Envy share new song; guitarist yOshi lists his 2019 faves
Japanese screamo greats Envy have shared another track from their anticipated first album in five years, The Fallen Crimson (due 2/7 via Temporary Residence Ltd in North America and Pelagic in Europe). Like recent single “A step in the morning glow,” it incorporates some spoken word, but this one also finds them getting a lot heavier than that one did. It’s seriously overwhelming stuff, and you can hear it below.
As they gear up for the release, we asked Envy what music they’ve been digging lately, and new guitarist yOshi (pictured above) sent a list of his favorite albums/releases of 2019, with really great commentary on each one. Check out his list below the stream of the new song.
yOshi’s selections from 2019
Greet Death – New Hell
I enjoy the recent Deathwish releases and this is one of them. A good balance of indie rock, post-hardcore, ambient, alternative where you can feel the guts of punk and hardcore from the very first note. When we were in the van heading to shoot our music video for “A step in the morning glow” last year, I was playing this album and Tetsuya and Nobukata said “Hey who is this? Sounds rad. But it’s too mellow for three old dudes in the same van”. That’s how this album sounds like. Tracks 1,2 and 4 are masterpieces.
GREENMACHINE – Mountains of Madness
If you love Kyuss, Melvins, early BORIS and old Japanese dudes, this is the MACHINE. After revolving three rounds of desert rock and stoner rock, you can even feel pop and punk in this album. Their live shows? Don’t even mention it. Recalls Michael J Fox in the first Back to the Future episode. Album of the year.
Black Boboi – Agate
These three talented musicians are simply amazing. Their sound, their personality, their performance, everything is perfect. People compare them to Scandinavian artists a lot of times, but they are much more the more I listen to them with their primitive rhythms and ethnic melodies. By the way, check out their music videos. You will know what I mean.
Ride – This is Not a Safe Place
As I get older, I tend to think more about death than about living. In other words, how to die instead of how to live. Living is like rolling up a rock to the top of a mountain and then deciding which direction to roll the rock down, it just keeps on rolling down until it stops at the bottom. My dad used to tell me Samurai was about dying, and not living. The irony is that, the more I think about death, the more I think about living now. That’s the kind of music I want to play and these guys do.
Big Brave – A Gaze Among Them
Simple but deep rhythms with awesome guitar riffs and overtones applied to the evil and above all, the “voice”. The work is more than a shock. It’s good that this suits various scenes, but I still won’t play it on the first date.
Sunn O))) – Life Metal
When I was playing this record naked with my fingers up in the air, my wife who was cooking fried rice said “I think this is the first record I thought I can play the music”. Last month in London, I met the members from BORIS and I told them this story, and they said “most people can cook fried rice but somehow, there’s always a good fried rice and bad fried rice. The recipe and ingredients might not be that different, but that SMALL difference makes the WHOLE difference”. I think that’s why Sunn O))) and my wife is a lot better than others.
Conjurer – Conjurer on Audiotree Live
I know this is not a physical material, but who cares? I didn’t even notice that this was a live take when I was listening to it. One of the top 5 bands I would like to see on live. I’m sure that these guys and SVALBARD will rule this scene from the UK.
Liturgy – H.A.Q.Q.
I’ve been a huge listener of this band or I guess Hunter Hunt-Hendrix since Birthday Boyz and Survival. The experimental/frontier spirit and approach toward music and art is very influential and very enjoyable at the same time. I always like how they blended all their music influences and based metal in the core. Definitely a breakthrough for many years.
