This week’s new heavy metal releases include oodles of guitar noodles, electricity themed hard rock, jazz odysseys, and more! To the metals…
AC/DC – Power Up
Genre: Rock
Origin: Sydney, Australia
Label: Columbia
With Brian Johnson, Phill Rudd, and Cliff Williams all back in the band Angus and the boys are once again at their AC/DC-est. Rather short retirements by the guys that left, but whatever. I was expecting at least a cameo from Axl Rose after he took over for Brian, but these guys are all about straight forwardness without any riff raff, so maybe it's not that surprising. You know what you're in for with these guys, and as one of rocks longest running staples, you won't be mad about it.
Intervals – Circadian
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Toronto, Ontario
Label: Intervals
Buy now on Bandcamp
On his fourth album, and second as the sole official member, Aaron Marshall is gifting us with a flurry notes arranged in many melodic ways. Marshall has help from Nathan Bulla on drums, Jacob Umansky on bass, as well as guest spots from fellow git-fiddlers Joshua De La Victoria and Marco Sfogli, and even some saxophone from Saxl Rose. This is tasteful and catchy guitar shredding by one of today's best.
Katatonia – Dead Air
Genre: Gothic metal
Origin: Stockholm, Sweden
Label: Peaceville
As bands have been adapting to this whole not touring thing, many bands have been streaming shows or dropping live albums to stay relevant and (more likely) fed. This is the first time that I've seen a band dipping into both options by releasing a live album from a streamed show. This includes live debuts from their latest album City Burials, which fans of the record will appreciate, as well as some songs they haven't played live in a while. I have to admit that these seems like something for diehards, but then again aren't all live albums? Maybe this the the future for a while. It's not the worst idea as long as bands get weird with their sets.
Of Feather and Bone – Sulfuric Disintegration
Genre: Death/black metal
Origin: Denver, Colorado
Label: Profound Lore
Here's one for those folks that say I don't talk about enough "real metal." This is some nasty death metal that is brutal and unrelenting without being "brutal death metal." Fans of Tomb Mold and Gatecreeper will love this. Stream the whole dang thing here.
Periphery – Live In London
Genre: Progressive/djent
Origin: Washington D.C.
Label: 3Dot
Buy now from Periphery
If fans of Misha Mansoor weren't satisfied with his ten archival releases from this year, then maybe Periphery's first live album will make you happy. The set is unsurprisingly heavy on the Periphery IV: Hail Stan album with the epic opener of "Reptile" with Plini, Jakub Zytecki and Mikee Goodman being the highlight. However, there are a few from III, one from II, and one from Juggernaut as well.
Red Fiction – Visions of the Void
Genre: Jazz/noise
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Tzadik Records
Now for some musical madness. Red Fiction is the new0old band led by Jason Schimmel (who's also a member of Secret Chiefs 3), and I say new-old because this project was known as Atomic Ape. The album includes jazz, folk music, surf rock, avant-garde, noise, progressive metal, polka, and, some how, even more. It's a mostly instrumental marathon of genre and mood that fans of John Zorn, Disco Volante-era Mr. Bungle, and the likes should check out.
Also dropping today…
- Accu§er – Accu§er (Metal Blade Records) – Groove metal/thrash
- Blood From The Soul – DSM-5 (Deathwish) – Hardcore
- Boundaries – Your Receding Warmth (Unbeaten Records) – Deathcore
- Code Noir – Jack of All Spades (Leviaphonic Records) – Hard rock
- Dark Budda Rising – Mathreyata (Svart Records) – Drone/doom
- Death Dealer – Conquered Lands (Steel Cartel) – Power metal
- Décembre Noir – The Renaissance Of Hope (Lifeforce Records) – Melodic doom/death metal
- Dismal – Quinta Essentia (DreamCell 11 Entertainment) – Gothic rock
- Dying Wish – Innate Thirst (SharpTone Records) – Metalcore
- Ecclesia – De Ecclesiæ Universalis (Aural Music) – Doom
- Ghostkid – Ghostkid (Century Media) – Hard rock/post-hardcore
- Groovenom – Mitten ins Herz (Out Of Line Music) – Melodic death/groove metal
- Harlott – Detritus Of The Final Age (Metal Blade) – Thrash
- Humanity Is Cancer – Humanity Is Cancer (Redefining Darkness Records) – Death metal
- Jesu – Terminus (Avalanche Recordings) – Experimental
- Katla – Allt þetta Helvítis Myrkur (Prophecy) – Atmospheric metal
- King 810 – AK Concerto No. 47, 11th Movement In G Major (Self) – Alternative/nu metal
- L.A. Guns – Renegades (Golden Robot) – Glam rock
- Lie Still – Severing The Hands Of Manipulation And Hate (Horror Pain Gore Death Productions) – Grindcore
- Macabre – Carnival Of Killers (Nuclear Blast) – Thrash/death metal
- Megaton Sword – Blood Hails Steel – Steel Hails Fire (Dying Victims Productions)- Heavy metal
- Novarupta- Marine Snow (Suicide Records) – Blackened sludge
- Orden Ogan – Final Days (AFM Records) – Power metal – Hard rock
- Ôros Kaù/Precaria – Theosulphuros split (I, Voidhanger) – Black metal
- Polyphozia – Suitcase Of Voices (Nefarious Industries) – grunge/post-rock
- Post Truth – Responses To Trauma (Resist Records) – Crust
- Putrid Offal – Live at Hellfest 2017 (Xenokorp) – Death metal
- Pyramaze – Epitaph (AFM Records) – Power metal
- Respire – Black Line (Holy Roar Records) – Post-hardcore
- Scalp – Domestic Extremity (Creator Destructor Records) – Death metal/hardcore
- Seismic – Seismic (Self-released) – Instrumental doom
- Silence Equals Death – Revolution Rising (Upstate Records) – Thrash/groove metal
- Soulburn – Noa's D'ark (Century Media) – Doom/dark metal
- Thrudvangar – Vegvisir (Trollzorn Records) – Folk/black metal
- Urfaust — Teufelsgeist (Ván Records) – Atmospheric black metal
- Völur – Death Cult (Prophecy) – Doom
- Warfect – Spectre Of Devastation (Napalm) – Thrash
- World Be Free – One Time For Unity(Revelation Records) – Melodic hardcore
- Ysgaroth – Storm Over a Black Sea (Self-released) – Blackened thrash
