Friday Morning Metal – Novembre – Your Holocene

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Happy Friday! Here’s a celebration of the month of Novembre by the band Novembre. These guys are from Italy and have been kicking ass since 1990. Not much of a shockre to see a 35+ year old band play this tightly. Encyclopaedia Metallum claims they’re Prog Gothis/Doom/Death Metal. That’s a wide net to cast in terms of metal sub-genres.

The song wastes no time getting to the lyrics, which seem to covre the loss of a relationship or a loved one fleeing? I mean, the lyrics are right there, I should probably read them. But they do sound kind of like the singer misses someone and struggles to remembre how they look. I really enjoy the drummre’s technique, very interesting filling out the rhythm without sitting too hard on blast beats. The guitarist is a solid noodlre during the solo toward the end, with a big soarre of a riff before the song wraps up.

It’s a lyric video, so not much to riff on there, but the roiling clouds and whatnot do look pretty ominous. I tried looking for standard videos, but the songs feature more growly, death metal adjacent vocals. I guess that’s why Angry Metal Guy said they were doom/prog? Because this song sounds pretty proggy to me. This song is intriguing to me compared to the othres I found. So go give it a listen!

Friday Morning Metal – Aquilla – Battalion 31

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HELL YES! HEAVY METAL WITH A TANK! Today we’re bringing you Battalion 31 by Warsaw’s on Aquilla. This is off their recently released album Sentinels of New Dawn, which sounds like a Twilight spin off. Google’s doofy AI drained one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes to tell me “Aquilla band” could refer to a Canadian metalcore band from Hamilton Ontario (go Hammer!) or a 1970’s Welsh art rock band. This band is clearly neither metalcore nor art rock, so thanks for that, Google!

Angry Metal Guy shared “Creed of Fire” in their review, which is a banger of a speed metal track. But there’s a music video for Battalion 31 and, while it’s not quite as fast, it’s still pretty great. The guitarists provide some solid noodling to kick the song off, on top of a good steady driving beat. I’m digging the vocals, he’s not trying to push too high or too low, and it fits in the tone of the song really well. Kicking off the guitar solo with a solid metal scream is fantastic. He gets a couple bites at the apple in the solo before an epic metal breakdown. The breakdown pivots into a more ballady refrain, with vocals that beg to be shouted by a whole arena of metalheads.

As I said up above, the video is the band gearing up for battle and then riding around in a big truck with space laser guns. I guess they’re Battalion 31, and they’re fighting to kill. Is a little funny there’s a “die by the sword” line in a video where they’re chucking grenades and riding tanks and stuff. It’s also interspersed with the band playing in a quarry and HOLY CRAP SOLO ON TOP OF A HILL! It’s not quite a mesa but it’s still pretty great. Seeing the whole band just standing around while the solo shreds was just a cherry on top. After the breakdown, I guess we’re seeing the aftermath of Battalion 31, torches blazing.

Friday Morning Metal – Coroner – Renewal

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Happy Friday! Enjoy some thrash from Zürich’s own Coroner. These guys have been shredding since 1983, or 1985, depending on which lineup you consider the original Coroner vs Medical Examiner. The song today is Renewal, off their album Dissonance Theory. I hope they have a followup called Assonance Theory. That’d be pretty great. While the song is called Renewal, I don’t think the song is about those fancy Renewal by Andersen windows, though it might be.

The song is pretty badass. You can tell these guys have been shredding for nigh on 40 years. The song kicks off with bigass drums & guitars, catapulting you into an incredibly tight and frenetic experience. The solo 2/3 of the way into the song has some good shreddy noodles up in it, before pivoting to another kickass breakdown leading into the chorus. This would be great in a playlist for taking down drywall or chasing down your enemies in vengeance.

The video is primarily them playing in what looks like an abandoned villa or something, and then interspersed with someone writing while a clock is ticking. At first I thought the person was taking a test, maybe they were renewing their real estate license. But later on you see the person is drawing and whatnot, so maybe they didn’t pass the exam. The guitarist & bassist look equal parts angry and nonplussed, while the drummer looks like he’s having a hoot. If I were killing it on drums like he is in this song, I’d probably make the same faces. Or do the point one stick at the camera while using the other. A band I used to see a lot had a drummer who did that, especially when they’d play Bastard Gas.

Friday Morning Metal – Alter Bridge – What Lies Within

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Turns out this band is 3/4 of Creed. I heard a thing where they formed the band they didn’t realize it was going to be god rock and they got disappointed, so I guess this is their attempt to be a solid prog rock/metal act. And they’re pretty solid. Turns out the singer also sings in Slash’s band, he’s got solid pipes.

