This week's new heavy metal releases include black metal fury, ghost-summoning music, prog grooves, and more! To the metals…
Abstracted – Atma Conflux
Genre: Technical/progressive death metal
Origin: São Paulo, Brazil
Label: M-Theory Audio
Buy now from Bandcamp
If you want technicality, melody, grooves, and some sweet synth action all at once, then Abstracted is the record for you. This reminded me a bit of acts like Ordinance, The HAARP Machine, or an act that Michael Semesky might front. Then, turns out he's on the album as a guest. So he would agree with me.
Cancer Bats – Psychic Jailbreak
Genre: Southern metal/hardcore
Origin: Toronto, Ontario
Label: Bat Skull Records/New Damage Records
On their first record since founding guitarist Scott Middleton departed, the Bats are still doing what the Bats do. Long-time bassist Jaye Schwarzer is pulling double-duty on this record handling git-fiddle as well, so it still feels right. If you enjoyed their sludgy, hardcore, deep-fried, high energy heaviness before, you'll still have a great time here .
Darkher – The Buried Storm
Genre: Doom/folk
Origin: Northern England
Label: Prophecy
Now to change gears completely, we have the latest from Darkher. Jayn Maiven's lurching and haunting project is an ominous and ethereal delight. While not consistently heavy, when the heavy hits, heads will bang. You're certainly summoning something as this plays, but maybe the ghosts will be nice?
Monuments – In Stasis
Genre: Progressive metalcore/djent
Origin: London, England
Label: Century Media
I like weeks like this. I'm able to show have many different types of metal there really are. On their first album in four years Monuments are bringing the prog rhythms and the soaring melodies. Drummer Mike Malyan is back and this is their new-ish vocalist Andy Cizek's first record. Lots of shake-ups, but the record feels right and these songs will absolutely get stuck in your head. Jordan has a full review here.
postcards from new zealand – burn, witch, burn
Genre: Black metal
Origin: New Zealand
Label: Self-released
Buy now from Bandcamp
the rather mysterious, and always lower-case, postcards from new zealand are kicking off a trilogy of albums with burn, witch burn. while the band has previously dabbled in lengthy, atmospheric metal tracks, most the songs on this are under three minutes. these tracks are efficient, raw, black metal assaults though.
Trace Amount – Anti Body Language
Genre: Industrial
Origin: Brooklyn, New York
Label: Federal Prisoner
Buy now from Federal Prisoner
Now for a noisy one. This is intensity in sonic form. The closest thing I can think of like this is Author & Punisher. It's weird, the Federal Prisoner label is still fairly new, but this sounds like what I'd expect from the label.
A Wilhelm Scream – Lose Your Delusion
Genre: Melodic hardcore
Origin: New Bedford, Massachusetts
Label: Creator-Destructor Records
Ending this week's entry with a fun one. A Wilhelm Scream's first record in almost a decade is a collection of punk earworms with a sorta-secret progressive nature. This isn't one for the fans of kvlt metal, but if you dig RX Bandits you'll probably have a good time with this one. Peep our Full review.
Also dropping today…
- Aevum – Glitch (DarkTunesMusic Group) – Symphonic metal
- Alunah – Strange Machine (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Doom/stoner
- Atoll – Prepuce (Unique Leader Records) – Brutal death metal
- DeVicious – Black Heart (Pride & Joy) – Heavy metal
- Dreariness – Before We Vanish (My Kingdom Music) – Black metal
- Egregore – The Word Of His Law (20 Buck Spin) – Black metal/doom
- Faceless Entity – The Great Anguish Of Rapture (Argento Records) – Black metal
- Fozzy – Boombox (Century Media) – Heavy metal
- Goatmilker – Exterminate The Holy (Via Nocturna) – Death metal
- Grayscale – Season Do You Like Violence (Ty Dax) – Alternative rock
- Greyhaven – This Bright And Beautiful World (Equal Vision Records) – Progressive/post-hardcore
- Hostilities – NØ COWARDS (Bullet Tooth) – Hardcore
- Imminent Sonic Destruction – The Sun Will Always Set (Self-released) – Progressive metal
- J.B.O. – Pink Planet (AFM) – Comedic metal
- Limousine Beach – Limousine Beach (Tee Pee Records) – Hard rock
- Månegarm – Ynglingaättens Öde (Napalm Records) – Folk/black metal
- Mano De Mono – Chameleon Tongue (Electric Valley Records) – Stoner
- Mistcavern – Into Twilight (Iron Bonehead Productions) – Black metal
- Nazareth – Surviving The Law (Frontiers) – Hard rock
- Noisepoetnobody – Potential vs Eventual (Scry Recordings) – Noise
- Patterns of Decay – Patterns of Decay (slef-released) – Metalcore
- Qaalm – Resilience & Despair (Hypaethral Records) – Funeral doom
- Axel Rudi Pell – Lost XXIII (SPV/Steamhammer) – Hard rock
- Poison Rose – Little Bang Theory (Frontiers) – Hard rock
- Powerglove – Flawless Victory (Self-released) – Video game metal
- Psychostick – …And Stuff (Self-released) – Comedic metal
- Ronnie Romero – Raised On Radio (Frontiers) – Rock
- Semblant – Vermilion Escape (Frontiers) – Melodic death/Gothic metal
- Stone Broken – Revelation (Spinefarm) – Rock
- Urferd – Resan (Black Lodge Records) – Atmospheric folk
- Vanderlust– Vanderlust (Rockshots Records) – Power metal
- Viande – L'abime dévore les âmes (Transcending Obscurity Records) – Death/black metal