This week's new heavy metal releases include belligerent deathcore, a grindcore supergroup, and more! To the metals…
Bent Sea – The Dormant Ruin
Genre: Grindcore
Origin: Wilrijk, Belgium / Birmingham, England
Label: Self-released
Buy now on Bandcamp
It's been a bit since Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth and lots more) has gone on a grind tear. He, Sven de Caluwé (Aborted), and Shane Embury (Napalm Death) may actually rip you apart on this one. They have some pretty cool guests with Kevin Sharp (Venomous Concept), John Cooke (Napalm Death) and Sylvain Coudret (Soilwork).
Dark Angel – Extinction Level Event
Genre: Thrash
Origin: Downey, California
Label: Reversed Records
Buy now from Reversed Records
For the first time since 1991 Dark Angel are releasing a new album. Never thought we'd see the day. It's a thrashing good time too. It's sad that Jim Durkin isn't on this, but Laura Christine (ex-Zimmer's Hole) kills it.
Fleshwater – 2000: In Search of the Endless Sky
Genre: Alternative/shoegaze
Origin: Georgetown, Massachusetts
Label: Closed Casket Activities
Buy now on Bandcamp
Last week I wrote about Nova Twins and Pinkshift, and with Fleshwater I am sharing another new release that's lives in the blurred lines between heavy metal and indie, alternative, whatever. They opened for Deftones earlier this year and this record has some of their hard atmospheric vibes. It feels both fresh and throwback. Good stuff.
Green Carnation – A Dark Poem, Part I: The Shores Of Melancholia
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Kristiansand, Agder, Norway
Label: Season Of Mist
Buy now on Bandcamp
It's been five long years since these moody prog dogs released a record, and what a delightfully proggy return it is. This is part one of a trilogy of records and that's wonderfully nerdy. Most the songs here are over seven minutes long and they cover a lot of ground both musically and lyrically. So strap in and prepare for some heavy introspection.
Primal Fear – Domination
Genre: Power/heavy metal
Origin: Esslingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Label: Reigning Phoenix
Buy now from Primal Fear
I love that this record came right after Green Carnation. Both bands are epic in their own way, but unlike GC Primal Fear are here to slay demons, and their music sounds like it. This is the band's first record with new drummer André Hilgers (Silence Force) and guitarist Thalìa Bellazecca aka Thalestris, Queen of the Lazer-Amazons of Caledonia (Angus McSix) who both knew the assignment.
Tallah – Primeval: Obsession // Detachment
Genre: Nu metal/metalcore
Origin: Pennsylvania
Label: Earach
Buy now from Earache
What an interesting band Tallah has become. This still has a lot of the nu metal resurgence thing that's been happening, but there's more depth and skill here than a lot of their contemporaries. Unsurprisingly, the rhythm section is especially compelling here.
Ten56. – I/O
Genre: Deathcore
Origin: Paris, France
Label: Out of Line
Buy now from Bandcamp
Wrapping this week with some experimental deathcore. This belligerently heavy and dark. It's one of those records where every instrument hits like percussion.
Also dropping this week…
- Ambush – Evil In All Dimensions (Napalm Records) – Heavy metal
- Anti Ritual – 80 Years (Indisciplinarian) – Hardcore/crust
- Before The Dawn – Cold Flare Eternal (Reaper Entertainment) – Melodic death/groove metal
- Biolence – Violent Obliteration (Raging Planet) – Death metal/thrash
- blessthefall – Gallows (Rise) – Metalcore/powet-hardcore
- Bodyweb – deadwired (Flatspot Records) – Nu metal/hardcore
- Cult Burial – Collapse Of Pattern, Reverence Of Dust (Self-released) – Black metal/doom
- Crypt Monarch – Codex Pestilentia (Cognitive Discordance Records) – Stoner/doom
- Dominant Chain – Wasteland Requiem (Inverse Records) – Melodic progressive metal
- Dreams Of Gray – A Beginning (Self-released) – Extreme metal
- Eleine – We Stand United (Reigning Phoenix) – Symphonic metal
- Faetooth – Labyrinthine (The Flenser)
- Falling Leaves – The Silence That Binds Us (Self-released) – Melodic death metal/doom
- Faun – Hex (Believe) – Folk
- FM – Brotherhood (Frontiers) – Melodic rock
- Gjallarhorn's Wrath – The Silver Key (Non Serviam Records) – Symphonic black metal
- Hades Descent – The Monolith (ATLAS Creative) – Symphonic death metal
- Glenn Hughes – Chosen (Frontiers) – Hard rock/blues
- Jord – Emellan Träden (Hammerheart Records) – Atmospheric black metal/doom
- Korp – And Darker It Shall Become (Grind To Death Records) – Black metal/thrash
- Modern Life Is War – Life On The Moon (Iodine) – Post-hardcore/punk
- Nailed To Obscurity – Generation Of The Void (Nuclear Blast) – Melodic death metal/doom
- Nuclear Dudes – Truth Paste (Self-released) – Grindcore/synth…core?
- Pestilential Shadows – Wretch (Northern Silence) – Black metal
- Progeny Of Sun – Prophets Of The Void (Inverse Records) – Blackened death metal
- Ritual Mass – Cascading Misery (20 Buck Spin) – Death metal
- Seilies – Between Truth & Lies (Self-released) – Metalcore
- Still In Love – Recovery Language (Church Road) – Hardcore
- Sublime Eyes – IV: The Serpent’s Coil (Wormholedeath) – Melodic death metal
- Swollen Teeth – Ask Nothing (Blowed Out) – Nu metal
- Unpunished – Echoes of History (Self-released) – Metalcore
- Wolves – Wolves (Ripcord Records) – Post-hardcore/mathcore
