This week's new heavy metal releases include some riffs, some mashups, and more! To the metals…
Abrams – Blue City
Genre: Sludge/post-metal
Origin: Denver, Colorado
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings
Buy now on Bandcamp
The latest from Abrams is taking you to an ethereal plane. Blue Sky has all the heaviness of The Ocean but with the catchy song-writing of Chevelle. This has riffs for days.
lespecial – Sandwich Cage
Genre: Progressive rock/mash-up
Origin: Millerton, New York
Label: Self-released
Buy now on Bandcamp
Last September I snuck lespecial into the Weekly with their record Odd Times to showcase a wonderful band that's playing in both the heavy and jam band realms. They're already back this week with this EP that is sure to turn heads as they are hitting you with some unlikely mashups. They mixing "Enter Sandman" with "Sandstorm" ("Enter Sandstorm"), "Raining Blood," "Blind," and "Too Many Puppies" ("Raining Blind Puppies"), and a few others.
Sound&Shape – Pillars Of Creation
Genre: Progressive/hard rock
Origin: nashville, Tennesee
Label: Vydia Distribution
Buy now from Sound&Shape
Sound&Shape are one of those bands that has the adventurous spirit of prog but doesn't skimp on energy. They hit you with massive riffs while mid sing-along or some rhythmic shifts beneath emotive breaks. They remind me of early Biffy Clyro or Dredg while sounding very little like either.
Rotting Christ – Pro Xristou
Genre: Melodic black metal
Origin: Athens, Greece
Label: Season Of Mist
Buy now on Bandcamp
Now for something epic and dark. Pro Xristou is a record of massive, grim tracks that pays homage to the the Pagans. It's a record full of history and lore. Jeff has a full review here.
Teramaze – Eli: A Wonderful Fall From Grace
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
Label: Wells
Buy now on Bandcamp
Let's keep the epic thing going, but shift in every other way imaginable. Teramaze's latest is the third in a prog metal trilogy that started in 2015. It's nerdy, shreddy, and fun.
Vale Of Pnath – Between The Worlds Of Life And Death
Genre: Technical death metal
Origin: Denver, Colorado
Label: Willowtip
Buy now on Bandcamp
On their first full album in eight years, Vale Of Pnath are back and darker than ever. They're still quite technical, but there is more of a blackened lean than ever and perhaps this is because all three of these guys are also in Abigail Williams. Lots of guest spots from folks like Christian Münzner (Eternity's End), Wayne Ingram (Wilderun), Miles Baker (Interloper), and more.
Also dropping this week…
- Bass Communion – The Itself of Itself (Lumberton Trading Company) – Experimental/drone
- Bleakheart – Silver Pulse (Seeing Red Records) – Dreamgaze
- Boneripper – World Ablaze (Self-released) – Hardcore
- Cathari – It Will Hurt the Entire Time You Are Alive (Self-released) – Noisecore
- Capstan – The Mosaic (Fearless) – Hard rock/metalcore
- Dark Affliction – Five Stages Of Grief (Theogonia Records) – Black metal
- Dead Harrison – None For All (Self-released) – Gothic rock/doom
- Defects – Modern Error (Mascot Records) – Metalcore
- Eregion – Non Omnis Moriar (Rockshots Records) – Power metal
- Evildead – Toxic Grace (Steamhammer/SPV) – Thrash
- Fly Over States – Ghosts (Fever Ltd.) – Post-hardcore/screamo
- Gnarwhal – Altered States (Self-released) – Stoner/progressive
- I Cut Out Your Name – Testament der Dekandenz (Bastardized Recordings) – Modern metal/metalcore
- Kati Rán – SÁLA (Svart Records) – Folk
- Locusts And Honey – Teach Me To Live That I Dread The Grave As Little As My Bed (Hypaethral Records) – Black metal
- Clint Lowery – Don't Say It (Self-released) – Rock
- MoonKill – MoonKill (MoonKill) – MoonKill
- Moral Putrefaction – Moral Putrefaction (Self-released) – Death metal
- Mortal Wound – Anus Of The World (Dark Descent Records) – Death metal
- Night Laser – Call Me What You Want (Steamhammer/SPV) – Sleaze rock
- Pardoner – Paranoid In Hell (Convulse Records) – Slacker rock
- Peeling Flesh – 3 Year Peeling Spree (Unique Leader Records) – Slam/brutal death metal
- Puya – Potencial (The Orchard) – Progressive metal
- Red Handed Denial – A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia (Paid Vacation Records) – Metalcore
- Rotten UK – Age Of Chaos (Hells Headbangers) – Punk
- Sailor Hunter – Evolution (Inverse Records) – Metalcore
- Semuta – Glacial Erratic (Self-released) – Progressive sludge
- Sentiment Dissolve – The Orwellian Dream (CDN Records) – Technical death metal
- Summoner's Circle – Cult (Black Lion Records) – Progressive death metal/doom
- Valfreya – Dawn Of Reckoning (Self-released) – Melodic black/folk metal
- Vredehammer – God Slayer (Indie Recordings) – Black/death metal
- Vulgaris – Seat Of The Fire (Wormholedeath) – Blackened heavy metal
