THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #23

Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. A popular feature, the mixed bag approach at the Singles Bar has often allowed for coverage of things that people wouldn’t necessarily associate with the site. The selection this time around is a little more rock based in places, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a couple of interesting twists, and a jazzy, downtempo track definitely provides one of the best tunes. We present the return of Big River with a very melodic track, some brilliant pop, an interesting take on a classic band, and more besides.

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ASYMMETRIC UNIVERSE – The Sun Would Disappear As I Imagined All The Stars

The last thing you’d probably expect from a something touted as an “experimental prog release” is an intro featuring an easy jazz piano melody, but that’s exactly how experimentalists Asymmetric Universe kick off their 2023 EP ‘The Sun Would Disappear As I Imagined All The Stars’. Fact is, this release isn’t so much an “experimental prog” release, as a weird concoction of jazz fusion and metal riffs that often centre around some very busy melodies. It’s jazz fusion at its most aggressive; a world where the funkier elements of The Brecker Brothers meet the flowing grooves of Weather Report, only to be roughed up by the heavy mechanics of Cynic and Animals As Leaders.

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NUCLEAR WINTER – StormScapes EP

Nuclear Winter isn’t a band, but the work of just one man. Even with the usage of programmed drums throughout his 2020 release ‘StormScapes’, Zimbabwean metal musician Gary Stautmeister creates as much intensity as a full compliment of musicians. He’s also been smart enough to program those drums in such a way that they never grate, or worse, make his recordings sound cheap. By using them in a way that creates a genuine mechanical tension, it gives this EP the kind of edge you’d find from an extreme industrial band, or perhaps a technical death metal act that are over keen on the use of bass drum triggers.

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From Under Concrete Kings unveil new video for ‘Snakecrusher’

On February 14th, progressive death metal band From Under Concrete Kings will release their second EP, ‘Modus Exodus’. The new release features four absolutely crushing pieces of music that blends death metal vocals with metalcore and progressive metal riffs, Djent influenced lead guitar work and a frightening lack of boundaries. It’s a release that all fans of inventive and extreme metal shouldn’t miss.

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