April 2020: Top Picks - Beggar, King Corpse, Trivium

It's been a weird month. No gigs and I've barely left the village I grew up in for weeks apart from the occasional beer run. Can't remember what cities actually look like, if I'm honest. At least it's been nice and sunny and I've time to get better at my guitar.

Regardless, there's still some amazing releases being churned out.

Beggar - Compelled to Repeat (extreme/sludge metal) - APF Records

Jesus Christ. I think this is the filthiest record I've heard in a long time. It's ugly and sludgy, but hooks you in with just how god damned extreme it is as well. A good example of that is right in the first few seconds of album, when the deranged, fuzzy chords of 'Blood Moon' ring out and then the drummer starts blasting away for a few bars, as if to say 'ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?' while hitting you in the face with a spade. It's pretty hard to not pay attention while listening to this album, or get that sense of impending misery and dread. But that's what us miserable sludge bastards like, isn't it? It cheers us up and we feed on it like swines. Compelled to Repeat has some brilliant lead guitar work, too. It's tasteful and has a real bluesy flair to it at times. The riffage sounds particularly New Orlean in songs like 'Black Cloud' and 'Anaesthete'. That's something I really like about this album, though. They unashamedly give a nod to classic bands like Weedeater and Eyehategod, while doing the auditory equivalent of beating seven shades of shit out of them. Beggar have some real atonal-type sections in there, like in 'Matryoshka Brain' or 'The Cadaver Speaks'. They're not afraid to flirt with trippy, cleaner sections either - there's a lot going on beneath the surface of this album. Well produced, with each instrument audible and hellish-sounding vocals mixed almost like a more misanthropic Dopethrone, Compelled to Repeat is delightfully desolate and I can't wait to see what comes next. 

Read my MMH Radio review here 

King Corpse - Sacred Crimson (progressive/sludge metal) - independent

It's difficult to believe that this is only King Corpse's second release, quite a few years after their debut self-titled EP. The Black Country boys have shown a striking level of compositional maturity, ambition and pure sludge power on Sacred Crimson, and it's a treat from the get-go. Opening with creepy, ambient atmospherics, 'Exhumation' strides in with a chuggy couple of verses and a euphoric, upbeat closing minute of instrumentals. 'Drowning' is full of unusual chord changes (in a good way) and a ton of melody beneath the dirt. 'Climb My Bones' is an epic masterpiece, and closer 'Sons of Mourning' is just heavy as fuck. You can still sing along to most of these, though. When did sludge get this catchy? With elements of doom and progressive metal, they've worked out a unique and addictive sound. Some of the calmer parts are played out really well, instrumented intelligently to provide contrast to the heavier moments, whether in the form of gritty riffage, Jack Cradock's throat-shredding screech, or the chillingly slow drops in tempo. It must be something about living in the West Midlands, that all our doom and sludge comes out this ugly. It'll be a good idea buying the deluxe/CD/whatever version of this as well, because you get three of their singles, that were first released a couple of years ago, included. Worth it for the opening riff of 'The Count' alone. 

Read my MMH Radio review of 'Exhumation' here

Read Ben's review here

Trivium - What the Dead Men Say (heavy metal/thrash/metalcore) - Roadrunner Records

Maybe it comes as a surprise to see a band like Trivium on this blog, but those who've known me long enough know what a little fanboy I am of this band. The only acts I've seen live more often are Voidlurker, Conjurer, and an early incarnation of Mandalorian. After this album, I'll be sure to go see Trivium again, though. Bloody hell. Talk about a return to form. If 2017's The Sin and the Sentence had any flaws, it would be that a couple of tracks didn't have that re-listen-ability factor and wore thin after a while. Not on here, though. I've been listening to it over and over since it leaked. Trivium have flirted with quite a few different sounds and styles over the years, but there's elements of everything that's worked in the past on WtDMS, with all the filler left out. Shogun and Ascendancy are usually cited as the best Trivium albums - well, there's real elements of both of those throughout, as well as In Waves and Sin (my favourites). Only time will tell before we discover if WtDMS turns out to dethrone all of those - I'm inclined to say yes. With compositional maturity forged over two decades, dystopian lyrics and the clear sound of a well-oiled, cohesive unit as the titanic Alex Bent blasts away on his second Trivium album, I was surprised to find that one of my favourites was one of the softest songs in 'Scattering the Ashes'. Don't get me wrong though. 'Amongst the Shadows and the Stones', 'Sickness Unto You' and the thrashy title track are heavy as fuck and absolutely rip.

MN