Not going to lie y'all, this week is all over the place. Sorry? You're Welcome? Anyway, this week’s new heavy metal releases include an alt metal/electronica collab, an album with three lead singers, an album from a band that now has no lead singers (announced that is), Batman rock, and more! To the metals…
ALSO! Today, Bandcamp is doing their second Juneteenth Fundraiser. So if you can get stuff from Bandcamp, please do.
Alustrium – A Monument To Silence
Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal
Origin: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Label: Unique Leader
Starting this week techy and proggy metal from Alustrium. This is a record of fret flurries, melodic waves, and solid grooves. We were excited to share a single of theirs last month on a Tech Death Tuesday, and I'm excited to now have the whole thing tearing through our ears. Final fun fact: both of this band's guitarists were in Galactic Empire, so you know they have chops.
Crobot – Rat Child EP
Genre: Hard rock
Origin: Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Label: Mascot
Crobot are one of the cooler bands that are quietly working the US rock festival circuits right now. They're a hard rocking band at their core, but they utilize a lot of wild guitar theatrics as they slink into your ears. This EP is their trademark sound, but with a handful of friends helping them out like Howard Jones from Light The Torch, Frank Bello from Anthrax, and Stix Zadina from Steel Panther.
Fear Factory – Aggression Continuum
Genre: Industrial/groove metal
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Nuclear Blast
Man, there's just so much drama surrounding this album that's hard to not let the record stand on it's own. Still, this is Burton's final record with the band, which is sad, but it's a pretty high note to go out on. Genexus, and The Industrialist were both solid and this one is up there with them. I'm curious to hear what they do next. Kevin has a deep dive on it here.
Hacktivist – Hyperdialect
Genre: Grime/nu metal
Origin: Milton Keynes, England
Label: UNFD
Buy now on Bandcamp
Now for something quite different. On their second album Hacktivist are combining grime, nu metal, djent, rap, and punk attitude into one groovy, political package. I feel like this is going to be a divisive one to include, but fans of Linkin Park, Ill Nino, and perhaps Emmure will dig this.
Helloween – Helloween
Genre: Power metal
Origin: Hamburg, Germany
Label: Nuclear Blast
On their first album in six years, and first with both Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen back in a long time, these pumpkin loving Germans are back in a big way. I mean BIG. Musically they sound massive as always on this record with their bombastic signature power metal. However, they are now utilizing three vocalists, which is pretty nuts since each voice is so unique. This album seems like it would be a Helloween fan's dream come true. Chad has review here.
Tom Morello & The Bloody Beetroots – The Catastrophists
Genre: Electronic/hard rock
Origin: New York, New York/Bassano del Grappa, Italy
Label: Comandante LLC
Stream it here
I have to admit that I know very little about The Bloody Beatroots, but if Morello was up to collaborate with them on this EP, I was willing to give them a shot. This EP is Tom's signature guitar stylings coupled with robust electronic music, and it's pretty fucking cool. There are a lot of guests on this as well. They worked with Pussy Riot, The Interrupters’ Aimee Interrupter, White Lung’s Mish Way, Ana Tijoux, and The Last Internationle’s Delila Paz.
Two Minutes To Late Night – Covers Volume Eight
Genre: All-star heavy metal covers
Origin: Various
Label: Self-released
Buy TODAY ONLY on Bandcamp
Two Minutes To Late Night pivoted their whole thing during this quarantine and have been putting out fun star-studded covers. Today (June eighteenth) and today only, they are putting out their eighth Bandcamp exclusive EP. Bandcamp is donating their portion in their Juneteenth fundraiser and the money from "I Would Die 4 U" is going to Dallas Hope Charities. This one also features their live covers of "Jane,” “Mouth for War,” “Hyperballad,” and “Rocks Off.” Get it before it's gone.
Various Artists – Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack
Genre: Various
Origin: Various
Label: Loma Vista
Buy now on Bandcamp
Now for a weird one. This is the soundtrack to the Batman Dark Nights: Death Metal run, and I didn't realize comics had soundtracks. I'm glad this one does though because it has new tracks from Mastodon, Chelsea Wolfe, Maria Brinks (In This Moment) and Tyler Bates (Black Veil Brides) with Chino from Deftones, Greg Puciato, and a lot more heavy and not so heavy tracks. I never imagined Soccer Mommy, Carach Angren, and Mastodon would be on a record together, but here we are.
Wanderer – Liberation From A Brutalist Existence
Genre: Grindcore/hardcore
Origin: Minneapolis, Minnesot
Label: Entelodon Records
Buy now on Bandcamp
Wrapping this week some noisy aggression. This album includes dissonant chords, whirlwind moments of musical chaos, a few guest screamers, and hefty sludge breaks. This is also the only album this week that has it's own limited run spice blend. There are only sixty-nine of them (nice) so grab one when you grab this record.
Also dropping today…
- Arelseum – Arelseum III (Sleeping Giant Glossolalia) – Noise/ambient
- Blazon Rite – Endless Halls of Golden Totem (Gates of Hell Records) – Heavy metal
- Bloodbeat – Process of Extinction (Inverse Records) – Death metal/thrash
- Bossk – Migration (Deathwish) – Post metal/sludge
- Chalice Of Sin – Chalice Of Sin (Frontiers) – Heavy metal
- Crowne – Kings In The North (Frontiers) – Melodic rock
- The Day Of The Beast – Indisputably Carnivorous (Prosthetic) – Blackened death metal
- Dead Witches/Witchthroat Serpent – Doom Sessions Vol. 666 EP (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Doom
- Deap Vally – American Cockroach (Cooking Vinyl) – Hard rock/indie
- Demon Incarnate – Leaves Of Zaqqum (Metalville) – Doom/heavy metal
- Entierro – El Camazotz (Self-released) – Doom/heavy metal
- Eye of Purgatory – The Lighthouse (Transcending Obscurity Records) – Death metal
- Fallen Stars – Execution (Self-released) – Hard rock/pop metal
- Heavy Temple – Lupi Amoris (Magnetic Eye) – Psychedelic/doom
- Kent Hilli – The Rumble (Frontiers) – Rock
- Lucifer's Hammer – The Trip (High Roller Records) – Heavy metal
- Moanhand – Present Serpent (Burning Shine) – Sludge/doom
- Oxblood Forge – Decimator (Heavy Crunch) – Doom/stoner
- No Sun Rises – Dominium Terrae (Alerta Antifascista Records) – Atmospheric black metal
- Pharaoh – The Powers That Be (Cruz Del Sur) – Power/progressive metal
- Reinforcer – Prince Of The Tribes (Scarlet) – Heavy metal
- Social Disorder – Love 2 Be Hated (AFM) – Punk rock
- Spasticus – Fuck Me Before I Die (Horror Pain Gore Death Productions) – Death metal/thrash
- Styx – Crash Of The Crown (UMe) – Rock
- Subway To Sally – Eisheilige Nacht: Back To Lindenpark DVD/CD (Napalm) – Folk rock
- Thorn – Crawling Worship (Life After Death Records) – Death metal/doom
- Thy Kingdom Will Burn – Thy Kingdom Will Burn (Scarlet) – Melodic death metal
- Tigercub – As Blue As Indigo (Blame Recordings) – Alternative rock
- Timo Tolkki's Avalon – The Enigma Birth (Frontiers) – Symphonic power metal
- Trialogos – Stroh Zu Gold (Exile On Mainstream) – Experimental
- Triton Devs – Stay Alive (Rockshots Records) – Power/progressive metal
