I keep waiting for that monster week of releases that'll knock me on my ass. It's sadly not this week. Oh well. This week's edition includes instrumental madness, an anniversary cash grab celebration, and something for the kids.
To the metals…
Animals As Leaders – The Joy of Motion
Genre: Instrumental Progressive
Origin: Washington DC
Label: Sumerian
Buy now on Amazon.com
Animals As Leaders is one of those bands that one has to respect. Lead guitar god Tosin Abasi often gets all the credit, but The Joy of Motion marks the band's first album with drummer Matt Garstka, and this man is unbelievable. Sure, Abasi and fellow strings-man Javier Reyes are the stars of the record and respectable on their own, but Garstka's drum work is stellar and he propels this from being another instrumental djent record, to the band's finest release yet. Read Greg's full review here.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Heo5oowEFBY[/youtube]
Memphis May Fire –Â Unconditional
Genre: Metalcore
Origin: Dallas, Texas
Label: Rise
Buy now on Amazon.com
This one isn't really for us old crotchety metal fans. This is for those youngsters out there that like some beeps and boops in their breakdowns and big sing along choruses that aren't about dragons. Pretty good guitar work, usually highlighted by harmonized bits. Not completely terrible, honestly.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbawiMkUr58[/youtube]
Pantera – Far Beyond Driven 20th Anniversary Edition
Genre: Metal
Origin: Arlington, Texas
Label: Rhino
Buy now on Amazon.com
Everyone knows "Walk," "Cowboys From Hell," and "This Love," but for me this was always the Pantera record closest to my heart. It features lesser(ish) known gems like  "Becoming," "5 minutes Alone," and "Shedding Skin." It's nice to hear them cleaned up a bit in the remastered first disc, but for fans the selling point of this will be the second disc that includes a live set recorded at Donington.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSt17u_LKa8[/youtube]
Also dropping today…
Ancient Ascendant – Echos And Cinder (Candlelight)
Barren Harvest- Subtle Cruelties (Handmade Birds)
Coltsblood – Into the Unfathomable Abyss (Candlelight)
Darkentries – The Make Believe (Retro Futurist)
Die Choking – Die Choking (The Compound)
Discipline X – Wasted In Hollywood (Inverse)
Dread Sovereign – All Hell's Martyrs (Van)
Geryon – Geryon EP (Gilead)
Kosmos – Le Vecteur Transcendantal Re-Release (Mulligore)
Linda & The Punch – Obsession (Escape)
Loath – Total Peace (Inverse)
Negative Voice – Infinite Dissonance (Inverse)
Noble Beast – Noble Beast (Tridroid)
Pretty Maids – Louder Than Ever CD/DVD (Frontiers)
Restless Oblivion – Sands Of Time (Solitude)
Rorcal – Világvége (Bleak)
Shores of Null – Quiescence (Candlelight)
Thou – Heathen (Gilead)
Trigger Point – Giving Up The Ghost (THC)
