Aural Devastation, October 2013: Cloudkicker, Jesu, Doomriders, Mutoid Man, Black God

AURAL DEVASTATION is a regular column about heavy rock music. This month, Cloudkicker streams his ninth record, Subsume, Jesu returns with a new track, plus songs from Doomriders and the supergroups Mutoid Man (members of Cave In and Converge) and Black God (members of Coliseum and Young Widows).

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Cloudkicker – “Subsume”

Ben Sharp, who creates under the moniker Cloudkicker, has been blasting the instrumental music scene to pieces since he started releasing music back in 2007. Everything is written, recorded, mixed and mastered at his home in Columbus, Ohio, and like the true lover of music Sharp is, all of his releases are streamed for free online. Physical copies exist, and if you love Cloudkicker’s jams enough. you can always pay Sharp for his efforts as well — and money should definitely be thrown his way for his prog-metal influenced take on instrumental music. His ninth (!!!) release since 2007, Subsume is streaming on his Bandcamp page, with a limited vinyl run scheduled for sometime in the early Fall. Do yourself a favor and hop on this wagon. It is well worth the ride.

Jesu – “Homesick”

Jesu, the brainchild of metal God Justin Broadrick, is back out with a new album soon, and it seems like it has been quite some time since his last. Every Day I Get Closer to the Light From Which I Came has the appropriate long-ass title befitting of any post-metal album, and as the first track “Homesick” shows, Broadrick has gone with a more guitar-oriented approach this time. Granted, is about as thrilling as watching paint drip off a wall and slowly dry into chips, but don’t let that deter you. Any Jesu release is well worth the effort to soak in, and as fall approaches, the soundtrack for the season has arrived with it.

Doomriders – “Dead Friends”

Doomriders, one of the finest examples of merging rock, hardcore and metal into one horrific smorgasbord of noise, is back with a new release. Grand Blood is hit digital and physical shelves on Oct. 15 courtesy of Deathwish Inc.. The band’s new single, “Dead Friends”, isn’t nearly as heavy as previous Doomrider takes, and almost seems to have adopted a much more rock-oriented approach similar to Red Fang‘s, but it is still a brick to the side of the head.

Mutoid Man – “Gnarcissist”

Supergroups are always a tricky thing in music. There only seems to be three options: 1) the band is truly greater than the sum of its parts; 2) the band puts out a semi-solid effort that falls into obscurity within a week’s time; 3) the band is more terrible than you could ever expect, and it makes you judge harshly their other respective bands. There are a few people who stay out of this narrow line of thought, and Converge/ALL PIGS MUST DIE drummer extraordinaire Ben Koller is one of those individuals. Koller has paired with Steve Brodsky (guitarist/vocalist from Cave In) to form Mutoid Man, and pretty much any band comprised of those two individuals needs some serious attention thrown their way. Mutoid Man is the sort of no-hold-barred rock n’ roll that destroys moshpits and gives underground clubs the street cred they seek. Helium Head gets released on November 29th on Magic Bullet Records, so for now, just sit with the perfectly titled “Gnarcissist” and go nuts.

Black God – “Ghost In You”

Continuing with the supergroup theme, Black God, featuring members of Coliseum and Young Widows, is back on the scene with a new EP. It is blisteringly fast — almost too fast at times. 3, the band’s third EP, clocks in at under ten-and-a-half minutes with six tracks. But when the world is as shitty as it is, complaining about a short, excellent release you wish was longer is as low of a priority as it gets. Out now on No Idea Records.