This week's new heavy metal releases include some album of the year contenders, a bunch of bands that don't end in -klok, and more! To the metals…
The Armed – Perfect Saviors
Genre: Experimental/art metal
Origin: Detroit, Michigan
Label: Sargent House
Buy now on Bandcamp
Experimental rock/metal's hippest band is back with more poppy, quasi-hardcore, fun. This album is all over the place in the best ways as it has songs that sound like Fucked Up, The Strokes, Boygenius and more, often in one song. There's still chaos, but it's chaos with finesse. Jordan's full review is here.
Asking Alexandria – Where Do We Go From Here?
Genre: Metalcore/electronic
Origin: York, North Yorkshire, England
Label: Better Noise
Buy now on Bandcamp
The little I've heard of AA's eighth record sounds like is Justin Timberlake made a metalcore record, and I weirdly mean that as a compliment. The production is VERY pop, and I can't deny the catchiness of the melodies. Then when the heaviness does hit, it winds up hitting harder.
Blut Aus Nord – Disharmonium – Nahab
Genre: Black/avant-garde metal
Origin: Mondeville, Calvados, France
Label: Debemur Morti
Buy now on Bandcamp
To completely shift gears from pop metal, we have what could be the darkest record of the week. Like always, this sounds like an absolute nightmare with a blackened base which is then topped of with all sorts of horror. If you're looking for some new haunted house music; it's right here.
Dethklok – Dethalbum IV
Genre: Melodic death metal
Origin: Mordhaus
Label: WaterTower
Buy now on Amazon
This one dropped on Tuesday and is the only reason the title of this post says "This Week," because am I not going to gush about the return of Dethklok??? If you have dug any of Brendon Small's records, you'll enjoy this. The guitar work is so catchy and impressive as always, the drums by Gene Hoglan are pummeling, and it's what you've been waiting for/thinking would never happen again.
Exmortus – Necrophony
Genre: Technical death metal/thrash
Origin: Whittier, California
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon
Pairing nicely with Dethklok is the latest from Exmortus. This is old school heavy metal attitude run through a death metal pedal. I fear this gem will be overshadowed this week, so get on this thrash dorks!
Grand Cadaver – Deities Of Deathlike Sleep
Genre: Death metal
Origin: Stockholm/Gothenburg, Sweden
Label: Majestic Mountain Records
Buy now on Bandcamp
I always forget that Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquility) has his own Bloodbath-esque band, and then it pops up to remind me how killer it is. If you want some classic death metal with a touch of doom, then get on this. Death metal fans know they'll be happy when an album has song titles like "A Crawling Feast of Decay," "Serrated Jaws," and "Vortex of Blood."
Marc Hudson – Starbound Stories
Genre: "Anime-inspired power metal"
Origin: Oxford, England
Label: Napalm
Buy now on Bandcamp
In prepping this blurb I learned that Marc Hudson has been fronting DragonForce for twelve years already. Time is wild. Anyway, Starbound Stories is as epic as a DF album, but not as frantic. There's a lot of video game and anime influences here. And guests! You know I love listing guests and this one has Ryoji Shinomoto (Ryujin), Adrienne Cowan (Seven Spires), violinist Mia Asano, and more!
Incantation – Unholy Deification
Genre: Death metal/doom
Origin: Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Label: Relapse
Buy now on Bandcamp
Did you enjoy Grand Cadaver earlier, but you want it even doomier? Great news. Incantation's twelfth record is a solid mix of nasty and slow. John McEntee and the boys still bring the death metal. J Andrew has a full review here.
Kallias – First Ascent
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: California/New York
Label: AISA
Buy now on Bandcamp
Concluding this entry with some prog, because I am me after all. Kallias' debut album has them dabbling in death metal, groove metal, and more all with technical proficiency. It's a hell of a prog ride. They have friends popping up like Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy), Rafael Trujillo (Obsidious), and Greg Burgess (Allegaeon).
