Welcome to December! The month where this piece grinds to a stop. I still have some cool shit this edition, and in future ones, but bands and labels aren't big on dropping stuff during this month. Anyway, get one some rad psych band, instrumental loveliness, and more! To the metals…
Intervals – The Shape Of Colour
Genre: Instrumental prog
Origin: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Label: Self
Buy now via Bandcamp
The once instrumental progressive metal project is once again sans vocalist and still just as awesome. Aaron Marshall has always had a knack for writing interesting guitar-based music that doesn't always shred, but that still certainly holds a listeners attention. This man knows melody.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NADqpeFguE[/youtube]
Jess And The Ancient Ones – Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes 
Genre: Psychedelic
Origin: Kuopio, Finland
Label: Svart
Buy now on Amazon.com
Rock music seems to be rather swept up in a new wave of heavy metal that is infused with psychedelic influence, so I feel like this band should catch on a bit. Jess and The Ancient Ones has a little bit of a creepy vibe to it that gives it that "occult" rock vibe, so you Ghost fans might dig that. However, this band shouldn't be pigeon-holed into that scene as they are a really unique and interesting experience that pays respect to your 70's bands while taking us into a new era. Fucking rad throughout.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGQ4tDgjV7o[/youtube]
Secrets Of The Moon – Sun
Genre: Black metal
Origin: Osnabrück, Germany
Label: Prophecy
Buy now on Amazon.com
A pretty cool release of well produced modern black metal. Some doom, some atmospheric elements, some gothic elements, and a little prog tossed it. Pretty cool overall. I'd never heard of these guys, but they have piqued my interest.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T10Z-Koioms[/youtube]
SikTh – Opacities EP
Genre: Progressive
Origin: Watford, England
Label: Peaceville
Buy now on Amazon.com
After five long years away, one of my least favorite band names to say has returned to get weird once again. This EP is everything great about the band wrapped in a little package. This release has made feel like digging through my iTunes and revisiting these guys. I didn't realize how much I missed them.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTIkjwizm10[/youtube]
Sunn O))) – Kannon
Genre: Drone
Origin: Los Angeles, California / Paris, France
Label: Southern Lord
Buy now on Amazon.com
You like your drone comprised of nothing but feedback with some occasional drums? Of course you fucking do! You know Sunn O))), so stop reading this and just put them in your years.
Preview on Rolling Stone
Also dropping today…
Abominator – Barbarian War Worship (Nuclear War Now!) – Black metal
Amber Asylum – Sin Eater (Prophecy) – Experimental
Blood Red Saints – Speedway (Frontiers) – Hard rock
Cloak Of Altering – Manifestation (Crucial Blast) – Avant-garde black metal
Conflicted – Under Bio-lence (Sick Bangers) – Thrash
Confrontation – Aggregat 4 (Chaos) – Doom/death metal
Dystrophy – Wretched Host (Selfmadegod) – Technical death metal
Europe – War Of Kings Special Edition (UDR) – Power metal
Extreme Cold Winter – Paradise Ends Here (Vic) – Doom/death metal
Find Me – Dark Angel (Frontiers) – Power metal
Harem Scarem – Live At The Phoenix CD/DVD (Frontiers) – Hard rock
Just Before Dawn – The Dead And Those About To Die (Chaos) – Morningcore
Khymera – The Grand Design (Frontiers) – Power metal
Kvltist – Cathechesis (W.T.C.) – "Luciferian Worship"
Machinae – Clockwork (Concorde) – Progressive power metal
Malrun – Oblivion Awaits (Vicisolum) – Progressive power metal
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Noeth Ac Anoeth (New Heavy Sounds) – Sludge
Muscle Beach – Muscle Beach (Sailor) – Hardcore
Night Viper – Night Viper (Svart) – Heavy metal
An Ocean Of Void – The Great Escape (Inverse) – Post metal
Pyriphlegethon – Night Of Consecration (Iron Bonehead) – Black metal
Reincarnation – The Beginning Of The End (Xtreem) – Death metal
Sadism – Alliance (Toxic/Mechanix) – Death metal
Some Skeletons – Vigils (Mountains Of Records) – Alt rock/post rock
Standing Ovation – Gravity Beats Nuclear (Inverse) – Progressive
Stielas Storhett – Drownwards (Wormholedeath) – Black metal
Tombstones – Vargariis (Soulseller) – Stoner
Un – The Tomb Of All Things (Black Bow) – Doom
Void Ceremony – Cyclical Descent Of Causality EP (Blood Harvest) – Progressive death metal
Voodoo Circle – Whisky Fingers (AFM) – Heavy metal
Vorna – Ei Valo Minua Seuraa (Inverse) – Folk/black metal
Yuppicide – Revenge Regret Repeat (Dead City) – Punk
