January 2021: Top Picks - Gatecreeper, Sumeru, Wired Jaw

We all celebrated the death of 2020 a month ago. But, the first moon into 2021, are there any bets on when things are going to start feeling any better? Okay, so many of us here were probably happy to see an oversized tangerine baby collect his P45 from the White House, but in the depths of a grim Corona winter, where Glastonbury Festival has already been cancelled for this summer (the first of many?), there's been fruit and veg shortages due to the unholy cocktail of Brexit, Covid and cold weather, and we found out about the untimely death of Alexi Laiho, you have to wonder when the pendulum is going to swing back in the other direction.

Music has always kept many of us sane during difficult times. To keep us optimistic, we've had new singles from Monolord and Eyehategod, an incredible debut EP from Wall, and three particularly grim releases I've picked out from the last four weeks below. Music for the times, to be sure.

Gatecreeper - An Unexpected Reality (death metal/grind/doom) - Closed Casket

US death metallers Gatecreeper are fast becoming the 'next big thing' in heavy stuff across the Atlantic, with two well-received full-lengths in the latter half of the 2010s building up their respected name. Now, a surprise EP dropped in the middle of the month hints at what might come next, with a more experimental approach that sees them dip into grindcore and doom metal. The elements that we know them for are still there, but with a direct conceptual influence from Black Flag's My War, the first half of the EP more grindy and hardcore-y, and the second a single, crushing death doom epic. Side A still has fun moments where they allow bouncy grooves to take over, with introductory track 'Starved' particularly packing a huge punch, but the energy is particularly frenetic and at times sounds barely under control, although never falling apart completely. Still, tracks like 'Rusted Gold' and 'Depraved Not Deprived' boast sections that really are impossible not to bang your head along to. 'Emptiness' is a fantastic contrast, with many different movements within the song, evoking softer emotion as well as with plenty of time for pure filth. It's incredibly well-written; you'd barely believe it was the band's first attempt at such a style. Possibly the most essential extreme metal release of 2021 so far. 

Sumeru - Blood Ordinance (sludge/death metal) - Brilliant Emperor

Australian sludge metallers Sumeru have redefined their sound as new vocalist Jake Willoughby enters the fold. Two albums have preceded this two-track EP, and the band's trajectory has been ever uglier and heavier with each new release. With Blood Ordinance they really step this up once again with new influences from straight-up death metal that seem a far cry from the stoner leanings of their debut release Holy Lands. From the word go, the brutal 'Cold Chamber' sees their newfound extreme metal approach to riffing, with a heart-stopping drop in tempo around the halfway mark straight out of the blackened doom metal textbook. Jake's guttural vocals suit the new musical direction perfectly. 'Foundry of Dead' is great, too, taking a more hardcore punk energy that barely relents for the whole runtime. Complete with a ripping solo and a hint of black metal, this EP will appeal to anyone who likes the sensation of being bludgeoned in the head when they listen to music. Take ten minutes out of your day to listen to it on their Bandcamp, you will not be disappointed. This band are seriously underrated as fuck - I would love to see them gain wider international recognition.

Read my MMH Radio review here

Wired Jaw - Don't Forget to Eat Your Greens (grindcore/powerviolence) - independent

East Midlands grind trio Wired Jaw's sophomore EP is certainly a step up from their 2019 demo, hitting harder, more cohesive as a whole, with better instrumental tones and comprised of more memorable songs overall. It only clocks in at just under five minutes long (with the first four of the six songs whizzing by in less than two), but in this case, less is more. Opening track 'Jerboa' sets the tone with jaunty riffing and tightly controlled blasts. There's a nice juxtaposition of serious, brvtal vocals from Nat with more humorous phrases and exclamations in there to prove that they're a band that know how to have fun. 'Aspic' has an effective outro where the vocals lock in with the instrumental rhythms, before the frenetic 'Beast' and schizophrenic 'Monkey See Monkey Doom' incur permanent damage to your speakers. 'Double Down Piss Wizard' is one of the most memorable songs on the EP (not just for the name), before 'Cult of Hoarding', the pre-release single, rounds everything off with brutal grooves, dissonances and unpredictable rhythmic changes, finally slowing everything down to 0mph. It's over before you know it, but has that magic to it that makes you want to keep coming back, with a little bit of several different styles of grind executed masterfully. The lyrics are great and show a social awareness, too - have a read of them and support these talented artists on their Bandcamp now.

MN