This edition includes some cool live stuff, long awaited returns, some grossness, and more! To the metals…
Augury – Illusive Golden Age
Genre: Progressive death metal
Origin: Montreal, Quebec
Label: The Artisan Era
It's been nine years since Augury dropped an album, and that was far too long. Illusive Golden Age was well worth the wait though. This record is techy and weird, which is just how I like my French-Canadian progressive death metal. One request of the band though, maybe not another (near) decade between records, please.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr3g_vSGfLc][/youtube]
Ayreon – Ayreon Universe: The Best Of Ayreon Live
Genre: Progressive
Origin: Waalwijk, Netherlands
Label: Music Theories
Arjen Lucassen is just doing live shit on the regular, it seems. Floor Jansen, Anneke van Giersbergen, Tommy Karevik (Kamelot), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia), and a lot more are guest vocalists on this trip through the Ayreon catalog. Songs from The Source and The Theory of Everything are most prominently featured, but this covers everything. A must for any fan of Lucassen's epic prog insanity.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AAXtUdM7xE][/youtube]
Kittie – Origins/Evolutions
Genre: London, Ontario
Origin: Alternative metal
Label: Self
I feel like Kittie were a more important band than people will admit, and it's about time there was a documentary on them. This whole CD/DVD is pretty interesting even as someone that isn't super familiar with their music. There is also has a live set from 2017 that includes everyone that was in the band through its run which serves as a tribute to Trish Doan.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RTYfvY7L9I][/youtube]
Light The Torch – Revival
Genre: Metalcore/groove metal
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Nuclear Blast Entertainment
Howard Jones and the rest of the fellas from Devil You Know are now Light The Torch, and they are clearly still the same band. Melody seems to be more in the forefront than before, but Jones is no stranger to a massive sing along chorus (see: his Killswitch Engage tenure) so it doesn't feel off. Overall, this is a concise and catchy collection of groovy tunes.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAMqqtkwVeg][/youtube]
Napalm Death – Coded Smears And More Uncommon Slurs 
Genre: Death metal/grind
Origin: Birmingham, England
Label: Century Media
Your favorite ultra-political British band is back with this, hard to look at, compilation of rarities. It's nonstop aggression as one would hope and expect. Barney and the gang have a lot of anger in their vault.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZzrZtOd2Po][/youtube]
Octopus – Supernatural Alliance
Genre: Doom
Origin: Detroit, Michigan
Label: Rise Above Records
Here are your throwback jams for the week. Octopus totally have the sound of a band serving as a tribute to 70's prog/heavy metal, and they do it well. However, they also employ some spacey, more modern synth-work to add some musical spice to the well-executed riff fest you'd expect.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvCOL_4M8G4][/youtube]
Primordial – Exile Amongst The Ruins
Genre: Folk metal/black metal
Origin: Dublin, Ireland
Label: Metal Blade
Primordial have been on a bit of a winning-streak lately. Their last album, 2014's Where Greater Men Have Fallen, was a great success, and Exile Amongst The Ruins keeps that going. So, If you're looking for some folk metal with little to no cheesiness, this should be your jam.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u5FIzO1vfg][/youtube]
Also dropping today…
Alesana – The Lost Chapters (Revival Recordings) – Hardcore
Barren Earth – A Complex Of Cages (Century Media) – Melodic death metal/doom
Critical Mess – Human Praey (Metalville) – Death metal
Escape the Fate – I Am Human (Eleven Seven) – Glam
Failure – In The Future (N/A) – Alternative rock
FM – Atomic Generation (Frontiers) – Rock
Johansson & Speckmann – From The Mouth Of Madness (Soulseller) – Death metal
Lychgate – The Contagion in Nine Steps (Blood Music) – Black metal
Marc Rizzo – Rotation (Combat/EMP) – Instrumental/Shred
Red Sun Rising – Thread (Razor & Tie) – Rock
WuW – Rien Ne Nous Sera Épargné (Prosthetic) – Experimental doom
Zeke – Hellbender (Relapse) – Hardcore
