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 Thy Art Is Murder’s “Join Me in Armageddon.”
Thy Art Is Murder get more nihilistic with each release. While other death metal bands embrace over-the-top camp (gore, horror, surgical medicine, etc.), TAIM have rooted their brand of tech death in poignantly relevant themes of political corruption, war, famine, and apocalypse — much like scene contemporaries Cattle Decapitation.
Yet, there’s still a bit of sardonic humor to a song like “Join Me in Armageddon,” the lead single from the Thy Art Is Murder’s upcoming album Godlike. Even the title has a ring of fatalistic Type O-esque doom, which is further emphasized by the lyrics (“Dress warm for nuclear winter!”)
Musically, however, the band is dead serious. The track opens with dissonant riffing and a death-march tempo — appropriate given the apocalyptic lyrical content. From there, the track picks up the pace for technical groove-outs and thrash flourishes, all while vocalist CJ McMahon narrates humanity’s imminent demise through guttural growls.
Honorable Mentions:
Gouge Away – “Idealized”
Florida post-hardcore outfit Gouge Away have kept it low-key since their 2018 sophomore album Burnt Sugar, breaking the silence this past week with the one-off single “Idealized” via the Deathwish imprint. Gouge Away ride the loud-soft-loud waves like great heavy alt-rockers of yore — including the band from which they derive their name (Pixies) — with the clean/harsh dual vocals of Christina Michelle rising and falling with each crescendo.
Mammoth WVH – “Like a Pastime”
Wolfgang Van Halen continues to mature as a songwriter and band leader, embracing influences outside of the typical hard-rock sound (where he was essentially pegged by default after emerging as a solo artist). We’ve heard the son of the late Eddie Van Halen say that he was inspired by bands like Meshuggah on his forthcoming sophomore album from his project Mammoth WVH, and while the latest single “Like a Pastime” isn’t quite progressive metal, the guitar arrangement does make savvy use of polyrhythms — a Meshuggah staple — to add sauce to an otherwise straightforward 4/4 time signature. Wolfgang said he was particularly eager to drop this track, as it boasts some of his strongest compositional flexes to date.
Sevendust – “Everything”
Alt-metal vets Sevendust‘s new single “Everything” features a group effort on vocals. While frontman Lajon Witherspoon remains the core crooner, additional singing and screaming by guitarist Clint Lowery and drummer Morgan Rose, respectively, adds extra flavor and variance to the vocal arrangements. With their upcoming album, Truth Killer, set to arrive in July, Sevendust are still on top of their game nearly 30 years into their career. — Jon Hadusek