Austin Lamb - Co-Editor in Chief
My name is Austin Lamb and I am a senior at Oswego High School. This is my third year with 42Fifty, and I can't wait to get back into writing and reviewing. I greatly enjoy playing and listening to music, as well as writing. I've always been interested in writing, especially about things that can be critiqued and looked at subjectively. I play the guitar in a band with my friends and primarily listen to metal music but enjoy and appreciate all genres. I hope that my editing abilities, writing knowledge, and leadership skills will pay off for the publications.
It is rare to encounter an artist or collective with as much creative prowess as Liturgy. Fronted by founding guitarist and vocalist Haela Hunt-Hendrix, Liturgy serves as a vehicle for some of the grandest and most well-orchestrated metal compositions of the modern age. Hunt-Hendrix describes the band’s style as “transcendent black metal”, which transforms the traditionally gritty, unpolished black metal style into a much more lush and grand experience, including experimentation with electronics, choir, bells, and other complex instrumental layerings. The band heavily incorporates heavenly themes, with Hunt-Hendrix even writing a manifesto about the extensive lore and central themes behind the band.
Metal bands rarely garner mainstream attention or success, and the few times that they do, they are criticized for “selling out” or using too many “clean vocals” (singing, to normal people). But what happens when, in perfect circumstances, a band can retain their experimental and abrasive qualities while also drawing in new fans through the accessible and catchy side of their music?
*Fifty42 is 42Fifty’s April Fool’s edition and consists entirely of satire. This content is published purely for humor and entertainment – it is entirely fictional and is not meant to be viewed as “real news” or taken seriously in any way. Any references to real people are based almost entirely on fiction.
In this episode of Slay or Nay, 42Fifty editors Austin Lamb and Zander Haas share their track-by-track opinions on “We’re Not Here To Be Loved” by alternative metal and shoegaze band Fleshwater.
42Fifty Editors Austin Lamb and Zander Haas discuss their top ten albums and EPs from the heavy music world in 2022.