Heavy Song of the Week is a feature from Heavy Consequence that looks at the best metal, punk, and hard rock tracks you should listen to every Friday. This week, the honor goes to Oranssi Pazuzu for his new single “Valotus.”
The music of Finnish avant-metal group Oranssi Pazuzu is anomalous. While it may be built from the basic elements of black metal (harsh, indecipherable vocals, blast beats, guitar bursts, etc.), the effect it has on the listener is more cerebral and meditative in nature, like ambient drone or harsh noise.
The group’s latest single, “Valotus,” squashes all of the aforementioned signifiers of black metal into a stew of swirling psychedelia that deliberately gives us little to support in the way of instrumentation, vocals, or discernible rhythms. You can tell it’s all there, but what the ear picks up on is constantly in flux, a functional element of Oranssi Pazuzu’s music that’s as captivating as it is intoxicating – the sonic equivalent of standing in total darkness to feel, your eyes adjusting as you begin to make out figures that may or may not be there, mind filling in the blanks.
Honorable mentions:
Best Lovers – “A White Horse Covered in Blood”
Wow, that title is visceral, befitting of an absolutely angry song. Greg Puciato delivers his lyrics, written in the second person, as if he's yelling directly at whoever they're meant to be addressed to. It's accusatory and pulls no punches, with the supergroup lineup Better Lovers delivering a suffocating package of riffs and a powerful, deliberate breakdown. In contrast, the song's remarkable music video shows the band running, falling, and diving through colorful, paper-thin walls, balancing out the song's inherent negativity with one of the most entertaining performance clips we've seen all year.
Jinjer – “Someone’s daughter”
Jinjer wastes no time on their latest single and first new song in three years, which kicks off straight with the verse, with no instrumental intro. It’s fairly unconventional and immediately grabs the listener as Tatiana Shmayluk’s vocals float melodically around progressive drums that build to an even more progressive chorus. The djent is in full effect here, and fans of the group will be happy to know that the passing years have only made the Ukrainian band even sharper on their instruments.
King Dunn (King Buzzo and Trevor Dunn) – “Sidewalk Begging”
It’s great to see Buzz Osborne and Trevor Dunn going all-in on their excellent collaborative acoustic project King Dunn. The duo just kicked off an extensive tour, on which Buzzo sings and plays acoustic guitar and Dunn plays bass. Their latest track, a cover of The Dicks’ “Sidewalk Begging,” is available as an exclusive 7″ flexi disc at the merch table, and it exemplifies precisely why the Buzzo/Dunn pairing works so well. Buzzo’s roaring vocals are all the more haunting against Dunn’s effortless acoustic strums and virtuoso bass work, evoking an austere mood that’s rare in the Melvins’ more boisterous music. We’ve yet to hear anything we don’t like from King Dunn and his 2020 album. Gift of sacrifice It is highly recommended if you like this version: a tribute to the late leader of The Dicks, Gary Floyd, who passed away in May.
“The Dicks were one of the greatest bands in history and it was sad to hear of the passing of Gary Floyd,” King Buzzo said in a press release for the song.
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