This edition features the conclusions to some stories, lots of technical guitar-frettery, something that keeps sending my cats into a rage, and more! To the metals…
Between The Buried And Me – Automata II 
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Raleigh, North Carolina
Label: Sumerian
It feels a little weird writing about another BtBaM album so soon, but here we are. Automata II concludes the story started back in March and features four tracks that are really strong. Despite it only being four songs, this is a diverse bite-sized offering that includes a swing inspired song, a spooky accordion jam, and more. My only gripe might once again be the album's length, but calling in an album vs an EP likely is due to the same reasoning for Nine Inch Nails' recent record.
Black Fast – Spectre Of Ruin
Genre: Technical thrash
Origin: St. Louis, Missouri
Label: eOne
I foresee Black Fast being a favorite for many of you out there. This is full of frantic energy, killer riffs, and an old school feel to it. Spectre of Ruin also has some death and black metal vibes to it. Overall, a great journey of an album.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGd8047VxXk][/youtube]
Covet – effloresce 
Genre: "Adventure rock"
Origin: San Francisco, California
Label: Triple Crown Records
Buy now from Limited Run
Yvette Young and her gang of techy instrumentalists are here with their first full-length album (I believe), and will make you feel like a musical failure. Melody and atmosphere drive this one despite highly technical guitar tapping and complex rhythms being the entire make up of the band. This is perhaps closer to math rock than metal, but it certainly deserves a mention.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXGwVJCdV6A][/youtube]
Deafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Genre: Post-black metal
Origin: San Francisco, California
Label: Anti
Deafheaven are one of heavy music's most divisive bands, and have been since their album Sunbather made them a household name (if your home reads Pitchfork, that is). The hate towards them from the metal community feels unwarranted, especially since that seems to stem from them wrongly getting credit for founding a genre. They didn't start the atmospheric melodic black metal thing, but who cares? They're good at it. If you've enjoyed anything they've done since Sunbather, you'll dig this. It feels a bit Deafheaven-by-numbers, but it's got some interesting sections that make up for it.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5eQuhBfDE0][/youtube]
Obscura – Diluvium 
Genre: Progressive/technical death metal
Origin: Munich, Germany
Label: Relapse
If Yvette Young and Covet fails to make you feel like a piece of shit, the new Obscura will definitely make you feel like you need to practice your scales more. Diluvium concludes the band's four album concept and it is a hell of a send off to the story. It's also nice to have more from the band without another five year gap. Nate has a full review here.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk7McEMgXIU][/youtube]
Pound – Pound
Genre: Grind/sludge
Origin: Seattle, Washington
Label: Silent Pendulum Records
Buy now on Bandcamp
Ending this week with some more instrumental metal. Pound are a duo that experiment with a variety of heavy sub-genres through rhythmic chaos and dissonant guitar work. This offers grindcore, sludge, djent, technical death metal, shred, and more. All of that can often be in a single song.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASZKcm8lR3I][/youtube]
Also dropping today…
Axegrinder – Satori (Rise Above) – Crust/thrash
Bury Tomorrow – Black Flame (Music For Nations) – Metalcore
Chelsea Grin – Eternal Nightmare (Rise) – Deathcore
Daggra – Setsuna (Horror Pain Gore Death Productions) – Grindcore
Del Judas – Deity (Primal Architecture) – Gothic doom country or something
Destinia – Metal Souls (Frontiers) – Power metal
Destroyer Attack – Solve Et Coagula (Morbid Skull Records) – Black/death metal
Dygora – Chambers of Reflections (Self released) – Doom/death metal
Graham Bonnet Band – Meanwhile, Back In the Garage (Frontiers) – Rock
Hopesfall – Arbiter (Graphic Nature Records/Equal Vision Records) – Post-hardcore
Hyvmine – Fight Or Flight (Seek And Strike) – Progressive
Jane In Space – Gorerunner (Aion Records) – Industrial
Shallow Side – Origins (Thermal Entertainment LLC) – Alternative rock
Wearing Thin – More Than Just A Frame (Tragic Hero) – Post-hardcore/electronic
Witchkiss – The Austere Curtains Of Our Eyes (Argonauta Records) – Stoner/sludge
