It's a big, weird day in heavy music, filled with big, weird releases from big, weird bands! I've got not one, not two, but three collaborative albums on my list today, as well as some other stuff. New music ahoy!

First up is the new collaboration between Ragana and Drowse, Ash Souvenir. The more I listen to Ragana, the more I kick myself for not grabbing something when I saw them a few weeks ago (pictured above). I've found that I love black metal that balances atmosphere and tension with heaviness, and this new EP is a masterclass of tension that builds to a cathartic release. The contributions from Drowse add an excellent new layer to Ragana's formula. Great stuff. 

When it was announced that The Avett Brothers were collaborating with Mike Patton, I wasn't sure if it was the most oddball move ever, or completely logical given Mike Patton's history of oddball moves. The self-titled AVTT/PTTN album is definitely built on a foundation of The Avett Brothers' indie bluegrass sound, but there are still moments when Patton's more psychedelic sensibilities take over.  And although it sounded like a pretty wild swing at first, the result is something that feels pretty cohesive and listenable. 

Five years after their first collaboration, Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin are back with Stygian Bough Volume II. Like the previous collaboration, it's a collection of epic, emotional doom. It's only four tracks, but they range in length from 11 to 19 minutes, so it's definitely one that requires you to settle into its groove. I'm a big fan of the first album and I was fortunate to see it performed live several years ago, but this sound is absolutely not going to be for everyone. Time will tell if I keep coming back to this one - it's not exactly a "hooky" album, but I can get down with a solid mood piece. 

And now for something completely different. Heavy by The Grasshopper Lies Heavy is, fast, hard-hitting, noisy sludge. It's not complicated stuff, but it's done well. Based out of Texas, TGLH heavy is on Minneapolis' own Learning Curve Records and a frequent performer at our local noise rock festival, Caterwaul. 

Full disclosure: I actually decided to write about this release before I heard a note of their music. Scrape was listed as a noise rock band on the new release list I consult weekly, and that genre alone is enough for me to check out a band. When I looked them up on YouTube Music, I saw that their top songs only have three plays each, and several songs on today's new album Flood had zero plays. Their YouTube page is similarly ignored - two subscribers. Now, I'm not claiming that my writeup is going to bring them a ton of attention, but hey, some attention is better than none, right?

Above: A live look at my site audience.

Fortunately, I'm able to say that I'm not just highlighting them because they're a small band - they're good, too! Scrape is a very different kind of noise rock than TGLH - they're slower and scuzzier, with vocals and a vibe that remind me of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult if that band was stripped of its industrial trappings. It's a very 90s sound that wouldn't have been at all out of place on the soundtrack for The Crow. And considering that OST is the best of all time, that's a high compliment! No, that's not up for debate. It's just a fact.

​Have a good weekend, all!