#227 | Reviews and Other Rambles: Frontierer, MASADA, Injury Reserve, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, and More

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:53:21 — 259.4MB)

Greetings corner dwellers! We hope you’re all doing well. This is the second stab at our new podcast format, wherein Connor and I attempt to cover a slew of singles, EPs, albums, and other releases in roughly two hours. Most of what we discuss can be found in the itemized list below; however, there may or may not be a couple of easter eggs intentionally left out.

In this episode, we cover quite the disparate amalgamation of blistering frequencies, as is tradition. We have some new tech-death from one of Connor’s favorite bands, deranged noise rock with a sludgy, mildew-soaked twist, a girthy compilation featuring a fresh black metal track from the sludge titans known as INTER ARMA, plus banter over some experimental hip-hop, heady post-metal-infused noise rock, emotive hardcore, and scathing electronic-laced mathcore. Many other tones are discussed, but no one wants to read a laundry list of adjectives.

If you have some artists, albums, singles, or any other form of musical media you’d like us to consider for an upcoming episode, please feel free to send us an email or reach out at one of our various social media channels. Moreover, we are always keen to improve our coverage, so if you have any thoughts, recommendations, or constructive criticism to provide for this new format of ours, please let us know through one of the aforementioned channels. Thank you all so much for your continued support!

Segment 01: Band Developments

Rambles about upcoming music

Tongue Party, one of our favorite noise rock quartets, said they’re coming back and writing a new album. No other details were provided. Hopefully, we’ll hear more soon.

Firelink, a Dark Souls-inspired black/death metal project re-recorded and re-released their debut LP, The Inverate Fire: Rekindled, on November 26, 2021. The album features a new vocalist, Alex Zarko, alongside a new drummer, Lord Marco.

You can now finally stream the official Valheim videogame soundtrack. Twenty tracks clocking in at an hour. Verdant instrumental folk tunes for pastoral jaunts.

Porcupine Tree announced they’re coming back with a new album titled Closure / Continuation; nearly thirteen years after their 2009 LP, The Incident. Alongside the album announcement, they debuted its first single titled “Harridan”.

Segment 02: "New" Tracks

Rambles about relatively fresh tracks

Allegaeon’s “Into Embers”. Connor goes apeshit over his favorite tech-death band. This is the Denver quintet’s first tune off their upcoming LP, DAMNUM, which comes three years after their 2019 opus, Apoptosis. DAMNUM will drop on February 25, 2022 via Metal Blade Records. Connor has already committed us to cover it just after it releases next year; are you surprised?

Outrun the Sunlight’s “Emerald Joy”. This is one of three singles released in anticipation of the instrumental progressive post-rock quintet’s new album, A Vast Field of Silence (released November 12, 2021). A glistening atmosphere permeates the wayfaring composition.

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs’s “Hot Stuff (feat. The Lovely Eggs)”. A fuzz-laden cover of the Donna Summer tune. All earnings the band makes from this single are being donated “to help raise money for Pop Recs in memory of Dave Harper.” The group’s 2020 album, Viscerals, was a favorite of Connor’s when it dropped.

Fleshvessel’s “Winter Came Early”. The first track off of the intercontinental progressive death metal quartet’s debut LP, Yearning: Promethean Fates Sealed. This will be out via I, Voidhanger Records sometime in 2022; however, the release date and artwork have yet to be revealed at the time of writing. It’s a near eleven-minute epic that broaches territories fantastical and bestial. We highly recommend their debut EP, Bile of Man Reborn, if you have not checked it yet.

Segment 03: EPs

Rambles about some newer EPs

Infinity Land’s Honest Comedy. A newer project from some of our favorite Connecticut denizens, Ryan D. (The Judas Obscure) and Tarek (Intercourse). Mildew-stifling sludgy noise rock. In their own words, “ugly music for ugly people.”

Machine Music’s MILIM KASHOT VOL. 3. The latest compilation volume from Israel’s phenomenal music coverage site, Machine Music. Twenty-one tracks spanning the spectrum of extreme frequencies, from grisly powerviolence and punk to blood-curdling black metal. All proceeds earned from this compilation are donated to Israel’s For the Wildlife animal sanctuary.

Segment 04: Forgotten Recents

Records we've been digging, but don't have the time for a deep dive

Bríi’s Sem Propósito. I’m a day late and a dollar short in making mention of this record, but I’ve been spinning it weekly since discovering it back around April 2021. Psychedelic-infused black metal with ambient techno rhythms and a palpably heady atmosphere.

Segment 05: Albums of Focus

Records we dive into with some depth (in order of appearance)

Frontierer - Oxidized

Timestamp in episode: 01:10:44

The third opus from the berserk, electronic-infused hardcore terror contingent known as Frontierer. Their new LP, Oxidized, was self-released on October 1, 2021.

MASADA - II

Timestamp in episode: 01:22:16

The sophomore LP, aptly titled II, from Germany’s hardcore punk/screamo quartet, MASADA. Their record was released via several labels, but we learned of it through Zegema Beach Records. The band digitally released their record on October 26, 2021.

Injury Reserve - By the Time I Get to Phoenix

Timestamp in episode: 01:31:20

The sophomore record from Tempe’s experimental hip-hop group, Injury Reserve. This dropped on September 15, 2021. It is dedicated to the memory of Stepa J. Groggs, who tragically passed away in June 2020.

The Grasshopper Lies Heavy - A Cult That Worships a God of Death

Timestamp in episode: 01:42:06

The second album from Texas’s heady, hefty, and contemplative The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. This came out July 21, 2021 via Learning Curve Records. The band also self-released their record via Bandcamp.

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If you’ve scrolled this far, thank you so much for perusing the bands featured in this episode. All the links to our socials can be found below.

If you have any feedback or insights to share with us on our new podcast format, we’d love to hear from you. You’re always more than welcome to email us at fromcornersunknown@gmail.com or ping us on one of our various social media channels.