This edition includes doooooooooooooooooooom (said in an Invader Zim voice), thrash, melodic radio rock (sorry?), and more! To the metals…
Anthrax – Kings Among Scotland
Genre: Thrash
Origin: Yonkers, New York
Label: Megaforce
New York thrash legends Anthrax descended on Scotland last February and this is their set recorded in full. It features oldies like "Caught In a Mosh," "Be All, End All," and "Madhouse." This release winds up serving as proof that their newer material like "Breathing Lightning" and "Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't" stands up alongside old material quite well.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJl7PtE0J6g][/youtube]
Aura Noir – Aura Noire 
Genre: Thrash/black metal
Origin: Oslo, Norway
Label: Indie
Aura Noir are bringing the riffs on the obnoxiously titled Aura Noire. The additional E is driving me crazy. The album winds up being a lot of fun for something that's supposed to be bleak and evil. Infusing an album with thrash will do that though. Anyway, your six year wait is finally over.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMVQ4D0-TlI][/youtube]
God Is An Astronaut – Epitaph 
Genre: Post-rock/metal
Origin: County Wicklow, Ireland
Label: Napalm Records
God Is An Astronaut is perhaps my favorite in all of post-(blank) music. Their moody mixture of beautiful atmosphere and straight-forward heaviness is unparalleled. This, their eighth album, is among their strongest material.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm5gNUYFPs8][/youtube]
Godsmack – When Legends Rise 
Genre: Alternative metal/rock
Origin: Lawrence, Massachusetts
Label: BMG
Ok, look, I don't want to do this either. But Sully and the boys have a new album, and I have to talk about it. The band that debuted with "Voodoo" has seemingly ditched the darkness they once embraced and are fully opting for radio rocking, like, more than ever. It will likely be a success for them too. So, good for them.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AY19BPipyo][/youtube]
Kobra And The Lotus – Prevail II 
Genre: Heavy metal/melodic death metal
Origin: Calgary, Alberta
Label: Napalm
Just last year, Kobra Paige and her band of melodic death metal/heavy metal cohorts Prevail I-ed, and now they're back to Prevail II! The grooves and riffs are pretty stellar here, and Paige's voice is phenomenal. This band should be much bigger than they are, and this album SHOULD get them there.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1gI7bdXL5k][/youtube]
Skindred – Big Tings 
Genre: Reggae metal
Origin: Newport, Wales
Label: Napalm
I forgot this band existed, and it's pretty interesting to encounter them again. They're a very, very different band than when they first came on the scene with "Nobody" on their debut. The band has evolved over seven records to have a rather streamlined and melodic rock sound. The alternative angle they started with is still there, but it's subtle now.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig3OWHHdmPY][/youtube]
Also dropping today…
Blood Tsunami – Grave Condition (Soulseller) – Thrash
Boss Keloid – Melted On The Inch (Holy Roar) – Sludge
Cruachan – Nine Years Of Blood (Trollzorn) – Folk/black metal
Demon Head – The Resistance (The Sign Records) – Doom/hard rock
Dylan Carlson – Conquistador (Sargent House) – Experimental
Grá – Väsen (Carnal Records) – Black metal
Graveyard – Back To The Mausoleum EP (War Anthem) – Death metal
Homewrecker – Hell Is Here Now (Good Fight) – Hardcore
Piss River – Piss River (The Sign Records) – Hard rock
Riot V – Armor Of Light (Nuclear Blast) – Speed metal
Sink The Ship – Persevere (Sharptone) – Metalcore
Society's Plague – Call To The Void (Eclipse) – Melodic death metal
Varathron – Patriarchs Of Evil (Agonia Records) – Black metal
Violation Wound – With Man In Charge (Peaceville) – Hardcore
Wolf King – Loyal To The Soil (Prosthetic) – Blackened hardcore
