131 APRIL 4-10, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | SHOPPING & SERVICES | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | FOOD & DRINK | MUSIC & VENUES | the city within their respective lanes. But there hasn’t been a lot of crossover between the two…until longtime guitarist Rod Wess decided to start mixing EDM with his fi rst love, metal. Formerly of death-metal band Distant Haven, Wess got turned on to EDM in the early 2000s and became a DJ. Armed with his ESP LTD guitar, he now makes drum-and-bass-infused shred metal that appeals to EDM acolytes and metalheads alike, especially live. Recent singles “Shao- lin Tactics” and “Crank ’n’ the Foot” are bass-heavy bangers that also showcase Wess’s affi nity for hip-hop, including the Wu-Tang Clan. For good measure, Wess, a self-professed classical music nerd, sprin- kles in scales that would make Mozart and Vivaldi headbang. Best Metal Album Sparagmos Spectral Voice spectralvoice.bandcamp.com Death doom isn’t the sexiest extreme-metal subgenre. Found at opposite ends of the music spectrum, death and doom metal typically don’t have much in common. But Spectral Voice makes the unlikely marriage work so well that most people don’t even question it. Take the band’s second full- length, Sparagmos. It’s nearly 46 minutes in length but is divided into four songs (such is death doom). It’s clear that drummer / vocalist Eli Wendler, guitarists Paul Riedl and Morris Kolontyrsky and bassist Jeff Barrett are completely dialed in on Sparag- mos, constructing a foreboding and sinister atmosphere throughout, especially on “Red Feasts Condensed Into One” and “Death’s Knell Rings in Eternity.” The cherry on top is the album’s title: a Greek word for the Di- onysian practice of tearing someone apart. Best Metal Band Wayfarer wayfarercolorado.bandcamp.com In such a saturated music market, it’s ex- tremely uncommon for bands to create a brand-new subgenre. But that’s exactly what Wayfarer has done over the past twelve years. Shane McCarthy (guitar and vocals), Isaac Faulk (drums and key- boards), Jamie Hansen (bass and vocals) and Joe Strong-Truscelli (guitar) are big fans of the “Denver sound,” and pair the haunting Americana of groups such as Slim Cessna’s Auto Club and 16 Horse- power with traditional black metal to make what’s been dubbed “Black Metal of the American West.” On its latest album, American Gothic, Wayfarer transports lis- teners to life in the Depression-era Dust Bowl with blackened cowboy folk tunes that could be an alternative There Will Be Blood soundtrack. Best Old-School Heavy Metal Band Eaglewing eaglewingband.bandcamp.com Take a trip back in time and soar high with Eaglewing on its fearless fl ight into the new wave of heavy metal mayhem. These guys look and sound straight from the early- 1980s heavy metal scene, embarking on a sonic journey where the skies are limit- less and the music knows no bounds. The members are masters of their craft, using a simple formula of thundering drums, shredding guitar riffs and mesmerizing vocals to shape a majestic musical land- scape. Although Eaglewing might seem like it’s from the past, the band has fi rmly established itself as the future of heavy metal in Denver. Best Band to Rage to While Punching Drywall Empire Demolition empiredemolition.bandcamp.com Denver grindcore trio Empire Demolition seemingly came out of nowhere with the release of its debut EP, Defenestration, ear- lier this year. Justin Redington (vocals and bass), Kendrick Lemke (guitar and vocals) and Nicholas Herrera (drums) are purvey- ors of sonic pandemonium, and the fi ve songs on Defenestration pummel you for just under twenty minutes. The title track (the shortest offering at a hair under three minutes) and “Ruby” (the longest at a tad over six minutes) show off Empire Demoli- tion’s range; like Napalm Death and Por- trayal of Guilt, the band knows how to whip up a rage, and that’s a good thing when it comes to grindcore. So go ahead, throw it on and do some remodeling with your fi sts. Best Missing Link Cronos Compulsion cronoscompulsiondeath.bandcamp.com There is stone-cold evidence that cave- men somehow found the time to create instruments (bone fl utes, naturally) and music during the Paleolithic Era. They also loved to sing. But there is no way our thick-browed ancestors were coming up with anything near what death-metal trio Cronos Compulsion is currently concoct- ing — though the band does like to call its sound “caveman death metal.” It’s a newer term for a brand of brutal music that doesn’t bother with overly indulgent compositions — it’s barbaric and heavier than the Stone Age. What guitarist Wil Wilson, drummer Jon Linskey and bass- ist Addison Herron-Wheeler do on debut EP Malicious Regression would make any self-respecting Neanderthal lose their shit. Plus, the band moniker is an archeological term for the caveman practice of chopping up dead bodies instead of burying them. Best Music for Fossil Hunting Megatheria megatheria.bandcamp.com Megatheria may be a new post-metal group, but the trio is playing some serious Ice Age instrumentals. The band’s name references an extinct giant sloth that grew up to sixteen feet in length and last roamed the Earth about 11,700 years ago. That is, until guitarist Marc Christoforidis, bassist Matt Funk and drummer David Hindman resurrected it with the release of their de- but album, Gateway, last May. The record is divided into fi ve tracks, but the stoner- doom project is essentially one compre- hensive piece, similar to Sleep’s 1999 classic, Jerusalem (or the 2003 re-release, Dopesmoker). At just over ten minutes, “Hi- bernation” is the standout single. But we suggest listening continued on page 132 ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... ................... .................................. ........ ............... ............... . . . . . . . . . ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... ........... . . . . . . . . ......... . . . . . . . . . ............. .............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............. . . . . . . . . . ................ ............. . . . . . . . . .
