The metal internet collectively lost its shit recently when Mastodon’s Brent Hinds (pictured) admitted that he never really liked metal and has been, in his own words; “trying to get Mastodon to not be such a heavy metal band.” And so it was that every Mastodon fan would experience that same feeling of blighting abandonment we have all gone through at one time or another in our early years. Some have claimed that Hinds is taking the piss to an extent, that it’s unthinkable for someone to do something they don’t truly enjoy for as long as he has. I imagine none of these people have ever been on the receiving end of a pay cheque.
Here’s a few bands who won’t give you up, let you down, or hurt you.
The Clearing Path
The Hardcore/Black Metal cocktail has really begun to wear away its welcome on the taste buds, but The Clearing Path may be about to take one last good swing at it before the ship sinks. Their debut full-length comes out this July, and if it’s anything as punishing as what they’ve shown so far, they might be on to a winner.
Coffins
A band that couldn’t be more proud of their own primitive subordination to the Swedish Death Metal of old, Japan’s Coffins return once again with a new mini-album this September that you’ll find, if you click the link above, positively reeks of Fläskpannkaka and ancient crypt.
Sea Bastard/Keeper
Both Keeper and Sea Bastard are Oxycontin for broken ribs, bass-heavy frequencies barely blunting the sharp pangs of vibrato hostility that are doubtlessly more evident in their live shows. Both bands stretch the limits of what is reasonable to put out on a split record with this one, and if you’ve forgotten what you love about good old fashioned sludged-out Doom, then consider this a sickly reminder.
Hope Drone
If it has yet to be hammered into your skull just how important the Australian metal scene is right now, then, disregarding all Australian metal acts that we’ve already touted here at The Thin Air, you need only listen to Hope Drone to get an understanding of what kind of genius has been brewing down under. Hope Drone’s brand of apocalypse is a beautiful one, where flowers immediately spring from the scorched earth, but it is still an apocalypse.