The song kicks off like an early 2000s borderline nu-metal or I guess 21st century American Metal vibe, kinda industrial but once the song gets going it sounds like pretty by the numbers prog rock. They do sing about their open eyes, but not open arms. The pivot from chuggy but kinda slower verses to a pre-chorus breakdown, to an aggressive chorus is interesting. Not necessarily the thrash and speed metal stuff I normally post, but I do dig it. The vocals at certain points sound like the song could fit into a rock opera well. And then there’s a proper soaring and noodly guitar solo to really lock it in.

The video is a samurai looking person fighting off a zombie horde. Or maybe a viking? Regardless, it does have a Dethklok kind of vibe to all the brutality, and you can’t go wrong with being brütal. I’m not sure if it’s a stylistic choice or it’s AI, but there’s something in the way the animation moves that makes me think it might be AI. I hope it’s not. It’s bad enough they’re making fake bands to stuff into Spøtify, they don’t need to crap everything else up with AI.

Friday Morning Metal – Annihilator – Armed to the Teeth

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Oooh Canadian thrash! Annihilator has been shredding faces since 1984 and Bjørn thought I should listen to King of The Kill yet again, so I went and found a more recent song to share. This week it’s Armed to the Teeth, off the 2020 album Ballistic, Sadistic.

The song kicks off with a pretty standard chugga riff before kicking into gear. You can tell these guys have been thrashing about for 40+ years, they’re really tight. Even if only one guy is left from the original band. They do have some kickass flying V’s. Gotta have some of those if you want to shred. The solos are pretty shreddy, looks a bit more like finger tappy and shaking the guitar to get cool tones out of it. There’s also a solid shift when the girl is about to whip ass. Plus some evil thrash metal laughs. All in all it’s a pretty solid track and would fit in when pumping iron, mowing the lawn, or changing the oil in your Iroc-Z.

The video highlights a teeny bopper girl who looks like she’s walking to school when a couple of nutsacks with dumb chin pubes bully her and steal her wallet. She also looks kinda like she could be the younger sister of Ursula from Super Troopers. So she goes to Youtube to learn how to beat ass and then beats their asses. Later on she gets a bat and smacks them around more. Moral of the story, don’t grow chin pubes if you’re blond. Also don’t be a bully, you guys. It’s interspersed with clips of the band playing in front of, but not on top of, a mesa. The lead guy has a borderline Zangief mohawk which is pretty rad. He also likes to make crazy faces during his solos. Apparently he’s been with the band since inception, that’s pretty rad. Doesn’t look 40 years older than when they started. I wonder what his secret is.

Friday Morning Metal – Ültra Raptör – Fossilized

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Oooh umlauted metal! Ültra Raptör is bringing crazed speed metal straight from Quebec City. Based on the umlauts I assume it’s pronounced oooltra raptuuuur, but I only took one Linguistics class so what do I know from dipthongs and glottal stops. I wonder if they know any degens from upcountry. They do know metal featuring Xenozoic Tales, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Fantasy, and more!

After a solid intro, we’re greeted with an OOOOHHH YEAHHHH before kicking into gear. Machine gun drums propel you into this dinosaur battle. Or the dinosaurs are listening to the music while they fight the little soldier dudes. Either way, the song is beefy and fast. Somehow the song is 4 minutes long and has not one, not two, but three guitar solos. Maybe four solos? If it sounds like a different guitar starts playing a different shred, is that a new solo? But if you’re feeling you’re not getting your recommended daily allowance of shred, ask your doctor if Ültra Raptör is right for you.

It’s a bummer I couldn’t find a video video of the band, but the song is just so fast and fun I had to share it. Also the picture of the cybersauruses fighting what appears to be the Earth Defense Force is shaking around, so that’s pretty fun. I hope at some point they can make this into something real. Maybe they can get the Velocipastor to join in! So c’mon Fighter Records, hook them up!

Friday Morning Metal – Texas Hippie Coalition – Bones Jones

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Did you know there’s a Texas Hippie Coalition? I just learned today and now you get to, as well! They’ve been around since 2004, playing big heavy groove metal that is pretty reminiscent of Pantera or other late 90’s acts. True to form, they’ve had 7 different drummers. I hope none of them choked on vomit, that would be dreadful.

