This week's new heavy metal releases include a couple farewells, some really solid thrash, and more! To the metals…
Blood Lemon – Petite Deaths
Genre: Stoner rock/alternative
Origin: Boise, Idaho
Label: Moon Ruins
Buy now on Bandcamp
Up first is a rad release from the unexpectedly riffy indie band Blood Lemon. This EP includes stoner rock, folk harmonies, alternative flairs, and more. If you dig this, I also highly recommend their s/t debut.
Dark Fortress – Anthems from Beyond the Grave – Live in Europe 2023
Genre: Melodic black metal
Origin: Landshut, Germany
Label: Century Media)
Buy now on Bandcamp
In 2023 Dark Fortress called it quits, and while it's taken a bit of time, fans can finally enjoy this live album as their send off. You're getting fifteen tracks that spanned their almost thirty years as a band. It's epic, it's evil, and I'm sure for fans a bit emotional. Don't worry. Everyone's corpse paint was ruined by their tears.
Eidola – Mend
Genre: Progressive/experimental rock
Origin: Spanish Fork, Utah
Label: Blue Swan
Buy now from Rise
One of modern prog's finest is already back following last year's Eviscerate. This one is melodic as always and features so many guitar noodles. There are certainly moments to headbang, but you'll want to groove more than anything. Recommended for fans of Eramosa, Dance Gavin Dance, and the likes.
Hazzerd – The 3rd Dimension
Genre: Thrash
Origin: M-Theory
Label: Calgary, Alberta
Buy now on Bandcamp
This is thrash. I really don't think there's much to say. You'll want to run in a circle and break shit. It's perfect thrash.
Hierarchies – Hierarchies
Genre: Dissonant/technical death metal
Origin: California/Mississippi
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Buy now on Bandcamp
A few record labels have a sound, or at least a vibe, and Transcending Obscurity is certainly one that does. Hierarchies sounds like a TO is a tee, and in the best way. This is a challenging, dissonant, and chaotic death metal record. It sounds like whatever is happening on the cover.
Necrodeath – Arimortis
Genre: Black/death metal
Origin: Genoa, Ligury, Italy
Label: Time To Kill
Buy now on Bandcamp
With more than four decades under their belts, these evil-doers know how to do evil metal well still. Their fifteenth album (or fourteenth if you don't count a re-recorded one) is said to be their last. "Arimortis" is Latin for end of the war, and this is quite the final battle. Check out our 10 Extremely Underrated Metal Albums From The '80s list if you need more of them in your life.
Sarcator – Swarming Angels & Flies
Genre: Blackened thrash
Origin: Trollhättan, Västra Götaland, Sweden
Label: Century Media
Buy now on Bandcamp
Taking us home with more thrash, because why not? This one is a more evil take on the genre than Hazzerd, but will get you moving all the same. Maybe just moving in the shape of a pentagram, or something. What an odd pit that would be.
Also dropping this week…
- A.M.E.N. – Argento (My Kingdom) – Atmospheric black metal/jazz
- Aeon Of Awareness – The Embracing Light Of Rarohenga (Self-released) – Melodic death metal
- AntiMozdeBeast – The Alien Machine (Self-released) – Industrial
- The Big Deal – Electrified (Frontiers) – Hard rock
- Cerebral Hemorrhage – Exempting Reality (Comatose) – Death metal
- Ckraft – Uncommon Grounds (Self-released) – Experimental metal/jazz
- Day By Day – Dust And Ashes (Flatspot) – Thrash/alternative
- Destabilizer – Monopoly on Violence (Iron Shield Records) -Thrash
- Deus Sabaoth – Cycle Of Death (Self-released) – Black metal
- Dragonknight – Legions (Scarlet) – Power metal
- Dunes – Land Of The Blind (Ripple) – Doom
- Echos – Quiet, In Your Service (Outlast) – Alternative/gothic rock
- Godzillionaire – Diminishing Returns (Ripple) – Stoner/grunge
- Grave Digger – Bone Collector (Reigning Phoenix) – Heavy/power metal
- Häxkapell – Om Jordens Blod Och Grepp (Nordvis) – Black metal
- Hesperia – Fra Li Monti Sibillini (Hammerheart) – Atmospheric black metal/folk
- Landfall – Wide Open Sky (Frontiers) – Melodic rock
- Mourir – Insolence (Self-released)Black metal
- Nesdam – Find The Truth (XOVR Records) – Melodic metal/metalcore
- Onirophagus – Revelations from the Void (Personal Records) – Death metal/doom
- Putrid Defecation – Tales from the Toilet (Self-released) Brutal death metal
- Rats of Gomorrah – Infectious Vermin (Testimony Records) – Death metal
- Shutdown – By Your Side (Equal Vision) – Hardcore
- Steve Hackett – Live Magic At Trading Boundaries (InsideOut) – Progressive rock
- Thy Kingdom Will Burn – The Loss And Redemption (Scarlet) – Melodic death metal
- Tokyo Blade – Time Is The Fire (Dissonance) – Glam metal
- Tumenggung – Back On The Streets (Jawbreaker) – Heavy/power metal
- Wildness – Avenger (Frontiers) – Rock
