This week’s new heavy metal releases include lots of lineup shifts, progressive sludge for bees, classic death metal vibes, and more! To the metals…
Atreyu – Baptize
Genre: Metalcore Origin: Yorba Linda, California Label: Spinefarm
Starting this week with a shaken up Atreyu. This is their first record with Brandon and Marc taking over all the vocals. New vox or not this feels like a recent Atreyu record with all the anthemic melodic metal you'd expect from them.
Boss Keloid – Family The Smiling Thrush
Genre: Progressive/sludge Origin: Wigan, England Label: Ripple
On their fifth album these sludgy proggsters are bringing crushing riffs, breakneck mood shifts, and rad keyboard tickling. Family The Smiling Thrush is music for beards of all shapes and sizes. Don't have a beard? You will once this record stops spinning. While very different tonally, I think a tour with these guys and Baroness would be fitting and really cool.
Desaster – Churches Without Saints
Genre: Black metal/thrash Origin: Koblenz, Germany Label: Metal Blade
It's been half a decade since this evil metal crew sliced through the eardrums of the metal world, and they're back with a new drummer in Marco "Hont" Hontheimto to help them do it again. Churches without saints has the production of a old school thrash record but with the aura of something more grim. If you're looking for something kinda traditional that's still pretty dynamic, then give this one a spin.
Flotsam & Jetsam – Blood In The Water
Genre: Heavy metal/thrash Origin: Phoenix, Arizona Label: AFM
I'll be honest here. I was prepared to list this one at the bottom and keep moving, but I was nudged to check this out, and I'm thankful for that nudge. Holy shit these guys go hard almost forty years into their career. Blood In The Water is front to back solid with soaring, thrashy, epic-but-not-quite-power metal. It also has that perfect amount of cheese to it.
Hannes Grossmann – To Where The Light Retreats
Genre: Progressive/technical death metal Origin: Bayreuth, Germany Label: Self-released
I feel like listing Hannes's past and present bands should be enough to get fans of technical and/or progressive metal stoked about this record. So if you want that…ex-Obscura, Alkaloid, Triptykon, ex-Necrophagist, and oodles more. This is technical, all over the place, and remains rather melodic. It even features some folks from those acts like V. Santura of Triptykon and literally all of Alkaloid.
Inhuman Condition – Rat°God
Genre: Death metal/thrash Origin: Florida Label: Blood Blast Distribution
Here's some more death metal for you. All these guys were in Massacre and other bands from that scene so when that Floridian groove hits, it hits nicely. They're really tapping into that scene's classic aesthetic here. From their sound to their album art, this one sounds like Florida.
Necronemesis – Some Things Should Stay Underground
Genre: Death metal Origin: Quebradillas, Puerto Rico Label: Horror Pain Gore Death
More death metal? Who am I this week??? Like Inhuman Condition, Necronemesis are into the classic death metal thing. Vocally this one is closer to Blood Incantation though. You're getting low vocals coupled with unrelenting fury and lots of guitar theatrics with a whammy bar.
Red Fang – Arrows
Genre: Stoner metal Origin: Portland, Oregon Label: Relapse
This one turned out to be a bit of a time capsule for the band. Red Fang had this album ready to go a year ago then, well, you know. But the time has finally come for fuzzy riffs, fuzzy faces, and fun music videos one of which includes a bunch of fuzzy mascots. This is a fun one.
Sojourner – Perennial
Genre: Melodic black metal Origin: Dunedin, New Zealand Label: Napalm
Wrapping this week with some frosty, beautiful black metal from New Zealand. This EP is only a pair of songs but it serves as an introduction to their new lineup. If you're a fan of Myrkur, Katatonia, Summoning, or Ne Obliviscaris, I could see you finding something to love here.
Also dropping today…
ΛΔΛΜ Sun (Venerate Industries) – Alternative metal/post-rock
Ancient Wisdom – A Celebration in Honor of Death (Avantgarde Music) – Black metal
Bi̦cide РInhibiting the Sludge Tomb (Self-released) РDeath metal/thrash
Circle of Sighs – Narci (Metal Assault Records) – Psychedelic/doom
Cleopatrick –Â Bummer (Nowhere Special) – Hard rock
Cloak of Altering – Sheathed Swords Drip with Poisonous Honey (Brucia Records) Experimental black metal
Code – Flyblown Prince (Dark Essence Records) –Â Progressive
