This week's new heavy metal releases include metal in space, blast beats, psych rock, and more!
To the metals…
Ages – Uncrown 
Genre: Melodic black metal
Origin: Falun, Sweden
Label: Black Lodge Records
Let's start this week with some grim melodies. Ages came in hot five years ago with The Malefic Miasma and they're keeping the quality just as high on Uncrown (which I keep reading as "Unicorn," but that's my stupid mistake). This is one for fans of blast beats the use of an oud. Google "Oud" and you'll be like, "Oh, that's an oud. cool." Can't say I didn't teach you something.
Blues Pills – Holy Moly! 
Genre: Psychedelic rock
Origin: Sweden
Label: Nuclear Blast
Holy Moly! will make you say "gee whiz!" This is a fun record of spacey jams for fans of late 60's-70's rock, but with modern attitude. Kinda like Deap Vally. I could see this band being a hit on the stages of both Sonic Temple and Bonnaroo.
Bulb – Archives: Vol. 4
Genre: Progressive/djent
Origin: Bethesda, Maryland
Label: 3DOT Recordings
It's that time again Periphery fans. This is number six of Misha Mansoor's ten archival releases. This one includes some pretty cool instru-metal tracks like "Forever and a Half" and "Plan B." Then it's a lot of brief, but interesting ideas that come in at under two minutes. This is one for diehards and/or collectors.
Idle Threat – Nothing Is Broken For Good
Genre: Punk/metal
Origin: Nashville, Tennessee
Label: Tooth & Nail
Stream/download here
Idle Threat are a pretty new band that would appeal to fans of bands like Alkaline Trio or maybe Against Me. So not super "metal," but there are some occasional screams and they do cause quite a ruckus. The melodies on this EP are so fucking catchy, it upsets me.
Incantation – Sect Of Vile Divinities
Genre: Death metal
Origin: Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Label: Relapse
In their thirty-plus years as a band Incantation have always brought heaviness with very little bullshit. Sect Of Vile Divinities is their eleventh record of hard hitting death metal that will get you moving. Whether it be a windmill headang or that annoying thing the guy behind you would do where he is seemingly whipping you with his hair on purpose (YES, THIS GROOVE IS TASTY, BUT TAKE LIKE HALF A STEP BACK MAN!). Regardless of your headbang of choice, your cranium with shift.
Unleash The Archers – Abyss
Genre: Melodic death/power metal
Origin:Vancouver/Victoria, British Columbia
Label: Napalm
Unleash The Archers are an underrate gem in modern metal. Abyss should be the album that solidifies them as a household name – in a house that talks about metal a lot. Not only is it a rad melodic metal album, but it's also a concept album about battles between good and evil in space. There's nothing else I would want in an album
Also dropping today…
- Ars Magna Umbrae – Apotheosis (I, Voidhanger Records) – Black metal
- Atramentus – Stygian (20 Buck Spin) – Funeral doom/dungeon synth
- Be Well – The Weight And The Cost (Equal Vision Records) – Punk
- Brimstone Coven – The Woes Of A Mortal Earth (Ripple)- Stoner/doom
- Buried Alive – Death Will Find You (Bridge 9) – Hardcore
- Cytotoxin – Nuklearth (Unique Leader Records) – Technical death metal
- Expander – Neuropunk Boostergang (Profound Lore) – Crossover/thrash
- (Hed) P.E. – Class Of 2020 (Suburban Noize) – Nu metal
- Kill The Lights – The Sinner (Fearless) – Heavy metal/metalcore
- Mad Max – Stormchild Rising (SPV/Steamhammer) – Heavy metal
- Mercyless – The Mother of All Plagues (Xenocorp) – Death metal
- The Obsessed – Live At The Big Dipper (Blues Funeral Recordings) – Doom
- Reserving Dirtnaps – Another Disaster (War Records) – Metalcore/hardcore
- Seeming – The Birdwatcher's Guide to Atrocity (Artoffact Records) – Post-industrial
- Sepsiss – 11-11 (Pavement) – Groove metal/hard rock
- Silver Knife – Unyielding/Unseeing (Amor Fati Productions) – Black metal
- The Tangent – Auto Reconnaissance (InsideOut) – Progressive
- These Streets – Stay Awake (Upstate Records) – Hardcore
- Thousand Below – Let Go Of Your Love EP (Rise) – Post-hardcore/post-rock
- Toxik Death – Sepulchral Demons (High Roller Records) – Thrash
- Vicious Rumors – Celebration Decay (SPV/Steamhammer) – Power/groove metal
