This week's new heavy metal releases include the Prince of Fucking Darkness, wizards, noisy rock, demons, and more! To the metals…
The Amity Affliction – Everyone Loves You… Once You Leave
Genre: Rock/metalcore
Origin: Gympie, Australia
Label: Pure Noise
Starting this week with some massive choruses and melodic metalcore git-fiddling. Fans of their older sound will be pleased as they are bringing that heaviness back in a way they haven't in a while. However, they are doing so while still evolving. It's a pretty balanced offering.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF6tDQiQJm4][/youtube]
Biff Byford – School of Hard Knocks
Genre: Heavy metal
Origin: Honley, England
Label: Silver Lining
Saxon's frontman is taking us to school on this one. It's a curriculum of classic hard rock that should appeal to fans of Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, and of course, Saxon. This is his debut solo album, and that's pretty surprising since Biff is just such a figure in heavy metal for so long.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uas8We_R88][/youtube]
Demons & Wizards – III 
Genre: Power/fantasy metal
Origin: Tampa, Florida
Label: Century Media
It's been fifteen years since these power metal icons have soared though our eardrums, and it's great to have them back. This is a masterclass on power metal. It's heavy, epic, and the perfect amount of cheesy. This is the balanced blend of Jon Schaffer (Iced Earth), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian), and the over thirty years of the game for them both. Chad has a full review here.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frMkdkCV2D0][/youtube]
Horseneck – Fever Dream
Genre: Sludge/Hard rock
Origin: Sacramento, California
Label: Self-released
Buy now and sample on Bandcamp.com
These punky sludgers, or maybe sludgy punkers (nah, neither of those are good), killed it back in 2017 with their debut album Heavy Trip. Fever Dream keeps that trip going with high energy sludge, punk aggression, and progressive sensibilities. This has a darker vibe than last time, but you're still getting bops with titles like "Margaritadelphia," "Mr. Funny Guy, Full of Bullshit," and "Pen15." You're still in for a good time.
Ozzy Osbourne – Ordinary Man 
Genre: Heavy metal
Origin: Birmingham, England
Label: Epic
On his first album in a decade Ozzy Osbourne teams with a new core band of Andrew Watt (Post Malone producer), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and Duff McKagan (Guns N Roses) to bring tales of rock n roll excess that's both classic Ozzy and surprisingly modern sounding. Watt handles most of the guitar work and he has a style that may not appeal to those who are a fan of Randy Rhoads's virtuoso classical approach or Zakk Wylde's shreddy squealing approach. It has the vibe of an artist saying goodbye, which I hate to think about. If this turns out to be Ozzy's Blackstar, it will serve has a memorable farewell.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuzyA5gDa4E][/youtube]
Sightless Pit – Grave Of A Dog
Genre: Industrial/electronic
Origin: Rhode Island
Label: Thrill Jockey
Sightless Pit is the new three-headed monster that includes Lee Buford of The Body, Kristin Hayter of Lingua Ignota, and Dylan Walker of Full of Hell. Fans of any of the three collaborators should be stoked about this group as it feels like unique experience, yet has elements of each person. This is dark, noisy, and a tad off-putting but in a good way.
Sample it on Bandcamp
Xenobiotic – Mordrake 
Genre: Technical death metal/deathcore
Origin: Perth, Australia
Label: Unique Leader Records
Going out this week really, really heavy. Xenobiotic certainly have the Unique Leader vibe to them, and they do it well. They play oodles of notes, hit oodles of kick drums, and take the occasional moment for some breakdowns. This should appeal to fans of The Black Dahlia Murder, The Faceless, and all the bands in between.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6-XZP7qZUM][/youtube]
Also dropping today…
- Beat City Tubeworks – Top Rock (The Sign Records) – Garage rock
- Deliverance – Holocaust 26: 1-46 (Deadlight) – Sludge/black metal
- Invocation – Attunement to Death (Iron Bonehead) – Black/death metal
- Isle of The Cross – Excelsis (Rockshots Records) – Progressive metal
- Framing Hanley – Envy (Thermal) – Post-hardcore
- Don Jamieson – Denim And Laughter (Metal Blade) – Comedy
- Lost Society – No Absolution (Nuclear Blast) – Thrash/groove metal
- Lowrider – Refractions (Blues Funeral Recordings) – Desert rock
- Magg Dylan – Amethyst (Eclipse Records) – Alternative metal
- Mondo Generator – Fuck It (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Punk
- Necrobode – Sob o Feitiço do Necrobode (Iron Bonehead) – Black/death metal
- On Thorns I Lay – Threnos (Lifeforce records) – Gothic metal
- Polaris – The Death Of Me (SharpTone) – Metalcore
- Raspberry Bulbs – Before the Age of Mirrors (Relapse) – Punk/black metal
- Reflections – Willow (Self-released) – Djent/metalcore
- Saturnalia – Temple Gravity (Listenable Records) – Doom
- Solo Ansamblis – Olos (Artoffact Records) – "Sad dance"
- Sortout – Conquer From Within (Dr. Music Records) – Metalcore
- Stephen Lacy Sullivan – Portion In the Sky (Self-Released) – Folk by a sludge guy
- Wrekmeister Harmonies – We Love To Look at the Carnage (Thrill jockey) – Doom/drone
- The Word Alive – Monomania (Fearless) – Metalcore
