This week's new heavy metal releases include sludgy jams, a love letter to goth musicals, a mighty return, and more! To the metals…
Alcest – Les Chants De L'Aurore
Genre: Post-black metal/shoegaze
Origin: Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Bandcamp
It's been half a decade since Neige and Winterhalter have released an album of shoegaze with blackened edges. While some darkness remains from the band's earliest days, this is largely another record of beautiful atmosphere. This is a tremendous example of tension and release in music.
Black Veil Brides – Bleeders
Genre: Alternative/gothic metal
Origin: Cincinnati, Ohio
Label: Spinefarm
Buy now on Amazon
When writing about the week's new releases I give them a quick Google just to see if there are any fun facts, and this week I was surprised to find this EP got a write up from Playbill because it was inspired by Sweeney Todd. The release includes three songs. One is a cover of "My Friends" from the aforementioned musical, then there's a cover of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday," and finally the new song below. I'd say it mostly seems inspired by blood, but I'm into this idea of metal and musicals becoming more entwined.
Cavalera Conspiracy – Schizophrenia
Genre: Groove metal/thrash
Origin: Phoenix, Arizona
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Bandcamp
Last week I wrote about 96 Bitter Beings covering some CKY songs and it's weird to already back another one of those records, but here we are. This time Max and Igor Cavalera are doing a front to back cover of Sepultura's Schizophrenia. They boys set out to capture the vibe of the original and I'd say they do so with some added clarity with modern recording technology. If the sound of the original ever stopped you from digging this record, then this re-recording is for you. Jeff kinda likes it in a review here.
Kittie – Fire
Genre: Nu/groove metal
Origin: London, Ontario
Label: Sumerian
Buy now on Amazon
Wow. New Kittie in 2024 after thirteen years, and it's rad. This captures everything this band has been through the years. You're getting nu metal bounces, groove metal… well, grooves, soaring melodic rock, and more. This is a welcomed return, and I hope the first of a lot more.
Seven Spires – A Fortress Called Home
Genre: Symphonic metal
Origin: Boston, Massachusetts
Label: Frontiers
Buy now on Amazon
After just over a decade, it feels like Seven Spires have dialed in what makes them a great modern symphonic metal act. On A Fortress Called Home they toe the lines of power and gothic metal without going too far in either realm and perhaps alienating more casual heavy fans. They are also never holding back epicness. Overall, this a showcase of vocalist Adrienne Cowan who has already made a name for herself in Winds Of Plague (and various guest spots over the years), but this is her spotlight.
Sumac – The Healer
Genre: Post-metal/sudgee
Origin: Vancouver, British Columbia/Vashon, Washington
Label: Thrill Jockey
Buy now on Bandcamp
On their first of a couple releases announced for this year Aaron Turner (Old Man Gloom), Brian Cook (Russian Circles), and Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists) are keeping things slow, lengthy, and heavy. This record includes four tracks of devastating sludge that isn't afraid to get experimental and jam out. While I can't see these guys on a bill with Trey Anastasio just yet, the long explorations of sound are great to get lost in.
Also dropping this week…
- Along Came A Spider – The Fall (Self-released) – Hard rock
- Ancient Entities – Echoes of Annihilation (Self-released) – Death metal
- Anthropophagus Depravity – Demonic Paradise (Comatose Music) – Brutal death metal
- Bangladeafy – Vulture (Nefarious Industries) – Industrial
- Cainites – Revenant (Scarlet Records) – Melodic death metal
- Codex Mortis – Tales Of Woe (Black Lion Records) – Blackened death metal
- Construct Of Lethe – A Kindness Dealt In Venom (Transcending Obscurity Records) – Death metal
- Danava – Live (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Psychedelic/stoner
- The Dangerous Summer – Gravity (Rude) – Alternative
- Derelict – Versus Entropy (Self-released) – Technical death metal
- Dezperadoz – Moonshiner (El Puerto) – Southern metal/thrash
- earthtone9 – In Resonance Nexus (Candlelight) – Alternative metal
- Foreign Hands – What's Left Unsaid (SharpTone) – Metalcore
- Gasket – Babylon (Blue Grape Music) – Crust punk
- Genus Ordinis Dei – Three Kings (Eclipse Records) – Symphonic death metal
- Greenleaf – The Head & The Habit (Magnetic Eye Records) – Heavy metal/hard rock
- Horseburner – Voice Of Storms (Blues Funeral Recordings) – Stoner metal
- Hyperdontia – Harvest Of Malevolence (Dark Descent) – Death metal
- Kvaen – The Formless Fires (Metal Blade) – Folk/black metal
- L.M.I. – Failed To Feel It (Horror Pain Gore Death Productions) – Stoner
- Marillion – An Hour Before It’s Dark: Live in Port Zélande 2023 (earMusic) – Progressive rock
- Portrait – The Host (Metal Blade) – Heavy metal
- Qaalm – First Light Of The Last Dawn (Hypaethral Records) – Sludge/doom
- Rendezvous Point – Dream Chaser (Long Branch Records) – Progressive metal
- Replacire – The Center That Cannot Hold (Season Of Mist) – Technical death metal
- Sons Of Arrakis – Volume II (Black Throne Productions) – Desert/stoner rock
- The Story So Far – I Want To Disappear (Pure Noise) – Pop-punk
- Theftuous – All I Deserve (Theftuous) – Deathcore
- Thornhill – Live On Tour (UNFD) – Progressive metalcore
- The Used – MEDZ (Big Noise) – Post-hardcore/alternative rock
- Vexing Hex – Solve Et Coagula (Wise Blood Records) – Doom rock/occult pop
- Wage War – Stigma (Fearless) – Metalcore
- Within Temptation – Worlds Collide Tour – Live In Amsterdam (Self-released) – Symphonic metal
- YR – Maanelyst (Hellstain Productions) – Black metal
