New Music Monday: Lil Wayne, Rancid, Jerry Lee Lewis, At the Gates, and More!

Happy Monday music lovers! Like new stuff? Great – you’ve come to the right place. Each week all sorts of audio goodies are released by labels to the masses and this is where it all comes to be judged. I’ll tell ya what’s good, what’s bad, and what’s a waste of your time. Thanks for stopping by!

The Big News!

Ok, here I am back from a wonderful week off and I stumble into the latest Lil Wayne set, Tha Carter V, his eleventh studio release. Supposedly it’s his last album.

Metal Mania

Swedish metal masters At the Gates return with their first record since 1995’s monolithic Slaughter of the Soul, one of the cornerstones of mid-90’s death metal and the Gothenburg Scene. Titled At War With Reality, this is a highly anticipated release from a legendary band that many fans thought would never produce another sound. This Kill Your Stereo review says the album “does not disappoint” and is “like some unholy ritual that sucks you in and conjures the forces of metal” full of “melodic death metal with memorable riffs, gripping vocals, and a catchy rhythm all devlivered with a wave of ferocity”. Tasty!

And Massachusetts based bangers Unearth return with Watchers of Rule, their sixth release and first since 2011.

Legendary Legend

The Killer, better known as Jerry Lee Lewis, returns with his, shit, I don’t know, I think it’s his 41st release but who knows. It’s called Rock and Roll Time and features guests like Neil Young and Keith Richards. I’m sure it’s great. But if you have a few minutes for some interesting reading, you might check out this story by Richard Ben Cramer about the mysterious death of Lewis’ ex-wife.

90’s Punkers Are True

Lagwagon is back with Hang, their first record in nine years.

And Rancid don’t die. Dey back with dere eighth rekkid …Honor is All We Know.

He Knows Everybody

Super producer Daniel Lanois, who has worked on some of the best work some of the world’s best musicians have done, periodically releases wonderful records of his own. The latest is called Flesh and Machine and it’s his first since 2010. NPR describes it thusly: “Flesh and Machine defies categorization; it has no songs and no words, with only voices to provide textures.” Sounds perfect!

My Recommendation

Mysterious Japanesse instrumental rockers Mono return with a double release, The Last Dawn and Rays of Darkness. Mono is one of those bands that could belch into a microphone for twenty minutes and I would love it.

Next Week

Tune in next week, same new music time, same new music channel, for more stuff from Neil Young!