Weekly Update #5 – February 11, 2024

FEATURED ALBUM
The Last Ten Seconds of Life // No Name Graves
Released: February 8, 2024

The Last Ten Seconds of Life is one of my all-time favorite bands. A big reason for that is their 2015 album, ‘Soulless Hymns’ – it’s easily in my top 1% of favorite albums. So after reaching such great heights, how are they faring these days?

Well, they recently got a new vocalist after John Robert C. became the vocalist of Crystal Lake. But honestly, you might not even be able to tell the difference between him and the new guy, and that’s because TLTSOL only has one criteria for prospective vocalists: sound exactly like Storm Strope, the band’s original vocalist.

His vocals were so iconic that it basically consumed the band’s identity. It’s hard to explain his vocal style, but he basically sounds like a brooding madman. Maintaining an absolutely vicious tone while being relatively easy to understand. It creates a special brand of deathcore that is both heavy and accessible.

TLTSOL also recently recruited a new drummer and bassist. Joined by these newbies is guitarist Wyatt McLaughlin, the only remaining original member. I have a feeling that Wyatt is the brains behind the operation – keeping the band’s core sound intact while experimenting with small changes.

And there have definitely been some shifts on recent releases. This time around, I hear similarities to Vulvodynia’s last album. It’s also grittier, like being held down in the muck. TLTSOL has always been heavy, but some of these tracks really lean into it, especially with the gutturals.

On one hand, I do miss the nuance of ‘Soulless Hymns’ and ‘The Violent Sound.’ The songs were heavy but not oppressive. They really stood out as having their own character and identity. I think ‘No Name Graves’ feels darker because there are fewer moments where the band’s quirkiness shines through. On the other hand, I get the sense that this album is meant to be a dark cloud. I just fear that it might get lost among the myriad of other heavy deathcore releases.

Only time will tell if it has the staying power of earlier releases. ‘The Violent Sound’ was controversial when it came out, but I go back to it a lot. The gamble between playing it safe and experimenting is tricky. I normally favor consistency, but truly great albums push boundaries. Playing it safe in deathcore these days might yield decent streaming numbers, but there will be no lasting impact.

It’ll take a while to see where the dust settles on this one. As always, I really like the slow, methodical grooves. TLTSOL is at its best when it doesn’t crowd the track. They’re masters of catchy riffs that give the vocals room to work and that’s where their personal flair shines through the most. “Doomsday Deathtrap” is the best example of this. Other favorites include “Feel My Fangs In You” and “Letania Infernalis.”

Playlist of New Songs

Quick playlist highlights:

– Boundaries has my new favorite song of the year. Their new album comes out in March and I fully expect it to be in my top 10 at the end of the year. The singing from the drummer is an absolutely insane new addition. They’ve never done anything like that before, but it fits so perfectly. I was literally stunned the first time I heard him come in.

– Galleons!?!? How have I never heard these guys before? Huge error on my part that they flew so far under my radar. They have several previous albums so I have some homework to do. This new one is spectacular. It’s kind of like Dance Gavin Dance – very eclectic with tons of character.

– Like Moths To Flames is pissed. Both of their new singles are rippers. Super dark and heavy. These guys have been on an unbelievable streak.

– Left To Suffer have been cranking out music since they hit it big in 2021. The Paleface feature is a fun addition.

– Banks Arcade put out a new EP that’s definitely worth a spin. Not all of the songs are this heavy, but they’re a good time. Kind of like a harder version of Don Broco.

– The Last Ten Seconds of Life had to have a spot in the playlist. This is one of my favorites from their new album.

– Thrown has over a million monthly listeners on Spotify? Dang, when did that happen – they literally only have eight songs. I’ll put some extra thoughts in the drama section below.

– Prompts is one of my favorite Japanese metalcore bands. This track is faster and more chaotic than normal, but I’m here for it. Their 2022 album was really good.

– Eidola just released the first single off their album that’s due in April. It’s also pretty similar to Dance Gavin Dance, which isn’t too surprising since their vocalist (Andrew Wells) is also a rhythm guitarist in DGD. They have some great heavy parts, but they’re normally a little too sparse for me to really commit to liking them. If the new albums trends closer to the style in this single, I’ll be locked in.

– The Stygian Complex is pretty wild. The highs remind me of early Chelsea Grin. HEAVY.

– Catsclaw is another new band for me. I really like their reliance on mid and low screams. They put out an EP in 2023 that I need to check out.

– The Ghost Inside seem to have lost a lot of relevance. They were poised to have the sickest comeback of all time after recovering from their bus accident, but their new material just doesn’t hit very hard. If they did something like ‘Get What You Give’ they would have a huge revival, but this new song is especially boring. Maybe there’s an audience for this, but it’s not me. I miss their hardcore influence.

Drama – Thrown Listener Numbers

I can’t confirm this, but I’ve seen a lot of conversations, even from other bands, about Thrown’s Spotify numbers. Essentially, people think that Thrown is letting Spotify keep their streaming royalties. In return, Spotify aggressively pushes Thrown’s music through its algorithms.

The logic is that if Spotify gets to keep the money from Thrown’s streams, they will push those songs harder to increase their own profits. And honestly, I think it’s true. There was a period of a couple months last year where EVERY single time I finished a metalcore album, the next song Spotify would play was from Thrown.

It’s kind of crazy because they’re definitely a good band, but it really clouds the situation. How many people can they actually draw to shows? They have twice as many listeners as Erra and almost three times as many as Veil of Maya. Both of those band