Happy New Music Friday!
We have an unintentionally heavy list of tunes this week, which I only noticed when I was going back over it. However, I’m particularly excited about every track, and I think you will be, too.
Videos by VICE
“(I’m a) Rock ‘N’ Roller” by Rob Zombie
It’s been five years since Rob Zombie’s most recent album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy (2021), but now the Master of Shock and Awe has returned. On February 27, he will unleash The Great Satan, his eighth studio album.
For the album’s third single, this week Zombie released “(I’m a) Rock ‘N’ Roller”. It’s a thunderously spacey track that harkens back to his Hellbilly Deluxe era in the best way.
“ENJOY THA SHOW” by UnityTX
If I could just be slightly unprofessional for a minute: this s*** is f***in’ DOPE.
I’ve been a fan of UnityTX for years. I literally keep a CD of their 2023 album, Ferality, in my car. These dudes blend metal, hardcore, and hip-hop in ways that should be definable, but they simply escape every genre classification.
This week, the band dropped “ENJOY THA SHOW”, and I guaran-damn-tee you will.
“Bomb to a Knife Fight” by The Barbarians of California
I pride myself on being aware of things in music, because it is, quite literally, my job. So, I take no pleasure in telling you that I was hella into The Barbarians of California before I found out it was the brainchild of Aaron Bruno from AWOLNATION and accomplished producer/engineer Eric Stenman.
Like, they’re so f***ing good. This new track, “Bomb to a Knight Fight”, is like garage-core. It’s a little punky and thrashy. Then the chorus breakdown comes in as heavy as anything bands like Every Time I Die or Hatebreed ever dropped.
This May, they’re going on tour with Poison the Well and Converge, and you had better be there.
“Original Sin” by Tim Henson
Polyphia guitarist Tim Henson is a musical savant. I know that talent like this requires a lot of disciplined practice. Still, I can’t help but feel like 80 percent of his abilities are just sheer natural skill.
This week, Henson released a new solo tune, “Original Sin”. The instrumental track blends the unique stringed acumen he’s known for with, what I’m gonna say is, some Spanish flamenco. It really hits.
“Vengeance and Grace (Alone)” by Benjamin Tod
Modern folk stalwart Benjamin Tod has announced a new album, Vengeance and Grace, which will arrive on April 17 as a dual project. One version of the album will be with a full band, and the other—the Alone version—will be stripped-down versions of the same songs.
With the announcement, he released the album’s first single: the Alone performance of the title track, “Vengeance and Grace”. It’s a refreshingly vulnerable expression of Americana art, and full of hope.
