This week's new heavy metal releases include more deep cuts than normal with riffs, blast beats, fuzz, and more! To the metals…
…and Oceans – Cosmic World Mother
Genre: Industrial/black metal
Origin: Pietarsaari/Vaasa, Finland
Label: Season Of Mist
In the first of two long-awaited returns this week, …And Oceans are back (as "And Oceans" that is, since they were known as "Havoc Unit" for a bit) and they're back swinging. Through the years the band dabbled with different sounds, but this is easily them at their most evil and epic. Lots, and lots of blast beats here.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF5rgcZS49E][/youtube]
Bear – Propaganda
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Antwerp, Belgium
Label: Pelagic Records
If you're looking for some new rhythmic prog (read: djent, I guess), look no further than Bear. This is low tuned, chunky metal that also features some hardcore moments. Like most bears, this is quite heavy.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS9vSTfx_M8][/youtube]
BlackLab – Abyss
Genre: Doom
Origin: Osaka, Japan
Label: New Heavy Sounds
Buy now on Bandcamp
I must admit, I don't know a lot about this band, but it feels like a band a lot of our readers would dig. This Japanese duo bring more fuzzed-out riffs than anyone else this week (and there's an ex-Kyuss dude in this entry). Fans of Melvins and Electric Wizard should get on this solid debut.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsKWJ0rIDHM][/youtube]
Brant Bjork – Brant Bjork
Genre: Rock/stoner
Origin: Palm Springs, California
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
When did Brant Bjork become so prolific? The ex-Kyuss drummer has released an album a year for the last five years, and they've all been both pretty good and pretty different. This is some pretty chill, bluesy, driving through the desert rock music.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKF0dml0gQg][/youtube]
Green Carnation – Leaves Of Yesteryear
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Kristiansand, Norway
Label: Season Of Mist
Oh hey, one of Norway's finest proggy sad bands has returned! It's been fourteen years since their last record, and on their first album since their reunion, Green Carnation are proving they still got it. This album features four lengthy, moody, unmistakably Green Carnation tracks, and a cover of Black Sabbath's "Solitude." This is a welcomed, and successful return.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0BD5KGuZ1M][/youtube]
Oathbreaker – Ease Me & 4 Interpretations
Genre: Post-black metal
Origin: Ghent, Belgium
Label: Deathwish Inc.
Last year through Adult Swim's Metal Swim compilation Oathbreakter released a new track called "Ease Me." This EP (perhaps this more of an expanded single?) includes that track and four remixes of it by Chelsea Wolfe, Jesu, and others putting their unique spins on this song. Of course, you're getting the same vocals on each, but musically these are wildly different.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0_AA0WmHuY][/youtube]
Winterfylleth – The Reckoning Dawn
Genre: Black metal
Origin: Manchester, England
Label: Candlelight/Spinefarm
In 2018 Winterfylleth released their acoustic album The Hallowing of Heirdom and on The Reckoning Dawn they waste no time letting the listener know that they are back to black metal business here. This is evil, epic, and angry. While the acoustic album was a haunting and enjoyable experience, I'm sure many fans will be happy to have this band doing this again.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UzcGemqvvU][/youtube]
Also dropping today…
- Combos – Steelo (Loyal Blood) – Punk/noise rock
- Cryptex – Once Upon A Time (SPV/Steamhammer) – Progressive/folk
- Destruction – Born To Thrash – Live In Germany (Nuclear Blast) – Thrash
- Fake Names – Fake Names (Epitaph) – Punk
- Forgotten Tomb – Nihilistic Estrangement (Agonia Records) – Gothic/doom metal
- Forming the Void – Reverie (Ripple Music) – Doom
- Göden – Beyond Darkness (Svart Records) – Death Metal/doom
- Hatchets For Hands – Cabaret of Decay (Self-released) – Thrash/death metal
- Holden – Ursa Minor (Self-released) – Post-metal/doom
- Justice For The Damned – Pain Is Power (Greyscale Records) – Metalcore
- Magnus Karlsson's Free Fall – We Are the Night (Frontiers) – Heavy metal
- Mekong Delta – Tales of a Future Past (Butler records) – Progressive thrash
- Naglfar – Cerecloth (Century Media) – Melodic black metal)
- Omniarch – Omniarch (Self-released) – Technical death metal
- Past Five – Detox. (Eclipse Records) – Alternative metal
- Pushy – Hard Wish (Tee Pee Records) – Rock
- Secrets of the Moon – Black House (Prophecy) – Gothic rock/metal
- Shiner – Schadenfreude (Two Black Eyes) – Post-rock/space rock
- The Sonic Dawn – Enter the Mirage (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Garage rock/stoner
- Smackbound – 20/20 (Frontiers Music SRL) – Melodic metal
- Sojourner – Premonitions (Napalm) – Atmospheric black metal
- Thy Despair – The Song of Desolation (Rockshots Records) – Symphonic metal
- Vuur & Zijde/Impavida – Vuur & Zijde/Impavida (Prophecy) – Black metal
