Heavy Song of the Week is a feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal, punk, and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, the honor goes to Kublai Khan TX for “A Hopless Fate” featuring Jamey Jasta.
Ten years after they emerged with their debut album, Kublai Khan TX have released their fifth studio LP, Exhibition of Prowess. The hubris of such a title is warranted: The Texas hardcore outfit can bring the riff-hitting jams like few others. Torrents of beatdown hardcore aggression and zero funny business. You don’t want to cross these guys if they’re anything like the music they play.
The band called on a fellow harsher in Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta for one of the album’s highlights, “A Hopeless Fate,” a changeup on Kublai Khan’s typical style. Here, they sound more metal and thrash influenced — more Hatebreed-y, perhaps in a nod to the Jasta feature. But the same anger that fuels the band’s more overtly hardcore tracks still flows freely. Good on Kublai Khan for dabbling in some new stylistic choices as they reach the 15-year mark in their career.
Honorable Mentions:
Tetrach- “Live Not Fantasize”
Tetrarch’s new single “Live Not Fantasize” — their first in three years — is a shot of nu-metal nostalgia. The clanky, mathematical tech-metal riffs and harsh/melodic juxtaposition of the verses and choruses are genre defining — and refreshingly delivered by Tetrarch without an ounce of irony. Conversely, the positive lyrical message is not so common in this type of metal. “This song is about never letting the negative feelings and thoughts in your mind define who you are,” stated guitarist Diamond Rowe, “and doing everything you can to get through tough times to find peace within yourself — so that you can live instead of dreaming of something better.”
Devin Townsend – “Jainism”
“Jainism” sees prog-metal master Devin Townsend at his most chameleon-esque. At first, the hunking central riff indicates a straight-ahead metal song, but Townsend quickly steers the verse and chorus into a melodic direction with graceful singing and atmospheric textures. These sections could almost be sang as a lullaby and make up a bulk of the song. Reprisals of the main riff serve as welcome breaks in the mood and keep the arrangement from growing static.
Tremonti – “The Mother, The Earth and I”
Where does Mark Tremonti get the time? The man of many bands is simultaneously in the midst of an album cycle with his eponymous project, Tremonti, and a massive reunion tour with Creed. With that in mind, his latest single “The Mother, The Earth and I” has the musical backbone of a Creed song with its huge guitar sound and post-grunge production, but carves its own lane thanks to Tremonti’s distinct and commanding vocals.