Weekly Update #26 – August 25, 2024

FEATURED ALBUM
Windwaker // Hyperviolence
Released: July 12, 2024

I’ve noticed that a lot of my favorite albums this year can be described with one word: fun. I’ve been trying to understand why, and I think it’s driven by a desire to return to the type of metalcore I grew up with. Back in the early 2010’s, metalcore used to be fun. We had bands like That’s Outrageous, Casino Madrid, Ten After Two, and From Atlantis – all of which have fewer than 10,000 monthly listeners these days, but those were formative bands for me. They showed that heavy music could have personality and sometimes be a little weird. If you need a more popular example, think of Attack Attack!’s self-titled album from 2010 – “Shut Your Mouth” and “Fumbles O’Brian” were pretty far out there, but they worked.

We lost that quirkiness somewhere along the way. Now, even with all the attention I pay to heavy music, it can be hard to tell new bands apart. They follow the same trends, they scream the same way, they have the same sterile “production,” and there’s little else to latch onto. So when I post my album of the year list in December and you wonder why Windwaker, Galleons, Eidola, and Bring Me The Horizon are ranked so highly, it’s because they’re fun.

I hadn’t heard of Windwaker before this year, but from what I can tell, their discography is solid. They started with a pretty typical metalcore sound and began to incorporate more pop and post hardcore elements over time. Those two additions really helped showcase their personality and diversify their sound. The more emotional, post hardcore style singing on their 2022 album was a huge evolution. I still need to give it a proper listen, but “Trenches” and “Superstitious Fantasy” really impressed me.

Shifting to today, ‘Hyperviolence’ is the culmination of lessons learned. Windwaker fully embraced hyper-pop, which you can hear on “Infinity,” and pulled off a convincing “street” feel. Stylistically, there are definitely some similarities to Avoid and Banks Arcade, two other hip, youthful bands that have diverse songs with a lot of energy.

Most importantly, this album is personable. The band’s identity shines through so clearly that I feel like I know the members. Don’t come in with a certain set of expectations – let Windwaker show you who they are.  

Each song has its own distinct sound so I’ll focus on my favorites. “Sirens” is the highlight for me. The chorus is insanely catchy, there’s a good mix of screams, and it’s full of life. Easily one of my favorite songs of the year.

“Break The Rules” is another high point. The hyper-pop elements and urban style give it an underground type of energy. I’m not even sure what that means, but it’s how it makes me feel. The bad boy, carefree lyrics are juvenile but kind of nostalgic. Like listening to pop punk and reminiscing about high school.

“Venom” might be my most controversial pick, but it keeps growing on me. It’s undoubtedly a good time and that’s what this whole review is about. The rap parts flow really well, the singing is on point, and the drops are a blast.  

“Hypnotised” is sensual. “The Wall” is dark and heavy. “Villain” effectively contrasts melody and dissonance. “Fractured State of Mind” combines chaos and an upbeat chorus.

It’s impossible to accurately portray the range of this album, especially when so few bands are doing anything like this. It’s like trying to describe Don Broco to someone – each song is its own adventure. Give ‘Hyperviolence’ a listen and see for yourself. It would be hard to believe that a fan of heavy music can’t find something they enjoy here. Or maybe you just hate fun.

Playlist of New Songs

Quick playlist highlights:

– The Serpent’s Tears is Denis Shaforostov’s new band. If you’ve been around for a while, you’ll remember Denis from Make Me Famous and Drag Me Out. He was also the vocalist on Asking Alexandria’s album titled ‘The Black.’ He’s super talented , but he jumps around a lot, and I think that’s why he hasn’t made it big – he just needs to focus his energy in one place. He said that Drag Me Out is in the studio recording an album so maybe this is just a side project? The most interesting thing to me is that this band has a dedicated screamer which means Denis is singing and only adding a few layered screams. That’s kind of surprising given his ego and the fact that he’s a very good screamer too.

– Kingdom of Giants is releasing a new EP on September 20. It’s been four years since their last album so I’m kind of shocked that they’re just coming back with an EP. The songs have been great, but ‘Passenger’ took them to the moon in 2020 and I don’t know if they’re effectively capitalizing on that momentum. Love the dudes and just want the best for them.

– blessthefall is coming out swinging on these last two singles! Their 2018 album was pretty lackluster, especially compared to ‘Hollow Bodies,’ so I’m stoked to see the heaviness make such a big return.

– I didn’t put Dead Rabbitts right next to blessthefall on purpose, but I laughed when I noticed so I’m not changing it. (Craig Mabbitt, the vocalist of Dead Rabbitts and Escape The Fate, was the vocalist of blessthefall from 2003-2008). Honestly, Dead Rabbitts has been pretty hit or miss for me, but this one is good. Craig is a legend so I like to keep tabs on what he’s doing.

– Traveller has been grabbing my attention recently. They’re a German metalcore band with emotional lyrics and interesting ambiences that offer some reprieve from uncharacteristically heavy moments.

