This week's new heavy metal releases include a diverse mini-album, surf/gospel/black metal, "cowboy nintendocore," and more! To the metals…
Amorphis – Halo
Genre: Melodic death metal/doom
Origin: Helsinki, Finland
Label: Atomic Fire
Starting with the fourteenth record from the melodic metal mainstay. Halo completes a trilogy of albums by Amorphis that started with Under The Red Cloud. Compared to that record and its follow-up Queen Of Time, this one feels like a more straight-ahead record, which is not a bad thing. Jordan's first review is here.
Author & Punisher – Krüller
Genre: Industrial/noise
Origin: San Diego, California
Label: Relapse
On Tristan Shone's ninth album under the A&P banner, he's slowing things down a bit and embracing the 80's more than ever. This certainly isn't a dance record, but you cannot miss the throwback atmosphere. While retaining the darkness and weirdness of an Author & Punisher record, it is also oddly accessible. Riley has a bunch of words on the album here.
Cult Of Luna – The Long Road North
Genre: Sludge/post-metal
Origin: Umeå, Sweden
Label: Metal Blade
Cult of Luna have always done something a little different on each release. It would be easy for them to phone in a record in their style and still kill it. I respect the push for evolution. The Long Road North includes some of their sharpest turns in some time. This has some of their most active and some of their most heart-wrenching material ever. Ben's full review is here.
Heavy Meta – Mana Regmata
Genre: Progressive/experimental metal
Origin: Lowell, Massachusetts
Label: Self-released
Buy now on Bandcamp
The other day we put up this record's full album stream and it lead with the line, "Up for some blackened progressive cowboy nintendocore?" This very much got my attention. Mana Regmata is an all over the place record that touches on those elements (maybe not so much "cowboy," but what does that mean anyway?) and a lot more. This is fine chaotic math metal.
Napalm Death – Resentment Is Always Seismic – A Final Throw Of Throes
Genre: Death metal/grindcore
Origin: Birmingham, England
Label: Century Media
Over this mini-album/EP/whatever you're getting a lot of different flavors of Napalm Death. There are a couple covers, hardcore fury, industrial-ish experimentation, and more. It's a jam-packed half hour. Necrosexual has a full review here.
Once Human – Scar Weaver
Genre: Groove/melodic death metal
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: earMusic
If you're looking for some grooves and lots of melody then Scar Weaver is the one for you this week. This is the band's first full album in five years which I can only assume was due to Logan Mader touring with Machine Head. They've had a lot of time to nail down their sound, and returned with their finest work yet. Check out Frank's chat with the band here.
Voivod – Synchro Anarchy
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Jonquière, Quebec
Label: Century Media
There really is no other band like Voivod. They've had forty years of being impossible to label succinctly. Synchro Anarchy is their fifteenth album of thrashy, atmospheric, experimental, technical, dissonant, blah blah blah. I could keep tossing out descriptors and still only scratch the surface. If you like metal weirdness of any era, put this in your ears.
WAIT – The End of Noise
Genre: Progressive death metal
Origin: Baltimore, Maryland
Label: The Artisan Era)
Buy now on Bandcamp
Pairing oddly well with Voivod, here we have the debut full-length from We Are In Transit. While there was a stellar EP already , It took eleven years to get their full record out (presumably because the band has been busy with members being in everything from Death To All, Exist, Svengahli, Obscura, and more), but the WAIT (see what I did there?) is over, and the result is wonderful. Hear it all here.
Zeal & Ardor – Zeal & Ardor
Genre: Avant-garde metal
Origin: Basel, Switzerland/New York City
Label: MVKA
Concluding this (solid) week with one of the most interesting bands in metal. Zeal & Ardor's mix of gospel, blues, and black metal seemed like it would have a short shelf life, but Manuel Gagneux is combining even more sounds this time to evolve this project while retaining it's unique core. This self-titled record includes moments of indie, surf guitar, and more unexpected turns I won't spoil. Frank sat down with Manuel to talk about the record here.
Also dropping this week…
- Backslider – Psychic Rot (To Live A Lie Records) – Grindcore/powerviolence
- Caveat – Alchemy (Self-released) – Melodic death metal/progressive
- City Of Lights – Before The Sun Sets (Frontiers) – Hard rock
- Creeping Flesh – And Then The Bombs Came (Emanzipation) – Death metal – Full album stream
- Death Panacea – A Pace December (Avantgarde Music) – Atmospheric black metal
- Degreed – Are You Ready (Frontiers) – Hard rock
- The Devils Of Loudun – Escaping Eternity (The Artisan Era) – Melodic death metal – Full album stream
- Dødsleie – Immortal Hand (Bat Magick Records) – Black metal
- Fostermother – The Ocean (Ripple Music) – Doom
- Girish And The Chronicles – Hail To The Heroes (Frontiers) – Hard rock
- Gloamus – Sullen Dusk over Ice Trodden Arteries (Self-released) Black metal
- Greyhawk – Call of the Hawk (Fighter Records) – Heavy/power metal
- Hammr – Eternal Possession (Hells Headbangers) – Black/speed metal
- Hangman's Chair – A Loner (Nuclear Blast) – Doom
- In Hearts Wake – Kaliyuga Booster Pack (UNFD) – Metalcore
- Inhuman Nature – Under The Boot (Church Road Records) – Crossover/thrash
- Jestr – The Dead & Riches (Self-released) – Hard rock/alternative
- Jizzy Pearl's Love/Hate – Hell, CA (Golden Robot) – Hard rock
- Karmanjaka – Gates of Muspel (Grind to Death Records) – Progressive black metal
- Kill Alters – Armed To The Teeth L.M.O.M.M. (Hausu Mountain) – Experimental/industrial – Full album stream
- Legendarium – Under the Spell of Destruction (Self-released) – Heavy metal
- Lifesick – Misanthropy (Isolation Records) – Death metal/punk
- Lionville – So Close To Heaven (Frontiers) – Melodic rock
- Mariangela Demurtas – Dark Ability EP (Self-released) – Gothic metal
- Mesentery – Soulfucker (Dr. Music Records) – Death metal
- Mortuary Drape – Wisdom – Vibration – Repent (Peaceville Records) – Black/death metal
- Naked Gypsy Queens – Georgiana EP (Mascot) – Rock
- Near Death Condition – Ascent From The Mundane (Unique Leader)
- Nervochaos – All Colors Of Darkness (Emanzipation) – Death metal
- Night Cobra – Dawn Of The Serpent (Irongrip/High Roller) – Heavy metal
- Shield of Wings – Unfinished (Elderpath Records) – Symphonic metal
- The Silent Wedding – Ego Path (Self-released) – Heavy/power metal
- Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators – 4 (Gibson) – Hard rock
- Stalker – Stalker (Wormholedeath) – Heavy metal
- Ten – Here Be Monsters (Frontiers)
- Tersivel – To The Orphic Void (Uprising) – Doom/death metal
- Theandric – Flight Among the Tombs (Self-released) – Heavy metal
- Eddie Vedder – Earthling (Republic) – Rock
- Whales Don't Fly – The Golden Sea (Raging Planet Records) – Progressive metal/thrash
- Withermoon – A Testament to Our Will (Adirondack Black Mass) – Black metal
- Zadra – Guiding Star (Frontiers) – Melodic rock
