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, first place goes to NILE for their new song with an epic title “Chapter for Not Being Hung Upside Down…”.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a stranger song title in 2024 than that of NILE's new single, “Chapter Not Being Hung Upside Down on a Stake in the Underworld and Made to Eat Feces by the Four Apes.”
If anything, that diabolical stew of words should serve to prepare the listener for the kinetic and technically dense brutality of the music itself.
Despite being just over four minutes long, this is a ferocious track with frenetic percussion, quick starts and classic thrash riffs that nod faithfully to '80s Sepultura and Slayer. Nothing stands still as the band goes through an intricate arrangement that tests both the physical skill and sheer memorization of its musicians.
Longtime fans of the band will also be appeased by the continued exploration of Egyptology, concepts that are more direct than ever on the upcoming full-length. The underworld awaits us all. NILE may hail from South Carolina, but his artistic soul has long resided in ancient Egypt.
Honorable mentions:
Kittie – “One Foot in the Grave”
The singles Kittie has released since breaking her hiatus showcased a more agile groove/thrash metal assault. Meanwhile, her latest effort, “One Foot in the Grave,” dates back to Kittie's origins during the height of the nu-metal movement. The bright vocal production is theatrical and early 2000s, while the deliberate slam-chords and pop-punk tempo shifting are characteristic of the Canadian band's early material. Even as they have matured musically, Kittie hasn't lost sight of her roots.
Puscifer – “The Algorithm”
Puscifer tends to use electronics and programmed production rather than guitars, but “The Algorithm” is more on the metal side of their repertoire. The song is driven by sharp guitar licks and a steady mid-tempo beat. There is a little more angst, which corresponds to the lyrical content. Maynard James Keenan is infamously anti-smartphone, and Puscifer has previously lamented the social media addiction in his music. Here, Maynard and guitarist Mat Mitchell lay out their full thesis on “dopamine addiction through regular social media use.”
You – “I return chained and tied to you”
The longest song on Thou's new album. Umbilical, “I Return as Chained and Bound to You” hits that sweet spot that the band has hit so often over the years. Because the rest of the album runs at a faster pace, the slower tempo has even more impact, almost like a long six-minute drop in the context of the LP's running order. The distorted, red-lined production is spot on and only adds to the aesthetic of filth and disgust.
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