6 New Songs You Need to Hear This Week: 2/2/18 | Page 2 | Revolver

6 New Songs You Need to Hear This Week: 2/2/18

Earthists., Judas Priest, Misery Index and more
earthists.jpg
Earthists.

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.

Earthists. - "memento mori"
"We believe this song could help you think about why we are alive and re-examine the life value associated with comprehending death without biases," guitarist Yuta Tanaka says of the Japanese progressive metalcore group's head-spinning new cut. While "memento mori" may fall short of that lofty (if somewhat inscrutable) goal, the song does show off the band's self-described "nature-core" approach at its max impact — djenty riffage, spidery leads and burly vocals roaring philosophical lyrics, all strung together in a dense, jazzy arrangement that twists and turns without ever losing forward momentum.

Judas Priest - "Firepower"
For those fine folks at Merriam-Webster who are still on the fence about adding "metal" to the dictionary as an adjective, may we present "Firepower," the title track of Judas Priest's upcoming 18th album. When it comes to describing its surging verses and dueling guitar solos — the musical equivalents of a hellhound train, and twin dragons trapped in a fight to the death, respectively — words like "epic" and "ferocious" just don't cut it. With that said, we've got no choice but to defy the standards of modern English: "Firepower" is a very metal song from one of the most reliable, most metal metal bands of all time.

Greyhaven - "Echo and Dust Pt. I"
Louisville, Kentucky's Greyhaven seethe, soar and swagger on "Echo and Dust Pt. I," the lead single from their forthcoming sophomore album Empty Black. It's progressive without being indulgent or sacrificing human emotion, and once it gets going, it swings like Every Time I Die at their catchiest, or Dillinger Escape Plan at their most rock & roll.
 

ZEKE - "Working Man/Hellbender/County Jail"
Do you like beer? What about slapping fives? Friendship? Fast cars? Zeke goes perfectly with all of these things; high octane punk-thrash as fun and obnoxious as the hotrod that graces the cover of their new LP Hellbender, their first in 14 years. "Working Man/Hellbender/County Jail," the latest three-for-one from the Seattle band, proves that Zeke are back and haven't lost a step.

Misery Index - "I Disavow"
It's been a little bit since we last heard from Misery Index, the brutal political grind spawn of uber-breakdown-slam faves Dying Fetus. Their latest is a pitch down the middle of what we're used to, a double-kick-blasting, deathgrind howitzer of hate called "I Disavow." Fans of the band's previous work will know and love the formula all over again, while the unfamiliar should latch on to this monster very quickly.

Broken Cross - "Militant Misanthrope"
Nilkas Holm — the mastermind of apocalyptic-hardcore legion Broken Cross — approached the band's sophomore album Militant Misanthrope as a nostalgic exercise of sorts. "Although it comes from a dark place, I tried to write an album that would appeal to the kid in me," he told Revolver. "The apocalypse can be fun, too." Accordingly, the LP's whirling-dervish title track takes the seething with the starry-eyed to great effect, a catchy riff whirring over here, a mucky blast beat thundering over there — and, true to Holm's intent, morbid revelry all around.