This week's new heavy metal releases include mathcore urgency, experimental blackened metal, and more! To the metals…
For Your Health – This Bitter Garden
Genre: Mathcore
Origin: Columbus, Ohio
Label: 3DOT
Buy now from 3dot
Starting this week off with some chaos, dissonance, and angst. This record has a little bit of everything with pop-punk, mathcore, atmospheric moments and more. It's kind of like the Callous Daoboys with more of a more streamlined approach.
Gaahls Wyrd – Braiding The Stories
Genre: Black metal/hard rock
Origin: Bergen, Norway
Label: Season Of Mist
Buy now on Bandcamp
After four years since their last EP, Gaahl (Trelldom, ex-Gorgoroth) and the gang are back with more haunting jams. While still plenty of blast beats, tremolo picking, and all that, but it may surprise listeners with experimental passages, goth rock jams, and even some post-rock. It's a hell of a ride with lots of unexpected twists.
Gruesome – Silent Echoes
Genre: Progressive death metal
Origin: Miami, Florida
Label: Relapse
Buy now on Bandcamp
A couple of these guys were in the Death To All tours and more recently the Left To Rot Death tribute tours, so clearly they're fan of Chuck. Even down to the production this sounds like a Death record despite being original material. Not in a bad way either. In a world where there are a thousand bands that sound like Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden, it's pretty rad to hear bands keeping this sound alive too.
Katatonia – Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State
Genre: Progressive rock/doom
Origin: Stockholm, Sweden
Label: Napalm
Buy now on Bandcamp
Alright gang, time to get sad. Album number thirteen is another proggy downer in the best way. This is the first one with new guitarists Nico Elgstrand (ex-Entombed) and Sebastian Svalland (live-Hypocrisy) and these two are mixing things up just enough.
Phase Transition – In Search of Being
Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Porto, Portugal
Label: Self-released
Next up is some lovely prog from Portugal. This trio is hitting you with some rhythmic heaviness with lots of melody. In an unexpected twist you can enjoy some violin solos on this one. Fans of OK Goodnight should get on this one.
Turnstile – Never Enough
Genre: Melodic hardcore/alternative rock
Origin: Baltimore, Maryland
Label: Roadrunner
Buy now from Turnstile
This might be a divisive band to include at this point, but whatever. They're cranking the melody and indie knobs up as high as they'll go on this one. There's still some fury in there though. Songs like "Birds" will appeal to longtime fans, but I wonder how the Tame Impala-ish "Seein' Stars" will play at Aftershock this year.
Volbeat – God Of Angels Trust
Genre: Hard rock/heavy metal
Origin: Copenhagen, Denmark
Label: Republic/Universal
Buy now on Bandcamp
Album number nine from these rockers is just that, a rocker. It's their first since the departure of Rob Caggiano, but there's still shredding to be enjoyed. This one will get you stomping.
Also dropping this week…
- A-Z – A2Z2 (Metal Blade) – Hard rock
- Aganoor – Doomerism (My Kingdom Music) – Doom
- Austere – The Stillness of Dissolution (Prophecy Productions) – Black metal
- Autumn Lies Buried – Mob Mentality (Exitus Stratagem Records) – Extreme metal
- Bacon Wagon – Trauma Cake (Reptilian Records) – Noise rock/punk
- Battlesnake – Dawn Of The Exultants And The Hunt For The Shepherd (Self-released) – Heavy metal
- Bear Mace – Slaves Of The Wolf (Self-released) – Death metal
- Bludgeoned By Deformity – Epoch Of Immorality (Iron Fortress Records) – Deathcore
- Deathtropy – The Resurgence Of Nostalgia (Self-released) – Deathcore
- Dissonant Seepage – Dystopian Putrescence (Comatose Music) – Brutal death metal
- Drab – Drab (Wormholedeath Records) – Hard rock
- Fuzzriders – I Like It (Electric Valley Records) – Stoner/fuzz rock
- Gösta Berlings Saga – Forever Now (Pelagic) – Progressive rock
- HolyRoller – Rat King (Ripple) – Psychedelic rock/stoner
- Holy Scum – All We Have Is Never (Rocket Recordings) – Noise rock/industrial
- Inglorious – V (Frontiers) – Hard rock
- Kaonashi – I Want To Go Home (Equal Vision Records) – Post-hardcore
- King Parrot – A Young Person's Guide To King Parrot (Housecore) – Grindcore
- MoldEra – Colonize (Argonauta Records) – Sludge/stoner
- Nastyville – Rebirth (Rockshots) – Hard rock
- Ophiolatry – Serpent's Verdict (Wormholedeath Records) – Brutal death metal
- Orthodox – A Door Left Open (Century Media) – Metalcore
- Refusal – Venomous Human Concept (Time To Kill Records) – Death metal
- Turian – Blood Quantum Blues (Wise Blood Records) – Hardcord
- Various Artists – Magic Power: All Star Tribute To Triumph (Round Hill) – Triumph covers
- Various Artists – Ramones Redux (Magnetic Eye) – Ramones covers
- Woodhawk – Love Finds A Way (Grand Hand Records) – Stoner metal
- Z-Cocoon – Angels (Self-released) – Hard rock/heavy metal
