Happy New Year everyone! The first
Harbinger’s Killer Picks of 2025 has arrived! I’ve got a leftover release from
2024 as well as four hot picks from recent and upcoming January/February 2025
releases. Here’s hoping 2025 will be as great or surpass the phenomenal year
that 2024 was for music. Without further ado, here are my top five picks in
chronological release order.
First, Metallica’s Helping Hands 2024 benefit show took
place on Friday, December 13th at the intimate YouTube Theater in
Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on December 19th on YouTube and
made available for purchase as MP3s and lossless audio on their Live Metallica
Website on December 23rd, just in time for Christmas. This is a
fantastic show from top to bottom, featuring a very different setlist than on
their current M72 Tour. The first five songs are semi-acoustic and then the
band goes fully electric for the next eight tunes. The concert opens with a
great rendition of a track from Reload,
“Low Man’s Lyric”, which hadn’t been played live since 1998. Then we get a
cover of Diamond Head’s “Helpless”, a Garage
Days gem performed semi-acoustically. We move on to a superb Bachman-Turner
Overdrive cover, “Away from Home”, which I’d never heard Metallica cover
before. To close out the semi-acoustic set, we’re treated to gorgeous
renditions of “If Darkness Had a Son” and “Nothing Else Matters” with a little
help from the SistaStrings duo on violin and cello.
Then the boys plug in to play
their instrumental masterpiece “Orion” followed by a rare performance of one of
my favourite songs from And Justice for
All, “The Shortest Straw.” Then they hit the Load album with “Until It Sleeps”, a song that has aged gracefully;
I personally enjoy it a lot more now than when it was first released back in
1996. Afterwards it’s on to a kick-ass rendering of “Screaming Suicide” from 72 Seasons followed by another tune not
often played live, “The Unforgiven II” from Reload,
performed for the first time in nine years. Up next, a phenomenal, swampy
version of “Fuel”, also from Reload,
a song that’s vastly improved over the years. After that, Pearl Jam bassist
Jeff Ament joins the band for a blistering performance of “Hit the Lights” off
of Kill ‘Em All and they close out
the show with their perennial classic, “Master of Puppets.” Whether you’re a
casual Metallica fan or you’ve been listening to them since the ‘80s, Helping Hands 2024 is an outstanding
live set from the titans of metal that belongs in any metalhead’s music
collection.
Metallica on the Live Metallica site: https://www.livemetallica.com//live-music/0,853/Metallica-mp3-flac-download-12-13-2024-YouTube-Theater-Los-Angeles-CA.html
Second, alternative/progressive metal
band Suns of the Tundra (SOTT) have just released a 20th Anniversary
Remix of their self-titled debut album on January 12th. The London
and Cardiff band’s original lineup for this record was formed of Simon Oakes on
vocals/guitar, Andrew Prestidge on drums/keyboards, and Rob Havis on bass. The
previous iteration of the band was known as Peach GB in the 1990s before they
split up and bassist Justin Chancellor left to join American prog metal band
Tool. Some of these new remixes use new rhythm guitar parts from Mark Moloney
who joined the band in 2005 and has been an integral part ever since. I wasn’t
familiar with SOTT prior to listening to this record and shame on me—they’re
absolutely amazing! Their debut album sounds like it could’ve been recorded now
so much it sounds fresh—a testament to how well it’s aged over the last twenty
years. The kick-ass first single, “Paper Wraps Stone”, is reminiscent of Tool,
which is a comparison I’m sure they’d rather avoid but I make it as a
compliment and if you’re a fan of that band, it’ll give you a good indication
whether you’d enjoy SOTT or not. “Telescopic Misanthropy” and “Minus” are
infectious tunes that stick with you. “Redeye” might be my favourite track of
the LP; it has a lot going on musically. “Splinters” is another highlight, a
hypnotic song that will put the listeners in a trance. And to cap things off,
we have the epic “Syzygy parts I, II & III”, a rhapsody of sorts which
initially appeared as three distinct tracks on the 2004 release. Suns of the
Tundra, the band and the album, are well-worth your time and ears. Whether you’re
a long-time fan or like me, are just hearing about them for the first time,
their remixed self-titled debut is a terrific way to discover/re-discover their
music before perusing the rest of their catalogue with more recent LPs such as
2019’s Murmuration and 2023’s The Only Equation. Fans of prog metal in
general will have a blast with this record.
