This week’s new heavy metal releases include a frankly solid and diverse group of heavy hitters. To the metals…
Aephanemer – A Dream Of Wilderness
Genre: Symphonic death metal
Origin: Toulouse, France
Label: Napalm
Starting this week with some epic death metal. This quartet infuses sweeping symphonics into their melodic death metal making A Dream of Wilderness a classy-ass record. This also includes a cover of Tchaikovsky "Old French Song." So pinkies out when listening to this gem.
Converge/Chelsea Wolfe – Bloodmoon: I
Genre: Hardcore/doom
Origin: Salem, Massachusetts/Sacramento, California
Label: Epitaph
Before the world started smoldering all the time I remember Sargent House Records teasing some collaborations with their artists. I didn't expect this to be one of them. While this is an Epitaph album if still includes Chelsea Wolfe (and Ben Chisholm from her band) and two thirds of Mutoid Man teaming up with the rest of Converge. The initial taste of this was very Wolfe-esque, but fans of Converge's hardcore chaos will still have something to love here as some of the tracks go pretty nuts. This is an unlikely collaboration, but a successful one. Full review here from Kevin.
Exodus – Persona Non Grata
Genre: Thrash
Origin: San Francisco, California
Label: Nuclear Blast
On their first new album in seven years (thanks to the never ending Slayer tour, Tom Hunting's cancer, and covid) Gary Holt and the boys are bringing the thrash. The band's eleventh album is a masterclass of fast and energetic metal. Persona Non Grata is a triumph for many reasons, but it's also just a solid record on it's own.
Godless – States Of Chaos
Genre: Death metal
Origin: Hyderabad, India
Label: Self-released
Buy now on Bandcamp
This is the angriest thing I'm highlighting this week, which is saying something. States Of Chaos is eight tracks of death metal fury that sneaks in some thrash sensibilities along the way. Godless are a fucking force on this debut LP
Ross Jennings – A Shadow Of My Future Self
Genre: Progressive rock
Origin: London, England
Label: Graphite
Haken's Ross Jennings is dropping his first solo album with A Shadow of My Future Self. There is still prog to be had here, but Jennings is also tapping into his love of country music, 80's pop, and other less heavy interests. He plays most of the instruments here as well, so he's also proving he's more than just a soaring voice.
Khemmis – Deceiver
Genre: Doom/heavy metal
Origin: Denver, Colorado
Label: Nuclear Blast
These guys stay busy, don't they? Last year they dropped two EPs and they already back with a full record of epic doom. Deceiver is six fuzzy, riffy, harmony-laden tracks that will get your head moving. Chad has a full review here.
The Lurking Fear – Death, Madness, Horror, Decay
Genre: Death metal
Origin: Gothenburg, Sweden
Label: Century Media
The Lurking Fear is what happens when At The Gates decides to drop the melody from their melodic death metal sound. The sophomore release from this outfit hits hard. It makes perfect sense for it to do so with three dudes from At The Gates, Andreas Axelsson from Tormented, and Fredrik Wallenberg coming together.
Me And That Man – New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol. 2
Genre: Blues/Country
Origin: Gdynia, Poland
Label: Napalm
On New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol. 2 Nergal is back on his slow yeehaw thing. This is more haunting country/blues from the Behemoth mastermind. Like last year's Vol. 1, this one has a long list of guests like Myrkur, Abbath, Devin Townsend, Lamb of God's Randy Blythe, and lots more.
Obscura – A Valediction
Genre: Progressive/technical death metal
Origin: Munich, Germany
Label: Nuclear Blast
In the three years since Diluvium everyone but Steffen Kummerer left Obscura. However A Valediction welcomes back old pals from the Omnivium era in bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling and guitarist Christian Münzner and a new drummer in David Diepold. Like every Obscura record this is collection of technical guitar flurries, breakneck rhythms, and fretless bass slides. Kevin gushes about the record here.
Pathology – The Everlasting Plague
Genre: Brutal death metal
Origin: San Diego, California
Label: Nuclear Blast
Pathology's eleventh album comes with the ominous (and hopefully incorrect) title of The Everlasting Plague. Given the *gestures wildly around* of the world this gives it a more terrifying aura than this already brutal and evil band would have. Vocals are guttural, drums are pummeling, and lyrics are bloody, so it remains consistent in the Pathology canon. Longtime fans of the band may note that the title is also a nod to a track on their 2012 record The Time of Great Purification, so that's fun too.
