This week's new heavy metal releases include lots of prog, a Celine Dion cover, dissonance, and more!
To the metals…
Borknagar – True North 
Genre: Progressive/folk metal
Origin: Bergen, Norway
Label: Century Media
On their first album since the departure of their vocalist Vintersorg, this long running prog collective prove they can still bring the epicness with ICS Vortex at the forefront. This isn't surprising since Vortex has been with the band for a long time and fronted his own band. Anyway, put this on and play in the snow. Is it snowing anywhere right now? Maybe, put it on and think of snow?
Car Bomb – Mordial
Genre: Progressive metal/mathcore
Origin: Long Island, New York
Label: Self-release
In a world without The Dillinger Escape Plan, it's nice to still have Car Bomb. These guys channel some more hardcore and straight up groove than the other chaps, but the spirit is there. If you were a fan of Meta, you'll probably very much enjoy Mordial more than my spellcheck does, which is furiously giving the album's title a little squiggly red line.
DragonForce – Extreme Power Metal 
Genre: Power metal
Origin: London, England
Label: Metal Blade
DragonForce are really telling you what you're going to get with an album title like "Extreme Power Metal." Power metal? check. Extreme? It's fast and heavy, so sure. Like, every DragonForce album, you're getting lots of notes thrown at you very quickly and soaring cheese. Unlike every other DragonForce album, you're also getting a Celine Dion cover thrown in. I really hope fans play this version over the movie Titanic and see what sort of mood it create.
.gif from god – approximation_of_a_human 
Genre: Grindcore/thrash
Origin: Richmond, Virgina
Label: Prosthetic Records
This band has a name that is rubbing a lot of people the wrong way, and I kind of get that, but I hope these folks give their music a shot. This is chaos, breakdowns, and experimental weirdness all blended into one monster. Also, the song titles are as fun as the music is abrasive.
Hellyeah – Welcome Home 
Genre: Groove metal
Origin: Dallas, Texas
Label: Eleven Seven
As we all know founding member, and the one I always sort of considered the soul of the band Vinnie Paul passed away last year. This features his final performances. The band (or their guitarist at least) seems unsure of their future following this album. So this might be your last chance to "getcha' hellyeah." That's how that song goes, right?
Opeth – In Cauda Venenum 
Genre: Progressive
Origin: Stockholm, Sweden
Label: Moderbolaget/Nuclear Blast
My gut reaction is that this is easily the best Opeth album since the growls disappeared and that could change with time, we'll see. I'm sure the fans of the band's death metal side will still not be happy, but the prog is so good here. Plus, you're getting a Swedish version and an English version. It's almost like two new albums. Lauryn has a full review here.
Vintersea – Illuminated 
Genre: Progressive/melodic death metal
Origin: Corvallis, Oregon
Label: M-Theory Audio
Vintersea are a band I came into this week unfamiliar with, and I'm glad I found them. This is their second album, and they are a driving melodic death metal band that infuses a lot of melody and genre twists. Pretty much my jam all over. This band deserves your attention if you're into old-The Agonist, Soilwork, or even the aforementioned Borknagar.
Also dropping today…
Acid Reign – The Age Of Entitlement (Dissonance) – Thrash
Byzanthian Neckbeard – Extinction (Self-release) – Doom/stoner
CoreLeoni – II (AFM) – Heavy metal
Cranial – Alternate Endings (Moment of Collapse/Sludgelord Records) – Atmospheric sludge
Creeping Death – Wretched Illusions (eOne Music) – Death metal/hardcore
Dayseeker – Sleeptalk (Spinefarm) – Post-hardcore
Firebreather – Under A Blood Moon (RidingEasy Records) – Stoner/doom
Ghosts of Glaciers – The Greatest Burden (Translation Loss) – Post-metal
Goatburner – Extreme Conditions (Time To Kill Records) – Death metal/grindcore
High Command – Beyond the Wall (Southern Lord) – Crossover
Howling Giant – The Space Between Worlds (Blues Funeral Recordings) – Psychedelic
Iatt – Nomenclature (Black Lion Records) – Melodic death metal
Last Temptation – Last Temptation (earMusic) – Heavy metal
Mars Red Sky – The Task Eternal (Listenable Records) – Stoner rock
Mortem – Ravnsvart (Peaceville) – Death metal
The Neptune Power Federation – Memoirs of a Rat Queen (Cruz Del Sur) – Space rock
Netherbird – Into The Vast Uncharted (Eisenwald) – Symphonic black metal
Of Mice & Men – Earthandsky (Rise Records) – Metalcore
Planet of Zeus – Faith in Physics (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Hard rock
Pyramido – Fem (The Sign Records) – Sludge/doom
Renounced – Beauty Is A Destructive Angel (Holy Roar Records) – Metalcore
RDS-220 – Hell is Truth Seen To Late (Consouling Sounds) – Black metal
Return Fire – Return Fire (Self-release) – Groove metal
SeeYouSpaceCowboy – The Correlation Between Entrance And Exit Wounds (Pure Noise Records) – Hardcore
Sempiturnal Dusk – Cenotaph of Defectuous Creation (Dark Descent) – Death metal/doom
Sifting – The Infinite Loop (Eclipse Records) – Progressive metal
Sleeping In Traffic – That Which Saves Us (Self-release) – Progressive metal
Sleeping in Traffic – That Which Destroys Us (Self-release) – Progressive metal
Steel Panther – Heavy Metal Rules (Self-release) – Comedic metal
Tales of The Tomb – Volume Two: Mendicium (Self-release) – Death metal
Voice Of Ruin – Acheron (Tenacity Music) – Thrash/groove metal
Vortex – Them Witches (Gates of Hell) – Heavy metal
War Cloud – State of Shock (Ripple Music) – Heavy metal
Wednesday 13 – Necrophaze (Nuclaer Blast) – Gothic rock/punk
Wind Rose – Wintersaga (Napalm) – Folk metal
30,000 Monkies – Are Forever (Consouling Sounds) – Drone/sludge
