This edition includes a lot of melody (sorry?), some covers, even more Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, and more! To the metals…
The Amity Affliction – This Could Be Heartbreak 
Genre: Metalcore
Origin: Gympie, Austrailia
Label: Roadrunner
Buy now on Amazon.com
I feel like most of our readers are going to give this a hard pass (although, more likely an unnecessarily intense "fuck this"). However, there are still some metalcore fans flying the flag of melodic, post-hardcore infused metal, and this one is for you.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZraiZOkQ_A[/youtube]
Equilibrium – Armageddon 
Genre: Folk metal
Origin: Starnberg, Germany
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon.com
This is a soaring, mighty release from one of the best folk metal bands out right now. Symphonic elements are pushed to the forefront, and this takes nothing away from how heavy this gem is. This might be their best yet.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bCkQP_lq0w[/youtube]
Lacrimas Profundere – Hope Is Here 
Genre: Melodic doom/Gothic metal
Origin: Waging Am See, Germany
Label: Oblivion / SPV
Buy now on Amazon.com
So far the theme of this Weekly Injection has been melody, and Lacrimas Profundere keeps that going in a big way. I feel like they'd pair well with Equilibrium in terms of epicness, but they're more in the ballpark of Katatonia and the other quasi-doom/goth-ish bands. My cat didn't like them though. She got up and ran off as they started.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sarGE5icAF8[/youtube]
Metal Allegiance – Fallen Heroes 
Genre: Heavy metal
Origin: New York, New York
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon.com
Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater), Alex Skolnick (Testament), and David Ellefson (Megadeth) have returned for another supergroup outing. This time, however, the guys are paying tribute to some of music's recently deceased. They bring Troy from Mastodon to cover Motorhead, Mark from Death Angel to cover David Bowie, and Allisa from Arch Enemy to cover The Eagles. It's all better than I expected actually. I have to ask though, couldn't squeeze a nod to Prince in there guys?
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxUzd_mhmoQ[/youtube]
The Pineapple Thief – Your Wilderness 
Genre: Progressive
Origin: Somerset, England
Label: Kscope
Buy now on Amazon.com
If you're a prog fan, it's hard not to be excited about a new Pineapple Thief record. This album sort of feels like a "return to form" sort of release, but Bruce Soord and the gang can't really fuck up. It is nice to hear some of their initial sound returning more this time though.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxYFXw5I45A[/youtube]
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez – Blind Worms Pious Swine
Genre: Experimental
Origin: El Paso, Texas
Label: Ipecac
Buy now on Amazon.com
Yes, I am covering every Omar solo record he's dropping for the rest of the year. He's a diverse and prolific artist and this series is really proving that. The last one was quite melodic and sad, this one is Omar once again bringing the weird and the rock.
Sample the record here.
Spirit Adrift – Chained To Oblivion
Genre: Doom
Origin: Arizona
Label: Prosthetic
Buy now on Amazon.com
This young trio from America's burning desert wasteland brings the Doooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom. Solid, heavy debut.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kl5xgs8VA4[/youtube]
Vader – Iron Times
Genre: Death metal
Origin:
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon.com
FINE! I'll cover some "real metal." While these guys are not at the ORL level of prolific album releasing, they are dropping an album and this EP this year. The EP, which seems to be a digital and 10-inch vinyl exclusive, is made up of four crushing Vader-being-Vader tracks that will keep your record player screaming until the full-length, Empire, drops this November.
Also dropping today…
Heartaches – Svart (Artery Recordings) – Hardcore
Helion Prime – Helion Prime (DiveBomb) – Power metal
Horseback – Dead Ringers (Relapse) – Heavy metal
Howling Giant – Black Hole Space Wizard Part 1 (N/A) – Stoner
Nine Shrines – Misery (Oxide Records) – Post-hardcore
Thy Art Is Murder, The Acacia Strain & Fit For An Autopsy – The Depression Sessions (Nuclear Blast Entertainment) – Various
X-Method – Sex, Alcohol, Rebel Music (Pavement Music) – Hardcore/Thrash
