Here are three releases you should look into this Tuesday.
Sometimes you just need a good laugh. Sometimes all you want is an album
you play ten times in an hour and still have some time left. Sometimes
all you want to listen is a band whose entire existence is dedicated to a
rookie baseball player from Cuba and whose name is a play on words
involving legendary grind band Pig Destroyer. Okay well maybe not. But
if by chance you do, I have the band for you.
British heavy metal legends, Saxon, produced a series of alternative
takes on classic favorites to herald a worthy new entry to the Saxonian
Institute of Metal on their new album, "Unplugged and Strung Up." It's
set for release today! Unplugged and Strung Up reveals layers and pieces previously dormant in
many of the 14 classic Saxon songs chosen for this makeover, thanks to
some ear-catching new arrangements and mixes. Give it a go.
Ghost has been building up a lot of hype recently with their obscure
"darkened Beatles" sound. And with said classic pop influenced sound,
here's an oddball release. "If You Have Ghost" will be entirely a covers
EP from the band. It includes covers of Depeche Mode, ABBA, Rock
Erickson, and more.
This was done is association with Dave Grohl (The Foo Fighters,
ex-Nirvana). Also turns out you can now stream this entire EP! Head over to Thequietus.com to give it a listen. "If You Have Ghost" hits stores today.
Welcome to Tuesday, the wonderful time where new music meets new ears. Here are the three releases we picked for this week! Also be sure to check the new music from Brutal Truth/Bastard Noise (Split), Heart of a Coward, Exivious, Crosses (Deftones/Far), Weekend Nachos, Cronian, Demonical, live recordings from The Ocean and 3 Inches of Blood, and the re-releases of select Dark Funeral albums.
Now THIS is how you re-release an album! To celebrate the 10th
anniversary of the classic record, "As The Palaces Burn", Lamb of God
are going all out with a re-mixed / re-mastered re-release. Feeling a twinge of nostalgia yet? It hits stores today through Prosthetic Records! Watch the new music video for the classic track "Vigil" below and you might just see why this is worth picking up.
There have been several developments in the Veil of Maya camp. First and
foremost, they finished up recording their brand new EP, which is set
to be released through Sumerian Records sometime soon. Next up, they
have re-signed with Sumerian. Not too surprising given the info above.
And last, but definitely not least, Veil of Maya dropped a brand new
track recently which now available for purchase! Grab it here.
And now for something completely different.... I'm betting some of you have heard the name Daniel Tompkins before. Well... if it doesn't ring any bells he's the ex-Tesseract singer currently working with Skyharbor, Absent Hearts, and In Colour. On top of all those projects, he just released his solo effort this week! White Moth Black Butterfly is the kind of music you rarely get to
experience. Pressing play on any of these songs will submerge you in a
world of pure atmosphere, aurally pleasing and conceptually huge. The
primary focus is in creating unique, flowing, multi-layered soundscapes
for fresh ears to traverse. Give a listen on Bandcamp!
Another Tuesday, another three releases for you to enjoy. Also be sure to check the new releases from Dagoba and The Melvins along with the new single from After The Burial! Not to mention re-releases from Skeletonwitch (greatest hits 2009-2012) and Northlane!
Formed from ex-members of Earth Crisis and emerging from Syracuse, Freya is a metal unit to be reckoned with. They just dropped their long-awaited album "Paragon of the Crucible" today through Holy Mountain Music / Deadlight Entertainment! Listen below or stream the entire album on Lambgoat! Be sure to support if you enjoy!
How does 160 minutes of Dream Theater wrecking a stage sound to you? If it's sounding like a good time (honestly, why wouldn't it?), be sure to check their live DVD / Blu-Ray "Live At Luna Park" including a bunch of classic tracks with bonus footage to boot! Filmed in Argentina. Click here to see how John Petrucci learns new songs.
There is new a new doom hitting the world today with the return
of Christian heavy metal artists Impending Doom through their 5th studio
album "Death Will Reign." This album was recorded, produced and mixed
by musical genius of Will Putney (Fit For An Autopsy, Thy Art Is Murder,
Upon A Burning Body, etc.) at the Machine Shop. Expect extreme heaviness and destruction \m/
Another week. Another batch of three releases for you to blast! Also be sure to check the new music from Vildhjarta, Warbringer, Skeletonwitch, Sepultura, Russian Circles, Kataklysm, Sirens & Sailors, and DETHKLOK!
Protest the Hero’s extremely highly anticipated 4th studio album “Volition” has finally been released! This is damn near certain to be among the best albums of 2013. Not to mention the extreme success of the crowd funding campaign behind it. Get with it or get lost.
After much hype and promotion, Toxic Holocaust's "Chemistry of Consciousness" has finally hit store shelves. Prepare your earholes for the thrash headed their way after you click play. This is quality through in through. Released through Relapse Records. Stream the full album below!
It's official. ERRA has returned! Their new album "Augment" was released today via Tragic Hero Records and it's absolute madness. If you're looking for some well-conceived, forward thinking modern metalcore, look no further. This band is the cream of the crop. Grab the album and much more right here!
Back with another week of new releases. Go get 'em tiger!
Armed to the teeth, they're back at it again. Today has seen the
release of Reflections' sophomore album "Exi(s)t". This time around, the
band is signed to eOne / Goodfight and obviously somewhat matured. It
should be interesting to see how the final product turns out but one
thing's for damn sure... When the top of the mountain goes, the bottom emerges.
Here's a big one for all the Black Metal fans out there! The man, the myth, the legend - Ihsahn (aka the man behind Emperor) has just released his fifth independent studio album, "Das Seelenbrechen". It was released through Candlelight Records and his company Mnemosyne Productions. This is sure to be one of the best, if not the best, Black Metal release of the year. Get with it or get lost.