The song kicks into chuggy gear pretty quick. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s a pretty beefy groove metal sound, with a solid beat that’d be great for like boxing or working out. Solid cadence & whatnot. The vocals are deep and beefy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they say “Southern Styllllllle” in another song. Apparently Bones Jones is a tweaker and a soul seeker. He also air guitars the solo which is very noodly and very 1995. All in all, it’s a great throwback to an era that wasn’t 1985, and it’s fun. So if you have a shirt with the sleeves ripped off and the urge to backyard wrestle, you should give these guys a shot.

The video is a wacky races meets Rat Fink cartoon, with the band and Mr. Bones Jones racing to a haunted castle after introducing our racers. And some other bits about what kind of guy Bones Jones is. Bones Jones is a pretty great name, it’s too bad I don’t know any Joneseses, because they’d get nicknamed pretty quickly. Oh and Bones Jones bites some boobs, so if you’re at work, make sure you’re not sharing this screen on your Zoom.

Friday Morning Metal – Manegarm – Hervors Arv

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Woo Viking Metal! This time it’s from Manegarm, who took their name from the Norse wolf that’ll eat the moon when Ragnarok happens. That’s pretty brutal if you ask me. The moon’s important! Apparently the band was called Antikrist for a bit, which seems like leaning a little too hard. But they’re Swedish Viking/Folk metal, and they’re pretty great. The song is Hervor’s Arv, which translate’s to “Hervor’s Legacy.” Hervor is a shieldmaiden who apparently stole her dead dad’s cursed sword. That’s pretty badass.

The song kicks off with a driving beat and machine gun guitaring. The vocals are very folk metallic, I could see these guys touring with like Finntroll or Amon Amarth. There’s a solid breakdown at the midpoint, perfect for super dramatic headbanging or yelling HEY while fist pumping. It does lead into a great folky solo before picking up the pace again. Top to bottom, this is a fantastic folk metal track. I will have to go find more!

The video cuts between the band looking real tough and playing in like a barn, and Hervor taking a boat to an island to steal her dead dad’s sword. There are some interspersed visuals, maybe showing what the curse may do, or what she’s going to do in the future? Lotta volleys of arrows and burning structures. It also seems like all slow-mo, maybe the story itself was shorter than the song so they had to stretch it out. But good for Hervor stealing her dead dad’s cursed sword. Hopefully it doesn’t backfire on her. Cursed things aren’t good, you guys.

Friday Morning Metal – Burning Sun – Shadows Undone

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Happy Friday, here’s some power metal from a band hailing from both Hungary and Chile. I know when I’m hungry, sometimes I’ll go for chili. Maybe that was the impetus for their joining forces. Apparently the band is named after a Helloween song. It’s fun when bands name themselves after other tracks. I’m still looking forward to bands named The Lord of the Blacksmiths, Heavy Metal Jesus, and Resurrection by Erection. Though it would be tough if a band named themselves Angel Witch. These guys have been shredding since 2022, and Shadows Undone is a banger of a power metal track.

The song kicks off pretty powerfully, which should be expected. Great dueling guitarmonies intro before the vocalist gets going. There’s some solid vocal harmonizing before the solo soars off to the skies. It’s very noodly, I would look forward to seeing someone air guitar or Rockband it. A barely 4 minute run length for power metal is pretty great. You don’t need to write 12 minute opuses (opii?), you’re not Dream Theatre. I may have made this joke recently. I’m not very original, it’s okay.

It’s a lyric video, so you can figure out exactly what these guys are saying, so that’s nice. But it looks like it’s over a picture of a creepy necromancer trying to paw at a warrior lady? Maybe she’s about to slay him for being a creeper. Don’t be creepy and you won’t get slain, Jeff the Necromancer. I think her name is Emaly. I didn’t know that was a spelling. Maybe she’s Gen Z or something, laying waste to the countryside with her cohorts Madisynn and Nevaeh.

Friday Morning Metal – Vinz Clortho – Stay Puft

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Yes have some! Coming straight out of Hof, Bavaria, it’s Vinz Clortho and Stay Puft. Clearly these guys have a theme. Vinz Clortho, Keymaster of Gozer the Traveler. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you! These guys should not be mistaken for the band Vinz Clortho of Milwaukee, a super group featuring guys from a band called Mortgage Freeman. That’s pretty clever. I’d use that as a trivia name.

This song is a great shred fest. It starts with a good bass intro before the full band charges ahead. Leading with a guitar solo is a great way to announce your presence as a band. The vocals fit well, with a borderline Teutonic edge to it. Definitely something that would be the herald of Gozer. The main riff to the song reminds me of a band from way back, Bantha Fodder. I could see them writing a song about the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man stealing their girlfriends or something. That’d track for those guys.

No video this time, but the song is fun enough that I wanted to share this week! Yes, have some.