Suns of the Tundra on Bandcamp: https://sunsofthetundra.bandcamp.com/album/suns-of-the-tundra-20th-anniversary-remix
Third, doom legends Pentagram
return with their ninth studio album and their first in ten years, titled Lightning in a Bottle, on January 31st.
Full disclosure: I always found Pentagram to be highly overrated and haven’t
enjoyed any of their previous albums. I like a handful of their songs, but
that’s about it. Frontman and founder Bobby Liebling is notoriously hard to
work with and the band has gone through more than a dozen roster changes over
the years. They seem to have landed a top-tier lineup for this record,
consisting of guitar maestro Tony Reed of Mos Generator and Stone Axe, Scooter
Haslip on bass (also of Mos Generator), and Henry Vasquez on drums of Saint
Vitus fame. I have to say, this is in my opinion the band’s most solid album to
date. The catchy two singles, “Thundercrest” and “Live Again”, are representative
of the overall sound of the LP. The very personal “Lady Heroin” is another
highlight as well as “Solve the Puzzle”, while the title track with its heavy
riff gets my vote for best track of the album. Whether you’re a long-time fan
of the band or have never been impressed by their output, I recommend taking Lightning in a Bottle for a spin, you’re
bound to have a good time listening to it.
Heavy Psych Sounds Records’ Bandcamp page for Pentagram: https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pentagram-lightning-in-a-bottle
Fourth, Swedish rockers Gin Lady
will unleash their seventh opus, Before
the Dawn of Time, on February 7th via the mighty Ripple Music
label. This album is a throwback to a plethora of genres from classic rock,
roots rock, prog rock, and even acid folk. It’s a very accessible album that’s
got a Beatlesque quality to it. From the get-go, “The Paramount” sets the tone
for the entire LP; an instant classic in my book. “Mighty River” is a folky,
sing-along kind of tune. The second single, “Tingens sanna natur”, which is
actually sung in English (The True Nature of Things), is a slower-paced beauty
of a song. “Ways to Cross the Sky” is a warm, multi-layered song and one of the
LP’s best. The energetic “Turn Back” is the catchiest track on the record. The
proggy “Mulberry Bend” has got a cool ‘70s vibe. It’s followed by the
mysterious and mystical “The Universe Vibrant Rings” and a great rhythmic tune
titled “The Brain.” The piano-driven, ‘60s sounding “Bliss on the Line” takes
us to the last track, “You’re a Big Star”, reminiscent of Tom Petty with its
retro sound—a definite highlight of the album. Gin Lady is a band whose music
instantly puts you in a good mood. Before
the Dawn of Time is the first must-own record of 2025 and one of Ripple
Music’s finest releases in recent years.
Ripple Music’s Bandcamp page for Gin Lady: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/before-the-dawn-of-time
Fifth, Germany’s alternative/industrial
metal band Enemy Inside will release their third record, Venom, via powerhouse metal label Reigning Phoenix Music on
February 28th. I’d been eagerly anticipating this album based on the
first couple of singles I’d heard. It’s a very frustrating LP for me. Let me
explain. Frequent readers of this blog know of my distaste for extreme metal
and all its subsidiaries (black, death metal, etc). To me, growling, barking,
or screaming ruins a song, period. Such is the case for many of the songs found
on Venom. Now, I know I’m in the
minority and that extreme metal has hordes of enthusiasts, so I’m sure that for
the vast majority of listeners, this growling will only enhance the songs. In
any case, what I found good on this album, I really did enjoy, with catchy gems
such as “Should Have Known Better”, “Sayonara”, “What We Used to Be”, “Fuck
That Party” and the cool ballad, “Let Me Go.” On the other hand, songs like
“Venom”, “Dirt on My Name”, “Innocent”, and “Unburn” were ruined for me by the
afore-mentioned growling. I find it a shame that a talented singer like Nastassja
Giulia doesn’t use her vocal gifts to simply sing melodically the way she’s proven
she can. She sounds like a cross between Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani (I
know for metal fans that this sounds like I’m taking a dig at her but it’s not;
I mean it as a compliment). Overall, Venom
is a fine metal record with pop sensibilities that, were it not for its extreme
leanings, I would’ve loved. Unfortunately, I’m just not the target audience for
this one but I do recommend it to Enemy Inside fans and anyone who enjoys edgy metal
with pop sensibilities.
RPM’s Enemy Inside page: https://reigningphoenixmusic.com/artists/enemy-inside
And we’re done for the first issue of 2025, folks! The February issue of the Harbinger’s Killer Picks will land on February 22nd. Until then, stay safe and crank up the tunes!
