Long live the new flesh

Greetings, fans of loud music and deranged ramblings—though not necessarily in that order. It's been a wild few weeks, with multiple trips to the emergency room (I'm fine. Maybe.), travel for both work and weddings, then general tumult that kept me from sitting down and writing one of these. But now, with a couple days off, I've returned to your inbox with a load of exciting things to talk about. Let's start with some shameless self-promotion!

My band Ritual Cross is playing with Alaska's Polarity Crisis, Contracharge, and Warfilth on Sunday, October 18 at La Casa Del Migrante 3 and it's a disaster relief benefit show. If you need the address, ask a punk (me) and I'll give it to you. We've also got another ripper happening on Friday, November 20 at the Burlington with Man-eaters, Flesh Commodity, and a rare appearance from Compulsion. And if that's not enough Ritual Cross for you, on Sunday, November 29 we'll return to Grindhouse Cafe in Highland, Indiana for a benefit show for Gary Harm Reduction alongside Lavender, Shrines, and Christ Cadaver. Speaking of shows, this is a perfect segue into the biggest gaffe I ever made with this newsletter…

Gig Report: Pinhead Gunpowder at Metro

In 2024, the East Bay supergroup Pinhead Gunpowder released Unt, their first new material in 16 years. I'm not just a Pinhead Gunpowder fan, I'm also an Aaron Cometbus obsessive, so when I was told there was a chance I could interview the band—the whole band, including Aaron—I was elated. Then I heard Unt.

This is where having ethics gets messy. It's important to me that what you read in Former Clarity is honest; that all the recommendations you see come from a place of pure enthusiasm and not some opportunistic glad-handing. I didn't feel passionate about Unt; it was far too manicured to be a Pinhead Gunpowder album. That meant there was nothing I really wanted to learn from the band. I didn't want to pretend I liked the record. More importantly, I didn't want to come in and play the part of the asshole interviewer, asking them why their new record wasn't as good as their last one. I may be part German, but I'm not full German. As I mulled it over, it became clear that doing this interview would have been an exercise in going through the motions, as there wasn't anything I wanted to learn about the record or the band's then-current status. I stand by that decision, even if I can recognize that saying no to speaking to Aaron, the single most influential writer in my life, is something that does cause a twinge of guilt inside my soul.

As I write this, I'm just a few days removed from seeing Pinhead Gunpowder live, a statement that stills shocks me. In the lead-up to that show, I revisited Unt and, while my initial impressions were astute—the record is far too polished for their sound—there are good songs there. I couldn't get past the sonics then, but I can now. It's also funny, because this is the moment where I wish I had the chance to talk to the band. Why, in 2026, are you doing your first non-west coast tour? How did you navigate being the punk rock party band that now has to play big rooms and have a tour bus? How did you decide on selling the ugliest all-over print t-shirts I've ever seen? These are the questions I'd love to get answers to!

Cynicism aside, I enjoyed seeing the band rip through a nearly 30-song set in an hour flat. The classic tracks, the ones I've loved since I was a kid, all went down smooth, and so did many of the Unt songs, too. Without that studio sheen, those songs felt just as solid as the ones I've long loved. Well, save for "Hola Canada!" which is the clearest Green Day b-side to have ever made it onto a Pinhead Gunpowder release.

The crowd, though, was a mixed bag. Given how quickly tickets sold out (instantly) I had to finagle my way into a pair through back-channel means. While I expected a cavalcade of Cometbus disciples in attendance, I instead found a large smattering of people in Aftershock Festival and Riot Fest merch. I over heard two separate conversations about the upcoming Slipknot stadium tour. Someone behind me said, "I don't really know any of their songs" before Pinhead Gunpowder started playing. Awesome.

There was a clear divide between the people who knew the lyrics to "MPLS Song" and those that knew "Hola Canada!" word-for-word. There were a few groups of folks I saw who, as best as I could tell, came to take videos of Billie Joe Armstrong up close and then bounce. Odd, but I guess I should have expected as much. The result was a crowd that was fairly tame, treating this like a show from a Green Day side project and instead of a band with its own legacy. While I allowed my own hang-ups to keep me from enjoying Unt in 2024, I checked my baggage this time and just appreciated the fact I was hearing "Cabot Gal" and "Life During Wartime" live. It wasn't a life-altering show, it wasn't even necessarily a great experience, but I'm glad I was there and that I can say I saw Pinhead Gunpowder. This all feels like a lesson the cosmos is trying to impress upon me, though I think I'm too dense to fully absorb it.

