6 New Songs You Need to Hear This Week: 12/22/17 | Page 2 | Revolver

6 New Songs You Need to Hear This Week: 12/22/17

Lucifer, American Nightmare, Venom and more
Lucifer 2017 Press Photo

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.

Lucifer - "Faux Pharaoh"
Gather around the funeral pyre, folks! International doom lords Lucifer are back, and this time, they've got a new axeman and songwriter in their ranks, Nicke Andersson of Entombed and Helicopters fame. "Faux Pharaoh," the first single from the trio's upcoming album Lucifer II, finds the guitarist showing off his stoner-y side, with blistering, faintly blackened riffs that melt into frontwoman Johanna Sadonis' lilting melodies like melted gold. The track's subject might be a royal fraudster, but make no mistake: On "Faux Pharaoh," Lucifer's doom-metal majesty is anything but a put-on.

American Nightmare - "The World Is Blue"
"The fire of youth burns in a world that's blue," American Nightmare frontman Wes Eisold rants on the Boston hardcore band's first new song in 14 years, a harbinger of the group's forthcoming self-titled LP, due in February. And indeed, while he and his bandmates may not be as fresh-faced as they were during the band's first run, that fire still burns inside them, too, judging from the thrashing, incendiary cut. It's a far cry from the icy dark wave of Cold Cave, the synth-driven project with which Eisold has made his name in the interim, but no less compelling.

Venom - "We the Loud"
While the debate rages over who is the real Venom (this version with Cronos or the Venom Inc featuring three former members), all that truly means is double the bands performing "Black Metal," "Countess Bathory" and other savory hits from the dawn of the era. The latest from Venom is "We the Loud," a dependable, Motörhead-y burner from their new EP, 100 Miles to Hell. Considering the title of their landmark studio debut (Welcome to Hell), we'll make a point to say that the trio is not regressing or tracing over old footsteps, except to write material that can sit beside the classics.

Cthonic - "Souls of the Revolution" (ft. Randy Blythe)
Judging from what we've seen so far, Tshiong, the Taiwanese metal band Chthonic's new, revolution-themed action-comedy film, looks like a damn good time; after all, it's not every day that we get to see Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe play a parodic version of himself on the silver screen. Sadly, the film doesn't seem to be headed to the West anytime soon — but hey, at least we've got the kickass theme song "Souls of the Revolution," which also features a Blythe cameo! Come for his distinctive feral growls and stay for Chthonic's epic soundscapes: thrilling mergers of Taiwanese folk, grindcore and power metal.

Tribulation - "Lady Death"
Swedish metal stalwarts Tribulation teach a masterclass in suspense on "Lady Death," the titular warcry from their new EP. Its agonizing, 20-second intro, all ominous strings and howling winds, is more or less the aural equivalent of being dangled by a spiders' thread over a frozen sea, which in turn makes the ensuing death-rock romp all the more pleasurable. Just when you think the band has found its groove for good, guitarist Jonathan Hultén swoops in with a reverb-soaked solo that accomplishes a similar effect. Contrast is a beautiful thing, and "Lady Death" is downright gorgeous.

Iron Void - "The Coming of a King"
Iron Void are a U.K. doom trio who keep it old school, upholding the Sabbathian mores of their homeland with hulking riffs and cantering tempos. Like the rest of the group's forthcoming album Excalibur, "The Coming of a King," is rooted in British tradition: specifically ol' King Arthur, saluted here with smoldering fretwork and an arrangement so grand you almost forget that the Middle Ages were actually pretty shitty, what with the plagues and the wars and the beheadings and the 31-year life expectancy and all.