If months of dire news, pandemic-related social isolation, and deepening national trauma have thrown you into a tailspin of ill will and lethargy, then Gossip Wolf has just the musical antidote. The upbeat, exuberantly riff-packed trad metal of local jammers High Spirits has appeared in this column before, but their latest album, Hard to Stop (out July 31 via German label High Roller), has arrived with exquisite anti-apocalyptic timing. Though High Spirits perform live with a five-piece band, Hard to Stop was entirely written, performed, and recorded by front man Chris Black, the local metal lifer who’s also the heart of long-running units Dawnbringer and Superchrist. The album blazes like a thousand floodlights at an arena show—and the triumphant energy of its tight, supercharged tracks insists that better days will come, no matter how hard it is to imagine. Here’s to hoping!
Ebony Maw – EP by Davis
