I am so fucking stoked on Surgeon’s new album Beast of Light. It’s so many different things, complex, strange, full of melody, filled with all different types of vocals, focused and eclectic drumming, the guitars and bass are viscious, circling, dark, intricate and dramatic. I love metal that can tell stories and be bombastic while being very dark and intense simultaneously. But there’s a line you have to keep on or you get way too serious or just corny. Opeth did it, Akercocke did it, Emperor did it, the Ruins of Beverast do it, Castevet did it, Neurosis does it, Tombs does it, Woe does it. It’s that special type of “Extreme metal” that mixes genres and styles and spits out something that you haven’t heard before, which is a big deal. Beast of Light is Surgeon at their best, their most creative. This album showcases a growth in Surgeon’s music, and it makes sense that the band recorded it themselves in a studio they built. To make an amazing album all they needed to do was be as true to themselves as they could. I’m lucky to know some members of this band and call them friends, and these songs are so reflective of who they are as people. Full of weirdness and strong emotions and sincerity while keeping excitement and adventure very close to their hearts as well. This album fucking kills from start to finish, listen to it, the end.
Shout out to Shannon of @anthropicrecords for always killing the Philly metal game and helping the world experience awesome music. Also shout out to Fred of FTG Illustrations for making this fantastic album artwork.