Heavy Song of the Week is a function on Heavy Consequence breaking down the highest metallic, punk, and onerous rock tracks that you must hear each Friday. This week, No. 1 goes to Alien Weaponry’s “1000 Pals.”
One of many issues about thrash that units it other than different metallic 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.
Nonetheless, on “1000 Pals,” the trio sort out a bigger and extra dystopian subject: the ubiquity of social media in these turbulent instances. 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 provide 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 lots at present talk. Freedom from the algorithm in alternate relative isolation. The message of the music lingers lengthy after the ultimate notes dissipate.
“The human thoughts wasn’t constructed to grasp the world we’re at present residing in,” states the band grimly.
Honorable Mentions:
A Day to Keep 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continues to play at an elite degree, seemingly defying the passage of time and the standard knowledge that he’s “too outdated” to compete with the league’s younger stars. He actually does make a terrific analogy for a band like A Day to Remember, a gaggle of scene vets nonetheless on the grind. On this pop-punk ditty, ADTR flip the fowl on the naysayers and detractors, taking the aforementioned analogy a step additional and channeling King James in his late-career prime (when he received the finals throughout his second stint with the Cavs). “You’ll see once 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 music that doesn’t require him to play guitar, he’ll elevate 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 music 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 unique drummer Mike Dillard, explores a number of completely different kinds. The primary couple minutes might be its personal music — a blast of uptempo storage rock — whereas the rest of the observe dives right into a cavernous effectively of very Melvins-y sludge metallic, Dillard slowing the tempo in flip. The digital textures from further collaborators Void Manes and Ni Maîtres additional shade this portion of the music, including a layer of atmospherics and one other sonic wrinkle to the combo.
