This week’s new heavy metal releases include sad doom, catchy modern metal, a prog gem, and more! To the metals…
Dark Sky Burial – Omnis Cum In Tenebris Praesertim Vita Laboret
Genre: Ambient/drone
Origin: Broseley, England
Label: Extrinsic
Buy now and sample on Bandcamp
On Shane Embury's (Napalm Death, etc) fourth album and final album in the "first Phase of the Dark Sky Burial Journey," he is taking you listeners into a dark abyss. This abyss includes some ambient unease, tinkling synths, and some oddly danceable beats. And the darkness of this record makes sense since the title translated is "Everybody's Working In The Dark."
Dessiderium – Aria
Genre: Technical death metal/black metal
Origin: Phoenix, Arizona
Label: The Artisan Era
Man, this is one of those records I wish I knew about a week or two ago, because it would be on my year end list. This album is five epic tracks that remind me of a mix of Astronoid, Thulcandra, Pomegranate Tiger, and so many others. It's one for fans of prog guitar shredding and post-black metal alike.
Funeral – Praesentialis in Aeternum
Genre: Doom/Gothic metal
Origin: Drammen, Norway
Label: Season Of Mist
This album feels like the perfect December record. It's just so emotionally cold, heavy, and frosty feeling despite not being black metal record. Fans of their latter Gothic lean will probably dig the grand folk metal moments and the slow, crushing emotions. It's been a long, long wait since the last album, but this one might have been worth it.
Malignant Altar – Realms of Exquisite Morbidity
Genre: Death metal
Origin: Houston, Texas
Label: Dark Descent Records
Buy now on Bandcamp
This fairly new band came in swinging on this one. Realms of Exquisite Morbidity is a nasty ride over it's six tracks. Long time death metal fans will dig this one for the classic-inspired production, frantic riffs, and headbang worthy slow bits.
Pyrexia – Gravitas Maximus
Genre: Brutal death metal
Origin: New York, New York
Label: Unique Leader
You have a good idea of what you're going to get when you see a band is on Unique Leader, and this one doesn't disappoint that expectation. Low guttural vocals, pummeling rhythms, breakneck musical shifts, all that shit can be found and enjoyed here. Fans of Suffocation, Dying Fetus, etc should dig this zombie ape-themed record.
Reveal – Doppelherz
Genre: Black metal/thrash
Origin: Uppsala, Sweden
Label: Sepulchral Voice Productions
Buy now on Bandcamp
Here's a weird one. This band takes sounds that are commonly blended but does it in a way that I haven't heard before. The result on Doppelherz sounds like if Tim and Larry from Primus made a blackened thrash album? I'm clearly having a hard time putting my finger on this one. Poke the video below and hear for yourself.
There's A Light – f̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶I ̶h̶o̶pe̶? for what must we hope?
Genre: Post-rock/experimental
Origin: Lahr/Schwarzwald, Germany
Label: Napalm Records
Buy now on Bandcamp
There's A Light isn't the "heaviest" act of the week, but their ability to build and release tension through post-rock journeys is so compelling. The quiet parts are so beautiful but require you to listen closely. Then, when the wall of sound its, it's like being captured in a sonic wave.
We Are The Catalyst – Perseverance
Genre: Alternative metal
Origin: Varberg, Sweden
Label: Icons Creating Evil Art/Ingrooves
Finishing this week up with some super catchy modern metal. We Are The Catalyst has a Lacuna Coil meets The Agonist vibe to them. Perseverance seems like the album to get them some festival exposure and mainstream crossover attention.
Also dropping today…
- Agarthic – The Inner Side (Frontiers Music Srl) – Symphonic metal
- Age Of Wolves – Age Of Wolves (Pitch Black) – Hard rock
- Alpha Bootis – Science Fiction-Double Feature (Self-released) – Progressive metal
- Atlas – UKKO (Long Branch Records) – Metalcore
- Joan Avant – Dies Irae (Red Masque Records) – Symphonic metal
- Bloodrust – A Legacy of Violence (Self-released) – Death metal
- Cadaveric Fumes – Echoing Chambers Of Soul (Blood Harvest) – Death metal
- Cap Outrun – High On Deception (Frontiers) – Progressive
- Catacomb – Back To Unknown Kadath (Xenokorp) – Death metal
- Ethereal Shroud – Trisagion (Self-released) – Atmospheric black metal/funeral doom
- Fear Of Domination – VI: Revelation (Out Of Line Music) – Industrial
- Final Coil – Somnambulant II (Wormholedeath) – Alternative/progressive
- Green Day – BBC Sessions (Warner) – Rock/pop punk
- Hammerdrone – A Trinity of Rage (Self-released) – Black/progressive metal
- Hogtooth – You Can't Handle The Tooth (Wormholedeath) – Heavy metal/hard rock
- Hundredth – Welcome to Somewhere Nowhere (Self-released) – Shoegaze/alternative
- Inherits the Void – Monolith of Light (Avantgarde Music) – Atmospheric black metal
- Land Of Gypsies – Land Of Gypsies (Frontiers) – Hard rock
- Andrew Lee – Heavy Metal Shrapnel (Nameless Grave Records) – Shred
- Lifelost – Punitive Damnation (self-released) – Black metal
- Lord Of The Lost – The Sacrament Of Judas DVD/CD (Napalm) – Gothic metal
- Mercury X – Imprisoned (Frontiers) – Progressive metal
- Mordom – Cry Of The Dying World (Transylvanian Recordings) – Death metal/doom
- The Murder Of My Sweet – A Gentleman's Legacy (Frontiers) – Symphonic/gothic metal
- Nashville Pussy – Eaten Alive (MVD) – Live southern rock
- Noxis/Cavern Womb – Communion of Corrupted Minds (Rotted Life Records) – Death metal
- Perseide – The Only Thing (Wormholedeath) – Alternative metal
- Perfect Plan – Live At The Sharpener's House (Frontiers) – Melodic rock/AOR
- Phrenelith – Chimaera (Nuclear Winter Records) – Death metal
- Psilocybe Larvae – Where Silence Dwells (Self-released) – Melodic death metal/doom
- Pyrexia – Gravitas Maximus (Unique Leader Records) – Slam/death metal
- Rat King – Santa Hipocresía (Within The Mind Records) – Death metal/grindcore
- Restless Spirit – Blood of the Old Gods (Lifesblood Records) – Stoner/doom
- Rising Insane – Afterglow (Long Branch Records) – Metalcore/post-hardcore
- Rope Sect – Proskynesis (Iron Bonehead Productions) – Darkwave/post-punk
- Siamese – Home (Long Branch Records) – Metalcore
- Spaceslug – Memorial (BSFD records) – Stoner/doom
- Stahlmann – Quarz (AFM) – Neue Deutsche Härte
- Stonetrip – Stonetrip EP (Golden Robot) – Hard rock
- Thirty Fates – Circus Black (Rockshots Records) – Heavy metal
- Vahrzaw – The Trembling Voices of Conquered Men (Transcending Obscurity Records) – Blackened death metal
- Zelbo – In My Dreams (Frontiers) – Melodic rock
