Check the week’s fresh slabs of heavy mastery from Cryptopsy, Final Gasp, UnityTX, Body Void and more.
In an effort to cut down the noise, filter the BS and ensure the goods get to the people, the editorial team at Knotfest compiles a weekly shortlist of fresh singles that should definitely get the additional spin – and likely an add to your regular playlist rotation.
Kicking off the month of August, the range of this week’s list covers a broad stylistic spectrum ranging from technical death metal to goth-tinged punk to the hellfire and damnation of modern doom.
Check the menu of mandatory jams that make the cut for all the right reasons.
CRYPTOPSY – “FLAYED THE SWINE” (NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS)
En route to the Canadian outfit’s first full length in more than a decade, Cryptopsy again execute surgical precision with relentless pummel on the latest single, “Flayed the Swine”. Vacillating from hefty groove to punishing, blast-beat driven chaos, the track is as violent and vulgar in substance as it is in style. Clocking in at nearly five minutes, the kind of muscle it takes to deliver with this intensity and duration is a marvel. This is Cryptopsy at their very best.
BODY VOID – “FLESH MARKET” (PROSTHETIC RECORDS)
To properly introduce their next full length affair via Prosthetic Records ominously titled Atrocity Machine, Bay Area brutalizers Body Void have unleashed a slow-burning, spiraling descent into the pits of hell in “Flesh Market”. The hard-hitting, stylized harshness of the track is evident in Willow Ryan’s venomous spew – set to a smoldering composition of death doom that feels downright diabolical. The music is as bleak as it is bulldozing.
UNITYTX – “LOST IN DAYZ” (PURE NOISE RECORDS)
Finding a potent intersection of hardcore heft and hip hop swagger, UnityTX embodies the common ground with their brand of musical catharsis. The band’s latest “Lost In Dayz” gets straight to the point with a bombastic bounce intended to make you move. Sourcing elements of nu-metal, metalcore and that DIY ethos of hardcore, UnityTX deliver aggressive art that is as authentic as it is infectious.
EXTINCTION A.D. – “MORALITY BAIT” (UNIQUE LEADER RECORDS)
Metallic hardcore lifers Extinction A.D. personify that New York vs. Everyone defiance every time they churn out a record. The band’s latest is emphatic middle finger aimed squarely at the virtue signaling contingent that exploit morality for personal gain. Fueled by a real sense of confrontation, the track is intended to be ruthless and resonates as such – hulking with riffs and seething with cynicism.
FINAL GASP – “CLIMAX INFINITY” (RELAPSE RECORDS)
Due to make their Relapse Records debut next month with the highly-anticipated Mourning Moon, it’s hard to imagine FInal Gasp are functioning at such a high level this early into their career. “Climax Infinity” offers another example of the band’s deft songwriting and balanced meld of hardcore, metal and goth. Composing the kind of songs that tap into something timeless, it’s obvious why this band has generated such a buzz among fans across the spectrum of heavy music.
KILL THE LIGHTS – “HEAR YOU SCREAM” (FEARLESS RECORDS)
Massive harmonies, charging, galloping riffs and a pair of mighty breakdowns anchor the latest from Kill the Lights. The amalgam of veteran players formerly of Bullet for My Valentine, Throw the Fight, Threat Signal, and Still Remains are back to add the momentum of their earlier summer single, “Broken Bones”. Showcasing shred-heavy synchronicity and rapid-fire execution, Kill the Lights have added another banger to their arsenal, previewing what looks to be another blitz comparable to the dynamic 2020 debut, The Sinner.
