This week's new heavy metal releases include some hurdy-gurdy, which you know I love, and other music that doesn't have hurdy-gurdy for some reason.
To the metals…
Eluveitie – Ategnatos
Genre: Folk/death metal
Origin: Zurich, Switzerland
Label: Nuclear Blast
Let's open this week up with some epic ass folk metal. A mere two years after their last record, Switzerland's nine-headed monster is back with all the pan flute, penny whistle, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, and other atypical-in-metal-but-totally-normal-in-Eluveitie instrumentation you could want from the band. In a fun twist Randy Blythe from Lamb of God appears on a track. I can't say I saw that coming from either party.
Exumer – Hostile Defiance
Genre: Thrash
Origin: Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Label: Metal Blade
With this album, Exumer have now put out more albums post-reunion than they did in their initial run in the 80's. The band still is all about that classic sound. So if you're looking for some new, but sounds old, but in a good way thrash, get this album.
Latitudes – Part Island
Genre: Post-metal/sludge
Origin: London, England
Label: Debemur Morti
Bummer vibes and post-metal/rock go together quite well, and quite frequently. There's something extra sad about this album though. Latitudes bring the tears with a Katatonia-esque sound, but take moments to also bring some tremolo picking and blackened elements. Matt Bacon has a full review right here.
Periphery – Periphery IV: Hail Stan
Genre: Progressive metal/djent
Origin: Washington D.C.
Label: 3Dot
This album is a risk in several ways for Periphery. It’s their first on their own label after their time with Sumerian, also it STARTS with a seventeen minute epic. Who does that? However, I feel like it’s their most successful record in years. This is just shy of the level of diversity on their ep Clear (which had each of their members at the time writing a song on their own). Still, it’s got electronic beeps and boops, long ass progressive journeys, and all that thump you'd want. There must have been something in the water this time. Leon has a full review here.
Pharlee –Pharlee
Genre: Heavy metal
Origin: Oceanside, California
Label: Tee Pee Records
I don't know a lot about this EP or band other than the woman on the cover, who fronts the band, is not named Pharlee. Her name is Macarena. What I learned from this EP is that this band deals out proggy and psychedelic heavy metal of very high quality. This EP is an adventure, and one that is all too short.
Waste Of Space Orchestra- Syntheosis 
Genre: Psychedelic death metal
Origin: Finland
Label: Svart Records
When Dark Buddha Rising and Oranssi Pazuzu get in a room together, madness happens. This album is over an hour of that madness. It’s a wild, multi genre, psychedelic journey. At times it is hypnotizing, and other times is sounds like a straight up nightmare. Behind the scenes at the Metal Injection compound at least one writer is calling it album of the year already.
Wormwitch- Heaven That Dwells Within
Genre: Black metal/folk metal
Origin: Vancouver, British Columbia
Label: Prosthetic Records
I don't usually think of Canada as a place for folk metal. However, Canada's metal output is diverse as fuck, so I'm not sure why the sound of Wormwitch surprised me. The band's Facebook describes them as "Medieval Myth & Magic from the Great Wight North," and that really sums it up better that I could. I'm very into it though.
Also dropping today…
Animal Drive – Back To The Roots EP (Frontiers) – Hard rock
Antropomorphia – Merciless Savagery (Metal Blade) – Death metal
Blind Monarch – What Is Imposed Must Be Endured (Black Bow Records) – Death Doom
Brant Bjork – Jacoozzi (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Stoner
Ceremony Of Silence – Outis (Willowtip Records) – Blackened death metal
Cities of Mars – The Horologist (Ripple Music) – Doom/stoner
Cultic – High Command (Eleventh Key) – Death metal/doom
Decoherence – Decoherence (Sentient Ruin Black) – Black metal/experimental
Drudkh – A Few Lines In Archaic Ukrainian (Season Of Mist) – Black metal
Enterprise Earth – Luciferous (eOne) – Deathcore
Gloson – Mara (Black Lion Records) – Atmospheric sludge
Heavy Feather – Débris & Rubble (The Sign Records) – Heavy metal
Huelga- Huelga (Self-released) – Instrumental metal
Las Robertas – Together Outrageously (Rogue Wave Records) – Garage rock
Parallel Minds – Every Hour Wounds…The Last One Kills (Pitch Black Records) – Progressive/groove metal
Polar – Nova (Arising Empire/Nuclear Blast) – Post-hardcore
Rescue Rangers – Divisive (Klonosphere) – Noise rock
SHVPES – Greater Than (Spinefarm) – Melodic hardcore
Sworn Enemy – Gamechanger (M-Theory Audio) – Metalcore/crossover
Three Dead Fingers – Breed Of The Devil (Bleeding Music Records) – Death metal/thrash
