For Those About to Squawk: Nightmarer, Octopus, Screaming Beast

Wow, there’s been a lot of metal news lately huh? Tours getting cancelled, shows getting moved… Let’s focus on the positive for a bit shall we?  Your old boy Waldo is back again to tell you about some upcoming releases.

I’m usually not into “supergroups.” Really, they tend to fall kind of flat, but Nightmarer is an exception to this rule. So, I’m not sure of this is a project or an actual band, but Cacophony of Terror on Season Of Mist is pretty damned good. This is members of The Ocean, Gigan, and War from a Harlots Mouth. So, what is it, you ask? Well, it’s death metal, but not straight up death metal…This has a dissonance and is chock full of eerie soundscapes. To call this “tech death” would be a bit of a misnomer, but it is techy at times, but not like “we’re playing in 18/49 time.” So if you’re into Deathspell Omega, Artificial Brain, Ulcderate, Gorguts or that sort of thing, definitely check this out. 7 Fucking Pecks.

So, Octopus, huh? Well, color me surprised. This is a total 70’s retro throwback, not at all what I expected (not that I’m sure what I expected from a band called Octopus). Supernatural Alliance on Rise Above sounds like it could’ve stepped right out of a different decade. From the fuzzed out bass and guitars, to the female vocals to the Moog sounding keys. This rocks. While probably not for everyone, this is cool. You can literally smell the bong smoke burning off of this vinyl when the needle is playing it. If thick, heavy rock is your thing… peck this! 6 Fucking Pecks.

There’s always one I don’t like, huh? Screaming Beast self-released Our Narrative Of Hate. This s like radio “rock.” I don’t get how it’s 2018 and people are still doing this sort of thing. I guess the call of fame and fortune is huge. This is compressed to hell and has NO low end. Choppy power chords give way to screaming to clean vocals. This is wack. I mean, I really hate to hate on people that are trying, but this is just… not good. Joke is probably on me though; they’ll be all over the radio in a couple of years. This is the band your drunk uncle tells you about when you tell him you like metal. 1 Fucking Peck.

That’s all folks…