The first entry of the year of new heavy metal releases includes a lot of EPs, some epic stuff from Japan, some wonderfully weird stuff from France, and more! To the metals…
From the week of 1/5
Panzerchrist – All Witches Shall Burn
Genre: Black/death metal
Origin: Aarhus, Midtjylland, Denmark
Label: Emanzipation Productions
Buy now on Bandcamp
Panzerchrist got this year started in an evil way. Less than six months after their last full album, the band offered up four tracks shrieking vocals and swift musicianship. This one is for fans of black metal without all the fluff.
Dropped the week of January 5th
- At The Plates – Omnivore (Self-released) – Death metal
- Bone Crew – Three (Self-released) – "Trap metal"/Nu metal
- Cancer Christ – God Is Violence (Seeing Red) – Powerviolence
- Dunwich Ritual – The Weird Tapes Sessions (Jawbreaker) – Speed metal
- Haywire – Conditioned For Demolition (DAZE) – Hardcore
- Into the Deep – Blackfin (Self-released) – Punk/heavy metal
- Jordsjuk – Siste Skanse (Indie Recordings) – Black metal
- Lastworld – Beautiful Illusion (Perris) – AOR
- Meridion – Caverns (Iron, Blood And Death) – Death metal
- Morgue Terror – Morgue Terror (Self-released) – Death metal
- The OddEven – Darkness (Eclipse Records) – Hard rock/alternative
- Svdestada – Candela (Long Legs Long Arms) – Black metal/crust
This week
Alluvial – Death Is But A Door
Genre: Progressive death metal/deathcore
Origin: Atlanta, Georgia
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Bandcamp
Kicking of this week's release lineup is a brief but varied release from Wes Hauch and the boys. Like all Alluvial releases, this one will keep you guessing. If you're a fan of melodic death metal, progressive death metal, deathcore, technical death metal, or even death metal death metal, you'll find something to enjoy here. Lauren has a review here.
Escuela Grind – Ddeeaaatthhmmeettaall
Genre: Death metal
Origin: Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Label: MNRK Heavy
Buy now on Bandcamp
Escuela Grind's sound pulls from a variety of influences. Three of them are grindcore, powerviolence, and death metal. They have already released EPs called PPOOWWEERRVVIIOOLLEENNCCEE and GGRRIINNDDCCOORREE, which are powerviolence and grindcore respectively. One guess what's going on this time on DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL. Our fearless leader Greg has a full review here.
Exit Eden – Femmes Fatales
Genre: Symphonic metal
Origin: International
Label: Napalm
Buy now on Bandcamp
On their second album the supergroup of past and present members of Avantasia, Phantom Elite, and Visions Of Atlantis are soaring to new heights. They're covering some 80s classics and offering some solid originals. Some of the covers they're taking on are "Poison" by Alice Cooper, "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" by Journey, "Alone" by Heart and more.
No Terror In The Bang – Heal
Genre: Cinematic/progressive metal
Origin: Rouen, France
Label: Klonosphere
I feel like French metal gets weird, and we don't talk about that enough. No Terror In The Bang combines djent, avant-garde metal, and symphonic metal into a unique blend that I could really only compare to Stolen Babies, but if they were way angrier. There's a lot going on here and if you're into wildly diverse albums, get on this.
Ryujin – Ryujin
Genre: Melodic death/power metal
Origin: Hokkaido, Japan
Label: Napalm
Buy now on Bandcamp
Wrapping this week with an epic one. The band formerly know as Gyze are getting a lot of help from Trivium's Matt Heafy as he guests on a few songs and now managers the band with their mighty "samurai metal." This one is a shreddy good time that's catchy as hell.
Also dropping this week..
- Artificial Heaven – Digital Dreams (My Kingdom) – Gothic rock/post-punk
- Bronson Arm – Bronson Arm (Learning Curve Records) – Psychedelic sludge/punk
- Casey – How To Disappear (Greyscale) – Post-hardcore
- Cariosus – Will, Until Beauty (Self-released) – Melodic death metal
- The Clamps – Megamouth (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Stoner rock/metal
- The Darkest Moment – Love & Loss (Prime Collective) – Post-hardcore
- Domination Campaign – A Storm Of Steel (Prosthetic) – Death metal
- Drown In Sulphur – Dark Secrets Of The Soul (Scarlet) – Blackened death metal/deathcore
- Emil Bulls – Love Will Fix It (Arising Empire) – Alternative/nu metal
- Engulf – The Dying Planet Weeps (Everlasting Spew) – Death metal
- Extinction A.D. – Ruthless Intent EP (Unique Leader) – Thrash/hardcore
- The Grandmaster – Black Sun (Frontiers) – Power metal/hard rock
- Infant Island – Obsidian Wreath (Secret Voice Records) – Folk/black metal
- Iron Front – Hooked (Creator-Destructor) – Death metal
- Jim Peterik & World Stage – Roots & Shoots Vol. 1 (Frontiers) – Rock
- Karnak Seti – Restos (Self-released) – Melodic death metal/thrash
- Last In Time – Too Late (Rockshots) – Hard rock
- Lifesick – Love And Other Lies (Metal Blade Records)
- Magnum – Here Comes The Rain (SPV/Steamhammer) – Hard rock/AOR
- Mourning Dawn – The Foam Of Despair (Aesthetic Death) – Black metal/doom
- Neal Morse – The Restoration – Joseph: Part Two (Frontiers) – Progressive
- Nobody's Fool – Time (Battlegod) – AOR
- Oathbringer – Tales Of Valor (RTR) – Heavy/power metal
- Ovacörd – Daniel Cordova Has To Think About His Entire Life Before He Plays (Self-released) – Progressive rock/metal
- The Plot In You – Vol. 1 (Fearless Records) – Metalcore
- Project 86 – OMNI Pt. 2 (Self-released) – Post-hardcore/metalcore
- Psycho Ward – Committed (Battlegod) – Rock
- Ravenstine – 2024 (Massacre) – Hard rock
- Ritual Earth / Kazak – Turned To Stone (Ripple Music) – Stoner/doom
- Russell/Guns – Medusa (Frontiers) – Hard rock
- Splitknuckle – Breathing Through The Wound (Daze) – Hardcore
- Walk The Plank – Loathe EP (Mt. Crushmore) – Melodic hardcore
- Xephyr – No Signal (Self-released) – Hard rock
- Zero Cipher – Nü Metal (Self-released) – Nü metal
