Heavy Song of the Week: Dying Fetus Bring the Brutality on “Feast of Ashes”
Heavy Song of the Week is a feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, the top honor goes to “Feast of Ashes” by Dying Fetus.
There is a tangible “How did they do that?!” factor to the music of Dying Fetus. It’s death metal at its most maximal, bordering on athletic in its speed and technicality. That said, the band has put together such a strong discography, it’s cornered itself and there’s no going back: Each subsequent Dying Fetus album must be even more pulverizingly brutal than the last.
It almost seems impossible — how do you top albums like Destroy the Opposition and Reign Supreme? — yet, here we are, dubbing Dying Fetus’ latest single “Feast of Ashes” our Heavy Song of the Week. It’s the sound of a band that isn’t content with making compromises — a band that proudly pursues the challenge of besting itself. To circle back to the allusion of athleticism, Dying Fetus even discussed the track in semi-competitive terms, in so much that they are dismissing the competition entirely.
“We don’t need to participate in the technical death metal arms race,” remarked co-vocalist/guitarist John Gallagher in a press release for the song. “We’ve got the big guns, and we’ve proven that. It’s all about pointing them in the right direction, so to speak.”
Honorable Mentions:
Better Lovers – “Become So Small”
With the surprise release of Better Lovers’ highly anticipated EP, God Made Me an Animal, last Friday, we were unfortunately unable to include anything from the release in last week’s rundown. Although the incredible fire-starter (and previous HSOTW selection) “30 Under 13” is the best of the four songs on the EP, “Become So Small” is the next best track, offering up another dose maniacal metalcore.
Filter – “Obliteration”
The production on Filter’s latest single “Obliteration” has the touch of a master. Band mastermind Richard Patrick has long since honed his desired sound — crisp melodic vocals, dense layers of guitar, the occasional industrial-ism — and it’s rare to hear a dud from his long-running musical project. This is steady, pocketed alternative rock performed and executed with class.
TesseracT – “War of Being”
It’s been five whole years since TesseracT’s last album, so you know they were cooking up something big. The UK prog metallers’ approach to music parallels that of a sci-fi filmmaker or a video game designer, resulting in lengthy tracks like the “War of Being” — the title cut from their upcoming album — which put as much emphasis on storytelling and world-building as they do musical virtuosity (which the band has in spades).