Ape Vermin, the formidable 3-piece act hailing from the depths of Valdese, North Carolina, USA, is gearing up to conquer the cosmos with their latest sci-fi-infused album “Andromedas Colossus” on May 17, 2024, with a US tour to follow the release.
Novichok is a bunch of pissed-off salty thrashers hailing from the east coast of Halifax, Canada and they are here to narrate the collapse of the world around us. They released their second album “Geo-Desiccant” at the tail end of 2022, and this year will be putting out music videos to compliment some of the best tracks off that album. The first track is “Dead Weight”, an intense song that melds the heaviness of death metal with the speed and precision of thrash. The band explains further:
“This song is the narration of an actual nightmare in which a scuba gear malfunction seals your fate as the eager sea life begins to feast even before you are dead. Inspired by an early Cannibal Corpse, it’s thrash bordering on death metal. We’re told that we have a classic metal sound that is still new and exciting. This makes sense…each band member has a long list of influences - punk, thrash, death, black, grind, folk, rap…all from the 1970s through today.”
Novichok got their start as a cover band playing the classics from Megadeth, Voivod, and Suicidal Tendencies. They added originals to the set, and before long they were the 3 piece thrash band that they are today. Their songs are angry, sometimes political, sometimes about science but always about real things that they find interesting or disturbing.
Novichok delivers a solid listening experience that is heavy and provides a good escape with relatable lyrical themes. They try to switch up the energy throughout each song so they don’t get boring and provide a lasting soundtrack for working out, driving, or where your day takes you. They focus on keeping it heavy, with varying tempos and time signatures but don’t let it sound too technical. They are recommended for fans of Megadeth, Pantera, and Sacrifice.
