This week's heavy new releases include psychedelic riffs, deathcore heaviness, and more! To the metals…
Aawks – Luna
Genre: Psychedelic
Origin: Barrie, Ontario
Label: Black Throne Productions
Buy now on Bandcamp
Starting this week off with riffs. This is an acid-laced, fuzzed-out trip of an EP. It has some surprises though. One surprise is their psychedelic take on A Flock Of Seagulls' hit "I Ran."
Health – Rat Wars
Genre: Electronic/industrial
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Loma Vista Recordings
Buy now on Bandcamp
Rat Wars is a hard record to nail down seemingly be design. This is easily the band's most diverse record so far with tracks that sound like multiple Nine Inch Nails eras at once, Matrix soundtrack outtakes, Depeche Mode homages, and more. You're getting stuff that's as dark as it is catchy.
Megaton Leviathan – Magick Helmet
Genre: Noise/doom
Origin: Portland, Oregon
Label: Volatile Rock Recordings
Buy now on Bandcamp
Up next we have a noisy nightmare of a record. Over four tracks you are treated to a lot of drum flurries, feedback, and some pretty tasty jams that are sort of washed in a purposeful lo-fi production. The production adds a lot of the creepiness to the record actually. It sounds like it's coming for you.
Osiah – Kairos
Genre: Technical deathcore
Origin: Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England
Label: Unique Leader
Buy now on Bandcamp
Osiah's latest is another techy, chunky record in their heavy catalog. If you dug their EP from February, you'll dig this a lot. If you missed said EP earlier this year, well there's no need to go track it down since the last five tracks on this are that EP. So they are finishing what they started.
Polkadot Cadaver – Echoes Across The Hellscape
Genre: Avant-garde/alternative metal
Origin: Rockville, Maryland
Label: Razor To Wrist
Buy now from Polkadot Cadaver
Every other year or so I write about a Todd Smith act (Dog Fashion Disco or Polkadot Cavader) and someone is surprised to hear that they are still at is. Yes, god dammit, and they still whip ass in their unique creepy alternative metal way. Polkadot Cadaver usually dabbles in other directions than Dog Fashion Disco, and this album is no different with some thrash meets electronic and more moments here.
Porcupine Tree – Closure/Continuation.Live
Genre: Progressive rock
Origin: Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England
Label: Music For Nations
Buy now on Porcupine Tree
Last year a reunion I was not holding my breath for happened and Porcupine Tree dropped a new record and hit the road. This is a document on one of those shows. They play all of the newest record Closure/Continuation and other classics from the band's long career. A lot of this release has been featured on previous live records, but the new stuff is still worth your time.
Wrath Of Logarius – Necrotic Assimilation
Genre: "Formless black metal"
Origin: California
Label: Season Of Mist
Buy now on Bandcamp
This young outfit got my attention initially with their claim of creating a new genre of "formless black metal," because what the hell does that mean? Turns out it's a progressive-ish, melodic death metal-infused black metal that takes some time to slow things down with some lurching doom from time to time. It's a great record for fans of the grim with short attention spans. It certainly kept me guessing.
Also dropping this week…
- Avrae Lvnae – Ntdd Strl (Signal Rex) – Black metal/ambient
- Blue Oyster Cult – 50th Anniversary Live – First Night (Frontiers) – Rock
- Dusk – Dissolve Into Ash (Self-released) – Death metal/doom
- Ektomorf – Vivid Black (AFM) – Groove metal/thrash
- Everdawn – Venera (Frontiers) – Progressive symphonic metal
- Fifth Note – Here We Are (Frontiers) – Progressive metal/hard rock
- Gaswar – Girl Vanishes On Way To Jive Club (Rock Is Hell) – Noise rock
- Geistaz'ika – Midnatsbøn ved Djævelens Port (Signal Rex) – Black metal
- Ginnungagap – Helical Arising (Signal Rex) – Black metal/ambient
- Have Mercy – Numb (Rude) – Post-hardcore
- Immerse – Energy (Adventure Cat Records) – Metalcore
- Jarhead Fertilizer – Carceral Warfare (Closed Casket Activities) – Grindcore/death metal
- Judicator – I Am the Void (Self-released) – Power metal
- Lies! – Mind Pollution (Coretex Records/Diorama Records) – Hardcore
- Mars Red Sky – Dawn Of The Dusk (Vicious Circle Record) – Progressive rock/doom
- Nyrst – Völd (Dark Essence Records) – Black metal
- Cassidy Paris – New Sensation (Frontiers) – Rock
- Progeny Of Sun – Throne Of Desolation (Inverse Records) – Melodic death metal
- Rage Behind – Eminence Or Disgrace (Atomic Fire) – Groove/nu metal
- Saasta – Black | Death | Doom (Self-released) – Death metal/doom
- Sentinel – Age Of Decay (Convulse Records) – Hardcore/thrash
- Six Foot Six – Beggar's Hill (Scarlet Records) – Hard rock/heavy metal
- Slow – Abimes I (Code666) – Funeral/atmospheric doom
- Stress Positions – Harsh Reality (Three One G) – Hardcore punk
- Trick Or Treat – A Creepy Night Live (Scarlet Records) – Power metal
- Unmothered – Corridors (Self-released) – "Haunt rock"
- Various Artists – Born On The Bayou: A Heavy Underground Tribute To Creedence Clearwater Revival (Ripple) – CCR Covers
- Winterhorde – Neptunian (Noble Demon) – Melodic black/progressive metal
