This edition is one very much for me. Lots of prog from both studio and stage, dumb comedy rock, and more! To the metals…
Arsis – Visitant
Genre: Technical melodic death metal
Origin: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Label: Agonia
I'm starting this week with some rip roaring death metal madness. It's been five years since this techy lads have tore through your eardrums, and the little I've heard of this thusfar seems really fucking cool. Guitar frettery is top notch already, but the album features some added notes from Malcom Pugh from Inferi on the song included below.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J51bc7UHyyo][/youtube]
Astral Cult – Boaz
Genre: Doom
Origin: Folsom, California
Label: Self-released
Buy now on Bandcamp.com
Just in time for Halloween, these greater Sacramento area slow boys surprise released this five track tribute to all things fuzzy and heavy. This album is overflowing with riffs, distortion pedals, and references to ancient gods. Astral Cult continue to show that they are an underrated gem of their area.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKYKgKUZ9Mg][/youtube]
The Ocean – Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic
Genre: Progressive metal/sludge
Origin: Berlin, Germany
Label: Metal Blade
Here's another band taking a half-decade break between records. Robin Staps took his time with the follow-up to the flawless Pelagial, but part one of the band's double album is upon us, and holy shit is it great. The one thing that might turn off fans of Pelagial is a general lack of quick, fast songs. However, in many ways this feels like a return to Precambrian form, so long time fans might be more excited than ever.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt6IpvnGt4A][/youtube]
Opeth – Garden Of The Titans: Live At Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Sörskogen, Stockholm
Label: Moderbolaget
Last year Opeth, Gojira, and The Devin Townsend Project hit the road together and that tour swung by Red Rocks in Colorado, which is a crazy thing to think about considering what usually plays Red Rocks. Opeth brought a camera crew with them and made this live album. It features a bunch of stuff from their most recent album Sorceress which sound much better live, but you still get classics like "Demon of the Fall," "In My Time of Need," and "Deliverance." This is a must have for fans.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHt4KNTgujQ][/youtube]
Sylvaine – Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone
Genre: Atmospheric metal
Origin: Oslo, Norway
Label: Season Of Mist
Sylvaine is a wildly underrated project. Now on her third album, she continues to balancs post-rock, black metal, ambient, and alternative into one expansive listening experience. This is an intense emotional listen, and Sylvaine kills it in every way on her one-woman musical journey.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D_dgE2dYko][/youtube]
Tenacious D – Post-Apocalypto
Genre: Comedy rock
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Columbia
Frankly, it's hard to include other albums in the Weekly Injection when you have this dropping. This is the most brutal, the most kvlt, the heaviest, and the darkest release of the year (or maybe ever). Jack Black and Kyle Gass have returned with a twenty-one track soundtrack album to their YouTube animated series that see the band living in a post apocalyptic wasteland. As expected this is a silly listen, but a fun one for those that grew up interjecting "THAT'S ALSO TRU-UE!" into conversations.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYPwmMLinBY][/youtube]
Steven Wilson – Home Invasion: In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall
Genre: Progressive rock
Origin: Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom
Label: Eagle Rock
This is an absolute must have for Steven Wilson fans. Wilson and his band play a To The Bone heavy set, but are sure to include some gems from Hand. Cannot. Erase., The Raven That Refused To Sing (and Other Stores), and even some Porcupine Tree tracks. I fucked up not going to this tour, but now I can live one of the best nights of it over and over.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTaMnLwP8Y8][/youtube]
Also dropping today…
Audiotopsy – The Real Now (Megaforce) – Alternative metal
Cancer – Shadow Gripped (Peaceville) – Death metal/thrash
Dead Register – Captive (AVR Records) – Experimental/dark rock
Devil Master – Manifestations (Relapse) – Black metal/punk
Eden's Curse – Testament: The Best Of (AFM) – Power metal/hard rock
Graven – Heirs Of Discord (Negative Grade Records) – Death metal/grindcore
I AM – Hard 2 Kill (1126 Records) – Mostly breakdowns
Metallica – …And Justice For All Re-Release (Blackened) – Power pop
Crosby Morgan – Rain Games for the Natural Born Pariah (Dark Martha Records) – Dark ambient
Mother Feather – Constellation Baby (Metal Blade/Blacklight) – Rock
No/Más – Raíz Del Mal (Horror Pain Gore Death Productions) – Grindcore
Ølten – Ambiance (Hummus Records) – Sludge/post metal
Owl Maker – Sky Road – Stoner metal
Silent Planet – When The End Began (Solid State/UNFD) – Metalcore
Toska – Fire By the Silos (Self) – Instrumental Prog
Touche Amore – 10 Years/1000 Shows At The Regent Theater (Epitaph) – Post-hardcore
Witherfall – A Prelude To Sorrow (Century Media) – Progressive power metal