Another insanely good week to close out September. Features lots of prog (yay), some beautiful atmospheric stuff (yay), crazy thrash (shrug), and more (yay)! To the metals…
The Agonist – Five 
Genre: Melodic death metal
Origin: Montreal, Canada
Label: Napalm
Buy now on Amazon.com
Now on album two with their second singer, The Agonist are still growing and getting better on their fifth overall. This is easily their most diverse offering with a jazzy lounge-ish song, symphonic epicness, and more added to the melodic death metal you'd expect. Features a cover of that Hozier song you're sick of, "Take Me To Church."
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY_Aank1OXI[/youtube]
Alcest – Kodama 
Genre: Post black metal
Origin: Paris, France
Label: Prophecy
Buy now on Amazon.com
Kodama is the follow-up to the divisive Shelter, and shows that Neige is feeling grim again. The band are still experimenting, and it's all working. The few tracks I've heard are amazing, so I'd imagine that the full-length is going to be godlike.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwE5FG-pIdk[/youtube]
Brain Tentacles – Brain Tentacles 
Genre: Experimental jazz metal
Origin: Richmond, VA/Chicago, IL/Cleveland, OH
Label: Relapse
Buy now on Amazon.com
This is the chaotic debut of the jazz trio featuring members of Yakuza, Municipal Waste, and Keelhaul. If you were a fan of Trioscapes, you may like this as Brain Tentacles are like their crazy cousin. The fact that this band is opening an up-coming Gorguts tour makes perfect sense.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyE9d8gyO4c[/youtube]
Brant Bjork – Tao Of The Devil 
Genre: Stoner
Origin: Palm Springs, California
Label: Napalm
Buy now on Amazon.com
The drummer of Kyuss is back out on his own on Tao of the Devil. Bjork is keep his sound desert adjacent, so long time fans should be excited. This record has a lot of 70's rock influences. Bjork's material always seemed to, but it's at 11 here.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBpVH8z3ZG8[/youtube]
Edensong – Years In The Garden Of Years 
Genre: Orchestral progressive
Origin: New York, New York
Label: Lasers Edge
Buy now on Amazon.com
This band is a progressive band in just about every way you can imagine. They incorporate not-so-metal instruments (a flute to name one), they have complex rhythms, genre leaps, and long adventurous songs. Years is their second record, and the band avoid that sophomore slump for sure.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol7E7xazCOY[/youtube]
Epica – The Holographic Principle 
Genre: Symphonic metal
Origin: Reuver, Netherlands
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon.com
Epica does what Epica does on The Holographic Principle. This is epic throughout, with grand instrumentation, soaring vocals, and driving rhythms. Not really any surprises here, but no dip in quality. Simone still sounds great.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cb91iAD-nY[/youtube]
Opeth – Sorceress 
Genre: Progressive
Origin: Stockholm, Opeth
Label: Moderbolaget/Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon.com
No death metal, boo hoo. That part of whining about Opeth is now done. This record is Opeth at their proggiest. Sorceress is all over the place in the best way. It's kind of like Watershed in that regard. I greatly enjoyed it, but it's hard to be mad at this band as someone that prefers their mid-late work. UK fans, you can also try your luck on www.casinoreviews.co.uk, considered as the best UK casino portal 2016.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhqijfqecvA[/youtube]
Emma Ruth Rundle – Marked For Death
Genre: Ambient folk
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Sargent House
Buy now on Amazon.com
Not a metal record per se, but Emma's work is heavy emotionally and really dark. If you're a fan of Marriages or Red Sparowes, which she also played in, you'll enjoy this. Really, just check out all of Emma Ruth Rundle's solo stuff.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz90JZuOckM[/youtube]
Suicidal Tendencies – World Gone Mad 
Genre: Crossover thrash
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Suicidal
Buy now on Amazon.com
Going to end this week with the crossover masters. This one will make you want to do that thing where you run in a circle, lift your arms really high, and exaggerate your walk, and stuff. You know the thing I'm talking about. Anyway, the band is as absurd and awesome as always here. Features a weird tribute to Ozzy Osbourne (I think) on a track called "Clap Like Ozzy," but I've never seen Ozzy slam like a beast.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HFm0TCQUiI[/youtube]
Also dropping today…
Asphyx – Incoming Death (Century Media) – Doom/death metal
Auras – Heliospectrum (eOne) – Progressive metal
Freya – Grim (Fastbreak!) – Metal/hardcore
Holy Serpent – Temples (RidingEasy) – Doom/stoner
Into The Fire – Into The Fire EP (Pavement) – Death metal
Invoking The Abstract – Aural Kaleidoscopes (Unique Leader) – Technical metal
Kryptos – Burn Up The Night (AFM) – Thrash
Lordi – Monsterephonic (Theaterror vs. Demonarchy) (AFM) – Hard rock
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Y Proffwyd Dwyll (New Heavy Sounds) – Doom
Negura Bunget – Zi (Prophecy) – Progressive metal
Noctem – Haeresis (Prosthetic) – Blackened death metal
Oathbreaker – Rheia (Deathwish) – Hardcore
Scorpions – Live In Munich 2012 DVD (Eagle Rock) – Heavy metal
Seremonia – Pahuuden Aanet (Svart) – Psychadelic
Seven Kingdoms – In The Walls EP (Self) – Power metal
Skalmold – Vögguvísur Yggdrasils (Napalm) – Folk metal
Sully Erna – Hometown Life (BMG) – Rock
Truckfighters – V (Fuzzorama / Century Media) – Stoner rock
Winterfylleth – The Dark Hereafter (Candlelight/Spinefarm) – Black metal
