(written by Islander)
I woke up at 4 a.m. this morning. I wake up early every morning, mainly because of this blog, but not that early. No idea why I opened my eyes then but I couldn’t go back to sleep.
The only silver lining to that unfortunate cloud is that after putting the finishing touches on that Agonanist song premiere I posted earlier today, which I hope you’ve explored, I had time on my hands. And so I decided to get a head-start on the usual Saturday roundup of new songs and videos, time enough to focus on four new things from the usual giant list of possibilities.
MISERY INDEX (U.S.)
In April of this year Season of Mist announced that Misery Index had returned to that label and were working on their upcoming eighth album. That same announcement included dates for the band’s tour of the EU and UK, which begins in Helsinki on July 28th and concludes in mid-August with festival appearances at Summer Breeze and Reload.
This past week the band surprise-released a new single, their first new song in four years and maybe the first one off their next album, along with a lyric video.
“Feral Future” discharges gnarled riffing that viciously rips and menacingly writhes, with a feral throbbing pulse of its own that’s matched by the hammering pulse of the drums. Of course, the furious vocals are as mean and angry as the music. So, be prepared for the vivid pulse of the music to quicken your own, and press Play below.
https://miseryindex.bandcamp.com/track/feral-future
http://www.miseryindex.com
https://www.facebook.com/MiseryIndex
FEARTILIZER 1492 (Canada)
Feartilizer 1492 describe themselves as “an Indigenous-fronted deathgrind band from Montréal, Québec”, whose music is likely to appeal to fans of Full of Hell, Wormrot, Primitive Man, Nails, Vermin Womb, and early Napalm Death. That sounded tantalizing, and so was this text from the band’s vocalist about their new single, “Blood Uniform“:
“Blood Uniform” is a critique of colonialism, white supremacy, and false authority, written through an Indigenous lens. Inspired by the legacy of lynchings in the American South and the imagery of Strange Fruit, the song examines how systems built on fear, division, and dehumanization continue to shape the present. As the only Indigenous member of Feartilizer 1492, I draw from my own experiences, using extreme music to confront colonialism, systemic oppression, and the realities many Indigenous communities continue to face today. At its core, the song is about accountability exposing the contradictions of oppressive power and the inevitable downfall of those who build their authority through hatred and brutality.
The song begins with a sample of dialogue from the 1995 Jim Jarmusch film Dead Man, and then it cuts loose with a furious discharge of battering beats, enormous low-end rumbles, swarms of violently cutting riffage, enraged screams, and harrowing roars.
The riffing also slugs and blares as well as swarms, and the ringing tremolo’d lead guitar channels desolate bleakness and pain as well as sounds of merciless retribution. The drumming is dynamic, and near the end that enormous bass is allowed to growl and clang at the forefront, setting up a strong pulse that the rest of the band pick up and convert into a shuddering stomp.
While this single stands on its own, the band report that they’re currently working toward releasing their second EP around November/December 2026, and that “‘Blood Uniform‘ is meant to give listeners a taste of the direction we’re heading.”
https://feartilizer1492.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/feartilizer1492/
https://www.facebook.com/p/Feartilizer-1492-61569163540391/
VENOMOUS ECHOES (U.S.)
Last week I, Voidhanger Records launched pre-orders for another wave of albums, three of them scheduled to crest and drop in September. They also revealed one advance song per album.
One of those albums is a new one from Venomous Echoes, the experimental solo project of Ben Vanweelden from Kettering, Ohio. The name of the new album is Ŋvęŧş: Violator Of Mater, and Vanweelden also created its macabre cover art. The Bandcamp page contains details he has provided about the album’s narrative concept and meaning, as well as this part written by the label:
Musically, VENOMOUS ECHOES do what they do best: build twisted and schizophrenic songs, which oscillate chaotically between ferocious black death accelerations and doom slowdowns, entrusted to distorted and oppressive sounds. A cathartic nightmare, telling a true story of pain and abuse.
The first song now available from this album is “Æhɔɲ“. To the surprise of no one who’s familiar with Venomous Echoes’ previous music, it’s a hybrid of experiences. It heavily pounds and it creates searing stratospheric cascades. The music seems to wail, contort, and maniacally quiver, but brittle notes also nervously tick and squiggle, and dreamlike tones flow like fluid overhead and then gloriously shine.
Through it all, the vocals are shattering, ranging from monstrous roars to rupturing screams (but with ardent singing in the mix as well), and through it all the bass-and-drum work is beautifully calculated. The song builds to a calamitous climax, an unnerving collage of dissonant notes, full-riot drumming, and unhinged vocals, before a phase of darting and squirming instrumental dementia takes over at the end.
https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/v-violator-of-mater
https://www.facebook.com/p/Venomous-Echoes-100095607218571/
THE ABSOLUTION SEQUENCE (Australia)
I investigated this next song and video because The Absolution Sequence are from Tasmania, and as we all know, only devils live there. Beyond that, I saw that the band’s lineup lists seven members, including three guitarists and two drummers, and I was curious what an army like that might get up to.
What they get up to in this final song for today’s roundup, the name of which is “The Nightlight Sigil“, is a dynamically changing experience. The song’s ringing overture is mysterious and beguiling, and rapidly ringing and swirling guitars carry those feelings forward. As screamed vocals enter the frame, the band fully reveal enormously heavy bass undulations and pounding beats.
The song continues to intensify. The guitars sear but the fretwork also becomes frantic and spidery, and their melodies also channel misery. If anything, the screamed and roared vocals become even more raw and enraged. The band also inflict bursts of jackhammering groove and they kick the rhythms into bracing gallops. There’s also a fleet-fingered dual guitar solo that propels the music to new heights of blazing intensity, leading to a thoroughly convulsive finale.
The artistically filmed, edited, and effects-laden video for the song is also quite well done. It shows that the band’s members know how to command a stage, and it hints at the song’s disturbing lyrical theme. (And by the way, the disturbing lyrics are interesting, and you can peruse them below the video at YouTube.)
The song is from an album titled Dread Cycle, which will be released by Bleeding Art Collective on August 14th.
https://www.bleedingartcollective.com
https://theabsolutionsequence.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutionsequence
https://www.instagram.com/theabsolutionsequence