This week's new heavy metal releases include some deeper cuts than normal, a death metal OG, and more! To the metals…
An Autumn For Crippled Children – All Fell Silent, Everything Went Quiet 
Genre: Post-Black Metal
Origin: Friesland, Netherlands
Label: Prosthetic
The rather prolific An Autumn For Crippled Children are dropping their eighth album in their eleven years as a band. Like Deafheaven, Alcest, and Lantlos, this album includes tremolo picking paired with atmosphere. Then some songs have a bit of an indie flair to them.
Dead Lakes – Language 
Genre:Post-hardcore
Origin: Seattle, Washington
Label: SharpTone Records
Dead Lakes are a band that pride themselves on tapping into a lot of influences. This EP is grounded in a melodic post-hardcore vibe, but has elements of pop and some R&B. This is one for fans of anthemic rock.
Havok – V 
Genre: Thrash
Origin: Denver, Colorado
Label: Century Media
On their fifth album, hence the V, David Sanchez and crew are bringing the thrash in a very thrashy way. This REALLY sounds like a mid-era Annihilator or Exodus album. That's not a bad thing by any means.
Umbra Vitae – Shadow Of Life 
Genre: Death metal
Origin: Beverly, Massachusetts
Label: Deathwish
Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon is someone that seems to enjoy dabbling in other musical realms, and I respect him for that. With Umbra Vitae, he's taking on death metal with folks from Twitching Tongues, The Red Chord, and (ex-)Job For A Cowboy. It's unsurprisingly heavy, but brief clocking in at twenty-six minutes of mayhem.
Vader – Solitude In Madness 
Genre: Death metal
Origin: Olsztyn, Poland
Label: Nuclear Blast
Jacob Bannon is bringing some new death metal into the world while Vader are showing how the old guard does it. This, their twelfth album, is a non-stop pummeling. Founder Peter and the crew he's had for the better part of a decade show that they are a well oiled metal machine.
Witchcraft – Black Metal 
Genre: Doom/psychedelic
Origin: Örebro, Sweden
Label: Nuclear Blast
I'm wrapping this week with a rather confusing album. Black Metal is not at all grim. In fact, this is not metal at all. This is instead a haunting acoustic album with just Witchcraft leader Magnus Pelander and a grandpa's guitars. It's still quite good, but those hoping for the next album of fuzzy riffs will have to keep on waiting.
Also dropping today…
- Abduction – Jehanne (Finisterian Dead End) – Black metal
- Aether Realm – Redneck Vikings From Hell (Napalm) – Melodic death metal
- Black Pestilence – Hail The Flesh (Self-Release) – Black metal/thrash
- Golden Ashes – In The Lugubrious Silence Of Eternal Night (Oaken Palace Records) – Atmospheric Black Metal/Drone
- Hallowed Butchery – Deathsongs From the Hymnal of the Church of the Final Pilgrimage (Self-released) – Black metal/folk
- Head of the Demon – Deadly Black Doom (Invictus Productions) – Doom
- Icon Of Evil – Icon Of Evil (Selfmadegod Records) – Death metal
- O'Brother – You and I (Self-released) – Alternative/sludge
- Pyre – Chained to Ossuaries (Memento Mori Records) – Death metal
- River Cult – Chilling Effect (Tee Pee Records) – Psychedelic rock
- The Scum – Dead Eyes (Wild Noise) – Death metal
- Shatter Brain – Pitchfork Justice (Wormhole Death) – Death metal/sludge
- The Sonic Dawn – Enter The Mirage (Heavy Psych Records) – Psychedelic rock
