-heel resorts feel
stubbornly frozen in time, their fading grandeur
sandblasted with working-class grit. Blackpool
quartet Strange Bones are very much in tune with
this. Railing against “the hyper-normalisation of
modern society, our reliance on self-medication
and self-built technological utopias in a world of
accelerated modernity,” this genre-bending EP
(the first of a series) finds them furiously fighting
back. The Bentham Brothers – Bobby (vocals),
Jack (guitar), Will (bass) – and childhood friend
Stuart Newburn (drums) grew up amongst the filth
and fury of the grassroots punk, and that abrasive
nihilism grates through. Where Give Me The Sun
rattles along with a conventionally concussive
punk flavour, though, it’s in the swaggering, heavy,
electronic textures of Vicious and 24 Calibre that
they truly catch fire. A revolutionary barrage that
ruthlessly hits the spot. SAM LAW
KERRANG! 73