Alright it's the end of the year. There's a lot that happened.
The wins:
- We launched FAK YER Reviews.
- We published a few articles.
- We reviewed a lot of newly released music and discovered dozens of amazing artists.
The losses:
- Google still refuses the properly index our posts, most likely because of the blogging platform that we are currently using (Google's own Blogspot).
- We could not release our first annual FAK YER MIKSTAPE compilation. It was supposed to contain the best songs that we discovered in our Weekly column, with a duration of 50 minutes. Unfortunately, only 6 artists agreed to be on the compilation, and we did not receive any response from the rest.
FAK YER MIKSTAPE 2022 (as it could have been)
Tongueless - New Americana
Haunting industrial coming from Chicago (Illinois). Tongueless present themselves with the following bone-chilling line: "I am at once filled with sound and absolutely quiet. Just as it should be - the violent sound of the desperate; the utterance of the tongueless". "New Americana" is both aggressive and calm -- with a slow tempo, but lots of distortion and an unstable chord progression that keeps building tension up. The vocals rise and rise until they scream, reaching a catharsis, followed by an instrumental section with a more well-defined progression to enjoy the deliverance.
Phoxjaw - Apples
These "noise makers" and "brain shakers" are based in Bristol (UK). They are proud of their uniqueness, and there is a good reason for that. Their track "Apples" is -- for sure -- bizarre, infectious, and powerful! The chromatic synth lead creates an ambivalent uneasy feeling that resolves once the aggressive drums and guitars start blasting and establish the chord progression. The tame verses establish good dynamics and build up expectation for the next loud part. During the breakdown things go nuts even harder and there's even a beatdown section. Absolutely brilliant work by Phoxjaw. Kind of reminds me of the Norwegian band "Shining" and their insane piece "Fisheye".
Against The Sun - Leaders
Against The Sun is an American band set to make waves as Orange County's premier metalcore act. "Their unique blend of heavy instruments, clean yet intense vocals, and harsh honest lyrics creates a powerful listening experience", they say. I've only heard "Leaders" and agree -- the vocals are both melodic, mid-range, but without the annoying pathos that most metalcore singers fall victims to. The instrumental has odd time signatures to shake things up. The guitar riffs are both melodic and rhythmic - a rare combination in progressive music. Some parts sound like Dream Theater in their heavier period. Against The Sun recently put out an EP called "Truth's Wake", which is a collection of the best music they've put out over the past two years.
Against The Sun - Official Website
Somehow Jo - RUSH
A Finnish progressive-alternative metal newcomer founded in 2009. They call themselves "an alternative version of Spice Girls, harvesting it’s own way in genre-free music". To those who don't know, the Spice Girls were a shitty over-produced girl band with some hits in the late 90s. This song "Rush" is pretty good, though. The guitar riffs are original and they sound great. The mid-range vocals are a breath of fresh air.
Father Deer Hands - For The First Time In Years
Hailing from the suburbs of Sydney comes Father Deer Hands. An outfit of loud technical guitars, huge drums, percussive & sludgy bass lines and dynamic vocals. "We are a band of friends, that want to go against the grain of our standard Heavier roots in music. We love all styles of music and would love to express that in our own way", they say. "For The First Time In Years" kicks off with a fast-paced catchy guitar riff that immediately triggers headbanging. The raspy melodic high-range vocals stand out as something unique about this band -- I really like them, as well as the screams.
Second String - Peanut Butter in the Jelly Jar
Second String present themselves as "sounds for the losers & lovers & punks & outcasts". Not sure what they mean by "lovers" and how it relates categorically to the other groups of people, but whatever. Second String is an experiment in DIY music & fun based in Omaha (Nebraska). Crafted with an awkward mix of Sprite, Reese's Cups, and videogames, this project is the brain child of a bunch of friends that like to have fun and make music. "Peanut Butter in the Jelly Jar" is emo as hell -- it's the opposite of fun! But we don't care about fun here at FAK YER Reviews. Great sounding melancholic guitars and angsty vocals is all we need, and it is successfully delivered by the band.
BUGHUNT - Thick Liquid
BUGHUNT is a band from Melbourne (Australia). "Thick Liquid" has energetic loud guitars and vocals that immediately won me over. The way the singer delivers his lines! He sounds insane and inadequate -- like a curious adult toddler. He sure does deserve the thick liquid, and now he's causing other people to become addicted to it.
