This week's new heavy metal releases include lots of weird stuff, death metal pings, and more! to the metals…
Krallice – Inorganic Rites
Genre: Avant-garde black metal
Origin: New York, New York
Label: Self-released
Buy now on Bandcamp
After dropping two albums and a compilation last year, the surprisingly prolific Krallice are already back with another haunting, odd album. This is a rather synth-forward record that still has plenty of black metal staples. I found myself saying, "what is happening here?" more than once during the full-length listen. That is meant as a compliment.
Octoploid – Beyond The Aeons
Genre: Melodic/progressive death metal
Origin: Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
Label: Reigning Phoenix
Buy now from Reigning Phoenix
Keeping things weird this week, I guess. The sophomore record from Octoploid has made me a fan. There is plenty of melodic death metal, but things will occasionally take a turn towards 70's prog and that juxtaposition is when this shines. Lots of guests here too like Mikko form Swallow the Sun, Tomi from Amorphis, Jón from Barren Earth, and more.
Piah Mater – Under the Shadow of a Foreign Sun
Genre: Progressive death metal
Origin: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Label: Code666
Buy now on Bandcamp
Last week, I talked about the latest White Stones album and said fans of death metal Opeth should check it out. Well, that was just a holdover until THIS album. This duos first album in six years is a heavy and dark exploration of death metal songs that could double as ghost stories. They weave in plenty of atmosphere and melody throughout, and even some saxophone from Shining's Jorden Munkeby on a track. Hell yes.
Sumac – The Keeper's Tongue
Genre: Sludge remixes
Origin: Vancouver, British Columbia
Label: Thrill Jockey
Buy and sample now on Bandcamp
A couple weeks ago I mentioned a future Sumac release after they dropped The Healer, and here it is. This is a pair of songs from the latest album remixed by Moor Mother and Raven Chacon. I'm frankly not familiar with either of them, but this crossover is a hell of an introduction as they contort the slow, sludgy tracks into wildly different shapes.
Visions Of Atlantis – Pirates II – Armada
Genre: Folk/power metal
Origin: Bruck an der Mur, Styria, Austria
Label: Napalm
Buy now on Bandcamp
You know it's time for a wild whimsical metal ride when the album's title both is a sequel and mentions pirates. A ride – or I guess, a sea voyage – is what you're getting on the latest from Visions of Atlantis. Their sequel to 2022's Pirates, is symphonic metal at its grandest and it's about pirates. Yo ho.
Wormed – Omegon
Genre: Technical death metal
Origin: Madrid, Spain
Label: Season Of Mist
Buy now on Bandcamp
Ok, maybe there has been a lot of prog and pirates this week. This one is for you heavy as heck types. This has unrelenting heaviness start to finish, low guttural vocals, and a wonderfully pingy death metal snare. Quite the return after either years without a full record.
Also dropping this week…
- Aeons – The Ghosts Of What We Knew (Sliptrick Records) – Progressive metal/metalcore
- Aposento – No Safe Haven (Xtreem) – Death metal
- Arx Atrata – A Reckoning (Self-released) – Atmospheric black metal
- Black Hole Deity – Profane Geometry (Everlasting Spew Records) – Death metal
- Blind Girls – An Exit Exists (Persistent Vision Records) – Post-hardcore/screamo
- Blush_Response – Sprawl (Artoffact Records) – Industrial/cyberpunk
- The Dreaded Laramie – Princess Feedback (Smartpunk) – Rock
- Duel – Breakfast With Death (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Psychedelic doom/stoner
- Fearmonger – Horrific Forms (Warpath Industries) – Blackened death metal
- Isle of The Cross – Faustus The Musical (Rockshots Records) – Progressive metal musical
- Kissin' Dynamite – Back With A Bang (Napalm) – Hard rock/heavy metal
- Kryptos – Decimator (AFM) – Heavy metal/thrash
- Liminal Shroud – Visions Of Collapse (Willowtip Records) – Black metal
- Madicide – Madicide (Self-released) – Groove metal/thrash
- Malconfort – Humanism (Transcending Obscurity) – Atmospheric/avant-garde black metal
- Motivik – Renouncement (Roxx Records) – Thrash
- Nifelheim – Unholy Death (Darkness Shall Rise) – Black metal/thrash
- Nyktophobia – To The Stars (Self-released) – Melodic death metal
- Old Horn Tooth – Mourning Light (London Doom Collective) – Doom
- Orden Ogan – The Order Of Fear (Reigning Phoenix) – Power/folk metal
- Regicide – Resist Control (Self-released) – Groove metal/thrash
- Thunder Horse – Dead Alive In Texas (Ripple) – Doom
- Traumatomy – Triumph Of Enslavement (Gore House Productions) – Brutal death metal/slam
- Vulvodynia – Entabeni (Unique Leader Records) – Deathcore/brutal death metal
- Xasthur – Disharmonic Variations (Lupus Lounge) – Black metal/folk
