The last Weekly Injection of the year includes three weeks of melodic death metal, epicness, experimentation, and more! To the metals…
December 17th
Age Of Athena – Gate To Oblivion
Genre: Symphonic/progressive metal
Origin: London, Ontario
Label: Self-released
Starting this off with a mighty debut. This Canadian outfit combines catchy melodies, driving death metal, and epic symphonic elements into one crunchy concoction. Vocalist Helen Illumina is the star of the project, but it's hard to not be amazed by the Dream Theater-esque back and forth between guitarist Zachary Sabean and keyboardist Nathan Gross.
Behemoth – In Absentia Dei
Genre: Blackened death metal
Origin: Gdańsk, Poland
Label: Metal Blade
Like many bands Behemoth got in on streaming show game this year and this is their entry. This features a nineteen track, career-spanning set from Nergal and the gang. The money is obviously in the audio with hits like "Conquer All," Decade ov Therion," "Chant For Ezkaton 2000 e.v," and lots more, but the video of the set was recorded in an abandoned church and is an absolute visual feast.
Mire – A New Found Rain
Genre: Progressive metalcore
Origin: Denver, Colorado
Label: Self-released
Buy now from Mire
Now that Nick Hipa has stepped away from As I Lay Dying, it looks like Mire can finally take off. The band's second album feels like the perfect combination of the trio behind it. Lots of melody, lots of technically bursts, and lots of metalcore emotions.
Also dropping (around) 12/17…
- Agnes Vein – Deathcall (Venerate) – Doom/black metal
- Amulett – Glassbreaker (Self-released) – Heavy metal/hard rock
- Angoixa – Distopia Digital (Self-released) – Death metal
- Avskrade – Det Stora Tunga Sjuka (Purity Through Fire) – Black metal
- Beldam – Live At The Golden Pony (HPGD) – Sludge/doom
- Beneath The Sod – Beneath The Sod EP (Cursed Monk) – Doom/sludge
- Bestia Ater – Anno.Bestia.Chrysalis (Wormholedeath) – Death metal
- Beyond Death’s Throne – Haphazard Ethos (Signal Rex) – Black metal
- Black Ground Project – Blood & Violence (Wormholedeath) – Folk metal
- Brute Force Trauma – World Is Burning EP (Distat) – Hardcore/crust
- Caestus – The Undoer’s Key (Purity Through Fire) – Black metal
- Charnel Altar – Abatement Of The Sun (Blood Harvest) – Death metal/doom
- Coraxul – Vihavirsiä Aamunkoin (Purity Through Fire) – Black metal
- Dark Affliction – Dark Affliction (Self-released) – Black metal
- Decerebration – Follow The Scars (Self-released) – Death metal
- Diablery – Candles (Saturnal) – Symphonic black metal
- Diabolisches Werk – Beast (Uprising!) – Death metal/thrash
- Eallic – Rake of the Astral Leviathan (Self-released) – Death metal
- Empyrrean – Empyrrean (Self-released) Atmospheric black metal
- Eucharist – I Am the Void (Regain Records) – Melodic death/black metal
- Fierce Deity – The Trials (Self-released) – Heavy/power metal
- Flatus – Thwomp! (Self-released) – Death metal
- Haalbuaer – Mortal Ones Scream In Horror EP (Caligari) – Death metal
- Hed PE – Califas Worldwide (Suburban Noize) – Rap metal
- Hell’s Coronation – Silver Knife Mysticism EP (Godz Ov War) – Black metal
- H.O.U.N.D.S. – Vile (Kingside) – Hardcore
- Iron Fate – Crimson Messiah (Massacre Records) – Power metal/thrash
- Just Before Dawn – In The Realm Of Ash And Sorrow EP (Raw Skull) – Death metal
- Jyrki 69 American Vampire (Cleopatra) – Gohic rock
- Kadavereich – Radiance Of Doom EP (Godz Ov War) – Blackened death metal
- KHNVM – Portals To Oblivion (Neckbreaker) – Death metal
- Mega Colossus – Riptime (Rafchild) – Heavy metal
- Memory Garden – 1349 (No Remorse) – Doom/power metal
- Modern Life – Is War Tribulation Worksongs: Volume 3 (Deathwish Inc.) – Hardcore
- Mothflesh – Machine Eater (Believe) – Death/groove metal
- Murder Van – Crooked Smiles EP (Wormholedeath) – Death metal/thrash
- Myrdød – The Mourning Hollow (Wise Blood) – Black/death metal
- Obscurial – Funeral, Burial and Rites (Self-released) – Death metal
- On My Command – Prey (Self-released) – Power metal/thrash
- Phalanx Inferno/Melek-Tha – Order Of Eternal Indifference Split (Godz Ov War) – Death/black metal
- P.H.O.B.O.S. – Bleaker Beater (Megaton Mass Products) – Industrial/noise
- Psilocybe Larvae – Where Silence Dwells (Fono) – Melodic death metal/doom
- Sacrificium Carmen – Nekrognosis- Avain Varjoihin (Purity Trough Fire) – Black metal
- Serpent Lord – Apocrypha (From The Vaults) – Heavy metal
- Shockgnosis – Be Chaos Be God (Dedication) – Industrial/groove metal
- Shotgun Facelift – Dakota Blood Stampede (Eclipse) – Groove metal
- Slog – Graves (Morbid and Miserable) – Doom/black metal
- Slow Burning Rage – Slow Burning Rage (Pax Aeternum) – Experimental metal
- Torii – Torii (Self-released) – Black metal/doom
- Ulfarr – The Ruins Of Human Failure EP (Purity Through Fire) – Black metal
- Unsolicited – Unsolicited (CSL Records) – Technical death metal
- Unzane – Test Of Time (Self-released) – Thrash
- Warrior – Instruments Of Death (Grind To Death) – Black metal
- Wolftopia – Ways Of The Pack (Inverse) – Melodic death metal
- Wound – Serpent Crown (Ván Records) – Death metal
- Wounds Of Recollection – Deathbed 2021 (Flowing Downward) – Post-metal/black metal
December 24th
Dara Project – Si Glia Lua Nume
Genre: Post-rock/folk
Origin: Timisoara, Romania
Label: Loud Rage
Buy now form Bandcamp
Despite not being a heavy outfit, Dara (Project) certainly retains the spirit of the bands members' other projects. Your getting ex-Negura Bunget and current Katharos XIII members experimenting with folk melodies, post-rock atmospheres, and prog rhythms. Fans of the first record had to wait six years, but the wait will have been worth it.
