This week's new heavy metal releases include Coachella favorites, twangy metal, feedback, and more! To the metals…
Code Orange – Underneath
Genre: Hardcore
Origin: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Label: Roadrunner
Metal's current It band is back bringing their pummeling hardcore with a bit more industrial and hard rock infused this time. I appreciate that they didn't just redo what they did on Forever again. I can see this keeping their crossover appeal going.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctn14oYz0qA][/youtube]
Jonathan Hulten – Chants From Another Place 
Genre: Singer-songwriter
Origin: Arvika, Sweden
Label: Kscope
Chants From Another Place is not a metal album, but it's an album by a metal dude. This is Tribulation's guitarist's first solo outing. On this you're getting a stripped down guitar and a guy folk approach. It's a little spooky, but really it's just quite relaxing.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOmaeh3sv7o][/youtube]
Human Impact – Human Impact 
Genre: Noise Rock
Origin: New York, New York
Label: Ipecac
Unsane’s Chris Spencer and Cop Shoot Cop’s Jim Coleman gathered some pals are getting noisy and hypnotic here. There is plenty of rhythmic weirdness here that could interest fans of prog beats. As weird as it may sound, this sounds like a perfect Ipecac Records record. So if you're a fan of the label as a whole, this will probably tickle your fancy. Kevin has a full deep dive here.
[youtube=https://youtu.be/3ZW5FHzF-Wc][/youtube]
Huntsmen – Mandala Of Fear 
Genre: Sludge/Americana metal
Origin: Chicago, Illinois
Label: Prosthetic Records
When Huntsmen first broke, their sound was already hard to nail, but people seemed to agree on "Americana Metal" since you're getting metal with a little twang and roots rock harmony. They are definitely still doing that, but their sophomore album has them introducing more dynamics. Whether it be musically with over all expanded diversity or vocally with new addition of vocalist Aimee Bueno, this is a logical and successful growth for the band. Stream the whole thing here.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_yib4XI5QE][/youtube]
Lychgate – Also sprach Futura 
Genre: Avant-Garde/Black
Origin: London, England
Label: Debemur Morti
This EP is a thing of nightmares. It's four blackened avant-garde tracks that sound like a journey through a horror film being played at twice the speed it should be. When you do get a break from the barrage, it remains in a air of unease. I recommend it.
[youtube=https://youtu.be/Rv8eWHWTec4][/youtube]
Stitched Up Heart – Darkness 
Genre: Hard rock/alternative metal
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Century Media
I'll end this week with something a bit different than what I normally highlight. Darkness is the second album from alternative metal band Stitched Up Heart. They album sounds like something that would do quite well at an Aftershock or Sonic Temple festival. It's a pretty solid melodic alternative metal affair that would appeal to fans of Kittie.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV61Qsk1uTA][/youtube]
Also dropping today…
- Afterbirth – Four Dimensional Flesh (Unique Leader) – Brutal death metal
- Åskväder – Åskväder (The Sign Records) – Heavy metal
- Bells and Ravens – In Our Blood (Dr. Music Records) – Symphonic metal
- Benevolent Like Quietus – Kill The Bliss (Self-release) – Doom
- Conny Bloom – Game! Set! Bloom! (Mighty) – Glam
- Crimson Shadows – The Resurrection EP (Napalm) – Power/death metal
- DeadRisen – DeadRisen (AFM Records) – Melodic metal
- Dirt Woman – The Glass Cliff (Grimoire) – Doom/sludge
- The Goners – Good Mourning (RidingEasy Records) – Hard rock/heavy metal
- Gotthard – #13 (Nuclear Blast Records) – Hard rock
- Hubris – Metempsychosis (Art As Catharsis) – Post-Rock/metal
- In The Fire – The Living Horror Show (Horror Pain Gore Death Productions) – Death/black metal
- Invent, Animate – Greyview (Tragic Hero Records) – Metalcore
- Itus – Primordial (Self-release) – Stoner
- Motives – Death Throes (Smartpunk Records) – Alternative rock
- Orphan Donor – Old Patterns (Zegema Beach Records) – Metalcore
- Pestifer – Expanding Oblivion (Xenokorp) – Technical death metal
- Puta Volcano – Amma (The Orchard) – Hard rock/post-grunge
- Rotting Kingdom – A Deeper Shade of Sorrow (Boris) – Death metal/doom
- Spectral Lore/Mare Cognitum – Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine (I, Voidhanger) – Cosmic black metal
- Srectres – Nostalgia (Artoffact Records) – Post-punk
- Tomorrow Is Lost – Therapy (Eclipse) – Alternative metal
- The Unity – Pride (SPV/Steamhammer) – Power metal
- Verbal Razors – By Thunder And Lightning (Deadlight Entertainment) – Crossover/thrash
- White Stones – Kuarahy (Nuclear Blast) – Death Metal
- Wolf – Feeding The Machine (Century Media) – Heavy metal
