The Weekly Injection: New Releases From HELLOWEEN, FRONTIERER & More Out The Weeks Of 12/13 Thru 12/27

The last Weekly Injection of the year includes three weeks of epic heaviness, mathcore pummeling, an end of the year zombie bash, and more. To the metals…

Week of 12/13

Helloween – Live At Budokan

Genre: Power metal
Origin: Hamburg, Germany
Label: Reigning Phoenix

Buy now on Amazon

Back in 2023 Helloween wrapped a massive tour at the legendary Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. This is that evening. While this was a tour for their recent self-titled album, more tracks from Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II were played, so long-time pumpkin heads will be stoked.

Misanthropy – The Ever-Crushing Weight Of Stagnance

Genre: Progressive death metal
Origin: Chicago, Illinois
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records

Buy now on Bandcamp

Pairing weirdly with the epic pumpkins above we have the latest from technical death metal madmen Misanthropy. Their first record in six years features all sorts of sonic switch-backs, dissonant melodies, and fretless bass slides. This is the kind of record you'd expect and gleefully accept from Transcending Obscurity.

Also dropping the week of 12/13

• An Axis Of Perdition – Apertures (Apocalyptic Witchcraft Records) – Industria/black metal
• Blue Oyster Cult – 50th Anniversary Live – Third Night (Frontiers) – Rock
• Deep River Acolytes – Procession Of The Damned (Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records) – Doom
• Electric Wizard – Black Magic Rituals And Perversions, Vol. 1 (Spinefarm) – Stoner metal
• God Forbid – The Lost Noize (Self-released) – Metalcore
• Illusion Force – Halfana (Frontiers) – Power metal
• In We Fall – Inner Self (Eclipse Records) – Alternative metal
• Magic Kingdom – Blaze Of Rage (Massacre) – Power/symphonic metal
• Mörk Gryning – Fasornas Tid (Season Of Mist) – Melodic black metal
• Ritchie Newton – Crying In The Summer Rain (NRT-Records) – Rock
• JJ Pinestone – Break The Chain (Pinestone Music Records) – Glam rock
• Alberto Rigoni – Nemesis Call (Eclipse) – Progressive metal
• Superheaven – Long Gone/Numb To What Is Real (Blue Grape Music) – Emo/shoegaze
• Various Artists – A Christmas Fucking Miracle: 15 Covers And 15 Originals By The New Wave Of Nu Metal (Self-released)
• Weapon Of Pride – Beneath The Surface (Self-released) – Groove/stoner metal
• Wings Of Steel – Live In France (RFL) – Heavy metal
• Whispers – Yom-Ma-Lok (Flatspot Records) – Hardcore

Week of 12/20

Frontierer – The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept

Genre: Mathcore
Origin: Scotland
Label: Self-released

Buy now on Bandcamp

This might sound odd, but the title of this EP – The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept – tells you exactly what this sounds like. Sure, It's all the song titles in a row literally telling you what's on the EP, but still. This is heavy, noisy, off-putting in the best way, and weird. Fans of Carbomb and other mathcore, rhythm-forward, heavy bands should hop on this and hold on for a ride.

Subway To Sally – Post Mortem

Genre: Folk metal
Origin: Potsdam, Germany
Label: Napalm

Buy now on Bandcamp

Folk metal feels right around Christmas, so let's put these songs up against "Last Christmas" and Michael Buble this year. This is another record of fun metal that comes about a year after their last one. The deluxe edition features lots of guest like Melissa from Ad Infinitum, bands Tanzwut and Dominum, and more. It turned into a Napalm records showcase.

Also dropping the week of 12/20…

• Ardeat – Apotheosis (Wormholedeath Records) – Black/death metal
• Canis Dirus – By The Grace Of Death (Bindrune) – Black metal
• Epitaph – Path To Oblivion (My Kingdom) – Doom
• Horse Butcher – Horse Butcher (Sentient Ruin Laboratories) – Death metal/goregrind
• Pandemic – Phantoms (Dying Victims) – Thrash
• Tigguo Cobauc – Fountains of Anguish (Exitus Stratagem Records) – Black metal

Week of 12/27

Box – Born To Crawl

Genre: Gothic rock/post-rock
Origin: Portland, Oregon
Label: Miserable Pyre

Buy and sample on Bandcamp

Box is the one-person project of Andrew Stromstad (Poison Idea, I Am The Intimidator), and this EP is a another showcase of his diverse musical abilities. Parts will remind you of The Cure, parts sound like ambient nightmare-scapes, parts will make you dance, and parts will make you cry.

Dominum – The Dead Don't Die

Genre: Heavy metal/hard rock
Origin: Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany
Label: Napalm

Buy now on Bandcamp

Concluding this year (WEIRD!) with some driving heavy metal from a bunch of zombies… or something. I wrote about these guys about this time last year and they love to be the sound track for your end of the year gothic party. This is catchy as hell, it includes a cover of "Rock You Like A Hurricane," and a live set from their performance at this year's Graspop Metal Meeting. Hard to be mad at.

Also dropping the week of 12/27…

• Genocide Kommando – Third World War (Osmose) – Black metal
• Order Of Nosferat – Towards The Nightrealm Of Orlok (Purity Through Fire) – Black metal/dungeon synth
• Úlfarr – Fornetes Folm (Purity Through Fire) – Black metal