Krolok – Funeral Winds & Crimson Sky
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Origin: Bratislava, Slovakia
Label: Osmose
Buy from Bandcamp
I feel like putting "atmospheric" before "black metal" brings to mind bands like Deafheaven, Alcest, and such. However, on Funeral Winds & Crimson Sky you're getting straight-ahead black metal that sounds like it was produced in an echo chamber. The atmosphere the production style adds sounds extra spooky and then the key work of HV adds just enough quirk to break it out of the worship album category.
Also dropping (around) 12/24…
- Asthenia – 梦寐 Somnium (Pest Productions) – Post-black metal
- CMPT – Krv i pepeo (Osmose) – Black metal
- Domadora – The U Book (Self-released) – Psychedelic
- Empyreal Sorrow – Harm(tony) Withi EP (Self-released) – Melodic death metal
- Evadne – The Pale Light of Fireflies (Solitude Productions) – Melodic death metal/doom
- Evangelion – Revelations or the Spawn of Greed and War (Auric Records) – Melodic death metal/doom
- Hollow Woods – Cold Winds Cleave The Eareth (Signal Rex) – Black metal
- In Aphelion – Moribund (Edged Circle Productions) – Black metal
- Lacrimosa – Leidenschaft (Napalm) – Gothic metal
- Medenera – Bronzo (GS Productions) – Atmospheric black metal
- Pagan Altar – The Story of Pagan Altar (Temple of Mystery) – Heavy metal/doom
- Symbolical – Igne EP (Self-released) – Death metal
- Vanagandr – Howling Curses at Divinity's Throne (Self-released) – Black metal
- Witches Hammer – Devourer of the Dead (Nuclear War Now! Productions) – Thrash
- Woorms/The Grasshopper Lies Heavy – Various Plants and Animals Under Domestication (Forbidden Place Records) – Sludge
December 31st
Feuerschwanz – Memento Mori
Genre: Folk metal
Origin: Erlangen, Germany
Label: Napalm
Feuerschwanz are coming in right at the end of the year with a fucking party record. I'm not sure if your New Years parties include a folk metal soundtrack, but maybe they should. This band's whole deal was to take the piss out of the folk scene that took itself too seriously, but now they're making some pretty stellar folk metal. Parody or not, they are good at this.
Thomas Giles – Feel Nothing
Genre: Experimental/progressive
Origin: Morganton, North Carolina
Label: Wise And Silent
Buy from Bandcamp
As of this writing there is little on this release other than it was written around the time of Tommy's last EP Feel Better, and that, "things slowly take an odd turn and get heavy on this one." I would imagine that the cover art (by Primitive Man's Ethan McCarthy) and the title are indicators of a darker EP than Feel Better was.
Also dropping (around) 12/31…
- Barus – Fanges EP (Aesthetic Death) – Progressive death metal
- Blacklite District – 1990 (Self-released) – Hard rock/alternative
- Demoted – Away from the Living (self-released) – Death metal
- Dust Prophet – Hourglass (Self-released) – Doom/progressive metal
- Fernwah – Approaching Oblivion (HPGD) – Death metal
- Hadal Maw – Oblique Order (Blighttown) – Death metal
- Midnartiis – Sinew of Sol (Naturmacht Productions) – Atmospheric folk/black metal
- Mutterlein – Bring Down The Flags (Debemur Morti) – Noise/blackened electronic
- Nekrotisk – Apraxia I: Mors Certa (Self-released) Blackened death metal
- Warzaw – Black Magic Satellite (Self-released) – Heavy metal
- Wombbath – Agma (Transcending Obscurity) – Death metal
