This edition features quite a bit of epicness, some rage, a softer side of the king, and more! To the metals…
Angra – Omni 
Genre: Power metal
Origin: São Paulo, Brazil
Label: earMusic
This band is pure power metal incarnate. Everything is massive sounding and over the top in the best ways. The vocals soar to Dio heights (not a short joke), the technicality of the musicians is top notch, and the song-writing is surprisingly unpredictable. Also, this band is famously where guitarist Kiko Loureiro spends his time when he's not Dave Mustaine's right hand man in Megadeth.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgor7ZuG9nU[/youtube]
Fucked and Bound – Suffrage
Genre: Hardcore
Origin: Seattle, Washington
Label: Atomic Action!
Buy now and sample on Bandcamp
I always appreciate when folks in a band have projects that sound nothing alike. Lisa Mungo and Brian McClelland, from the experimental post-metal collective He Whose Ox Is Gored, are speeding things way up with Fucked and Bound. This is no frills hardcore aggression spread over thirteen tracks and twenty minutes. Michael has a full review here.
Harakiri For The Sky – Arson 
Genre: Post-black metal
Origin: Vienna/Salzburg, Austria
Label: AOP
On their fourth album Harakiri For The Sky are keeping things grim and atmospheric. This might be M.S.'s (Matthias Sollak) best musical outing yet with this band. Those looking for something like Alcest but uglier (I mean that in a positive way), should give Arson a spin. Michael is a review machine, and discusses the record here.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4V5Yb3oARw[/youtube]
Letters From the Colony – Vignette 
Genre: Progressive death metal
Origin: Borlänge, Sweden
Label: Nuclear Blast
This band is new on my radar, and I'm enjoying them. They're a mix of djent, death metal, experimental metal, and atmospheric rock. Their like a combination of Fallujah and TesseracT. Vignette covers a ton of ground and it's a fun metallic journey.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSanE0Izc70[/youtube]
Painted Doll – Painted Doll 
Genre: Rock
Origin: California
Label: Tee Pee
When Dave Hill (Witch Taint/The King Of Metal) and Chris Reifert (Autopsy) get into a room, and get creative you're going to get some fucking heavy results, right? Turns out no. They instead take listeners on a psychedelic journey with indie/garage rock. Painted Doll has Blue Oyster Cult vibes at times, but is overall just pleasant jangly rock with some shredding tossing in.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r448O0QqvkY[/youtube]
Visions of Atlantis – The Deep & The Dark 
Genre: Power metal
Origin: Bruck an der Mur, Austria
Label: Napalm
Now for some epic music by people with beautiful hair. It's been five years since the bands last full record, and in that time it appears everyone but the drummer left the band. If you enjoyed the introduction to new vocalists Clémentine Delauney and Siegfried Samer on the band's 2016 EP Old Routes – New Waters, you'll probably enjoy this quite a bit.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tJAdUahyTA[/youtube]
Windhand/Satan's Satyrs – Split EP 
Genre: Stoner/doom
Origin: Richmond/Herndon, Virginia
Label: Relapse
We'll end this week in a smoky place. Windhand have been winning over doom fans for about a decade now, and rightfully so. The haunting vocals of Dorthia Cottrell over the top of lurching heaviness is just dynamite. I am less familiar with Satan's Satyrs, but with the power of the internet at my fingertips I have learned about a rather sweet rocking stoner band. The two bands pair great together despite having different energies, vibes, and attitudes. Great split.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FkhnGdwDcw[/youtube]
Also dropping today…
Asenblut – Legenden (AFM) – Blackened folk metal
Barren Womb – Old Money/New Lows (Spartan) – Noise rock
John Corabi – Live 94 (One Night In Nashville) (Rat Pak) – Hard rock
Extinction A.D. – Decimation Treaty (Good Fight) – Thrash/crossover
Eyes Set To Kill – Eyes Set To Kill (Century Media) – Post-hardcore
For The Fallen Dreams – Six (Rise) – Metalcore
Heavatar – Opus II: The Annihilation (earMusic) – Power metal
Horizon Ablaze – The Weight of a Thousand Suns (Leviathan) – Progressive black metal
Neal Morse – Life & Times (Radiant) – Progressive
Novareign – Legends (M-Theory) – Progressive power metal
Ophe – Litteras Ad Tristia Maestrum Solitude (My Kingdom) – Experimetnal black metal
Pianos Become the Teeth – Wait for Love (E[itaph) – Post-hardcore/post-rock
The Plot in You – Dispose (Fearless) – Metalcore
Pop Evil – Pop Evil (eOne) – Alternative metal
Sainted Sinners – Back With A Vengeance (El Puerto) – Rock
