This is Thanksgiving week. The time for families to sit around a table and try to avoid obvious awkward topics. What is the best way to do that, you may ask? With new metal of course!
SEGWAY
To the metals…
Avatarium – Avatarium
Genre: Doom
Origin: Stockholm, Sweden
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon.com
I like this record a lot. This is female fronted doom at its finest. Here's my slightly longer review
Black Sabbath – Live…Gathered In Their Masses
Genre: Heavy Metal
Origin: Birmingham, England
Label: Vertigo
Buy now on Amazon.com
The OGs of heavy metal proving they actually still have it. No Bill Ward of course, which is sad, but Ozzy, Geezer, and Tony certainly hold it down. This is sort of the set you'd hope/expect with a few new tracks sprinkled in.
Deicide – In The Minds Of Evil 
Genre: Death Metal
Origin: Tampa, Florida
Label: Century Media
Buy now on Amazon.com
Glen and pals aren't exactly breaking the death metal mold here, but this album still crushes. Like most Deicide it is unrelenting, heavy, pure death metal. Solid.
Ephel Duath – Hemmed By Light, Shaped By Darkness 
Genre: Avant-garde Metal
Origin: Padua, Italy
Label: Agonia
Buy now on Amazon.com
Ephel Duath is one of the few bands I can say that I've never heard anything like. Sure there are metal bands with jazz influences and black metal influences, but they do not make anything like this unique mixture. This album is almost hypnotic. I'll certainly be checking out more by this band.
Hell – Curse And Chapter 
Genre: Heavy Metal
Origin: Nottingham, England
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon.com
Hell is one of these bands that I'm amazed that they haven't crossed my radar before. They are straight up early 80's thrash-ish heavy metal, which I went through a long phase of. It's also curious that the band dates back to 1982, and this is only their second release. Really cool though.
Lumbar – The First And Last Days Of Unwelcome 
Genre: Sludge/Doom
Origin: Portland, Oregon
Label: Southern Lord
Buy now on Amazon.com
This band is fuzz, doom, epicness to the fullest potential. Features Mike Scheidt from Yob as well as Tad Doyle of Brothers of the Sonic Cloth and Aaron Edge of Rote Hexe. What a mighty doom supergroup they make.
Wolves In The Throne Room – BBC Session 2011 Anno Domini
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Origin: Olympia, Washington
Label: Southern Lord
Buy now on Amazon.com
I fucking LOVED Celestial Lineage and I'm digging hearing two of the album's better tracks in a live setting. This will certainly serve as a great chunk of material to tide me over until their next record. GET ON IT GUYS!
Also dropping today…
Aevangelist – Omen Ex Simulacra (Debemur Morti)
Alestorm – Live At The End Of The World DVD/CD (Napalm)
Almah – Unfold (Scarlet)
Angelus Apatrida – Evil Unleashed / Give 'Em War Re-Release (Century Media)
Artillery – Legions (Metal Blade)
Cemetery Dance – Poser Zombies (Soundflakes)
Circle – Incarnation (Ektro)
Code – Auger Nox (Agonia)
Dark Funeral – Angelus Exuro Pro Eternus Re-Release (Century Media)
Dark Funeral – Attera Totus Sanctus Re-Release (Century Media)
Dark Funeral – Diabolis Interium Re-Release (Century Media)
A Day To Remember – Common Courtesy (Self)
Dead End Finland – Season Of Withering (Inverse)
Epica – Retrospect DVD/CD (Nuclear Blast)
Eye Of Solitude – Canto III (Kaotoxin)
Falcon – Frontier (Ektro)
Feared – Vinter (Self)
Generation Kill – We're All Gonna Die (Nuclear Blast)
Leaves Eyes – Symphonies Of The Night (Napalm)
Lovijatar – Pimeän Tuoja (Inverse)
Lunar Explosion – Lunar Explosion (Scarlet)
Mad Hatter's Den – Welcome To The Den (Inverse)
Malthusian – MMXIII (Invictus)
Mortal Decay – The Blueprint for Blood Spatter (Comatose)
Noothgrush/Coffins – Split (Southern Lord)
The Obsessed – The Church Within Re-Release (Real Gone)
Occultist – Death Sigils (Primitive Ways)
A Perfect Circle – Emotive Live (Self)
A Perfect Circle – Mer De Noms Live (Self)
A Perfect Circle – Stone and Echo DVD/CD (Self)
A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step Live (Self)
Poison Idea – Kings Of Punk Re-Release (Southern Lord)
Profanatica – Thy Kingdom Come (Hells Headbangers)
Rot In Hell/Psywarfare – Split (Magic Bullet)
Sapiency – Tomorrow (Eclipse)
Split Heaven – The Devil's Bandit (Pure Steel)
Tidal Arms – Tidal Arms (Black Numbers)
Various Artists – Thrashmageddon Volume 1 (Roxx)
Year Of No Light – Tocsin (Debemur Morti)
