Heavy Song of the Week is a Heavy Consequence feature that breaks down the best metal and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, the top spot goes to Kerry King's fiery debut solo single, “Idle Hands.”
We really should have heard Kerry King's long-awaited solo material before now. Slayer's axe was set to release his new chapter shortly after his legendary thrash band called it quits in late 2019, but the pandemic halted progress on the project. King decided to play the long game, occasionally reminding us that he would be debuting new music very soon, once the air cleared.
Finally, the guitarist made the big reveal this week with “Idle Hands,” the lead single from his upcoming album. From hell I rise. And as expected, and we wouldn't have it any other way, the song is a direct extension of Slayer (and the regretful album in particular). In other words: full-on thrash mixed with King's riff work and his trademark jerky solos.
We especially love the choice of Death Angel's Mark Osegueda on lead vocals, a somewhat underrated thrash veteran who's been at the forefront of the genre since its heyday. The rest of King's solo band is rounded out by drummer Paul Bostaph (Slayer), bassist Kyle Sanders (Hellyeah) and guitarist Phil Demmel (ex-Machine Head), making for a spectacular lineup.
Honorable mentions:
Blue Öyster Cult – “So supernatural”
We'll admit, when we read “new Blue Öyster Cult album” and “AI” in the same press release, we frowned. The new album from the rock legends Ghost stories is constructed from archival material from the late '70s and early '80s that has been “demixed” and “remixed” (in the band's own terminology) using artificial intelligence enhancements and physical studio re-recordings by surviving members of BÖC. Fortunately, if there is any AI at work on the single “So Supernatural,” it is either unintelligible to the ear or used in the mixing process, as the song sounds like the real-life Blue Öyster Cult classic and the Spectral time specifically.
Boundaries – “Easily erased”
Boundaries is a rising post-hardcore group based in Connecticut that takes an amorphous approach to the genre. Initially, the single “Easily Erased” presents itself as a harsher metallic sound, but the song opens into deliciously melodic territory when co-vocalist and drummer Tim Sullivan takes the microphone. The harsh, melodic duality is reminiscent of cult bands like Far and Touché Amoré and should allow Boundaries (a misnomer in this case) to stretch beyond the borders of hardcore and one-trick metalcore.
Necrot – “Cut the cord”
Considering that Necrot plays old school death metal and their next album is called Birth without life, one might suspect some depraved and bloody lyrical content in a single like “Cut the Cord.” While the song oozes dense, copious riffs, the lyrical premise is actually a thoughtful, if somber, cultural reflection. “People have their heads buried in their phones, constantly eating from a plate full of shit,” said vocalist and bassist Luca Indrio of the song's meaning, “and the horrible future that we all didn't want is now our present.” Cue death metal punch; a fitting soundtrack for our dystopia.
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