This week’s new heavy metal releases include prehistoric riffs, live in-studio re-recordings, proggy fun, and more! To the metals…
ALSO! Today, Bandcamp is doing their monthly day of giving 100% of what you pay directly to the labels and artists as Covid-19 Pandemic relief. So if you can get stuff from Bandcamp, please do.
Acid Mammoth – Caravan
Genre: Doom/stoner
Origin: Athens, Greece
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Buy now on Bandcamp
If you're in the mood for some melodic doom goodness, then Acid Mammoth have you covered. This self-proclaimed "Sabbath Worshipping Cimmerian Doom" outfit claim they're a band, but the truth is that they are a bunch of riffs taped together and molded into human shapes. Riffs on riffs on riffs.
A Day To Remember – You're Welcome
Genre: Metalcore/post-hardcore
Origin: Ocala, Florida,
Label: Fueled By Ramen
In a completely different realm than Acid Mammoth, we have the latest from A Day To Remember. You're Welcome comes five years after their well received Bad Vibrations, which is the band's longest gap between records. Despite sharing its title with Dwayne Johnson's track from the film Moana, there appears to be no connection to the film or song, so I'm not even sure why I bothered. Instead, you're getting powerful alternative rock-influenced songs with big vocals and bigger melodies.
Baest – Necro Sapiens
Genre: Death metal
Origin: Aarhus, Denmark
Label: Century Media
Now for some pure heaviness. Baest's third album is solid death metal, plain and simple. You're getting songs with words like "Necro," "Vomit," "Mutilation," and "Suffocation" in their titles, so you know what you're in for. Fans of Bloodbath will probably dig this.
Demon Hunter – Songs Of Death And Resurrection
Genre: Metalcore/alternative metal
Origin: Seattle, Washington
Label: Solid State
Golly these guys are prolific. Songs Of Death And Resurrection comes a mere two years after Demon Hunter dropped two albums on the same day. Sure, this is a record of acoustic renditions of their tracks, but they are keeping busy with all the down time. Good for them, and good for fans that want some more relaxed stuff right now.
Sullen – Nodus Tollens – Act 1: Oblivion
Genre: Experimental/progressive
Origin: Porto, Portugal
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Buy now on Bandcamp
You know you're in for a journey when the band's album title says it's an "Act." And what a journey this is. Nodus Tollens reminds me of a Caligula's Horse record with occasional growls and some Haken moments here and there. This one is moody, rhythmically awkward, nerdy. So, a solid prog record.
Terror – Trapped In A World
Genre: Hardcore
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Self-released
Buy now on Bandcamp
For their eighth record, Terror are re-recording songs from their earliest releases live in-studio. Fans of One With the Underdogs and Always the Hard Way may have issues with the newer takes on the tracks, but it it's kind of cool to hear the band's current vibe on these older songs.
Witherfall – Curse Of Autumn
Genre: Heavy metal/progressive metal
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Century Media
Witherfall is a wild band that has somehow missed me over the years of doing this. This is a band with the technical proficiency of Dream Theater but the aggression and bombast of 3 Inches of Blood. I then found out that the band consisted of Jake Dreyer (ex-Iced Earth), Joseph Michael (Sanctuary), Anthony Crawford (ex-Chon), and Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats). The sound winds up making a lot of sense when I found out who was behind it.
Wolf King – The Path of Wrath
Genre: Blackened hardcore
Origin: Bay Area, California
Label: Prosthetic
Buy now on Bandcamp
Wrapping this week with some evil aggression. The Path of Wrath is a record of black metal atmosphere and darkness coupled with a hardcore energy. It sounds like the soundtrack to a level in hell.
Also dropping today…
- Black Knife – Murder Season (Self-released) -Black metal/punk
- Bog Wizard/Dust Lord – Four Tales of the Strange (Swamp Records) – Doom/sludge
- Brand Of Sacrifice – Lifeblood (Blood Blast) – Deathcore
- Chevelle – NIRATIAS (Epic) – Rock
- Dayeater – Sweet Earth (Self-released) – Psychedelic rock
- Dreamshade – A Pale Blue Dot (Dreamshade/Horang Music) – Metalcore
- Endless Funeral – Le Grande Silence (Epictural Production) – Black metal
- Flesh of the Stars – Mirror/Vessels EP (Self-released) – Doom
- Ken Hensley – My Book of Answers (Cherry Red) – Rock
- Heyoka's Mirror – The Uninvited King (Self-released) – Progressive metal
- Iron Man – Hail to the Riff (Argonauta Records) – Doom
- Invultation – Unconquerable Death (Self-released) Black/death metal
- King Bong – Ogopogo (Mandrone Records) – Psychedelic rock
- Mork – Katedralen (Peaceville) – Black metal
- Nightfall – At Night We Prey (Season Of Mist) – Blackened metal
- Open Hand – Weirdo (Blacktop Records) – Shoegaze/stoner rock
- Regional Justice Center – Crime And Punishment (Closed Casket Activities) – Hardcore/power violence
- Requiem For Oblivion – Hindsight 2020 (Self-released) – Progressive/technical death metal
- SOM – Awake (Blood Blast Distribution) – Dream pop/post-metal
- Spam Javelin – The Three Chords Of The Apocalypse (Link2Wales Records) – Punk
- Thorium – Empires in the Sun (Freya Records) – Heavy metal
- Wolfheart – Skull Soldiers EP (Napalm) – Death metal
- Wolvennest – Temple (Ván Records) – Experimental black metal