This edition include new Devin Townsend and some other stuff I guess. To the metals…
The Dear Hunter – Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional
Genre: Progressive
Origin: Providence, Rhode Island
Label: Equal Vision
Buy now on Amazon.com
This is not metal, but loyal readers know I'm all about prog, so I'm including this. This is part five of the six part series established a decade ago. Mastermind Casey Crescenzo said this is the last rock record of the series. This may be why Act V feels extra epic. Beautiful, catchy, and complicated on many levels as always.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji0G0jqj1V4[/youtube]
Evergrey – The Storm Within
Genre: Progressive power metal
Origin: Gothenburg, Sweden
Label: AFM
Buy now on Amazon.com
While I'm not sure what was missing from the last few records, that thing is back. The long-running prog power metal juggernaut has their best album in a long time with The Storm Within. Tom and the gang soar above many of their contemporaries still, and still have what it takes to show new bands how it's done.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqoJTWmG4Xs[/youtube]
Norma Jean – Polar Similar
Genre: Metalcore
Origin: Douglasville, Georgia
Label: Solid State
Buy now on Amazon.com
While this album has had a bit of a false comeback vibe to it, it does feel like Norma Jean are back swinging. They didn't actually go anywhere, but the scene moved on. However, the world feels like it is in a place for this record again. Fans should dig this a lot.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_T_r8BPjxY[/youtube]
Oddland – Origin
Genre: Progressive
Origin: Turku, Finland
Label: Sensory
Buy now on Amazon.com
I didn't actually know anything about this band prior to this entry. I'm glad I found them. They would probably pair well on a tour with Evergrey, as Oddland also does the prog/power thing. These guys seem to lean a bit more towards the prog though with more intricate rhythms and such.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGtfle_-EWU[/youtube]
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez – Umbrella Misteress
Genre: Experimental
Origin: El Paso, Texas
Label: Ipecac
Buy now on Amazon.com
Umbrella Mistress is number five of the ORL series of 2016. This one seems to feature a few more re-recorded versions of Omar's older material than previous records from the series. It also is his least crowded with just himself and Teri Gender Bender (from the little info I'm able to find on these things). The little I've heard is not surprising, but very pleasant.
Steve’N’Seagulls – Brothers In Farms
Genre: Country covers of metal
Origin: Finland
Label: Spinefarm
Buy now on Amazon.com
If you've been on Metal Injection before, you've probably come across Steve'N'Seagulls. They're the fantastic country band that covers metal songs. This time they're covering Iron Maiden, Metallica, The Offspring, Guns N Roses, and a lot more.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzduoBPDRMk[/youtube]
Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence
Genre: Progressive
Origin: Vancouver, Canada
Label: InsideOut Music
Buy now on Amazon.com
New Devin. Buy it. I feel like that's enough, but I'm being told to elaborate. Not sure why…. Anyway, Transcendence has a sound that lies somewhere between Deconstruction, Epicloud, and Accelerated Evolution. Dev seems to feel like getting wanky on the guitar with some straight up solos, which is pretty great. Songs are incredibly epic, beautiful, and heavy as always.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPjHUFe4AKk[/youtube]
Also dropping today…
Cover Your Tracks – Fever Dream (Epitaph) – Rock
Dwell – Innate (Blood & Ink) – Doom
Elm Street – Knock ‘Em Out…With A Metal Fist (Massacre) – Heavy metal
Exalt – The Shape You Took Before The Ache (Good Fight / New Damage) – Power metal
Letters From The Fire – Worth The Pain (Sand Hill) – Hard rock
Light The Fire – Ascension (Standby) – Electronic/post-hardcore
Los Disidentes Del Sucio Motel – Human Collapse (Ripple) – Stoner
Nuclear Holocaust – Overkill Commando (Selfmadegod) – Death metal/grindcore
Of Mice & Men – Cold World (Rise) – Metalcore
Pain – Coming Home (Nuclear Blast) – Industrial
Rev Theory – The Revelation (Another Century) – Rock
Slaves On Dope – Horse (ILS) – Nu metal
