CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, CONVERGE AND WHITE DENIM ARE BACK – BUT SAVAGES ARE NOT, EXCEPT FOR PARANOID

How are we supposed to find and listen to new bands when all these old bands insist on cranking out the heavy goods without losing a step?

Next month we’ve got The Melvins with Napalm Death collaboration Savage Imperial Death March – and if anyone typifies ‘not losing a step’ after decades of pioneering brutality and out-there intensity, it’s these two. Cannot wait to hear it (self-imposed embargo until the CD lands).

And check the timing – another April release by The Melvins, as is their recent wont.

So, we’re celebrating vital new sounds by the old guard, starting with Massachusetts noiselords Converge.

CONVERGE – We Were Never the Same

It’s a given that Converge will slash and jab with jagged riffs and meters while Jacob Bannon’s vocal abrasions sandpaper your skin, it’s all part of the Converge deal. But one of things that really flies on this track and shifts it from neck snapper to full body-and-head banger is Ben Koller’s piledriver groove behind the chorus. His beats are exceptional anyway, no surprise there, but that particular flash is absolute killer – holding down the chaos just enough, like the very end of QOTSA’s Song for the Dead where you lose your shit to the locked-in fury. We Were Never the Same – mature, lived-in ferocity at its best.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY – Gimme Some Moore

Speaking of lived-in, who saw new Corrosion of Conformity material coming our way this year? In The Arms of God drummer Stanton Moore is back for the band’s first album since Reed Mullin passed away in 2020 and lead single Gimme Some Moore is on the high-energy side of CoC’s rep. A choppy, almost prog riff kicks it off before switching to a straight-ahead punk thrasher’s tempo – subtle it is not, andrenalised stomper it is and Keenan is on aggressive vocal form. Great to have them back, let’s just hope that the new album is varied enough to showcase the mid and down tempo stuff they nail best.

WHITE DENIM – God Created Lock and Key

Must admit, I’ve not been tuned into White Denim’s albums since D – didn’t they veer down a Lite Denim path? – but if the muso-psyche fires of Fits and Workout Holiday was what first turned you on then the thicker, saltier riffs and semi-voodoo slither of God Created Lock and Key will definitely pique a re-interest. James Petralli rubs grit into his vocals and there’s a distant Beefheart vibe (the looping lilt of Her Eyes Were a Blue Million Miles) underpinning the heavier, swampier groove. Great video too.

SAVAGES – Paranoid

To mark the 10-year anniversary of Adore Life, Savages shared their version of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, which they recorded in the Adore Life sessions.

It fckn smokes. Slow reworkings of Paranoid are often way more compelling than Sabbath’s arrangement and this gothic, piano-led haunt is no exception. Every player brings it but special mention for Gemma Thompson whose harrowing, moaning guitar conjures the emotional turmoil you’d associate with paranoid the state, not the original song … what a band. Video here.

And for more Sabbath covers and left field interpretations, check the Freakzone Sabbath Special.

’til next time!