6 New Songs You Need to Hear Now: 12/21/18 | Revolver

6 New Songs You Need to Hear Now: 12/21/18

Haunt, Hexvessel, Altarage and more
haunt band-alejandro-ramos-web-crop.jpg, Alejandro Ramos
photograph by Alejandro Ramos

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 metal, hard rock and hardcore that have been on heavy rotation at Revolver HQ. For your listening pleasure, we've also compiled the songs in a Spotify playlist, which will grow each week.

Haunt – "If Icarus Could Fly"
Between Beastmaker and Haunt, Trevor Church does not sleep when it comes to releasing new music. He's already announced that If Icarus Could Fly — the full-length follow up to Haunt's 2018 record, Burst Into Flame — will arrive on May 17th, 2019. The news arrived along with the album's ripping title-track, which showcases the band's penchant for Thin Lizzy-style riffery with sweeping solos and melodies. Staying true to the song's name, the band soars in its end half — wrapping its solo around Church's words "stand up and fight" before its glorious, flaming conclusion.

Hexvessel - "Closing Circles"
For nearly 10 years Mat McNerney — also of Grave Pleasures and Beastmilk fame — has been exploring the mystical intersection between nature and music with his Finnish psych-folk act Hexvessel. On their latest single "Closing Circles," the group embodies the spirit of the winter solstice, evoking the delicate balance between life and death through their hypnotic instrumentation. The charge of violins sways between serenity and sadness, accepting what the future holds while being mindful of the past.

Lindemann - "Mathematik"
Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann may be outrageous onstage with his main project, but his solo career is certainly not a muted extension of his bewildering and raucous presence. His latest single "Mathematik" sees the burly singer take on a more hip-hop inflected stance while incorporating dark, heavy beats into the mix to maintain an industrial, menacing tone. The video for the track features Lindemann at his weirdo best, crawling around in cash wearing a schoolgirl outfit — before the grand finale where he shows off his famous crotch-thrusting capabilities into a mysterious taker (who turns out to be himself in another costume). The brawny German's infamous street style melds skillfully with his apt enunciation, making what sounds like a recipe for potential disaster an actual fucking banger.

INTRCPTR – "D.I.W.I.W.Y.L."
INTRCPTR is all about the riffs — which shouldn't be surprising considering the duo is made up of Pelican drummer Larry Herweg and 5ive guitarist Ben Carr. The pairing results in a sound that combines Pelican's more violent moments with 5ive's deafening guitar work. Their latest single, "D.I.W.I.W.Y.L," is a perfect example of what this band is about: Carr unleashes a torrent of absolutely steamrolling guitar riffs, while Herweg's steady driving rhythm helps the song stay its course throughout this sludge/post-metal journey.

This White Light - "Burning the Veil"
Before he was a lord of droney, heavy darkness in Sunn O))), Greg Anderson was a punk kid like the rest of his bandmates in Engine Kid and Brotherhood. Anderson recently linked up with his old Engine Kid partner Jade Devitt to form This White Light, and now they've dropped a new song "Burning the Veil." The track flows like an intersection of these two lives, creating a midpoint of Revelation Records–style post-hardcore and dark droney riffage.

Altarage - "Inhabitant"
Pure ear-bleeding nightmare fuel, the gripping intro to Altarage's "Inhabitant" is enough to terrify on its own — but it actually acts as a brief conduit into an even deeper pit of anarchic pandemonium weighted down by the foreboding tension of a war-like drum attack. Thick and indomitable, the riffs are less driving and more atmospheric here; a melodic and flowing structure is eschewed in lieu of creating a portal to Hell itself. Eventually the smoke clears enough for a series of staccato strikes, but never once does the infernal oppression lift.