Weekly Update #11 – March 31, 2024

FEATURED ALBUM
Heavensgate // And All I Loved, I Loved Alone
Released: February 24, 2023

This is an excellent debut EP from a newly formed band. They’ve mixed Dealer’s attitude and aggression with Loathe’s spacey atmosphere – an unlikely combination that works wonders.

Heavensgate includes Josh Ang, the major songwriter from Dealer’s first EP, and credits drum production to a member from Loathe. I actually hear more of Loathe’s influence in the guitars, but that style seems to be everywhere these days.

The Dealer / Alpha Wolf sound has taken over in the last few years, but Heavensgate differentiates themselves in two main ways. First, they add the atmosphere from Loathe’s ‘The Cold Sun’ to give songs more depth. “SHEMOVESLIKETHUNDER” actually sounds like it belongs on ‘The Cold Sun,’ which is fine with me, that was peak Loathe. This method gives the traditional, straightforward songs some extra flavor.

Second, Heavensgate shows their softer side in “GINSICK” and “LOVERSDANCE.” Most bands just try to check the “melodic cleans” box, but Heavensgate pulls it off without breaking away from their overall sound. I especially like the combination at the end of “GINSICK” where it feels like everything is falling apart.

Playlist of New Songs

Quick playlist highlights:

– I haven’t listened to a lot of Orthodox, but I like them in small doses. The brooding vocals are pretty badass – very similar to King 810.

– Foreign Hands is basically early 2000’s metalcore. If you like that style, you’ll love these guys. If you don’t, this is a good chance to expand your horizons.

– Ameonna dropped a solid EP earlier this year and is already back with another single. In case you don’t know, this is Alex Koehler’s new band (he was the original vocalist of Chelsea Grin).

– Bodysnatcher featuring Jamey Jasta (vocalist of Hatebreed) was fun. I should give Hatebreed a spin this week, it’s been a while…

– SeeYouSpaceCowboy is always eclectic, but this one feels especially theatrical. I’ve mentioned it before, but after this song it’s for sure – I definitely prefer the normal singing over Connie’s sassy style.

– Allagaeon blends technical and melodic death metal really well. Their original vocalist just returned to the band.

From The Archives

Of Mice & Men in the early 2010’s was another animal. The Star Wars intro and the Waka Flocka breakdown in O.G. Loko was so sick. Skip to 6:38 for one of the hardest breakdowns ever.

Fun Fact – Deleted Song from The Plot In You

As you know, I’m creating the most epic playlist of all time. I’ll have an update on that soon, but as I was adding songs to it from The Plot In You, I noticed that “Shyann Weeps” is no longer on Spotify. I had that song on other playlists, but it’s greyed out and inaccessible now.

It’s supposed to be on the album ‘Could You Watch Your Children Burn,’ but it looks like TPIY completely removed it. The music video has also been deleted from Rise Records’ YouTube channel. Luckily for us, someone re-uploaded it to a different channel (see video below).

Apparently the song is about a real person that Landon knew and the name of the song is very similar to her real name. Landon has basically disavowed most of TPIY’s early music, but it’s a little surprising that a song would be entirely erased. I mean, yeah, listen to that intro, it’s pretty ruthless, but the song is a banger.

There’s probably something to be said about the merits of physically owning media vs. streaming it. I don’t like the idea that music can be entirely erased from Spotify. You never really own it unless you can access it any time you want. And on that note, this week’s newsletter is brought to you by Limewire and YouTube to MP3. You might infect your computer with viruses that rival the worm from Dune, but at least you can listen to “Shyann Weeps” anytime you want.