THE WEEKLY INJECTION: New Releases From HAVOK, UMBRA VITAE, and More Out Today – 5/1

This week's new heavy metal releases include some deeper cuts than normal, a death metal OG, and more! To the metals…

An Autumn For Crippled Children – All Fell Silent, Everything Went Quiet

Genre: Post-Black Metal
Origin: Friesland, Netherlands
Label: Prosthetic

The rather prolific An Autumn For Crippled Children are dropping their eighth album in their eleven years as a band. Like Deafheaven, Alcest, and Lantlos, this album includes tremolo picking paired with atmosphere. Then some songs have a bit of an indie flair to them.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPXTCg62ZH4][/youtube]

 

Dead Lakes – Language 

Genre:Post-hardcore
Origin: Seattle, Washington
Label: SharpTone Records

Dead Lakes are a band that pride themselves on tapping into a lot of influences. This EP is grounded in a melodic post-hardcore vibe, but has elements of pop and some R&B. This is one for fans of anthemic rock.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1nqoUMWhp0][/youtube]

 

Havok – V

Genre: Thrash
Origin: Denver, Colorado
Label: Century Media

On their fifth album, hence the V, David Sanchez and crew are bringing the thrash in a very thrashy way. This REALLY sounds like a mid-era Annihilator or Exodus album. That's not a bad thing by any means.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAYxQaSgH2U][/youtube]

 

Umbra Vitae – Shadow Of Life

Genre: Death metal
Origin: Beverly, Massachusetts
Label: Deathwish

Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon is someone that seems to enjoy dabbling in other musical realms, and I respect him for that. With Umbra Vitae, he's taking on death metal with folks from Twitching Tongues, The Red Chord, and (ex-)Job For A Cowboy. It's unsurprisingly heavy, but brief clocking in at twenty-six minutes of mayhem.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvwCLiCf0Io][/youtube]

 

Vader – Solitude In Madness

Genre: Death metal
Origin: Olsztyn, Poland
Label: Nuclear Blast

Jacob Bannon is bringing some new death metal into the world while Vader are showing how the old guard does it. This, their twelfth album, is a non-stop pummeling. Founder Peter and the crew he's had for the better part of a decade show that they are a well oiled metal machine.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVtC6a_YJV0][/youtube]

 

Witchcraft – Black Metal

Genre: Doom/psychedelic
Origin: Örebro, Sweden
Label: Nuclear Blast

I'm wrapping this week with a rather confusing album. Black Metal is not at all grim. In fact, this is not metal at all. This is instead a haunting acoustic album with just Witchcraft leader Magnus Pelander and a grandpa's guitars. It's still quite good, but those hoping for the next album of fuzzy riffs will have to keep on waiting.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVAC19_eDxg][/youtube]

 

Also dropping today…

• Abduction – Jehanne (Finisterian Dead End) – Black metal
• Aether Realm – Redneck Vikings From Hell (Napalm) – Melodic death metal
• Black Pestilence – Hail The Flesh (Self-Release) – Black metal/thrash
• Golden Ashes – In The Lugubrious Silence Of Eternal Night (Oaken Palace Records) – Atmospheric Black Metal/Drone
• Hallowed Butchery – Deathsongs From the Hymnal of the Church of the Final Pilgrimage (Self-released) – Black metal/folk
• Head of the Demon – Deadly Black Doom (Invictus Productions) – Doom
• Icon Of Evil – Icon Of Evil (Selfmadegod Records) – Death metal
• O'Brother – You and I (Self-released) – Alternative/sludge
• Pyre – Chained to Ossuaries (Memento Mori Records) – Death metal
• River Cult – Chilling Effect (Tee Pee Records) – Psychedelic rock
• The Scum – Dead Eyes (Wild Noise) – Death metal
• Shatter Brain – Pitchfork Justice (Wormhole Death) – Death metal/sludge
• The Sonic Dawn – Enter The Mirage (Heavy Psych Records) – Psychedelic rock