Heavy Track of the Week is a function on Heavy ipromiseyoumedia breaking down the highest steel, punk, and onerous rock tracks you could hear each Friday. This week, No. 1 goes to Behemoth’s new single “The Shadow Elite.”
Behemoth have largely been a black steel band taking part in dying steel for a number of album cycles now. Spiritually and conceptually the previous; sonically the latter.
The Polish pioneers break that dichotomy on the old-school black steel assault “The Shadow Elite,” a type of rallying cry for his or her most devoted, hardcore followers — as depicted within the raucous music video, the band performing to unique invite-only viewers of its speedy followers, who’re thus branded with the Behemoth sigil.
It’s an instance of simply how violent and unhinged Nergal and firm can get after they set ablaze the atonal harshness that outlined their early Pagan black steel period. An anthem for the cult, so to talk.
Honorable Mentions:
Ghost – “Satanized”
For those who’re on the lookout for heavy steel from the brand new Ghost single, you’re gonna need to look elsewhere. That mentioned, you’d be hard-pressed to discover a higher rendering of ’80s AOR/onerous rock in 2025. Styx, YES (circa “Proprietor of a Lonely Coronary heart”), and even Toto come to thoughts on this swish tune, the prog underpinnings considerably obscured by the copious reverb and sheer mellowness of the manufacturing.
The Jesus Lizard – “I’m Bored with Being Your Mom”
The idea behind “I’m Bored with Being Your Mom” is so rattling excellent for a Jesus Lizard track: a set of verbal scoldings of the maternal selection, set to noise rock. And at first, it begins like your typical Jesus Lizard track with plodding drums and bass, David Yow hollering, “Why do I’ve to say all the things a thousand occasions?” However then it takes a left flip, getting comparatively fairly — by the band’s bruising requirements — because the guitars construct right into a wall of chiming shoegaze-y suggestions.
Teen Mortgage – “Get together”
“Get together” is one other garage-punk nugget from the rising duo Teen Mortgage. The manic bounce of the guitars conjures the late nice Jay Reatard, and there’s extra of these irresistible pop hooks that snagged us on Teen Mortage’s earlier HSOTW inclusion, “Field.”
