This week's new heavy metal releases include some black metal opuses, capes, intensity, and more! To the metals…
Dälek – Precipice
Genre: Experimental hip hop
Origin: Newark, New Jersey
Label: Ipecac Recordings
Dälek are not a metal act (go ahead an skip your comment there), but they're an act that has lots of crossover appeal. Precipice features their blending of hip hop beats, noisy experimentation, and poignant lyrics. This one does feature a track with Adam from Tool as well, so there's your connection should you need one.
Devil Master – Ecstasies Of Never Ending Night
Genre: Black metal/punk
Origin: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Label: Relapse
From their aesthetic, to their sound, and even down to their 4:3 aspect ratio on their VHS-inspired music video Devil Master set out to evoke an old school vibe. I'd say they succeed. This album frankly doesn't invent anything new, but they blend not-so dispirit sounds into something that feels fresh somehow. It's also sure to increase cape sales the world over. A full review by Kevin is right here.
The Gathering – Beautiful Distortion / Interference
Genre: Atmospheric rock
Origin: Oss/Nijmegen, Netherlands
Label: Psychonaut Records
Order both from The Gathering
It's been almost a decade since The Gathering has released new material and their first post-reunion output is both a full album AND an EP. What a time to be a fan. The full length (Beautiful Distortion) is the atmospheric rock that the band has been up to since How To Measure A Planet? or so and the EP (Interference) serves as a companion piece with a pair of additional songs and a live version of the titular track of the aforementioned How To Measure A Planet?.
Helms Alee – Keep This Be The Way
Genre: Sludge/experimental
Origin: Seattle, Washington
Label: Sargent House
One of sludge's finest kept secrets has returned with their trademark heavy, emotional, and atypical engulfing metal. Their triple vocal attack remains a highlight on this record with trading leads, eerie harmonies, and aggressive screams. This is an unconventionally beautiful record.
Lament Cityscape – A Darker Discharge
Genre: Industrial/doom
Origin: Buffalo, Wyoming
Label: Lifeforce
This is one of the most powerful and interesting albums I've heard in some time. There is a bit of Author & Punisher vibes here combined with Uniform's intensity mixed with an early 00's cinematic score. It's like if Anaal Nathrakh was an industrial band. This features collaborations (guest spots? whatever) From Venetian Veil/ex-(waning) Jim Willig and Susan Hunt, and others.
Rammstein – Zeit
Genre: Neue Deutsche Härte/industrial
Origin: Berlin, Germany
Label: Universal
New Rammstein y'all. I feel like I don't need to say much here. Driving industrial that will get you moving on your very own keyboard treadmill.
The Spirit – Of Clarity and Galactic Structures
Genre: Black/death metal
Origin: Saarbrücken, Germany
Label: AOP Records
Now lets take a black metal trip to space! Album number three from The Spirit is like if Thulcandra kept things mostly frosty but incorporated a bit more of Steffen Kummerer's Obscura guitar runs. It's a triumph of a record that I could see on some of your more hip end of the year lists. We've got a full stream here and Jeff's review here.
Watain – The Agony & Ecstasy Of Watain
Genre: Black metal
Origin: Stockholm, Stockholm
Label: Nuclear Blast
Watain are a band with A Sound. This album retains Watain's Sound, and yet it somehow is also their most diverse offering yet. Jeff has a deep dive on this album here, where he basically says this album is the shit, but with a higher quantity and quality of words.
Also dropping this week…
- Abhomine – Demonize Destroy Delete (Osmose Productions) – Black/death metal
- Al-Namrood – Worship the Degenerate (Shaytan Productions) – Black metal
- Beyond The Structure – Scrutiny (Vicious Instinct Records) – Technical death metal – Full stream
- Candelabrum – Nocturnal Trance (Hells Headbangers) – Black metal
- Child Bite / Black Rheno – Split (Housecore Records) – Hardcore/stoner
- Crashdiet – Automaton (Crusader / Golden Robot) – Heavy metal
- Dischordia – Triptych (Transcending Obscurity Records) – Technical death metal
- Enragement – Atrocities (Rising Nemesis Records) – Death metal
- Goldilush – Fragile Zombies (Self-released) – Alternative rock
- Heriot – Profound Mortality (Church Road Records) – Doom/atmospheric metal
- Inanna – Void Of Unending Depths (Memento Mori) – Death metal
- Intolerance – Dark Paths Of Humanity (Memento Mori) – Death metal
- Introtyl – Adfectus (Emanzipation) – Death metal
- Kaipa – Urskog (InsideOut) – Progressive/folk
- Lionsoul – A Pledge To Darkness (Rockshots Records) – Heavy metal
- Melvins & Dumb Numbers – Broken Pipe (Joyful Noise Recordings) – Sludge
- Meyhnach – Miseria de profundis (Osmose Productions) – Black metal
- No/Mas – Consume/Deny/Repent (Closed Casket Activities) – Grindcore/thrash
- Paddy and the Rats – From Wasteland to Wonderland (Napalm Records) – Punk
- Pyrithe – Monuments To Impermanence (Gilead Media) – Post-metal/noise
- Sacrilega – The Arcana Spear (Blood Harvest Records) – Death metal
- Slowtorch – The Machine Has Failed (Electric Valley Records) – Stoner rock
- Speckmann Project – Fiends Of Emptiness (Emanzipation) – Death metal
- Suppression – The Sorrow Of Soul Through Flesh (Unspeakable Axe Records) – Death metal
- Teufelsberg – Ordre du Diable (Signal Rex) – Black metal
- Thorium – Danmark (Emanzipation) – Death metal
- Thunder – Dopamine (BMG) – Rock
- Robin Trower – No More Worlds To Conquer (Provogue/Mascot) – Rock
- Tysondog – Midnight (From The Vaults) – Heavy/speed metal
- Various Artists – Reigning Blood – A Tribute To Slayer (Satyrn) – Slyer covers
- Velcrocranes – What If I Die (InsideOut) – Progressive rock
- Venetian Veil – Conjurings Vol. 3 (Self-released) – Ambient
- Void Of Vision – Chronicles II: Heaven (UNFD) – Metalcore
- Vulcano – Stone Orange (Emanzipation) – Thrash/black metal
- Ann Wilson – Fierce Bliss (Silver Lining) – Rock