February 2020: Top Picks - Kvelertak, Those Snakes, Intronaut

February. What an absolutely fantastic month. It was much colder than January, and we had wind, snow and heavy rain. The whole Coronavirus thing's wearing a bit thin, and it seems we're all probably going to die. Something like that. For real though, the amount of jokes I've heard from serving bottles of Corona beer in a bar... It could be bearable but it's just the same joke over and over again.

 For music, it was another good month. We had new singles from the boys in King Corpse, Desert Storm and Netherhall, HRH Metal went down, and I got to play my first Metal 2 The Masses with Slump (we didn't go through but had an absolute blast). Even Ozzy Osbourne chucked out another album. Good on you, Oz.

 Here's a few of my favourite releases from February.
Kvelertak - Splid (black metal/classic rock/punk) - Rise Records

Oh, man, this is just brilliant. An eleven-song party in the form of punky black metal (or however you want to categorise them), I really can't stop listening to this one. The single released with Troy Sanders of a certain Mastodon got my attention when it came out, but the rest of the album is extremely strong too. It's very fun and feel-good throughout, but not without its moments of cathartic rage. The band have evolved, with a new singer of a wider vocal range than his predecessor, and a couple of song lengths slowly creeping towards 'epic' territory. In truth, it's all for the best. It's much stronger than their last album. Kvelertak can count Ghost, Metallica and Dave Grohl amongst their fans, and they should be counting you, too - don't miss out on Bråtebrann, Crack of Doom or Discord.
Read my MMH Radio review here


Those Snakes - Widowmaker (psychedelic rock/heavy metal) - unsigned

Those Snakes have made an absolutely titanic album. When I spoke to them in late January, the guys told me all about the blood, sweat and tears that went into making it (literally). But out of darkness comes light, and, aided by a little-known producer by the name of Russ Russell, Widowmaker finally came out right at the end of the month. Those Snakes have done themselves extremely proud. The Mastodon comparisons will be made, but honestly? In my view, there's a lot of Mastodonian bands out there that don't do it as well, and can be a bit plain boring. Those Snakes aren't just another one of those clones, and are leagues above the also-rans in quality. For further proof, have a quick blast of the wonderfully sludgy Of Smoke And Fire or Serpent Goddess... There's a 70s hard rocking, Motörhead-style vibe to them as well, which I find really cool. My favourite song would have to be the moody Catharsis, though. There's just something about its understated melodies that I have to listen to multiple times in a single sitting.


Intronaut - Fluid Existential Inversions (prog/post/sludge metal) - Metal Blade

Bloody hell. Intronaut mix together insanely dexterous proggy/jazzy technicality with a killer metal groove and dreamy soundscapes. Each instrument and vocal has its place in the mix, which is no mean feat considering how many different sounds the LA metallers have got going on. It's hard to pick out just what the most impressive thing about the four-piece is. Is it the spacey sections, with intelligent vocal harmonies woven into beautiful chord progressions? Is it the intricate drum patterns, tightly locked into the mindbending twin-lead guitar phrases? Is it the way that the band always serve the song despite their instrumental proficiencies, with something memorable in every song? I honestly couldn't tell you, but I will tell you to listen to it. Pangloss and The Cull are brilliant.
Read my MMH Radio review here



MN

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