This week's new heavy metal releases include moody grooves, happy (?) black metal, a sick P.O.D. record, and more. To the metals…
ALSO! Today, Bandcamp is doing one of their days of giving 100% of what you pay directly to the labels and artists. So if you can get stuff from Bandcamp, please do.
Agriculture – Living Is Easy
Genre: Ecstatic black metal
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: The Flenser
Buy now on Bandcamp
Kicking this week off with one of black metal's hippest bands. Agriculture's take on the grim sub-genre is oddly joyous despite featuring some fairly harsh production, lots of speed, and some dour undertones. I wasn't sure what their self-labeling of "ecstatic" black metal, but yeah, I get it.
Brume – Marten
Genre: Stoner/doom
Origin: San Francisco, California
Label: Magnetic Eye
Buy now on Bandcamp
Now we shift from the ecstatic and slip into the gloom. Brume's first record in five years is a lurching and lush album. The songs take their time to build, but pay off when they finally erupt. Live cellist Jackie Perez Gratz (Grayceon, ex-Giant Squid) makes her debut as a full member and expands the band's already grand sound.
Dååth – The Deceivers
Genre: Extreme/progressive metal
Origin: Atlanta, Georgia
Label: Metal blade
Buy now on Bandcamp
There's a new Dååth record for the first time in fourteen years. What a time to be alive! Eyal and Sean have a gaggle of new faces with them, but it sounds like an epic and rhythmic prog album like you'd want.
Feuerschwanz- Warriors
Genre: Folk metal
Origin: Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany
Label: Napalm Records
Buy now on Bandcamp
This one might be sort of divisive? Feuerschwanz are dropping a dozen songs here. There are two new songs (one being a cover of "Valhalla Calling" from Assassin's Creed) and then the rest are "10 hits rearranged in English." It's all to celebrate their twentieth anniversary as a band. To help them celebrate their china anniversary, they brought in Chris from Lord of the Lost, Francesco, from Wind Rose, Weekly Injection favorite Patty Gurdy, and more.
P.O.D. – Veritas
Genre: Nu/rap metal
Origin: San Diego, California
Label: Mascot
Buy now on Bandcamp
The year is 2024, there's a new P.O.D. record, and it's pretty sick. Didn't see that coming, but I'll say it again… What a time to be alive. Sonny and the guys are hitting you with the throwback rap metal stuff they're good at, of course. However, where they might surprise you is with the odd trio of guests here. Those include Randy form Lamb of God, Tatiana Shmayluk from Jinjer, and Cove Reber from Saosin.
Wheel – Charismatic Leaders
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Helsinki, Finland
Label: InsideOut
Buy now on Bandcamp
Now some prog to take us home. This one will get you grooving while washing you with moody atmosphere. If you ever wanted to hear what TesseracT would sound like in a Tool phase, this is it and it's rad. Jordan's full review is here.
Also dropping this week…
- Ba'al – Soft Eyes (Ripcord Records) – Black metal/sludge
- Black Asteroid – Infinite Darkness (Artoffact Records) – Industrial
- Black Pyramid – The Paths Of Time Are Vast (Totem Cat records) – Stoner/doom
- Contention – Artillery From Heaven (DAZE) – Rock/heavy metal
- Death Lens – Cold World (Epitaph) – Garage rock
- Deliria – Phantasm (Self-released) – Atmospheric/post-black metal
- Djiin – Mirrors (Klonosphere Records) – Stoner rock/metal
- Frank Turner – Undefeated (Xtra Mile) – Rock
- From Dying Suns – Calamity (Self-released) – Progressive metal
- G I F T – Ruptures (This Charming Man Records) – Experimental
- Ghost On Mars – Out Of Time And Space (Willowtip Records) – Progressive metal
- Gothminister – Pandemonium II – Battle Of The Underworlds (AFM) – Gothic/industrial metal
- Heartsick – Covered (THC Music) – Post-hardcore/metalcore
- Hi/Jack – Everything You Know is Yesterday (Blue Collar Records) – Rock
- Heavyehex – True To You (Bridge Nine) – Punk/hardcore
- Mooch – Visions (Black Throne Productions) – Psychedelic
- My Silent Wake – Lost In Memories, Lost In Grief (Ardua Music) – Gothic/death metal
- Necropanther – Oblivion Jones: A Tale Of False Consciousness (Self-released) – Melodic death metal/thrash
- Notsm – Only Death Brings Silence (Self-released) – Metalcore
- The Plot In You – Vol. 2 (Fearless Records) – Metalcore/alternative rock
- Severed Angel – Skyward (Alex Repetti Music & Audio Productions) – Symphonic metal
- Sooma – Drü (Gluttony Records) – Grunge/noise rock
- Speed Limit – New Horizon (NRT-Records) – Heavy metal
- Stoned Space – I (Self-released) – Psychedelic/stoner
- Terminal Nation – Echoes Of The Devil's Den (20 Buck Spin) – Death metal/hardcore
- Thin Ice – A Matter Of Time (Farewell Records) – Hardcore
- Transonic Science – Psychobulb (Argonauta Records) – Stoner rock
- Unearthly Rites – Ecdysis (Prosthetic) – Death metal
- Vesseles – I Am a Demon (Self-released) – Symphonic black metal
- Keith Wallen – Infinity Now (Rise Records) – Rock
- The Watchers – Nyctophilia (Ripple Music) – Stoner rock/heavy metal