This edition includes music that pisses my cat off, a progressive masterpiece, lots of feedback, and more! To the metals…
All Pigs Must Die – Hostage Animal
Genre: Hardcore/metalcore
Origin: Massachusetts
Label: Southern Lord
Buy on Amazon.com
Starting this week off in a heavy, aggressive way. Their first album in four years is wall to wall feedback laden riffs. This is a nasty record in the best way. Christopher's review is here.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcVWgR_Rp9E[/youtube]
Blut Aus Nord – Deus Salutis Meae
Genre: Black metal/avant-garde
Origin: Mondeville, France
Label: Debemur Morti
Buy on Amazon.com
These spooky Frenchmen cannot be stopped. While this is their first full-length album in three years, this band hasn't gone a year without releasing something since 2008. It feels like they're never really been gone. Deus Salutis Meae is a great, evil ride and I highly recommend it as the soundtrack to blare from your home this Halloween. Christopher has a full review here.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekRDy-cuJnw[/youtube]
Butcher Babies – Lilith
Genre: Groove metal
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Century Media
Buy on Amazon.com
Here's a peek behind the Weekly curtain. I typically write this piece with my cat laying in my lap, and when I started playing this record and writing about Butcher Babies, she began frantically attaching my hands. It appears that she wants no part of their duel vocals over quasi-nu metal grooves approach. Despite my cat's warnings I did give it a listen and I can say that this is their most diverse album yet, which I appreciate.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-fBYO9pOUg[/youtube]
Gnaw – Cutting Pieces
Genre: Noise
Origin: New York City, New York
Label: Translation Loss
Buy on Amazon.com
The little I've been able to hear from this record is absolute chaos. Noisy, pissed off, chaos. Also, everything seems EQed to be as abrasive as possible. If any of this sounds like your jam, grab Cutting Pieces.
Sample on Bandcamp
Ne Obliviscaris – Urn
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
Label: Season Of Mist
Buy on Amazon.com
After successfully avoiding the sophomore slump with Citadel, Australia's progressive mouthful Ne Obliviscaris are keeping their winning streak alive on Urn. It is everything you'd expect from the band with lengthy blackened songs that weave through violin solos, classical sections, flamenco-ish moments, and more. However, the band continues to deepen their bag of tricks with different sound, influences, and techniques. An album of the year contender. Tyler is less excited than I am here.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9XLeME2Ie8[/youtube]
Powerman 5000 – New Wave
Genre: Nu metal/industrial
Origin: Boston, Massachusetts
Label: Pavement
Buy on Amazon.com
Yes, that band that did "Worlds Collide" is still around. Now that I've made your super hilarious/dickhead comment moot, I can assure you that New Wave is pretty great. PM5K does still sound like an early 2000's band, but they are one of the bands that aged well. This one surprised me. Give it a shot.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyT-scGHuZA[/youtube]
Vvon Dogma I – Communion
Genre: Progressive
Origin: Canada
Label: self-released
Buy on Bandcamp
One of my favorite prog bands ever uneXpect was put down a few years back and I've been sad about it ever since. However, this year their bassist madman ChaotH has returned fronting this new band, and it's splendid. It sounds like Cynic mixed with The Algorithm, Last Chance To Reason, and others. It's a shame this is only an EP, because I wand so much more. Please and thanks.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoQFvlWEn2A[/youtube]
Winds Of Plague – Blood Of My Enemy
Genre: Symphonic Deathcore
Origin: Upland, California
Label: eOne/Good Fight
Buy on Amazon.com
On Johnny Plague's first record with an entirely new band (sans returning drummer Art Cruz), the most epic deathcore band I can think of is back being epic and angsty. The songs are huge, there are occasionally blackened blasting moments, and overall seems like what a fan would want. Winds of Plague fans, how is this treating you? Michael digs it here.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt4SU2Uwrgg[/youtube]
Also dropping today…
10 Years – (How To Live) As Ghosts (Mascot) – Alternative metal
Angel Nation – Aeon (Inner Wound) – Symphonic metal
Appice – Sinister (SPV/Steamhammer) – Rock
Camerata Mediolanense – Le Vergini Folli (Prophecy Productions) – Folk/Neo classical
Complete Failure – Crossburner (Season Of Mist) – Grindcore
Delain – A Decade Of Delain: Live At Paradiso DVD/CD (Napalm) – Symphonic metal
Dragonhammer – Obscurity (My Kingdom) – Power metal
Dr. Living Dead! – Cosmic Conqueror (Century Media) – Crossover
Fleurety – The White Death (Peaceville) – Avant-garde
Forgotten Tomb – We Owe You Nothing (Agonia Records) – Blackened sludge
Heretic – A Game You Cannot Win (Dissonance) – Thrash
Hollywood Undead – Five (Dove & Grenade/BMG) – Rap rock
Katla – Móðurástin (Prophecy Productions) – Blackened post rock
Left Behind – Blessed By The Burn (Unbeaten) – Metalcore
Mirror Queen – Verdigris (Tee Pee) – Rock
Plaque Marks – Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship (Learning Curve Records) – Hardcore/noise
Savage Messiah – Hands Of Fate (Century Media) – Power thrash
Serenity – Lionheart (Napalm) – Symphonic power metal
Sharptooth – Clever Girl (Pure Noise) – Dinosaur themed hardcore
Theory Of A Deadman – Wake Up Call (Atlantic/604) – Hard rock
The Used – The Canyon (Hopeless) – post-hardcore