Heavy Song of the Week is a Heavy Consequence feature that breaks down the best metal, punk, and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, No. 1 goes to Dream Theater's new single, “Night Terror.”
In addition to losing the main singer or songwriter, a change of drummer can completely alter a band's sound. In the case of Dream Theater (and all respect and credibility to Mike Mangini) there is simply no way to replace Mike Portnoy. It's impossible. And while Dream Theater still sounded like Dream Theater with Mangini behind the kit, DT with Portnoy just has a different touch.
“Night Terror” was a great choice as the band's first single with Portnoy in 15 years, as it really showcases what he brings to the band, starting with an initial barrage of fillers. At 10 minutes long, the song is still very progressive, but it's somehow simpler and tighter, as if Portnoy is holding back some of John Petrucci and company's most cherished musical sensibilities.
The result is something bordering on progressive power metal, yet still featuring many of the band's trademark instrumental fireworks, which begin to explode about halfway through the track. The improvisation around Portnoy is totally fixed: the sound of a band at its peak performance.
Honorable Mentions:
Mammoth Grinder – “Divinant Corpse”
Austin’s Mammoth Grinder returned this week with their first new song since 2019, “Corpse of Divinant,” a two-and-a-half-minute romp of full-throttle death metal. The wailing guitar leads and loose cannon fills are fantastic, evoking classic Kerry King and giving the track a tantalizing unpredictability as it progresses.
Myles Kennedy – “Saving Appearances”
Impeccably, “Saving Face” manages to fall right in the middle between Myles Kennedy's other projects, namely Alter Bridge and his work with Slash and the Conspirators. The free guitar is in the vein of the latter: bluesy, no doubt, but with that raw Slashy value; while Kennedy's melodic phrasing and delivery evoke the grunge singers of yesteryear, a la Chris Cornell and Layne Staley.
Frown – “Special”
Bay Area group Scowl just signed a deal with Dead Oceans, marking the occasion with the new single appropriately titled “Special.” Here the band's post-hardcore is injected with hooks and a '90s grunge pop chorus, bolstered by a notable jump in production accompanying the new record deal.
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