Electric Dragon - Get Down
Electric Dragon is a chiptune-based genre-fluid project from Bulgaria. In "Get Down" they combine heavy metal with hip-hop. The time signature during the rap verses is 7/4, which makes things even spicier. It's rare to hear rap in odd time signatures. The falsetto vocal parts are also quite unconventional. It's overall a weird song, and there are many more that came from Electric Dragon. Do not confuse them with the UK synthwave project by the same name.
PULSE - Pieces Of Me
Pulse is a quintet from Birmingham (England). They describe their style as "nu-metalcore". Their track "Pieces Of Me" does contain some pretty tight nu-metal riffs, and there is a nice melodic metalcore part -- so that checks out! What caught my ear, though, was the wild intro that combines bending djent strings with some fast-paced dubstep synths. Later on, there's a brutal slam beatdown. Thus, Pulse are not as simple as they appear on the surface. They combine metal genres into something a bit more original.
BLACK LAVA - Eye of the Moon
BLACK LAVA is a blackened heavy metal band from Australia. Formed in late 2021, after months of setbacks and turbulence of the uncertain 2020/2021 period. The guitars in "Eye of the Moon" are hot! The drums blend well with them and do not take away from the melancholic riffs. Some of the screams sound more like shouting. The guy is in pain, or angry. Join his suffering and enjoy the agony.
Abduction - A Psylacybic Death
Formed in 2016, Abduction is a black metal project based in Derby (UK). Beginning as a shadowy single-man entity, they have made astonishingly fast progress, carving a reputation for themselves as a standout act in an increasingly crowded extreme metal scene. Performing alone in the early years, Abduction’s central protagonist A|V then expanded the band into a full live outfit, to better create intense, ritualistic and immersive performances. There is definitely something special about "A Psylacybic Death". It starts out with simple old-school riffs, but then progresses into something a lot more musically developed. An atmospheric piece with great guitar tone. Really enjoying the harmonies and progressive song structure. In 7 minutes, every new section that emerges delivers more pleasing suffering to the ear, without the song ever growing boring. This is also due to the competent dynamic range of the drum section.
Carnivored - Death Invest
Carnivored are a death metal band from Tangerang (Indonesia). "Death Invest" is a powerful piece. It has it all - melodic parts, thrash sections, technical riffs, and mighty demonic vocals to charge your aggression. I love how tight the palm-muted guitars sound. The drums are also impressive -- the rhythms change inventively and flow into each other very well. There are skilful breaks between the different sections. Overall, an excellent epic track by Carnivored.
Nervous Light Of Sunday - HOW IT OUGHT TO BE
Nervous Light Of Sunday is a Japanese post-hardcore band based in Tokyo. "How it ought to be" is a short, energetic and explosive track, perfect for moshing and breaking bones! The song structure is unconventional, with little repetition and great dynamics.
Nervous Light Of Sunday @ Facebook
TUNIKAH - APERTA GRAVIS CAERIMONIA
TUNIKAH is a digital one-man black metal band from Spain. "Aperta Gravis Caerimonia" is a powerful dark journey through demonic woods. The vocals sound like nothing I've heard before - the singer barks like a possessed body of multiple evil spirits. Bonus points for using the cowbell later in the song! An excellent old-school black metal track.
Honorable Mentions
These two songs would had been in the compilation, too, but they weren't available on Spotify. We don't blame them. Spotify is bollocks.
HOXSEY - Plastic Man
Hoxsey is an up-and-coming "digital performance" band which started in 2020 out of Austin (Texas). No idea what they mean by that -- probably too humble to call themselves musicians. "Plastic Man" has a raw noise-rock intensity with compelling dark riffs and playful vocals with great dynamic range. It sort of has an early Marilyn Manson vibe, without the artsy pretentiousness.
Inter Alia - Quantum Entanglement
Inter Alia is a progressive thrash metal project created by just one guy in, once again, Tasmania (Australia). "Quantum Entanglement" has some very interesting ideas packed inside. Really wish the production quality was better, but even in this shitty recording, you can tell the guy plays well, because the tone of the palm-muted riffs is tight and powerful. Really enjoying the bass climb that goes like "Quando sei lontana sogno all'orizzonte" (those who know, know).
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