This week's new heavy metal releases include lots of dark stuff, lots of heavy stuff, and you're welcome for it. To the metals…
Hulder – Verses In Oath
Genre: Black metal
Origin: Washington
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Buy now on Bandcamp
It's still chilly out, so seems like a great time to drop some icy black metal. Hulder's second album is a dark one with lots of second wave black metal flavor. There are moments of melody and some keys, but this favors the straight ahead grim stuff.
Infected Rain – Time
Genre: Nu metal/metalcore
Origin: Chișinău, Moldova
Label: Napalm
Buy now on Bandcamp
If you're on the quest for some chunky ass grooves and some very catchy melodies, Lena Scissorhands and company have you covered. They're back with a half new line up and the new folks know how to bring the kinda sorta djent, kinda sorta nu metal riffs. The band's sixth album is poised to take them to the next level with the perfect blend of forms of modern melodic metal.
The Last Ten Seconds Of Life – No Name Graves
Genre: Deathcore
Origin: Mansfield, Pennsylvania
Label: Unique Leader
Buy now on Bandcamp
Heavy. Just fucking heaviness with low-tuned everything and crushing rhythms. Some shredding moments here and there, and they hit like a snowstorm of hammers as well.
The Pineapple Thief – It Leads To This
Genre: Progressive rock
Origin: Yeovil, Somerset, England
Label: Kscope
Buy now on Bandcamp
Very different vibes than the last record here. Bruce Soord and the boys have a pretty established sound, and it shifts (or progresses?) just enough here to keep things interesting. The tracks don't feature constant dramatic tempo shifts, but the drums of Gavin Harrison impress throughout.
Per Wiberg – The Serpent's Here
Genre: Progressive/psychedelic rock
Origin: Borlänge, Sweden
Label: Despotz Records
Buy now on Bandcamp
Per's solo sound is interesting on this record (and all of his, really). Hearing even just the lead single below sounds like a blend of his past and present outlets Opeth and Spiritual Beggars. This has all sorts of darkness and riffs. A very cool record.
Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She
Genre: Folk/doom
Origin: Roseville, California
Label: Loma Vista Recordings
Buy now on Bandcamp
Let's just go ahead and sandwich this week with some more darkness. Chelsea's latest record has all the aura of a doom record but includes some trip hop, some industrial, some folk, and more. It reminds me a Homogenic-era Björk if she collaborated with Year Zero-era Nine Inch Nails. Jordan's review is here.
Also dropping this week…
- Alfahanne – Vår tid är nu (Dark Essence Records) – Heavy metal/black n roll
- All This Filth – Will Tomorrow Be Better? (Brutal) – Groove metal/thrash
- Aureole – Alunarian Ghosts Of Bellmaster (Lupus Lounge) – Atmospheric black metal
- Blutgott – Dragongods (Massacre) – Death/heavy metal
- Chapel Of Disease – Echoes Of Light (Van) – Progressive death metal/hard rock
- The Chisel – What A Fucking Nightmare (Pure Noise) – Punk
- Contaminated – Celebratory Beheading (Blood Harvest) – Death metal
- Deadpeach – The Cosmic Haze and the Human Race (Self-released) – Psychedelic rock
- Ember Belladonna – The Grove (Self-released) – Folk rock
- F.K.Ü. – The Horror And The Metal (Despotz) – Thrash
- Galleons – Violent Delights (Famined Records) – Metalcore
- Gurney – The Creeper (H816 Records) – Doom/nu metal?
- Haystack – Doomsday Goes Away (The Dogma Repertory Institute/threeman Recordings) – Noise rock
- In Vain – Back To Nowhere (Fighter) – Heavy metal/thrash
- Kungens Män – För samtida djur 1 (Majestic Mountain Records) – Psychedelic rock
- Lockdown – Step Over The Bodies (SelfMadeRecords) – Hardcore
- Mean Jeans – Blasted (Fat Wreck Chords) – Punk
- Morbid Saint – Swallowed By Hell (High Roller) – Thrash
- Petrification – Sever Sacred Light (Svart) – Death metal
- Red Temple Pray – Can It Get Any Worse? (Self-released) – Hard rock/alternative
- Revolution Saints – Against The Winds (Frontiers) – Rock
- Romuvos – Spirits (Hammerheart) – Folk metal
- Seltsame Erden – Gedankentempeln (Chaos) – Black metal
- The Sleeveens – The Sleeveens (Dirtnap) – Punk/garage rock
- Smoking Snakes – Danger Zone (Frontiers) – "sleeze metallers"
- The Sorrow Of Being Immaculate – Church Music for Satanists (Self-released) – Doom/sludge
- Spectral Voice – Sparagmos (Dark Descent) – Death metal/doom
- Spiritual Deception – Semitae Mentis (Amputated Vein) – Technical/brutal death metal
- Takida – The Agony Flame (Napalm) – Alternative rock/post-grunge
- Where Oceans Burn – The Faces We Portray (Prime Collective) – Metalcore
