Heavy Song of the Week is a feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal, punk, and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, No. 1 goes to Alien Weaponry’s “1000 Friends.”
One of the things about thrash that sets it apart from other metal subgenres is its proclivity for socially, politically, and historically topical lyrics. New Zealand’s Alien Weaponry have made this a central part of their act, using their platform to spread awareness about their Māori ancestry and the indigenous cultures of their homeland.
However, on “1000 Friends,” the trio tackle a larger and more dystopian topic: the ubiquity of social media in these turbulent times. This on the heels of a mass exodus from major platforms following the election of Donald Trump and his subsequent alignment with Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, the string-pullers of Facebook and X, respectively.
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To a soundtrack of technical riffs and mechanized thrash, the trio offer a warning against something that’s so universal, so normalized, that it feels irreversible. To delete your account is to disconnect from the way the masses currently communicate. Freedom from the algorithm in exchange relative isolation. The message of the song lingers long after the final notes dissipate.
“The human mind wasn’t built to comprehend the world we are currently living in,” states the band grimly.
Honorable Mentions:
A Day to Remember – “LeBron”
At age 40, NBA star LeBron James continues to play at an elite level, seemingly defying the passage of time and the conventional wisdom that he’s “too old” to compete with the league’s young stars. He really does make a great analogy for a band like A Day to Remember, a group of scene vets still on the grind. On this pop-punk ditty, ADTR flip the bird at the naysayers and detractors, taking the aforementioned analogy a step further and channeling King James in his late-career prime (when he won the finals during his second stint with the Cavs). “You’ll see when I’m long gone / Like it’s 2016, and I’m LeBron,” boasts frontman Jeremy McKinnon.
Machine Head – “UNBØUND”
Anyone who has seen Machine Head live in recent years can vouch for Robb Flynn’s palpable onstage charisma. If there’s a part of the song that doesn’t require him to play guitar, he’ll raise his arms, clap, hoist the horns, and encourage the audience to do the same. “UNBØUND” sounds like it was written specifically for these moments, tapping into that live energy with its battle-cry vocal chants and mosh-ready riffs. The song will surely incite some audience participation on the band’s upcoming tour.
Melvins 1983 – “Victory of the Pyramids”
This epic from the Melvins alternate “1983” lineup, featuring frontman Buzz Osborne paired with original drummer Mike Dillard, explores a few different styles. The first couple minutes could be its own song — a blast of uptempo garage rock — while the remainder of the track dives into a cavernous well of very Melvins-y sludge metal, Dillard slowing the pace in turn. The electronic textures from additional collaborators Void Manes and Ni Maîtres further color this portion of the song, adding a layer of atmospherics and another sonic wrinkle to the mix.
