Playlist for July 1 – 14
Quick playlist highlights:
– Miss May I is re-recording ‘Apologies Are For The Weak’ to celebrate its 15th anniversary. It looks like each re-recorded song is going to feature a guest vocalist – the bands on the list include August Burns Red, Currents, After The Burial, Silent Planet, and a bunch of others. Miss May I’s first two albums are certified metalcore classics so newer fans are in for a treat. Personally, I’ll probably still prefer the original because I’ve listened to it for so long and I love the older mix, but this is a very cool effort from the band.
– There’s been a slow trickle of songs from Breakdown of Sanity over the last few years. Their last album came out in 2016 so they’re due for another one in the near future. They hit a hot streak in the mid 2010s, and I’m hoping they can reignite it. They’ve always been one of my favorite bands even if they’ve stayed under the radar of most people.
– Convictions finally announced their new album is coming out on August 2nd. I haven’t seen the full track list yet, but I think they’ve released 5 or 6 of the songs already. I don’t love that strategy because then you only have a handful of brand new songs to listen to when the album drops, but I like everything I’ve heard so I have pretty high expectations at this point.
– I forget how I came across Despite Exile, but their recent singles have been great. I need to go through their whole discography and figure out how they only have 5,000 monthly listeners. This is such a compelling combination of metalcore and deathcore. It kind of reminds me of early Betraying The Martyrs where there was a lot of melody but you knew the deathcore vocals could pop out at any time.
– I can’t tell if As I Lay Dying is gearing up for a new album or not. Either way, they’ve definitely been cooking. The member changes don’t seem to have made much of an impact. If anything, the band seems refreshed and energized. Tim’s vocals are especially good on this one and I like the tinge of darkness.
– Unearth is sounding particularly ferocious in their new singles. I’m always happy to hear new stuff from these guys. A good reminder to revisit their album from last year.
– In Hearts Wake just put out a new album and it might be my favorite from the last two weeks. It’s heavy and I found myself going back to it with ease. I’m not sure if I’ll do a full review, but it deserves the spotlight. The Winston McCall feature is a cool callback to the feature he had on their 2011 album (since this album is supposed to be the dark inverse of that album).
– Oceano’s new album is coming out on August 30 and I’m excited. They’re well established in people’s minds, but I think they’re branching out in cool ways that will turn a few heads.
– Silence/156 continues to incorporate clean singing into their sound. I’m actually pretty into it since their screaming style is purposely more monotonous than others. Their 2022 album was a huge highlight so I’m looking forward to their next one (due out on September 13).