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 death metal, doom-punk, metalcore 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.
Ripped to Shreds - "Reek of Burning Freedom"
If you like your death-metal razor-sharp and lightly blackened, Ripped to Shreds is your new favorite band. Their latest single "Reek of Burning Freedom" is an apoplectic anti-war track written by bandleader Andrew Lee as a scathing critique of America's "indiscriminate bombing" campaign waged on North Korea during the Korean War. The seething is clear with atmosphere-building riffs and an unyielding flurry of breakneck drum licks, allowing a smoky bass to emerge through, which Lee's acerbic wails slice cleanly before he downshifts into the type of gut-wrenching growls that leave weaker throats bloodied.
Witch Fever - "I Saw You Dancing"
Somewhere between Eighties goth and Nineties alternative, Witch Fever's "I Saw You Dancing" is a ferociously fresh take on alt-rock nostalgia that feels brand new in 2022. The song stands tall on its own, but is enhanced by the grainy, cult-heavy visual accompaniment that proves this band is as stylish as they are sludgy. Sultry, leering, and fuzzed-out to the max, the track builds into a seething rage that hits like a ton of bricks by the time they're wailing the creepy end line on repeat: "Oh my, how you've grown!"
Orthodox - "Feel It Linger"
Reminiscent of Slipknot at their grooviest and most brutal, Nashville rippers Orthodox are poised to make a serious impact on the next generation of underground heavy metal with their new track "Feel It Linger" — all thanks to skull-smashing verses hacked in two by one of the most unsettling breakdowns you'll hear this decade. The sing-song lyricism of the spoken-word bits calls to mind the best bits of nu-metal without any of the cheese factor, poising Orthodox for tremendous success with a wide swath of listeners.
Tribal Gaze - "And How They Wept for Eternity"
This track rushes in with an air of technicality that seems, at first, almost too practiced to be truly brutal. They smash that notion to fucking bits at the 30-second mark, though, as a searing riff leads into one of the heaviest caveman stomps imaginable. All the good stuff kicks in with it; inhuman gutturals, chainsaw riffs, murderous blast beats, and all the other clichés you've grown to love if you've been listening to good death metal for any amount of time. Tribal Gaze throws them all together with a distinct Texan swagger, removing the formulaic feeling you get with lesser bands.
Holy Fawn - "Void of Light"
Toeing the line between exquisite sadness and amorous ennui, Holy Fawn spend the majority of "Void of Light" lulling you into a stupor where heartbreak and grief hang in the balance of an aural cloud of reverb and glimmering guitar plucks. Just as you ease into this newfound sense of infinite longing, they pick up the pace and usher in unholy wrath of bombastic screams that are all-consuming, gripping, and snapped in half by the time the song fizzles out in whispers.
Spite - "Proper One"
Do you ever think, "I really want to dance, but it has to be to something really disgusting?" That's what Spite is giving us with "Proper One." Living up to their band name almost too profoundly, the Californian deathcore dealers go straight for the pulsing jugular with an eardrum-shattering assault propped up on staccato, polyrhythmic drumming that recalls Roots-era Sepultura turned up to 11. The track clocks in at under three minutes, giving it the feeling of a caustic explosion that burns to ash as quickly as it lit up the sky.
