THE WEEKLY INJECTION: New Releases From DOWN, AGALLOCH, KILLER BE KILLED, and More Out Today – 5/13

I alluded to today's monstrous releases last week, and the day i finally upon us. This week's edition of The Weekly Injection features some supergroups, the best beards in music, one of the few still flying the nu metal flag with success, post black metal gods, and more. To the metals…

Agalloch – The Serpent & The Sphere 

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Origin: Portland, Oregon
Label: Profound Lore

Buy now on Amazon.com

One of the best, if not the best, atmospheric black metal bands has returned with yet another triumphant record. Not since the first time I heard Ashes Against The Grain have I been this into Portland's finest. Check out the full stream here.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygTvRL46QrA[/youtube]

 

The Beards – The Beards Album

Genre: Beard Rock
Origin: Adelaide, Australia
Label: Independent

Buy now from their website

If ever there was a band that was about everything I'm about, it's The Beards. While not technically metal, this band is made up of four bearded men singing about beards, and this is their fourth album doing so. Based on this fact alone, they're more metal than you ever will be. You can hear the whole thing here, and while you listen you'll become 465% more bearded. That includes you too, ladies.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4dgq1f7WM0&list=UUiq5UoB5QEE26iQ18Bgt0dA&feature=share[/youtube]

 

Down – Down IV: Part Two EP 

Genre: Southern Metal
Origin: New Orleans, Louisiana
Label: ADA

Buy now on Amazon.com

Down is perhaps the most celebrated metal supergroup ever, and for pretty good reason. They are the perfect blend of their original parts Pantera, C.O.C., Eyehategod, and more. While Phil's voice has seen better days, this EP is still pretty solid. Listen in full here.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBQyJvMsM-U[/youtube]

 

Killer Be Killed – Killer Be Killed

Genre: Groove Metal/Thrash
Origin: California/Georgia/Brazil
Label: Nuclear Blast

Buy now on Amazon.com

I went on in great detail about this album here, and you can listen for yourself here. At this point if you're not on board for the Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan, Soulfly/ex-Sepultura, ex-Mars Volta collaboration, your're not going to be.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qHp05a7lpA[/youtube]

 

Lantlos – Melting Sun 

Genre: Post Black Metal
Origin: Rheda, Germany
Label: Prophecy

Buy now on Amazon.com

Earlier this year, Alcest decided to drop the "black" form their whole Blackgaze sound opting instead for post-rock. Lantlos,which once features Neige of Alcest, has followed suit and has done so to greater success. This album is epic, massive, and pretty amazing.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFJSM3kvBQ4[/youtube]

 

Mushroomhead – The Righteous and the Butterfly 

Genre: Industrial/Nu Metal
Origin: Cleveland, Ohop
Label: Megaforce

Buy now on Amazon.com

I totally forgot Mushroomhead was a thing. I don't really get it either, but they seem to play my area quite a bit according to the internet, so they still have an audience. Anyway, huzzahs all around if you're a fan of their vaguely-circusy industrial sound.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A278oTu684c[/youtube]

 

Prong – Ruining Lives 

Genre: Thrash
Origin: New York City, New York
Label: SPV

Buy now on Amazon.com

I have never listened to Prong, I wasn't sure what to expect either. They sorta sound like modern Machine Head to me. Actually, their melodic thrash approach sound is pretty catchy, much like MH. The included track, "Turnover," is super stuck in my head and probably will be for quite some time.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwf8ZYQOauM[/youtube]

 

Thine – The Dead City Blueprint 

Genre: Progressive
Origin: West Yorkshire, England
Label: Peaceville

Buy now on Amazon.com

My dorky melodic prog heart eats this shit up. This long-runner band has elements of Opeth, Porcupine Tree, and Katatonia, so fans of them sound check them out. They used to be really strange in their earlier days (like, Mr. Bungle weird), so I'd suggest checking that out too.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCRrDU_I9jA[/youtube]

 

Vallenfyre – Splinters 

Genre: Death Metal
Origin: Halifax, England
Label: Century Media

Buy now on Amazon.com

I can't say I've listened to anything like Vallenfyre before. They have a unique sound that blends doom and death metal with an old school auditory aesthetic. It is a rather interesting and enjoyable listening experience. Also, the folks in their videos rock some pretty great beards, and this really speaks to me.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibetDfGWOFo[/youtube]

 

Also dropping today…

Abre Ojos – Gates (Secrets of Giza)
Avatar – Hail The Apocalypse (eOne)
Boris The Blade – The Human Hive (Siege Of Amida)
Cursed Sails – Rotten Society (Velocity/Rise)
Decembre Noir – A Discouraged Believer (FDA Rekotz)
Dornenreich – Freiheit (Prophecy)
Dio – Live In London: Hammersmith Apollo 1993 DVD/CD (Eagle Rock)
Dominium – War Ritual (Horror Pain Gore Death)
Forgotten Tomb – Darkness in Stereo: Eine Symphonie Des Todes – Live in Germany DVD (Agonia)
Furtherial – Destroying Atropolis (The Orchard)
Glamour of the Kill – Savages (eOne)
The Golden Grass – The Golden Grass (Svart)
Graves At Sea/Sourvein – Split (Seventh Rule)
Greenleaf – Trails And Passes (Small Stone)
Gun Barrel – Damage Dancer (Massacre)
High Spirits – You Are Here (Hells Headbangers)
Holy Shire – Midgard (Bakerteam)
Horrid – Sacrilegious Fornication (Dunkelheit)
Hour Of Penance – Regicide (Prosthetic)
Infestus – The Reflecting Void (Debemur Morti)
Kadavar – Abra Kadavar Tour Edition (Nuclear Blast)
Metal Inquisitor – Ultima Ratio Regis (Massacre)
Miasmal – Cursed Redeemer (Century Media)
Nightsatan – Nightsatan And The Loops Of Doom (Svart)
Of Spire & Throne – Toll of the Wound EP (Broken Limb)
Process Pain – Outcast Of Society (Inverse)
Retribution – Corpus Antichristi Y3K (Pitch Black)
Somnambulist Red – Birth Throes, Shadows And Serpentine Curves (Wraith)
Strafk – Phaseshifting (Wraith)
Sworn Enemy – Living On Borrowed Time (Rock Ridge)
Sylar – To Whom It May Concern (Razor & Tie)
Teitanbood – Death (The Ajna Offensive)
WAMI – Kill The King (Metal Mind)