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 Norway’s 1349 for their latest single “Shadow Point.”
Norwegian black metal vets 1349 have buoyed themselves as one of the genre’s most consistent and dependable acts. Since their formation in the late 1990s, the group has held steadfast to the second-wave black metal tradition while indulging the amenities of modern sonic production.
Simply put, the band understands the inherent second-wave formula of “Atmosphere x Structure” when it comes to songcraft. On a track like their excellent new single “Shadow Point,” the barrage generated from blast beats, tremolo picking, and sinister howls — vocalist Ravn makes great use of overdubs here for a cascading effect — is directed at creating an impenetrable sonic fray. For some black metal bands, that would be good enough, creating an icy wall of sound.
But 1349, like other masters such as Gorgoroth and Darkthrone, also have the ability to work in discernible riffs and breakdowns without breaking the “suspension of disbelief,” for lack of a better term. These moments feel authentic and act to serve the greater composition while adding just that slight bit of heavy metal grandeur that even the most begrudgingly purist black metal fans can surely appreciate.
“Shadow Point” is the second single from 1349’s forthcoming album, The Wolf and the King, out October 4th via Season of Mist. The eight-song album was produced and mixed by Jarrett Prichard and 1349 frontman Ravn at NEW CONSTELLATION R.M.P.
Stream the video for “Shadow Point” below.
Honorable Mentions:
The Jesus Lizard – “Alexis Feels Sick”
This week, The Jesus Lizard dialed up another strong track from their forthcoming reunion album Rack. “Alexis Feels Sick” opens with a lengthy bass intro from David Wm. Sims before the guitar work of Duane Denison and the unhinged vocals of David Yow take over. Yow’s hollering is always deceptively catchy — vocal phrases that lodge themselves in your head, in this case the repetition of the song title in the verses. Meanwhile, Denison’s guitar arrangement remains unpredictable throughout, shifting between textural passages and angular post-hardcore riffage.
NAILS – “Give Me the Painkiller”
NAILS go fast on “Give Me the Painkiller,” the latest single from the upcoming album Every Bridge Burning. The notey opening salvo is straight-up speed metal before diving into pummeling hardcore. There’s a bit of D-beat in there, and the tempo only halts for a brief turnaround and pre-solo breakdown. This could appeal to hardcore, metalcore, and extreme metal listeners alike. It’s worth noting the 2-minute-44-second runtime is exactly double that of NAILS’ previous single “Imposing Will” (which felt a little too short).
NILE – “To Strike with Secret Fang”
In well-played contrast to NILE‘s very maximal previous single, “To Strike with Secret Fang” is a compact 2-minute onslaught of spastic death-thrash that is so fast that it borderlines on black metal (the vocals here remain a bit too guttural and discernible to be a full black-metal send). NILE mastermind Karl Sanders described it as a song that “instantly goes right for the throat” — an apt summation. This is the band at its most vicious and direct.