This week's new heavy metal releases include a supergroup, some epic stuff, and more. To the metals…
Category 7 – Category 7
Genre: Heavy metal/thrash
Origin: USA
Label: Metal Blade
Buy now on Bandcamp
On their debut record super group Category 7 are proving to be a sum of their parts. Plenty of thrash to be had here with Phil Demmel (ex-Vio-Lence) and Jack Gibson (Exodus). Then, some straight up heavy metal from John Bush (Armored Saint) and Mike Orlando (Adrenaline Mob). Finally, crushing drum work from Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall).
Dream Evil – Metal Gods
Genre: Power/heavy metal
Origin: Gothenburg, Sweden
Label: Century media
Buy now on Bandcamp
This week is going to be very bombastic, so strap in. Dream Evil's latest is their first album in seven years and it's epic return. The record is a tribute to heavy metal and a proclamation of their own metal-ness?). This is one you'll want to put one before you slay the day.
Ghost – Rite Here Rite Now: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Genre: Heavy metal/occult rock
Origin: Linköping, Sweden
Label: Loma Vista
Buy now on Bandcamp
Remember how Through The Never had an official soundtrack that was just a live album? Well, save for the song below, this is like that. You're getting seventeen live tracks and a new song. All the standards like "Square Hammer," "Rats," and more are here.
Harvestman – Triptych: Part Two
Genre: Ambient
Origin: Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
Label: Neurot
Buy now on Bandcamp
While Neurosis remains dormant (dead?) Steve Von Till is once again taking us into nature and some more experimental realms with his Harvestman project. This is more unease via drone, programmed noises, and vibes. This is part two of the Triptych, so be ready for one more.
Mountaineer – Dawn and All That Follows
Genre: Doomgaze/post-metal
Origin: Oakland, California
Label: A Thousand Arms / Dunk! Records
Buy now on Bandcamp
If you're a fan of Deftones or Nothing, but wish the leaned further into a doom realm, then this record is for you. Dawn and All That Follows is a crushing and lush record. One for when you want things beautiful and slow.
Powerwolf – Wake Up The Wicked
Genre: Power/heavy metal
Origin: Saarbrücken, Germany
Label: Napalm
Buy now on Bandcamp
I promised bombast and somehow this outdoes everything else this week. The time has come to dust off your favorite wolf mask because Powerwolf are back. As always, they are soaring and this time they've got songs about sailing the seven seas, the "Werewolf of Bedburg" Peter Stump (Google it. It's fascinating), and more epic shit.
Respire – Hiraeth
Genre: "Orchestral post-everything"/blackened screamo
Origin: Toronto, Ontario
Label: Dine Alone
Buy now on Bandcamp
A lot going on with this one. Like, just so, so much. I've never heard a band mix the emotion of screamo, with the darkness of black metal, and still make it sound grand and uplifting by way of trumpet, sax, piano, and more. The closest thing I can compare them to is that they're like the blackened version of The Callous Daoboys or maybe Fucked Up.
Summoning The Lich – Under The Reviled Throne
Genre: Technical death metal
Origin: St. Louis, Missouri
Label: Prosthetic
Buy now on Bandcamp
Let's take us home with some straight up tech death. Under The Reviled Throne is wall to wall heaviness via pummeling drums, shredding pointy guitars, and low, guttural vocals. This is their second record and their first to feature their new guitarist Muck. This one is for fans of The Black Dahlia Murder, The Faceless, and bands that would employ someone named Muck.
Also dropping this week…
- Absorb – Smog (Hypaethral Records) – Death metal/doom
- Beyond All Hope – Life Cycles (Total Deathcore Affiliated) – Progressive metalcore
- Bloodlines – Holiness Cries (Facedown Records) – Metalcore
- Common Sage – Nostos | Algos (Equal Vision Records) – Post-hardcore
- Coughin' Vicars – Curses & Prayers (Venn Records) – Post-punk/"glooom punk"
- Crave – Oblivion (Battlegod Productions) – Heavy metal
- Culled – Psycles (Horror Pain Gore Death Productions) – Sludge grind
- Curse Upon A Prayer – The Worship: Orthoprax Satanism (Folter Records/Korpituli Productions) – Black metal
- Death Racer – From Gravel To Grave (Dying Victims) – Black/speed metal
- El Supremo – Signor Morte Improvvisa (Argonauta Records) – Psychedelic rock
- Gods & Punks – Death (Electric Valley Records) – Stoner rock
- Grid – The World Before Us (Self-released) – Progressive sludge
- Hard Pill – Into The Woodchipper With You (Interwar Studios) – Post-metal
- Herzblut – Radikal Verliebt (Dead Serious Records) – Punk rock
- Ill Nino – Ill-Mortals Vol. 2 EP (Godsize) – Groove/nu metal
- Imperia – Dark Paradise (Massacre) – Symphonic metal
- Iress – Sleep Now, In Reverse (Church Road) – Doomgaze
- Ironflame – Kingdom Torn Asunder (High Roller) – Heavy/power metal
- Kahfa – Le Poison Et La Reine (Argonauta Records) – Hard rock/stoner
- Kaonashi – A Second Chance At Forever: The Brilliant Lies From Casey Diamond (Equal Vision Records) – Hardcore/metalcore
- Krypt – Songs Against Humanity (Terminus Hate City) – Thrash
- Krypticy – The Non-Return (Violence In The Veins) – Death metal
- Laceration – I Erode (20 Buck Spin) – Death metal/thrash
- Omnigone – Feral (Bad Time Records) – Skacore
- Orpheus Omega – Emberglow (Wormholedeath Records) – Melodic death metal
- The Other Sun – Daimon, Devil, Dawn (The Ajna Offensive) – Occult rock
- Parricide – After The Funeral (Selfmadegod Records) – Death metal
- Pohl – Mysteries (Wrong Speed Records) – Noise rock
- Sacri Monti – Retrieval (Tee Pee) – Psychedelic rock/metal
- Scald – Ancient Doom Metal (High Roller Records) – Epic doom
- Soulbound – obsYdian (Metalville) – Industrial
- Spacecorpse – Shapeshifter (Self-released) – Technical death metal
- Spread Thin – World Of Snakes (Self-released) – Hardcore/noise
- Teardrops – Something To Cry About (Iodine) – Hardcore/indie
- Terra Black – All Descend (Bonebag Records) – Doom
- Tyraels Ascension – Hell Walker (Rottweiler Records) – Extreme/melodic death metal
- Verni – Dreadful Company (M-Theory) – Heavy metal
- A Wake In Providence – I Write To You, My Darling Decay (Unique Leader Records) – Symphonic black metal/deathcore
- Wizard Tattoo – Living Just For Dying (Garage Fire Recordings) – Progressive metal
- Wormwitch – Wormwitch (Profound Lore) – Melodic black metal
