This is a huge week for metal. This edition includes a long-awaited return, djent masters, lots of weirdness, and more! To the metals…
Ails – The Unraveling 
Genre: Avant-garde/black metal
Origin: Oakland, California
Label: The Flenser
Starting this week off with some pretty great experimental black metal. Like all good black metal, they sound like the gates of hell were opened and someone decided to record it. The vocals from Laurie Shanaman are especially terrifying on this. Also, the overall dynamics of this record give it so much life.
Black Stone Cherry – Family Tree 
Genre: Southern Metal
Origin: Edmonton, Kentucky
Label: Mascot
If you're looking for some Southern grooves in your metal this week, look no further than Family Tree. Black Stone Cherry's sixth album has the band further cementing the sound that they known for. While they don't have a lot of freshness in the album (which I say fully aware that it's not my cup of tea, so I'm not versed on the nuances of them), there is a track with Warren Haynes from The Allman Brothers band and Gov't Mule so that's kinda neat.
Gus G – Fearless 
Genre: Shred
Origin: Thessaloniki, Greece
Label: AFM
Firewind's guitar virtuoso is dropping his fourth solo abum of shredding. It also features bass and vocals by Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69 and Unisonic) and drums by Will Hunt (Evenescence and Ex-Black Label Society). It feels like more of a band album than just an excuse to shred, but is still plenty of shredding. Did I mention guitar shredding?
Melvins – Pinkus Abortion Technician 
Genre: Sludge/Melvins
Origin: Montesano, Washington
Label: Ipecac
Melvins have a recent thing for bassists apparently. In 2016 they released Basses Loaded, which featured six different bassists, and now this one has the band back with both Jeff Pinkus (Butthole Surfers) and Steven McDonald (Off!). Pinkus Abortion Technician is weird in that wonderful way every Melvins record is, and will certainly become an uncomfortable conversation starter when the title is spotted on your album sheld (or iTunes because it's 2018).
A Perfect Circle – Eat The Elephant 
Genre: Alternative metal
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: BMG
Maynard seems pretty good at almost giving people what they want. You want a new Tool album? Well, here the first A Perfect Circle album in fourteen years. Fans are still going to yearn for that Tool, but this is surprisingly good. It's a comeback album I didn't realize I needed in my life.
Sleep – The Sciences
Genre: Stoner doom metal
Origin: Nazareth
Label: Southern Lord
It's been 15 years since we've heard a new album from these seminal stoner doom Gods and what better day than 4/20 to make their comeback. The album just dropped as a surprise, but from what we heard so far it's pretty great.
TesseracT – Sonder 
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Milton Keynes, England
Label: Kscope
Part of me feels like TesseracT have been trying to recapture the success of their first album One without simply doing a rehashed version of it. After a run of good albums, they have once again struck gold with the great Sonder. This record is the perfect blend of familiar and fresh, and it's heavier than they've been in a while too.
Also dropping today…
Abolishment of Flesh – The Inhuman Condition (Unholy Anarchy) – Melodic death metal
Bullet – Dust To Gold (SPV/Steamhammer) – Heavy metal
From Ashes To New – The Future (Better Noise) – Nu metal
From Beyond – The Band From Beyond (Candlelight/Spinefarm) – Stoner rock
Hypnos – The GBG Sessions (The Sign Records) – Rock
Infinitee – The Possibilities Are Endless (Self-Release) – Instrumental progressive
Messer – Messer (Maddpants) -Rock
Pennywise – Never Gonna Die (Epitaph) – Punk
Ross The Boss – By Blood Sworn (AFM) – Power metal
Sense of Fear – As The Ages Passing By… (Rockshots Records) – Heavy metal
Stryper – God Damn Evil (Frontiers) – Christian rock
Svederna – Svedjeland (Carnal Records) – Black metal
Wiegedood – De Doden Hebben Het Goed III (Century Media) – Black metal
Wild Hunt – Afterdream Of The Reveller (Vendetta Records) – Progressive doom
Tomorrow is also Record Store Day! Peep those special releases here.
