For Those About Squawk: Waldo Pecks on Go Ahead and Die, Red Fang and Septus

What’s up, guys? It’s your old boy Waldo here to spout off about some upcoming releases here.

Go Ahead and Die are releasing their titular full length on Nuclear Blast. I guess this has been brewing quietly, but this is basically Sepultura  v 4.0. Featuring Max Cavalera, and his son Igor not to mention Khemmis’ Zach Coleman.  This really feels like it picks up where Sepultura left off 30 some years ago.  Gone are the flutes and tribal drums, (hence any nod to nu metal), and replaced with solid as peck thrash riffs. This is the thrash record from Max that fans have been waiting for. So, anymore about this?  This is for old school fans, more akin to Celtic Frost or early Sodom (albeit without the vibe that it was recorded in a tunnel.) The tempos change and shift and this never really gets boring at all, and there’s even some “blast beats” thrown in here. Max sounds killer here, and this really harkens back to the glory days of anyone with the last name Cavalera.  This has a “looser feel” here and the performances (according to the band anyway) are not perfect, but in this birdbrains opinion, all is good here. A press release from Max sums this up nicely: “one-of-a-kind father/son collaboration bringing the old school with a new attitude! Sick riffs and abrasive lyrics from Igor and brutal drumming from Coleman (also of Black Curse) inspired me,” he says. “Extreme times call for extreme music!” Very cool. 8 Fucking Pecks.

Red Fang are back with their highly anticipated new release Arrows on Relapse. Hard rockin’ and heavy hitting, this is step up from the last two releases with a feeling more similar to Murder the Mountains. Not that it sounds like that at all, it’s just has a tell that Red Fang will do/write whatever they want, and they do that here. There definitely is some stuff that sticks out here, some weirder ambient stuff and even a string section in one song, but this all blends seamlessly and doesn’t detract from the vibe of the record. Producer Chris Funk does an excellent job, making this feel heavy and thick, with a clarity to the instruments. I’m pecking digging it. 7 Fucking Pecks.

I typically give everything Willowtip does a fair shake, and I have to say am pleasantly surprised with the release of Septus’ Phantom Indigo. This is labeled as “black/death metal” and I guess it is. What it REALLY is, is an exercise in meanness. I certainly wasn’t expecting this. This is mind-bending, thick, dense and pummeling all at the same time. Of course, it has members of the beaked up Phyrron, because they never do anything “normal” either.  I like this a lot, I can’t say that this is black metal or death metal, at least in the traditional sense. What this is, is fucked up. The production here is KILLER for this, super layer laden and really contributes to the overall ear fuckery that this conveys. Wow. 8 Fucking Pecks.

Until next time… Waldo out!