This week's new heavy metal releases include a pair of celebratory albums, sexy grooves, and more! To the metals…
Bedsore – Dreaming The Strife For Love
Genre: Progressive death metal
Origin: Rome, Italy
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Buy now on Bandcamp
Starting this week with a cool, weird one. Bedsore describe themselves on Bandcamp as "1970s Death Metal from Rome, Italy since 2018." What this essentially means is that they are hitting you with adventurous death metal fury that employs a grand Hammond sound, spacy synths, and horns. If Blood Incantation's latest was a combination of Pink Floyd's Animals and death metal, then this is death metal meets Genesis or Yes or something. It whips ass.
Crippled Black Phoenix – Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2)
Genre: Gothic/experimental rock covers
Origin: United Kingdom
Label: Season Of Mist
Buy now on Bandcamp
Starting this week with the first of two very different Crippled Black Phoenix releases. This one is a record of covers and the songs they choose to take on show this diverse band's array of influences. You're getting their versions of songs originally by Fugazi, Deep Purple, Built To Spill (one of my favorite BTS's tracks too), and more.
Crippled Black Phoenix – The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature
Genre: Gothic/experimental rock
Origin: United Kingdom
Label: Season Of Mist
Buy now on Bandcamp
As promised here is the second CBP record. The pair of releases are celebrating the band's twenty years of existence and this one more overtly than the last. The Wolf… features eight reworked ad re-recorded tracks from their past. If you dug them the first time, you'll probably at least be curious to hear the new twists.
Jazz Sabbath – The 1968 Tapes
Genre: Jazz covers of Black Sabbath
Origin: Windsor, United Kingdom
Label: Blacklake
The project that once seemed like a bit (and may still sort of be one) driven by keyboard wizard Adam Wakeman (Ozzy/live-Black Sabbath) is back again putting jazzy filters over more Black Sabbath classics. The "Milton Keanes" versions of "The Wizard", "War Pigs," "Into The Void" and more are all finally getting their time to shine. Put this on at your next fancy cocktail party.
Pestilent Hex – Sorceries Of Sanguine & Shadow
Genre: Melodic/symphonic black metal
Origin: Uusimaa, Finland
Label: Debemur Morti
With their sophomore release Pestilent Hex are proving that they were more than a one-off gem of a band. Album number two sees Matti Mäkelä (Corpsessed) and Lauri Laaksonen (Desolate Shrine) hitting you with a variety of chaos and evil. Reminds me a little of Emperor and Anaal Nathrakh.
Þrymr – Saga Of The North
Genre: Dark ambient
Origin: Norway
Label: Darkness Shall Rise Productions
Buy now from Darkness Shall Rise
Speaking of Emperor, here we have the latest solo record from Emperor drummer Trym Torson. This is about as far as you can get from blast beats and black metal though. This is sweeping orchestral music accompanying folk instruments. It sounds like the soundtrack to a historical drama.
Ulver – Liminal Animals
Genre: Experimental/psychedelic rock
Origin: Oslo, Norway
Label: House of Mythology
Buy now on Bandcamp
Over the last year or so Ulver have been slowly releasing new songs all with a red color scheme. Those six songs and three additional ones are now in one place on Liminal Animals. It's another groovy, weird, and strangely sexy album. Turn the lights low for this one.
Also dropping this week…
- Against I – Songs For The Dying (Self-released) – Blackened death metal
- Aoidos – Oizys (Nox Liberatio Records) – Blackened death metal
- Asgaard – Lullabies For Harlots (Via Nocturna Records/Wormholedeath) – Symphonic black/gothic metal
- Borehead – Vita est Morte est Vita (Octopus Rising) – Stoner/doom
- Burning Creation – Sea Of Dead Bodies (Via Nocturna) – Melodic death metal
- Dark Embrace – Land Of Witches (Massacre) – Symphonic/melodic death metal
- Demon Bitch – Master Of The Games (Gates Of Hell Records) – Heavy metal
- Denigrate – To The Goddess Unknown (Inverse Records) – Progressive doom
- Dying Grotesque – Celestial (Archivist Records) – Death metal
- Fire Action – Until The Heat Dies (Steamhammer/SPV) – Heavy metal
- The Gates Of Slumber – The Gates Of Slumber (Svart) – Doom
- Gorgon – For Those Who Stay (Osmose) – Black metal
- Hellfire 76 – Rags To Rage (Self-released) – Heavy metal
- Hidden Mothers – Erosion/Avulsion (Church Road) – Post-black metal
- Ice Exiled – Reset The Sky (Inverse Records) – Progressive power metal
- Inverted Cross – Eternal Flames Of Hell (Helldprod Records) – Black/speed metal
- Mandroïd of Krypton – Cosmic Sarcophagus (MTAF Records) – Progressive black metal/thrash
- Mefitis – The Skorian//The Greyleer (Profound Lore) – Death/black metal
- Mezmerizer – Whispers Of Leviathan (Downfall) – Melodic groove metal
- Mutank – Think Before You Think (Boonsdale Records) – Thrash/crossover
- Necronomicon Ex Mortis – The Mother Of Death (Seld-released) – Death metal
- Not Now Norman – Go Hard Or Go Home (Self-released) – Hard rock
- Old Wainds – Stormheart (Darkness Shall Rise) – Black metal
- Project: Ultimate Satan – The Opus Satanas (Eschatonic Records) – Symphonic blackened death metal
- Ritual Fog – But Merely Flesh (Transcending Obscurity Records) – Death metal
- Sahg – More Of Nothing (Drakkar) – Hard rock/heavy metal
- Salem UK – Outer Limits (Rude Awakening) – Rock
- Total Hate – Forthcoming Age Of The Reaper (War Anthem) – Black metal
- Utility Provider – Challenger (Self-released) – Progressive groove metal
- The Watcher – Out Of The Dark (Cruz Del Sur) – Heavy metal/doom
- Warpstomer – Warpstormer (London Doom Collective) – Doom
- Wretched Fate – Incineration Of The Pious (Redefining Darkness Records) – Death metal
Finally, today is Record Store Day's Black Friday drop.
There are reissues, rare releases, etc. from Amigo The Devil, Lamb of God, Lacuna Coil, Norma Jean, Rage Against the Machine, STP, Sunn O))), The Warning, Wolves In The Throne Room, and other stuff. Peep the list here.
