Here at Revolver, we're always on the hunt for new songs to bang our heads to — indeed, it's a big part of our jobs. With that in mind, here are the tracks released this week in metalcore, hardcore, deathcore and more that have been on heavy rotation at Revolver HQ. For your listening pleasure, we've also compiled the songs in an ever-evolving Spotify playlist.
The Devil Wears Prada - "Salt"
"'Salt' is a song about trying to move forward and then feeling like nothing ever changes, even when you've seemingly done everything right." That's how the Devil Wears Prada describe their latest offering, and while those sentiments surely ring true to them on a personal level, it's the antithesis of their band's sonic progression. The metalcore gang have constantly reinvented themselves with each record, and this preview of Color Decay displays their finely honed melodic chops in a way that doesn't lean unevenly on an out-of-place hook. Every element has a purpose and it all clicks into place in a way only TDWP can accomplish.
Lamb of God - "Nevermore"
Lamb of God never miss. "Nevermore," the lead single off the Virginian metal juggernaut's upcoming album, Omens, delivers all that an LOG die-hard could hope for: sludgy, thrashy riffery, vocalist Randy Blythe's clean and unclean vocals, a slick solo and a pummeling breakdown. Sonically, it's all about neck-snapping ferocity, but lyrically, there are twists and turns as Blythe intertwines nods to Edgar Allan Poe's classic poem "The Raven" with apocalyptic evocations of both America's racist past and embattled present.
Speed - "Move"
Speed are the biggest hardcore band out of Australia in at least a decade, and it's easy to see why. For as fierce and toothy as "Move" is, it's also got string bends that sag like a deflated tire, a splash of vocal echo during the mosh call, and a tambourine jangling in the back of the two-step part. These are tiny details that make all the difference when they're plunked in to the type of sturdy, nasty, swaggering metallic hardcore pounders that Speed write.
Telekinetic Yeti - "Primordial"
Telekinetic Yeti are a band who appreciate the relatively uncomplicated, yet commonly bungled, recipe that yields superior doom metal. First off, their name is perfectly absurd and their press photos get right down to business, showing the shaggy-haired duo toasting joints in the woods or posing in front of giant Orange amps. Then comes the music, which they have a masterful grip on during a song like "Primordial." The fuzz is cutting but not too garbled, the volume blisteringly loud but not overblown, the riff dirgy but speckled with enough psych-y fairydust to keep things interesting.
OV SULFUR - "Wide Open"
Blackened deathcore is having a serious moment right now — from the internet-breaking anthems of Lorna Shore to the corpse-painted incantations of Worm Shepherd. Enter OV SULFUR, a Vegas quintet helmed by former Suffokate vocalist Ricky Hoover. Newly signed to metal stronghold Century Media, the band dropped "Wide Open" this week, a keyboard-laden, horror-laced face-melter worthy of genre OGs Winds of Plague, whose own Michael Montoya, a.k.a. Morgoth Beatz, produced the damn thing. Coincidence? We think not.
KEN mode - "A Love Letter"
As their fans know well by now, KEN mode take their name from Henry Rollins' mantra when touring with Black Flag: "Kill Everyone Now Mode." So, no, their new single "A Love Letter" is not a love song. Venomous, abrasive and chaotic, the touchstones here are the Jesus Lizard, the Melvins and, of course, anything Rollins. Throw in John Zorn's Naked City, too — due to the presence of Kathryn Kerr, whose squawking saxophone consummates her new full-time KEN mode membership.