What's New?

On the day I first went to the emergency room in August, Godflesh announced Decay. I was in the hospital, IV in stuck into my hand, asking myself if I should pre-order the record or wait until I saw my hospital bill before throwing $40 into the void. I ordered the record. Since that date, I've been stuck in a Justin Broadrick rabbit hole, listening to almost nothing but Godflesh and Jesu in my free time.

When Godflesh first reactivated, I wasn't nuts about A World Lit Only By Fire. Incredible album title aside, the material felt serviceable and occasionally forgettable. I was glad Godflesh was back, but maybe the new era wouldn't be that compelling. How wrong I was. Post Self and Purge followed, and I liked each one better than the last. In fact, Purge's opener, "Nero," may count as one of my favorite Godflesh songs of all time. When I finally had the chance to listen to Decay's first single, I knew I'd made the right choice to order this record without hearing a single note.

Hyped as their penultimate record (side note: it's been fun seeing how few people actually know what this word means) Decay might be the most claustrophobic and crushing Godflesh album, full stop. No, I don't mean since Streetcleaner; I mean ever. This record is easily the heaviest album I've heard this year, and it's also one of the most deftly written. The way the beats distort, the guitars and bass mangle into one another, and Broadrick's vocals become an expression of a failing body are not only relatable, they're entrancing. How I wish I could see this material played live, to allow the sound to become a full-body experience, just as it did the one time I got to see them play. But the entire reason Godflesh is ending is because of Broadrick is no longer medically able to scream like that anymore, as an inguinal hernia would cause his stomach to rupture.

This isn't the last Godflesh record, and what follows may not measure up, but that's fine. I'm objective enough to say that it's probably not their best album, but I can also say that, subjectively, it might be my favorite Godflesh album.

Speaking plainly, it's been a down year for death metal for me. We've been in the run-off of the genre's recent resurgence, and few albums have felt totally distinct lately. There have been a few, though, that have risen above the muck. Sněť's second album V Bažinách Vědomí is a great slice of Autopsy meets Undergang, which isn't super notable in and of itself, but Sněť remains conscious of making their songs memorable and melodic. The riffs are strong enough to stick in your skull, but the band makes space for catchy leads and allow space for the vocal phrasing to not just feel slapped atop the songs. It's still loose and fun, but there's a degree of care baked into it that has kept me coming back all these months later.

On the opposite end of things, we have Dungeon Serpent's Lamentations Of The Shadowkingdoms which is out later this month. I loved their 2021 debut World of Sorrows, which was an impressively written melodeath record, big on hooks and chugging guitars. That's why Lamentations Of The Shadowkingdoms' first single "Rainland's Elegy" threw me, because they are a full-on proggy death metal band now. After a few repeat listens, I'm still untangling how I feel about this one. I've warm to it a little more each time I play it, but I'm unsure if I'm just trying to love it or not. Perhaps the answer will unveil itself to you more immediately, but I respect an album that makes me work for it a bit.

Where Dungeon Serpent has taken some times, Dissimulator's second album Artifice Dissolves instantly hooked me. I'm a sucker for bands that ride the line between death metal and thrash metal, and Dissimulator excels at that sound. I clock a bit more death metal influence throughout Artifice Dissolves than I did on their debut, though there's still plenty of Voivod-isms to make things feel a bit unpredictable. Crucially though, this is a heady metal record that's actually fun to listen to, which has become a bit of a rarity

Speaking of existing in between genres, let's talk about Philadelphia's Early Grave. I've written about them before, and their promo tape from earlier this year has been in heavy rotation for me since I snagged a copy when they played here with Reek Minds. Now, Early Grave's debut album, Violent Winter, is taking over the space that promo tape once occupied. While I do wish the album had a bit more of the creepy, death-rock vibes that were present on that tape, this album is completely undeniable. It's a bit metal, it's a bit punk, and it's extremely spooky, feeling seasonally appropriate in the best way. It's also another heater from General Speech, who have been on a roll as of late.

While on the topic of General Speech, they released Bequest's On Hills Will Death Play alongside that Early Grave album and I encourage you to not let this Bequest record slip past you. When two albums come out simultaneously it's easy to pit one against the other, but I actually see these as complimentary pieces. Where Early Grave's does metallic tremolo picking, Bequest opts deranged neanderthal chugging. It's actually serves as a good midpoint between Early Grave and the Kinetic Orbital Strike album from earlier this year. It's also got a bass tone for the ages. So, if nothing else, it's worth your time just for that.

