This week’s new heavy metal releases include lots of shredding, hardcore feel-good jams, riffs, and more! To the metals…
Clutch – The Weathermaker Vault Series Volume 1
Genre: Hard rock/stoner
Origin: Germantown, Maryland
Label: Weathermaker Music
Since the summer of 2019 Clutch have been dropping one-off tracks that via YouTube and streaming services. All those songs are finally in one place in this colleciton. This includes their covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," ZZ Top's "Precious And Grace," and others. There are also a bunch of new takes on old Clutch tunes like "Willie Nelson," "Supergrass," and "Passive Restraints." This is a must have for those in the cult of Clutch.
Dream Theater – Distant Memories – Live In London
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Long Island, New York
Label: InsideOut
Back in February Dream Theater hit London to play Act 2 (Metropolis, Part 2: Scenes From a Memory) in full along with a full set of mostly Distance Over Time tracks, and they brought cameras along with them. This, their ninth official live album, is that night. Act 2 is largely seen as peak Dream Theater, so that portion of this release is worth the price alone. There was a lot of good stuff on Distance though, and hearing it live here is also pretty neat.
Electric Hydra – Electric Hydra
Genre: Heavy metal/stoner
Origin: Småland, Sweden
Label: Tee Pee
Now far from progressive wankery, we have some straight up rocking from Electric Hydra. On their debut record this band combine infectious melodies, classic riffs, and fuzzed out everything into something that should appeal to fans of Fu Manchu, Dio-era Black Sabbath, and likes. And that name, is perfect for them. You read "Electric Hydra" and you know what this band is about.
Hatebreed – Weight Of The False Self
Genre: Hardcore
Origin: Bridgeport, Connecticut
Label: Nuclear Blast
Jamey Jasta and pals are back to pummel you while helping you build your self-worth. The Hatebreed formula of heavy hardcore with positivity has always fascinated me, but it certainly works for them. Crank their first record in four years and get a circle pit going in your loving room.
Horse the Band – Your Fault
Genre: Metalcore/progressive
Origin: Lake Forest, California
Label: Lif Records
Stream it here
After over a decade of silence Horse The Band are releasing a three-song EP today. As of this writing I haven't heard a second of it, but pre-sales are completely sold out. I imagine it's what you'd want from this band with melodic metalcore, beeps, boops, and ironic lyrics. The levity we could all use right now.
Plini – Impulse Voices
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Sydney, Australia
Label: Plini
On his first full-length record in four years Plini is once again proving that he's one of modern music's finest guitarists. Impulse Voices is the perfect blend of whimsy and djent with equal parts wank and melodic lines. If you're a guitarist, regardless of your playing style, this one will make you feel terrible at the instrument.
Sodom – Genesis XIX
Genre: Thrash
Origin: Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Label: eOne
Lot of bands coming back after four years this week. Weird. Anyway, on their sixteenth album in almost forty years Sodom are back with a nearly entirely new lineup. Tom Angelripper has reunited with with guitarist Frank Blackfire for the first time since 1989 and has new guitarist Yorck Segatz and new drummer Toni Merkel in tow as well. What fascinates me is that it took this long for them to have a song called "Sodom & Gomorrah." They're from an era when bands dropped their name in titles all the time, and this particular title has been right there the whole time!
Within The Ruins – Black Heart
Genre: Progressive death metal
Origin: Westfield, Massachusetts
Label: eOne/Good Fight
Wrapping this week with some chunky, glitchy, proggy death metal. This is their first with Steve Tinnon on vocals and he fits in pretty well. The guitar playing of Joe Cocchi remains the highlight with wild effects that make this sound like a 16-bit video game crashing throughout the record.
Also dropping today…
- Amahiru – Amahiru (earMusic) – Melodic metal
- Billie Joe Armstrong – No Fun Mondays (Reprise) – Rock
- Autumnblaze – Welkin Shores Burning (Argonauta Records) – Gothic rock/metal
- Avlivad – Avlivad (Invictus Productions) – Death metal
- Azarath – Saint Desecratio (Agonia Records) – Black/death metal
- Bather – Phantom Guilt EP (Self-released) – Black metal/doom
- Black Pyre – Winter Solstice (Self-released) – Black metal
- Cadaver – Edder & Bile (Nuclear Blast) – Death metal
- Carnage Alpha – From There To Oblivion (Wormholedeath Records) – Melodic death metal
- Cell Press – Cell Press (Ancient Temple Recordings) – Noise/sludge
- Diamond Head – Lightning To The Nations 2020 (Silver Lining) – Hard rock
- Eleine – Dancing In Hell (Black Lodge Records) – Symphonic metal
- Ingrina – Siste Lys (Medication Time Records + A Tant Rêver Du Roi) – Post-metal/post-hardcore
- Marathon – Mark Kelly's Marathon (earMUSIC) – Progressive
- Névoa – Towards Belief (Self-released) – Atmospheric black metal
- Obscurae – To Walk the Path of Sorrows (American Decline Records) – Atmospheric black metal
- Ocean Hills – Santa Monica (AFM Records) – Alternative rock
- Ôros Kaù – Imperii Templum Aries (I, Voidhanger) – Black metal
- Paysage d'Hiver – Im Traum (Kunsthall Produktionen) – Atmospheric black metal
- Psycroptic – The Watcher Of All EP (Prosthetic/Agonia) – Tech-death
- Revolting – The Shadow at the World's End (Transcending Obscurity Records) – Death metal
- Morgan Rose – Controlled Chaos EP (Rise) – Hard rock
- Sainte Marie des Loups – Funérailles de Feu (Amor Fati Productions) – Black metal
- Scour – The Black EP (Housecore) – Black metal
- Sealand Airlines – Sealand Airlines (The Sign Records) – Progressive rock
- Shores of Null – Beyond The Shores (On Death And Dying) (Spikerot Records) – Doom
- Slaverty – Beyond Imagination (WormholeDeath) – Symphonic metal
- Smashing Pumpkins – Cyr (Sumerian) – Rock
- Synastry – Civilization's Coma (Self-released) – Groove/death metal
- Various Artists – Christmas Rocks EP (Mascot) – Christmas rock/metal
- Voivod – Lost Machine – Live (Century Media) – Progressive metal
- Volbeat – Rewind, Replay, Rebound: Live In Deutschland (Republic) – Hard rock
It's also Record Store Day Black Friday and you can peep those releases here.