– Gaerea continues to impress. I haven’t been as plugged into black metal, death metal, or the more experimental genres this year, but these guys are phenomenal. The music video for this song is especially cool. I like that the lyrics are pretty easy to follow for how heavy they are. At this point, I think Gaerea will be the highest ranking band on my end of the year list that isn’t standard metalcore/deathcore.

– The Amity Affliction is going to release a re-recorded version of ‘Let The Ocean Take Me’ to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. The band also said, “we are finally an independent band and able to work with independent labels that want to put the music first and can offer us fair and reasonable deals, not the predatory deals that were ubiquitous when we were younger.” I’m guessing that they didn’t make a lot of money from the original version so they’re pulling a Taylor Swift and re-recording it to try to establish their own revenue stream. I haven’t been a big fan of re-recorded albums lately, but we’ll see how this one goes. It’s definitely lower, but I like how Joel’s screams used to sound more.

– The Narrator is another German metalcore band. It’s been a while since a band has embraced the meme and mentioned “the undertow” (listen to 0:36). They’re getting ready to release an album, but I can’t find the release date. Five of the songs are already out though so I’m guessing it’s soon. As a side note, I’m tired of hearing 50% of an album before it even comes out.

– Tilian has released his first song since being kicked out of Dance Gavin Dance. It’s not heavy enough for me to go back to it, but fans of his vocals will be satisfied.

DRAMA – Danny Worsnop Cosplays as American Conservative

The title is kind of bait because Worsnop isn’t cosplaying as a conservative, he actually is one. But the red, white, and blue banner for this story is funny so I’m rolling with it.

Ok, so you probably heard about the Olympics boxing situation with Imane Khelif winning a gold medal. If not, it basically boiled down to whether Khelif has XY chromosomes which would indicate that Khelif is a male that was fighting in a women’s boxing tournament. It gets more complicated because people can have “differences in sex development” which apparently means that chromosomes are not the end all, be all. I’m not an expert at this stuff so I’m not going to try to explain the nuances.

But Danny Worsnop decided that he wanted to wade into the debate, stating, “I mean… how long are we going to play this game? Personal life y’all do what you wanna do. But in combat sports this is not okay by any moral or measurable degree. Tolerance and acceptance has a line and we have to draw it to protect our women. We’re nothing without them.”

He then thought it would be helpful to add, “To clarify, I do not believe in equality. We as men do everything in our power to provide and create for the women of this world, who are magical and wonderful creatures. And we fight relentlessly to protect their elegance and innocence.”

As a result, Twitter had a field day reminiscing over Asking Alexandria’s history of misogyny. Now, to be fair to AA and Danny Worsnop, a lot of this happened when the band members were like 18 years old – so basically dumb high school kids. Still, it’s kind of funny/ironic.

‘Stand Up And Scream’ gave us these gems. Unreal to think that people would buy these and wear them outside.

Somebody then created this compilation of statements from an old Bryan Stars interview that highlights the “shock value” style of comedy from back then. In case the video ever gets taken down, one highlight is, “My favorite part about a girls body is the mouth when she’s not speaking.”

DRAMA – Falling In Reverse Is Suing Anthony Fantano

Rockfeed reported that Ronnie Radke, the frontman of Falling In Reverse, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Anthony Fantano.

The lawsuit apparently focuses on a video from 2023 that Fantano titled, “This Guy Sucks.” Anthony Fantano is a music critic that often stirs the pot with his reviews and commentary.

According to the report, Radke’s lawyer says the video, “exceeds the bounds of permissible commentary and ventures into actionable innuendo, unfounded rumors, and outright falsehoods.”

Ronnie Radke has long focused on free speech, cancel culture, and censorship – the new Falling In Reverse album is particularly one-dimensional in that regard. I haven’t seen Fantano’s video so I can’t say whether it crossed a line, but it is interesting to see Radke turn to the judicial system in an apparent attempt to punish Fantano for what he said. Radke haters will certainly say it’s a hypocritical move to champion free speech and then sue someone for something they said.

Radke has a long list of controversies on his Wikipedia page, including his prison sentence, domestic violence arrest, assault arrest, and rape allegation. That being said, it’s important to stick to the facts and I can’t fault Radke for going after someone if they made false statements about his life.

DRAMA – For Today Vocalist Turned Preacher

Ending on a positive note, Twitter users saw a news story about a Tennessee church paying off $8 million of medical debt for people in their region and realized that the story featured Mattie Montgomery, the vocalist of For Today.

In fact, Mattie is the pastor of the church that raised the money. Here’s the video.

I’m glad to see Mattie get some positive press. The last time he was in the limelight (in 2020), he drew criticism for saying, “Imagine if, when asked about the brutal persecution and murder of over six million Jews, Hitler just shrugged his shoulders and said “My country, my choice!” Just because someone lives in a place you control—a nation OR A WOMB—doesn’t give you the right to kill them.”

I mean, the guy is super Christian and he used to literally preach between songs so it’s not that surprising. He raises money to help people and he compares abortions to the Holocaust. You win some, you lose some.

Let’s close with this banger. I was just going back through For Today’s discography a couple weeks ago. They don’t make them like they used to.