Also dropping this week…
- AAWKS/AIWASS – The Eastern Scrolls (Black Throne Productions) – psychedelic metal/rock
- Alice Cooper – Road (earMusic) – Rock
- Asphodelus – Sculpting From Time (Hammerheart) – Death metal/doom
- Atoll – Human Extract (Unique Leader Records) – Brutal death metal
- Augurium – Unearthly Will (Self-released) – Deathcore/death metal
- Born In Blood – Can't Save Us All (Shattered Earth Records) – Nu/groove metal
- Blood Money – Complete Execution (Svart) – Speed metal
- Candlebox – The Long Goodbye (Round Hill) – Rock/grunge
- Celestial Sanctuary – Insatiable Thirst for Torment (Church Road Records) – Death metal
- Cinnamon Babe – Fatherless (Version III) – Hard rock/pop
- Colony Drop – Brace For Impact (Nameless Grave Records) – Thrash/crossover
- Cvinger – Doctrines By The Figures Of Crnobog (Nocturna) – Black metal
- Darsombra – Doomsday Book (Pnictogen) – Psychedelic rock
- The Death Wheelers – Chaos And The Art Of Motorcycle Madness (RidingEasy Records) – Stoner/doom
- Filter – The Algorithm (Golden Robot) – Rock
- GraveRipper – Seasons Dreaming Death (Wise Blood Records) – Black metal/thrash
- Heimdall – Hephaestus (Pride & Joy) – Power metal
- Holding Absence – The Noble Art Of Self Destruction (SharpTone) – Alternative rock/post-hardcore
- Hot Milk – A Call To The Void (Music For Nations) – Emo/power pop
- Hypomanic Daydream – Image (Fiadh Prod) – Avant-garde death metal
- Knife – Heaven Into Dust (Napalm) – Blackened speed metal
- Lepra – Devil's Blood in Her Tongue (Vita Detestabilis) – Black metal/gothic rock
- Lions At The Gate – The Excuses We Cannot Make (Self-released) – Alternative/nu metal
- Love Sex Machine – Asexual Anger Re-Release (Pelagic) – Sludge/doom
- Mal – Come To Light (Black Cast Music) – Experimental rock
- MDMA – Organic (Reality Fade Records) – Brutal death metal
- Meurtrières – Ronde de Nuit (Gates of Hell Records) – Heavy metal
- Monasteries – Ominous (Seek & Strike) – Deathcore/djent
- Moon Coven – Sun King (Ripple Music) Psychedelic/doom
- Necrony – Corrupted Crescendos (Helter Skelter Productions) – Death metal/grindcore
- Nixil – From The Wound Spilled Forth Fire (Prosthetic) – Black metal
- Noveria – The Gates Of The Underworld (Scarlet Records) – Progressive power metal
- Orphalis – As The Ashes Settle (Self-released) – Technical/brutal death metal
- S.O.R.M. – Under My Skin (Noble Demon) – Hard rock
- Shepherds Reign – Ala Mai (Golden Robot Records) – Polynesian folk metal
- Sherinian/Phillips – Sherinian/Phillips Live (InsideOut) – Progressive rock
- Sinheresy – Event Horizon (Scarlet Records) – Symphonic rock
- Tegmentum – Evolvement (M-Theory) – Technical death metal
- Seraina Telli – Addicted To Color (Metalville) – Rock
- Tempt – Tempt (Better Noise) – Rock
- Till The Dirt – Outside The Spiral (Nuclear Blast) – Death metal
- Transgressor – Beyond Oblivion (Me Saco un Ojo) – Death metal
- U.D.O. – Touchdown (Atomic Fire) – Heavy metal
- Unitopia – Seven Chambers (Self-released) – Progressive rock
- The Unity – The Hellish Joyride (Steamhammer) – Power metal
- Vandenberg – Sin (Mascot) – Heavy metal/hard rock
- Velvet Insane – High Heeled Monster (Sound Pollution/Wild Kingdom) – Rock n roll
- Vision Master – Sceptre (Gates of Hel Records) – Heavy metal
- The Word Alive – Hard Reset (Thriller) – Metalcore/post-hardcore
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