This week's new heavy metal releases include a band's farewell, a triple split, some really solid catchy stuff, and more! To the metals…
A Perfect Circle / Primus / Puscifer – Sessanta E.P.P.P.
Genre: Experimental rock/Primus
Origin: Los Angeles/El Sobrante, California
Label: Puscifer Entertainment
Buy now from the tour site
Maynard James Keenan is turning 60 and to celebrate his non-Tool bands are hitting the road with Primus. Just before all that, the bands are putting out this EP(PP) that features a new song from all three. The Primus song features Maynard, which I guess is in the spirit of the tour where all the bands perform with one another throughout the show.
The Absence – The Absence
Genre: Melodic death metal
Origin: Tampa, Florida
Label: Listenable Insanity
Buy now on Bandcamp
Now for some melodic death metal with some of that old school MDM flair. There are plenty of guitar earworms here that'll keep you coming back. The aggression from the vocals, and really everything else will keep you moving.
Kólga – Black Tides
Genre: Surf/black metal
Origin: Dallas, Texas
Label: Otitis Media Records
Buy now or sample on Bandcamp
You all know that I love to highlight the weird when possible. When I got an email about a band that combines black metal and surf rock this had my attention. It's both frosty and summer-y. You'll wanna hang loose and windmill headbang while in a forest of palm trees. Very fun record.
Sum 41 – Heaven :X: Hell
Genre: Punk/hard rock
Origin: Ajax, Ontario
Label: Rise
Buy now on Amazon
On what they're claiming will be their final record Sum 41 are saying goodbye with a double-album. Disc one is their melodic punk side (Heaven), and disc two features their more hard rock/straight ahead heavy metal side (Hell). It winds up feeling like a career retrospective despite being all new material. Should this farewell stick this would be quite the send off.
Venues – Transience
Genre: Metalcore/hard rock
Origin: Stuttgart, Germany
Label: Arising Empire
Buy now on Amazon
On Transience, Venues are combining grand, catchy choruses with some heavy grooves, and occasional techy bursts. Their a sonic cocktail that seems designed to take over their scene. This isn't one for the old school heavy heads, but this is undeniably solid modern metal.
While She Sleeps – Self Hell
Genre: Metalcore/hard rock
Origin: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
Label: Sleeps Brothers/Spinefarm)
Buy now from While She Sleeps
After almost twenty years, While She Sleeps has their melodic hard rock meshed with metalcore thing down to a science. There are so many earworms on this record and they usually come sandwiched between some undeniably badass grooves. You get to enjoy features from Aether and Malevolence as well.
Also dropping this week…
- Above Aurora – Myriad Woes (War Anthem Records) – Doom/black metal
- Alkhemia – Abraxas (Malpermesita Records) – Black metal
- Ana – The Art Of Letting Go EP (Eclipse) – Symphonic metal
- Boundaries – Death Is Little More (3Dot) – Hardcore
- Cancervo – III (Electric Valley Records) -Psychedelic/stoner
- Cantique Lépreux – Le bannissement (Eisenwald) – Black metal
- Carrion Vael – Cannibals Anonymous (Unique Leader Records) – Death metal/thrash
- Charun – Impending Decline (New Density Records) – Death metak
- Child – Shitegeist (Suicide Records) – Grindcore
- Cnts – Thoughts & Prayers (Ipecac) – Punk
- Coffins – Sinister Oath (Relapse) – Death metal/doom
- Coffin Storm – Arcana Rising (Peaceville) – Heavy metal/doom – Full review
- Darkestrah – Nomad (Osmose) – Folk/black metal
- Divided – Light Will Shine (Dunk!records) – Post-hardcore
- Amira Elfeky – Skin To Skin (Atlantic) – Nu metal
- Flageladör – Culto Aos Decibéis (Hellprod Records) – Speed metal/thrash
- Frail Body – Artificial Bouquet (Deathwish Inc.) – Hardcore
- Frank Never Dies – Red Moon Rising (Argonauta Records) – Psychedelic
- Givre – Le cloître (Eisenwald) – Black metal
- Glyph – Honor. Power. Glory. (Black Note Music) – Power metal
- Malphas – Portal (M-Theory) – Melodic death metal
- Max Boogie Overdrive – Stoned Again (Future Primitive Recordings) – Stoner rock
- Meadows – Familiar With Pain (Facedown Records) – Melodic hardcore
- Mutilation Barbecue – Amalgamations Of Gore (Maggot Stomp) – Death metal
- Nø Man – Glitter And Spit (Iodine Recordings) – Hardcore
- The Quill – Wheel Of Illusion (Metalville) – Stoner/hard rock
- Rage – Afterlifelines (Steamhammer/SPV) – Heavy metal
- Ren Marabou and The Berserkers – Helgafjell (Wormholedeath) – Folk metal
- The Rocky Valentines – Erase (Tooth & Nail) – Hard rock
- Saturday Night Satan – All Things Black (Made of Stone Recordings) – Doom/occult rock
- Septage – Septic Worship (Intolerant Spree of Infesting Forms) (Me Saco un Ojo) – Grindcore/ death detal
- slowchamber – The Delay Of Suffering (Self-released) – Metalcore/hardcore
- Sons Of Alpha Centauri – Pull (Exile On Mainstream) – Post-metal
- Suffer – Grand Canvas Of The Aesthete (Wise Blood Records) – Death metal
- Verwoed – The Mother (Argento Records) – Black metal
- Vorga – Beyond the Palest Star (Transcending Obscurity) – Black metal
- Esben Willems – Glowing Darkness (Majestic Mountain Records) – Post-punk
- Words Of Farewell – Stories To Forget (Seek And Strike) – Melodic death metal
- Wristmeetrazor – Degeneration (Prosthetic) – Metalcore