Swallow The Sun – Moonflowers
Genre: Melodic death metal/doom
Origin: Jyväskylä, Finland
Label: Century Media
Swallow The Sun are masters of grand, slow metal and their eighth album (which is their second to have "Moon" in the title) is another record of sad metal greatness. Moonflowers hits hard musically from time to time with a wall of doom, but this one hits the soul harder than anything else this week. Should we check on them? Are they ok?
Also dropping today…
- Abscession – Rot of Ages (Transcending Obscurity Records) – Death metal
- Apostle Of Solitude – When The Darkness Goes (Cruz Del Sur Music) – Doom
- Atom Driver – Is Anything Alright (Nefarious Industries) – Noise/post-hardcore
- Banned in G.B.G – What The Hell Is Going On? (Wormholedeath) – Heavy metal
- Belmont – Bowser's Mixtape (Pure Noise Records) – Crossover/thrash
- Big Wreck – Big Wreck: 7.1 (Warner Music Canada) – Rock
- Boris (Wata) – Reincarnation Rose (KiliKiliVilla) – Stoner
- Cantique Lépreux – Sectes (Eisenwald) – Black metal
- Cara Neir – Pain Gel of Purification (Self-released) – Experimental black Metal/grindcore
- Copeland, King, Cosma & Belew – Gizmodrome Live (earMUSIC) – Rock
- Dakhma – Blessings of Amurdad (Eisenwald) – Blackened death metal
- The Darkness – Motorheart (Cooking Vinyl) – Hard rock
- Daxma – Unmarked Boxes (Blues Funeral Recordings) – Doom/post-metal
- Dead King's Peace – Dead King's Peace (Self-released) Stoner/hard rock
- Deap Vally – Marriage (Cooking Vinyl) – Garage rock
- Der Weg Einer Freiheit – Noktvrn (Season Of Mist) – Black metal – Full review
- Destructo – Demonic Possession (Dying Victims Productions) – Black metal/thrash
- Dream Unending – Tide Turns Eternal (20 Buck Spin) – Doom
- E-Force – Mindbender (Mighty Music) – Thrash
- Eagles of Death Metal – Eagles of Death Metal Presents A Boots Electric Christmas EP (UMe) – Jingle bell rock
- Earth Crisis/Snapcase/Strife – The Return Of The California Takeover (WAR) – Hardcore
- Eye Flies – Exigent Circumstances EP (Closed Casket) – Noise/hardcore
- Galaxy – On The Shore Of Life (Dying Victims Productions) – Power/heavy metal
- Gonemage – Sudden Deluge (Xenoglossy Records) – Post-black metal/8-bit
- Hearts & Hand Grenades – Between The Lines (Eclipse) – "New Wave of Classic Rock"
- Nervochaos – Dug Up (Diabolical Reincarnations) (Xenokorp) – Death metal
- Nightshade – Sounds Of Dark Matter (My Kingdom Music) – Melodic death metal
- Nocturnal Wanderer – Gift of the Night (Nameless Grave Records) – Black metal
- Perveration – Perversion In Manifest Disease (Comatose Music) – Brutal death metal
- Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – Raise the Roof (Warner) – Folk
- Plebeian Grandstand – Rien ne suffit (Debemur Morti) – Avant-garde/black metal
- Sabaton – The Great Show/The 20th Anniversary Show (Nuclear Blast) – Power metal
- Sacred Oath – Return Of The Dragon (Wormholedeath) – Thrash/power metal
- Scowl – How Flowers Grow (Flatspot Records) – Hardcore
- Snake Mountain Revival – Everything In Sight (Rebel Waves Records) – Rock
- Stillbirth – Strain Of Gods (Unique Leader Records) – Deathcore/brutal death metal
- Stranguliatorius – Doctor's Orders: Do Not Touch! (Horror Pain Gore Death Productions) – Grindcore
- Stormkeep – Tales of Othertime (Ván Records) – Melodic black metal
- Sun Below – Sun Below (Self-released) – Doom
- Temperance – Diamanti (Napalm) – Power metal
- Thank You Scientist – Plague Accommodations (Self-released) – Progressive rock
- Theatres Des Vampires – In Nomine Sanguinis (Scarlet) – Gothic metal
- Tower – Shock To The System (Cruz Del Sur Music) – Heavy metal
- Tyrannic – Mortuus Decadence (Seance Records) – Death/black metal
- Unctoris – Shout Demise (Iron Bonehead Productions) – Death/black metal
- Vaulted – Left To Despair (War Fever Recordings) – Death metal/hardcore
- Volumes – Happier? (Fearless) – Progressive metal/djent
- Vrsty – Welcome Home (Spinefarm) – Post-hardcore/R*B
- W.E.B. – Colosseum (Metal Blade) – Gothic/symphonic metal
