Heavy Song of the Week is a feature from Heavy Consequence that looks at the best metal, punk, and hard rock songs you should listen to every Friday. This week, the honor goes to Kublai Khan TX for “A Hopless Fate” featuring Jamey Jasta.
Ten years after his debut album, Kublai Khan TX has released his fifth studio LP, Display of skillThe arrogance of such a title is justified: this Texan hardcore band can deliver tracks with hard-hitting riffs like few others. Torrents of hardcore aggression and no bullshit. You don't want to betray these guys if they're anything like the music they play.
The band turned to a harder-edged bandmate, Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta, for one of the album's highlights, “A Hopeless Fate,” a departure from Kublai Khan's typical style. Here, they sound more influenced by metal and thrash, more I hate raceperhaps as a nod to the collaboration with Jasta. But the same anger that fuels the band's most overtly hardcore tracks still flows freely. Good on Kublai Khan for dabbling in some new stylistic choices as he hits the 15-year mark of his career.
Honorable mentions:
Tetrach- “Live, do not fantasize”
Tetrarch’s new single, “Live Not Fantasize,” their first in three years, is a shot of nu-metal nostalgia. The metallic, mathy metal riffs and hard/melodic juxtaposition of verses and choruses define the genre, and Tetrarch delivers them refreshingly without a hint of irony. In contrast, the positive lyrical message is not so common in this type of metal. “This song is about never letting the negative feelings and thoughts in your mind define who you are,” stated guitarist Diamond Rowe, “and doing your best to overcome hard times and find peace within yourself, so you can live instead of dream of something better.”
Devin Townsend – “Jainism”
On “Jainism” we see progressive metal maestro Devin Townsend at his most chameleonic. At first, the powerful central riff indicates a straight metal song, but Townsend quickly takes the verse and chorus in a melodic direction with elegant singing and atmospheric textures. These sections could almost be sung as a lullaby and make up the bulk of the song. Repetitions of the main riff serve as welcome breaks in the mood and keep the arrangement from becoming static.
Tremonti – “The Mother, the Earth and I”
Where does Mark Tremonti find the time? The man of many bands is simultaneously in the midst of an album cycle with his self-titled project, Tremonti, and a massive reunion tour with Creed. With that in mind, his latest single “The Mother, The Earth and I” has the musical backbone of a Creed song with its huge guitar sound and post-grunge production, but it carves out a path of its own thanks to Tremonti’s distinctive, commanding vocals.
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