6 New Songs You Need to Hear This Week: 1/19/18 | Revolver

6 New Songs You Need to Hear This Week: 1/19/18

Between the Buried and Me, Zeal & Ardor, Harm's Way and more
Between the Buried and Me 2018 Press Photo
Between the Buried and Me, 2018

Here at Revolver, we're always on the hunt for great new music — 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.

Between the Buried and Me - "Condemned to the Gallows"
15 years into their career, prog-metal flag-bearers Between the Buried and Me stand on the cusp of their most ambitious release yet: an epic, two-part concept album called Automata. Kicking off part one (and the saga writ large) is the roiling, six-minute "Condemned to the Gallows," an inter-dimensional, trans-genre juggling act that, for all its tech-death insanity, melodic twists and turns, and oversized, orchestral swells, never loses track of the plot, musically or otherwise.

The Soft Moon - "Choke"
Five out of five goth-ravers agree: "Choke," the latest single off Soft Moon's forthcoming full-length Criminal, is an absolute stomper. Powered by a hissing industrial backbeat and swathed in staticky fog, it's a no-nonsense chunk of EBM worship that plays out like a prototype version of Nine Inch Nail's iconic "Closer," newly dredged from a vat of battery acid. (We mean that as a compliment.)

Harm's Way - "Call My Name"
While we're on the topic of mechanized bangers, Harm's Way took their burgeoning industrial side to infectious new heights this week with "Call My Name," the crushing new single off the Chicago outfit's much-anticipated album Posthuman. It's not like the band have gone full Reznor or anything; clanging drum loops notwithstanding, the track remains faithful to their hardcore roots. But given the subgenre's notoriously simplistic palette, a little factory flair goes a long way, especially in the hands of one of the most reliable bands in the scene. Smash that play button, STAT.

Insect Ark - "Sea Harps"
Insect Ark has doubled in size since their last LP, which is to say that they've gone from just Dana Schecter to also including touring member Ashley Spungin (also of Taurus, Negative Queen, etc.) as a full-fledged part of the band. "Sea Harps," the latest single from the group's debut for Profound Lore, Marrow Hymns, is a spacious, textural tumble through waves of dark post-metal. Alternately haunting and beautiful, the five-minute-plus track is propelled by synths, guitars, a bowed instrument of undetermined origin and bass, veering determinedly from its initial trajectory and adding the drama bit by bit.

Zeal & Ardor - "Baphomet"
Zeal & Ardor's new song — released as part of the "Adult Swim Singles" series — showcases the same captivating blend of black-metal and slavery-era black spiritual music that made the project's 2016 debut LP, Devil Is Fine, so compelling and controversial. But "Baphomet" has an especial fire and bite to it. Not many artists would think to pit handclaps, foot stomps and choir-like vocals against sputtering blast beats and screeching guitars, but then not many artists are Manuel Gagneux.

The Atlas Moth - "Galactic Brain"
Maybe it's their Chicago upbringing, but at their core the Atlas Moth is a blues band. The bending guitar riffs, dueling harmonies and overall melancholia may not readily tip a hat to the bluesmen of yesteryear, but the overall presentation is darkly emotional in a way that is deeply reminiscent of their desolate, heartbroken songcraft. On "Galactic Brain," the band sways with heavy drama, leaning on a memorable verse to play a post-hardcore version of the blues with a swing that would make Joey LaCaze (R.I.P.) proud.