Cult Leader–A Patient Man
Genre: Metalcore, Sludge Metal, Grindcore
FFO: Gaza, Trap Them, All Pigs Mus Die
Formed from the ashes of Gaza (the band-not the place), Salt Lake City crust collective Cult Leader started over from the ground up when they gave vocalist Jon Perkin the boot. Perkin had been accused of rape and based on statements from the other members of Gaza, proved nearly impossible to work with artistically towards the end of their nine year run.
Cult Leader sheds the mathcore elements of their previous endeavors in a favor of a more haunting, crusty, sludgey take on the metalcore genre.
A Patient Man serves as the outfit’s sophomore LP and features the strongest writing this collective of talented musicians has yet to craft. With Kurt Ballou at the helm of production once more, it should come as no surprise this release is devastatingly crushing on every level and even incorporates a few sonic twists and turns along the way.
If you aren’t banging your head to Cult Leader yet, fix that and stream their new record below.
Evoken–Hypnagogia
Genre: Funeral Doom, Death Metal
FFO: Bell Witch,
Despite being recognized as some of the founding fathers of the American funeral doom style and having a career that has lasted a quarter of a century, New Jersey doom outfit, Evoken, sadly fail to maintain even a slight amount of the recognition they deserve.
I remember the first time I heard the song “Quietus” off their 2001 LP of the same name and instantly recognizing it as being the heaviest track I had ever heard. Years later, I still feel this way and you should too.
Hypnagogia is Evoken‘s sixth full length record (despite having a large collection of demos, EPs, and splits with a longer running time than many full length records from other artists) and it displays the most emotional, captivating, and powerful pieces of music the ensemble has released thus far.
Stream below and get familiar.
Old Wounds–Glow
Genre: Metalcore, Alternative Metal
FFO: Eighteen Visions, The Banner, Vein
Back in 2012, I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with a three piece metallic hardcore group from New Jersey called Old Wounds in my local area. I had no idea at that point that this particular band was destined for a very unique journey but after watching them play with an unmatched level of passion and relentless fury to a crowd of about ten people, I knew I had to buy a shirt and remember to always pay attention to them.
I was able to see them play show after show every time they came around. I saw them the following year when they toured with their NJ brethren (and one of my personal favorite bands) The Banner, and I remember being filled with the same amount of awe and inspiration as the first time I saw them.
With each show, the audience continued to expand until they landed a spot at Warped Tour and showed the world what they were capable of.
Now we have Glow: the band’s third full length and without a doubt, their opus (but I may be saying this when they drop their fourth record). Here we witness Old Wounds channeling the raw, crushing tendencies of 90’s era metallica hardcore with a vast array of additional influences ranging from horror punk along the likes of AFI’s earlier works, and melodic breaks that will surely bring Around the Fur to mind.
Please listen to this record and support Old Wounds.