Let's move on to what feels like a sleep pick of the year: Brain Tourniquet's Sinking Deeper Into Madness. I was fully taken with Brain Tourniquet already, but Sinking Deeper Into Madness is such an incredible evolution of the band's sound. The second song, "Concentrate," gets stuck in my head constantly, as the trio works in a lot of early Swans to create a repetitive, lobotomizing hardcore song. Sure, the powerviolence fast-to-slow dynamics are still at play throughout the album, but the atmosphere carried from one track to the next makes this feel like a future classic. They also cover a Beatles song as the album closer, which is fucking bold. It shouldn't work, but it totally does.

You knew I was going to get here eventually, so let's talk Totalitär. It's important to note that I do have a Totalitär pin on my jacket, so if you wish to dismiss me as a fanboy, I get it. That said, I never expected this band to make a new album and it's just as great as their other full-lengths. This self-titled effort really does warrant that title, as it feels like a reintroduction to a band that had fallen off the map for nearly two decades. But all the fury and fervor is still there, diminished neither by time nor age. Sometimes the greats just do it better, and on this record, Totalitär just does it better.

On the topic of unexpected returns, Australia's Hävittäjät put out the Ilman Toivoa 7" on Active 8 Records, marking the band's first new material in eight years. The line people love to say about Hävittäjät is that they are an Australian band that sounds Finnish, and that's quippy take has stuck with them for good reason. The highlight for me here "Kenelle Tamä Systeemi On?" which brings the tempos down and lets the simple backbeat and churning guitars give the track a brooding feel. It's a hardcore song that takes its time getting where it needs to go, and injected a midtempo flair to a record otherwise focused on velocity. Also on Active 8 was the 7" release of Intensive Care Unit's Waste Fraud & Abuse E.P. that came out in the waning days of 2025. It's Boston hardcore played like Boston hardcore should be. If that's a thing you think you'd enjoy, you better order it before it's long gone.

Hardcore's current hype release is Madman's Sickened and, despite my many critiques of the capital-H hardcore scene, this record is great. Eli Enis over at Chasing Sundays interviewed Madman's Michael McMahon who described the band's ethos as trying to serve fans of Hatebreed and Poison Idea equally, and Madman absolutely achieves it. Sickened is a tough sounding record that still centers songwriting, so you do get mosh-friendly breakdowns but the songs aren't just collections of fight riffs. More of this, please!

Closing off on a much quieter—though no less rocking—note we have the self-titled debut from Chicago's Able Baker. Though I was aware of the band previously, they'd fallen off my radar until Nina told me I had to give this record a listen, How right she was! Sounding a bit like Barsuk-era Death Cab for Cutie and with a healthy dose of Heatmiser mixed in, this is the kind of indie-rock record I've been longing to hear. "Steeper Stairs" and "The Word" felt like instant classics to me. I heard each song once and could have sung the chorus back to you immediately after hearing it. Get on this before everyone else tells you that you're late to the game.

Old Obsessions

As I mentioned above, I've mostly been listening to Godflesh and Jesu, so I don't feel the need to go particularly long about either of those projects right now. Though I will say, if you haven't listened to Godflesh's Hymns in a while, I highly recommend it. Of the two Godflesh albums with real drums, this is the one worth hearing.

That said, I recently did a record trade for a copy of Masshysteri's Vår Del Av Stan (thanks Dylan!) and I'm so glad to finally have this on my shelf. I've often described them as Sweden's answer to The Marked Men, which isn't entirely accurate, but it's been the most effective elevator pitch I've found over the years. If you've never heard this record, you're in for a treat.

Instead of music, I'm going to talk to you about a movie. A few weeks ago, Nina and I went to see Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin, a film neither of us had seen, and we both left the theater blown away. It's obviously an unsettling film, but that's exactly what I'm after when going to the movies. It's raw, unflinching, and compelling from the first shot all the way through the end credits, which makes perfect use of Sigur Rós' "Samskeyti." If you're in need of feeling hollowed out and horrified, watch Myserious Skin.

Finally, my good friend Dan Ozzi just released his second zine chronicling his life's passion: taking pictures of people in front of Danzig's house. No, I'm not recommending this to you because I'm in it—for some reason, he didn't use the cool photo of me hanging from the fence—but because he's a great photographer that always commits to the bit. These zines are high quality, and his work only gets better with time. Snag it along with that cool keychain before spooky season's over and you're left out like a pile of bricks in the hot California sun.