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 spot goes to HEALTH’s “HATEFUL.”
Industrial music and first-person shooter games, especially those of the more sci-fi horror strain, were forever linked when Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails composed the soundtrack to the original Quake. The ominous noises, the clings and clangs, and the arpeggiated synths inherent to industrial were apropos of the game’s stark environments.
Industrial act HEALTH lending their latest single “HATEFUL” to the acclaimed old-school FPS ULTRAKILL seems like a callback to NIN’s iconic Quake score. ULTRAKILL, with its retro graphics and “ultraviolent” gore, could be seen as a spiritual successor to games like Quake; meanwhile, HEALTH are the artistic continuation of the industrial/electronic aesthetic Nine Inch Nails helped pioneer, with Reznor and HEALTH even collaborating on a track in 2021.
“HATEFUL” boasts churning Blade Runner synths and a pulsing electronic beat — equally fit for a smoked-out goth rave or a foray into an overrun spacecraft teeming with aliens, weapon in hand. HEALTH dial into their audience with ease here, offering up a track that works on its own as a choice cut of industrial techno and as a hype-inducing video game anthem. Industrial + FPS = nostalgia. HEALTH nail(gun) that formula here.
Honorable Mentions:
Buggin – “Not Yours”
“Not Yours” is the kind of skate-video hardcore we need as the weather warms and life outside commences once more. Chicago’s Buggin know all about that, and the band is set to drop its new album Concrete Cowboys on June 2nd, just as summer ascends. Put this on the Bluetooth speaker when the heat starts rising from the pavement.
Cradle of Filth – “Demon Prince Regent”
UK extreme metal legends Cradle of Filth are gifting fans with a new live album, Trouble and Their Double Lives. In addition to showcasing the band’s electrifying live show, the collection features two new studio tracks, including the newly released “Demon Prince Regent.” The song features Dani Filth and company doing what they do best, delivering headbanging metal with mind-blowing blackened guitar playing.
Oxymorrons – “Last Call” (feat. Troi Irons)
Last call… when you’ve made it that late in the night, being forced to leave the bar can either be the inevitable finale of a fun night out, a welcome cutoff for the sloshed, or the signal to return to more solitary confines. NYC’s Oxymorrons tap into the ever-relatable conclusion of “Last Call” on their latest single, applying their savvy amalgamation of hip-hop and heavy alt-rock. Singer-songwriter Troi Irons lends his vocals to the hook, completing the full-on rock treatment of the song structure and delivery.
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