This week's new heavy metal releases include a record that sounds like a warrior riding a wolf, sad metal, and more! To the metals…
The Armed – Everlasting Gaze
Genre: Detroit, Michigan
Origin: Experimental metal.rock
Label: Sargent House
Buy now on Bandcamp
This is an EP that includes three new songs and three remixes of the track "Sport of Form" from The Armed's last full record Perfect Saviors. Like that last record, this is big, bright, and riotous.
Jerry Cantrell – I Want Blood
Genre: Hard rock/grunge
Origin: Tacoma, Washington
Label: Double J
Buy now on Amazon
Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell has returned with another grungy triumph of a record. Like all his solo outings, he dabbles a bit more, but when he goes hard it's not that different from AIC. He has a lot of familiar friends helping him out here like Duff McKagan, Robert Trujillo, Greg Puciato, and more
Ensiferum – Winter Storm
Genre: Folk metal
Origin: Helsinki, Finland
Label: Metal Blade
Buy now on Bandcamp
Every once in a while I say something about a record's cover art telling you what you're in for. What do you think a record adorned with a sword-wielding, wolf-riding warrior sounds like? Ensiferum's ninth record sounds like that. Equal parts epic and heavy.
Escuela Grind – Dreams On Algorithms
Genre: Grindcore/death metal
Origin: Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Label: MNRK Heavy
Buy now on Bandcamp
After a rather eventful year or so, Escuela Grind have returned with some grinding heaviness. Dreams On Algorithms has them working with producer Kurt Ballou and utilizing some clean vocals, which may be an adjustment for some. Still heavy as hell otherwise.
Harvestman – Triptych: Part Three
Genre: Folk/ambient
Origin: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Label: Neurot Recordings
Buy now on Bandcamp
While Neurosis remains dormant (dead?) Steve Von Till is once again taking us into nature and some more experimental realms with his Harvestman project. This is more unease via drone, programmed noises, and vibes. This is the final part of the Triptych, and what a haunting journey it has been.
Immortal Bird – Sin Querencia
Genre: Blackened sludge/crust
Origin: Chicago, Illinois
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Buy now on Bandcamp
Immortal Bird's first record in five years hard to pin down and treat of an album. It's proggier than I remember them being, but still dark and crushing. You're getting breakneck tonal shifts, blast beats, and a sonic beating that doesn't let up.
Melted Bodies – The Inevitable Fork
Genre: Experimental metal
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Self-released
Buy now on Bandcamp
Over the last few years I have gushed about this wild band and their Inevitable Fork EPs. It has all lead to this. The EPs are all in one place with even more songs and it is a deranged feast when it's all put together. Again, if you like Danny Elfman's Big Mess and/or classic Mr Bungle, this should be very pleasing.
Swallow The Sun – Shining
Genre: Melodic death metal/doom
Origin: Jyväskylä, Finland
Label: Century Media
Buy now on Bandcamp
Taking us home this week with some sad metal icons. Shining is a beautiful and emotional while swinging a doom hammer. The band's last record Moonflowers was poised to be a difficult record to top. This one might be just as great.
Also dropping this week…
- Aries Descendant – From The Ashes Of Deceit (Frontiers) – Power/symphonic metal
- Ashen Tomb – Ecstatic Death Reign (Everlasting Spew Records) – Death metal
- Black Elephant – The Fall Of The Gods (Small Stone Recordings) – Psychedelic/stoner rock
- Camos – Hide From The Light (Murder Records) – Black metal
- Candy – Flipping (Triple B Records) – Hardcore
- Carnosus – Wormtales (Willowtip Records) – Technical/melodic death metal
- Common Wounds – All Night Blood (Protagonist Music) – Post-hardcore
- Contrition – Pariahs (Self-released) – Grindcore/death metal
- The Copyrights – New Ghosts (Fat Wreck Chords) – Pop punk
- DGM – Endless (Frontiers) – Progressive/power metal
- Damnations Domain – A World Turned Black (Iron Fortress Records) – Grindcore/death metal
- Dawnwalker – The Unknowing (Self-released) – Post-metal/rock
- Deathrite – Flames Licking Fever (Into Endless Chaos Records) – Death metal/punk
- Deivos – Apophenia (Selfmadegod Records) – Brutal death metal
- Deserts of Mars – Dead Planet Exodus (Self-released) – "Mars metal"
- Disentomb – Nothing Above (Unique Leader Records) – Brutal death metal
- Dregg – The Art Of Everything (Self-released) – Nu metal
- Fate – Reconnect N' Ignite (Frontiers) – Hard rock/AOR
- Feral – To Usurp The Thrones (Transcending Obscurity Records) – Death metal
- Fight The Fade – Isolationist (FiXT) – Hard rock
- Five The Hierophant – Apeiron (Agonia Records) – Avant-garde metal
- Fórn – Repercussions of the Self (Persistent Vision Records) – "funeral sludge"
- Frost* – Life In The Wires (InsideOutMusic) – Progressive rock/metal
- Frozen Crown – War Hearts (Napalm) – Power metal
- Funeral – Gospel Of Bones (Season Of Mist) – Doom
- Grand Magus – Sunraven (Nuclear Blast) – Heavy metal/doom
- Hatchet – Leave No Soul (M-Theory) – Death metal/thrash
- Hell Valley High – Welcome To Hell Valley (Argonauta Records) – Hard rock
- The Hypothesis – Evolve (Noble Demon) – Progressive metal
- Maatkare – Rise To Power (Maatkare) – Blackened death metal
- MC5 – Heavy Lifting (earMusic) – Rock
- Misanthropic Aggression – Insect Politics (Boris Records) – Death metal/crust
- Mother Of Graves – The Periapt Of Absence (Profound Lore Records) – Melodic death metal/doom
- Mystyc Blade – The Master Is Inside (Wormholedeath Records) – Heavy metal
- Oryx – Primordial Sky (Translation Loss Records) – Doom/sludge
- Prime Directive – The Fallout (Punkerton) – Punk
- The Progressive Souls Collective – Encore Vol. 1: Sonic Tributes (Metalville Records) – Progressive
- Starcrazy – Starcrazy (Self-released) – Glam rock
- Sun & Sail Club – Shipwrecked (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Stoner rock/metal
- Tungsten – The Grand Inferno (Reigning Phoenix Music) – Power metal
- Veiled – SE/CT (Seek And Strike) – Deathcore
- Veonity – The Final Element (Scarlet Records) – Power metal
- Whispering Void – At the Sound of the Heart (Prophecy Productions) – Ambient rock
