Heavy Music of the Week is a function on Heavy Consequence breaking down the highest steel, punk, and exhausting rock tracks you have to hear each Friday. This week, No. 1 goes to Alien Weaponry’s “1000 Pals.”
One of many issues about thrash that units it aside from different steel subgenres is its proclivity for socially, politically, and traditionally topical lyrics. New Zealand’s Alien Weaponry have made this a central a part of their act, utilizing their platform to unfold consciousness about their Māori ancestry and the indigenous cultures of their homeland.
Nevertheless, on “1000 Pals,” the trio sort out a bigger and extra dystopian matter: the ubiquity of social media in these turbulent occasions. This on the heels of a mass exodus from main platforms following the election of Donald Trump and his subsequent alignment with Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, the string-pullers of Fb and X, respectively.
To a soundtrack of technical riffs and mechanized thrash, the trio supply a warning towards one thing that’s so common, so normalized, that it feels irreversible. To delete your account is to disconnect from the way in which the plenty at present talk. Freedom from the algorithm in trade relative isolation. The message of the tune lingers lengthy after the ultimate notes dissipate.
“The human thoughts wasn’t constructed to grasp the world we’re at present dwelling in,” states the band grimly.
Honorable Mentions:
A Day to Bear in mind – “LeBron”
At age 40, NBA star LeBron James continues to play at an elite degree, seemingly defying the passage of time and the traditional knowledge that he’s “too outdated” to compete with the league’s younger stars. He actually does make an ideal analogy for a band like A Day to Bear in mind, a bunch of scene vets nonetheless on the grind. On this pop-punk ditty, ADTR flip the chook on the naysayers and detractors, taking the aforementioned analogy a step additional and channeling King James in his late-career prime (when he gained the finals throughout his second stint with the Cavs). “You’ll see after I’m lengthy gone / Prefer it’s 2016, and I’m LeBron,” boasts frontman Jeremy McKinnon.
Machine Head – “UNBØUND”
Anybody who has seen Machine Head stay lately can vouch for Robb Flynn’s palpable onstage charisma. If there’s part of the tune that doesn’t require him to play guitar, he’ll increase his arms, clap, hoist the horns, and encourage the viewers to do the identical. “UNBØUND” sounds prefer it was written particularly for these moments, tapping into that stay power with its battle-cry vocal chants and mosh-ready riffs. The tune will certainly incite some viewers participation on the band’s upcoming tour.
Melvins 1983 – “Victory of the Pyramids”
This epic from the Melvins alternate “1983” lineup, that includes frontman Buzz Osborne paired with authentic drummer Mike Dillard, explores a number of completely different kinds. The primary couple minutes might be its personal tune — a blast of uptempo storage rock — whereas the rest of the observe dives right into a cavernous nicely of very Melvins-y sludge steel, Dillard slowing the tempo in flip. The digital textures from further collaborators Void Manes and Ni Maîtres additional shade this portion of the tune, including a layer of atmospherics and one other sonic wrinkle to the combo.