Heavy Song of the Week is a feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, the top spot goes to Job for a Cowboy’s “Beyond the Chemical Doorway.”
Last year, Job for a Cowboy returned with their first new music in nearly a decade, and it didn’t disappoint. Comeback single “The Agony Seeping Storm” went down as one of the strongest heavy songs of 2023, building significant hype for the death metal band’s new album Moon Healer.
The third single and album opener “Beyond the Chemical Doorway” outlines the larger concept behind the LP — a complex and psychological story that is heavily influenced by Gnosticism. In fact, the song’s lyrics function as an exploration of the religious ideology — an introduction, for the uninitiated — with frontman Jonny Davy acting as narrator.
This is no spoken word track; far from it. The song’s twisting, spastic prog-metal arrangement is matched by Davy’s wild vocal performance, which sees him hitting his full range, from gurgly gutturals to nasally screams. Despite being just over four minutes in duration, the track feels like an epic.
Honorable Mentions:
Frail Body – “Refrain”
Squealing feedback begets galloping rhythms as Illinois’ Frail Body blur the lines between screamo and black metal on their latest single “Refrain.” If you speed up screamo, it can certainly resemble black metal — especially the vocals — and Frail Body test those limits here, playing at such a pace that blast beats are required to keep time. The band ease the tension with some more melodic breakdowns and segues, creating a linearity throughout the song’s three-plus-minute runtime.
LIVEALIE – “Forget-Me-Not”
Former Oceans Ate Alaska frontman James Harrison has resurfaced with a new project, LIVEALIE. The outfit dropped its debut single “Forget-Me-Not,” tapping into the same deathcore sound that Harrison spearheaded in his former old band. His distinct howls are matched against the clean singing of Jordan Lee Corman — presented in a simultaneous duet style — with each vocalist gliding above some pretty maximal metalcore. Check this one out if you’re into metalcore’s death-ier and prog-ier sides, as well as the more emo-leaning interpretations of the genre.
Purest Form – “Broke” ***[EMBARGOED till 10 AM ET]***
Purest Form are a new industrial band formed by members of underground acts Choking on Ash, Vacant Future, Fury, and Object of Affection. With comparisons to Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails, Purest Form’s debut single “Broke” should endear itself to the intended audience with its harshed-out synths and the deliberate pummeling of the drum machine. The central riff here is a particularly catchy earworm that quickly drives its way into the psyche. Sign us up for more.