This edition features some solid releases form long-running bands, new projects from veterans, and more! To the metals…
Black Map – In Droves 
Genre: Alt rock/progressive
Origin: San Francisco, California
Label: eOne
Buy now on Amazon.com
Loyal readers may have realized that I am Sacramento(ish) based. That fact alone makes the new Black Map a big deal. It features Mark Engles of Dredg and Chris Robyn of Far. Both of these are Sacramento-staples. Toss in vocals and guitar from Ben Flanagan of The Trophy Fire, and you have a (fairly) local supergroup. If you're not Sacramento based, this is also a very good alt rock band. They have some progressive and post-hardcore elements that make them really interesting. The new record expands on what they did with their debut, and adds a lot more, as a sophomore release should.
Darkest Hour – Godless Prophets & The Migrant
Genre: Melodic death metal/metalcore
Origin: Washington, D.C.
Label: Southern Lord
Buy now on Amazon.com
This band brings me back to an era when every show (regardless of genre) had a dude in a backpack that enjoyed karate kicking. If you happened to get kicked, if was your fault somehow. These guys have moved away from that scene a bit, and that scene has mostly died from what I can tell. They always seemed too good for that shit anyway. Surprisingly diverse record with a lot of cool shit.
Evocation – The Shadow Archetype
Genre: Melodic death metals
Origin: Borås, Sweden
Label: Metal Blade
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Evocation's fifth record has arrived to pummel you, and pummel it does. There are some great guitar melodies that aren't super wanky, which is refreshing. Fans of At The Gates or Entombed should be on this if you aren't already.
Fen – Winter 
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Origin: London, England
Label: Code666
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This on is a great record to get lost in. The atmosphere is beautiful, the metal is dark, and the songs are long. For those feeling that the Pillorian record (that is also dropping today) is lacking that special something, this one may be for you.
Havok – Conformicide 
Genre: Thrash
Origin: Denver, Colorado
Label: Century Media
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The guys from Havok are good at what they do, and what they do is old school-inspired thrash metal with some modern flairs. The band may be at their most political on this record. "Hang 'Em High" features the refrain "The enemy is not coming from overseas," and the seven-minute epic "Ingsoc" is a nod to Orwell's 1984, which feels more relevant than ever.
Life in 24 Frames – Ctrl + Z
Genre: Progressive
Origin: Sacramento, CA
Label: Gold Standard Records
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On their second album, another Sacramento gem are bringing some lovely atmospheric prog to your earholes. Not super heavy, but fans of bands like Beardfish, Spock's Beard, or other atmospheric alt-rocky progressive outfits or post-rock bands will enjoy this. I sure do.
Nova Collective – The Further Side 
Genre: Instrumental metal fusion
Origin: US/UK
Label: Metal Blade
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I've been looking forward to this for a long, long time. This band features Dan Briggs (Between the Buried and Me bassist), Richard Henshall (Haken guitarist), Matt Lynch (Trioscapes drummer), and Pete Jones (ex-Haken keyboardist). It sounds exactly like you'd think, and it's great. This is a perfect instrumental progressive album.
Pillorian – Obsidian Arc 
Genre: Black metal
Origin: Portland, Oregon
Label: Eisenwald
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In his first outing since the fall of Agalloch, frontman John Haughm has joined forces with Stephen Parker (The Will of a Million) and Trevor Mathews (Infernus). The result is a much more straight up black metal experience than Haughm's past band. Some atmosphere remains, but this is a more grim experience.
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez – Azul, Mis Dientes
Genre: Experimental
Origin: El Paso, Texas
Label: Ipecac
Buy now on Amazon.com
Wrapping this week with another Omar album. This one is one that he recorded in 2013 that was shelved. It, once again, features vocals from Teri Gender Bender and drums from both Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez and Deantoni Parks.
Also dropping today…
Bush – Black And White Rainbows (Caroline) – Alt rock
Cellador – Off The Grid (Scarlet) – Power metal
Chrome Molly – Hoodoo Voodoo (earMusic) – Hard rock
Greg Graffin – Millport (Anti/Epitaph) – Country (By a dude from Bad Religion)
Hydrogyn – Redemption (HighVol) – Hard rock
Lunar Shadow – Far From Light (Cruz Del Sur) – Heavy metal
Nick Douglas – Regenerations (Metalville) – Heavy metal
The Picturebooks – Home Is A Heartache (Another Century) – Alternative/blues
Planning For Burial – Below The House (The Flenser) – Blackened "slowcore"
Sweat Lodge – Tokens For Hell EP (Brutal Panda) – Psychedelic/Stoner
Thobbe Englund – Sold My Soul (Metalville) – Instrumental heavy metal
Unwill – Past Life (eOne/Lifeblood) – Hard rock