The American pioneers of down-tuned, djenty, heavy hardcore are back!
Josh Travis (ex-The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza) and his
irresistible riffs are here again to smash our faces and bring us a
perfect war! "Perfect War Forever" is the title of the new Glass Cloud
EP, released via Equal Vision Records. The battle begins today!
New Music Tuesday is back! This one is a bit unconventional so follow along.
Okay, so maybe it doesn't count as new music, but this is certainly a new breed of release for the band. Meshuggah is celebrating their 25th anniversary by re-releasing limited editions of all of their albums from the debut "Contradictions Collapse" to the second latest "obZen". Bonus tracks included. Catch (33) is, there will only be 2,500 copies of each album so grab them while you still can!
Our Artist of the Week, Rivers of Nihil, happens to be putting out their debut full-length today! That's what I call good timing. One listen to "The Conscious Seed of Light" is enough to see why we nominated them for the position. This is an impressive, hard-hitting Death Metal five-piece worth your attention. Grab the "The Conscious Seed of Light", now out through Metal Blade Records!
Maybe we're slacking on new material or maybe we just want to melt your face off. Oblivion is another band doing a re-releasing an album today. At the beginning of this year they did a limited physical / digital release for their massive Death Metal debut "Called To Rise". Since then, they've been signed to Unique Leader Records and are now doing a much wider physical release. Featuring original members from All Shall Perish, Antagony, Hacksaw To
The Throat, Feast, and critically acclaimed composer Nick Vasallo - it's safe to say there's lots of talent here. And it shows when you hit play.
This London based Progressive Metal band has been making a stir this year, twisting minds and making fans within a mere listen. Signed to InsideOutMusic, they've released a number of impressive singles to support the main event - which has been released upon the world today! Let your ears climb "The Mountain".
Where the vikings at!? Týr has retyrned (I'm sorry...). Already released in Europe, "Valkyrja" has just reached shores stateside. This band always provides a great listen with their brand of metal. This album is no exception. Give it a listen!
One more week, three more releases that I command you to listen to.
According to their Facebook page: "On Hellbound, Fit For An Autopsy expand upon their commanding approach to an often maligned subgenre by synthesizing the rhythmic experimentalism of Gojira, the aggressive post-Noisecore of Converge, the esoteric and meditative tribalism of Isis, a virulent dose of the New Wave Of Swedish Death Metal (At The Gates, Dark Tranquility, early In Flames), the legendary progenitors of Floridian death metal (Death, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary) and the “deathcore” acts who offer actual proficiency in the genre (Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, Whitechapel)." Let’s see them back up those claims. “Hellbound” is out today.
Katatonia returns today with a melodic reimagining of last year’s solid offering “Dead End Kings.” This release is titled “Dethrowned and Uncrowned” and takes the music from last years album and re-creates it, sans all harsh elements of the music. This progressive take on Katatonia’s doom metal makes perfect sense and works very well. The focus this time is on ambience and atmosphere, perfect ideas for the melancholic vibe their music creates.
Here’s a very interesting prospect that I wish more bands would consider. Sacramento progressive groove metal band Entities is releasing a completely repackaged version of their EP “Luminosity” featuring entirely new drums, guitar tone, and bass tone. The band, even though they just released an album this year, are completely confident that “Luminosity” can stand up to the work they’re continuing to put out, and they are dedicated to ensuring that poor production doesn’t hold their work back. What a sick idea. New “Luminosity” is out today.
Another week, three more solid releases to move you out of summer and into fall.
If you have somehow missed all of the news surrounding this release, or even everything about the band Gorguts like ever, then you have quite some catching up to do. Canadian tech-metal band Gorguts is set to release their first album in 12 years. Which means their previous release was released when Nu-metal has was the king of the airwaves. Needless to say, a lot has changed, and technical, progressive, brutal, and atmospheric death metal have all taken off since then. The big question that has loomed over the release of “Colored Sands” is simple: can it stand up to the modern metal scene after 12 years? This question has even simpler answer. Yes, yes, yes and yes.
The Safety Fire has released one of the absolute best prog metal albums of the year with “Mouth of Swords.” I can’t say enough about this album, so I won’t even try. This one is a doozy, and it’s streaming, go listen now. Also, this is an example of the perfect production, mixing, and mastering of a modern metal album. Take notes.
Canadian speed/thrash metal legends Annihilator are back with their newest album “Feast” today. So far so good in the Annihilator camp, “Feast” so far seems to be the band’s most successful album since 2001. Cheers to success. Check this one out.
More new music today, no surprise. Here’s three to check out.
New Wave of American Heavy Metal (yes that is as annoying to type out as it is to read) band Devildriver returns with their newest album today. The album is titled “Winter Kills” and is the band’s sixth release, the first album since leaving Roadrunner Records. So far, so meh. I haven’t heard all of it, but aside from the clear Gojira influences, it sounds like typical Devildriver, swingy, fun, heavy, but passable.
Nekrogoblikon are back with a new release today, titled “Power.” These guys are ready to dish out another slice of goblin themed metal with this release. While the gimmick of goblin metal seems to be something that could prove to be incredibly enjoyable (think pirate metal and Alestorm), Nekrgoblicon still needs to prove their competency as songwriters and musicians before they can rise above the limitations of the gimmick.
As the most successful act in, and the torch-bearer for,
the modern mainstream metal scene, every single one of Avenged
Sevenfold’s releases are pretty important. As a gateway band for young
metalheads, based solely on their immense popularity, Avenged Sevenfold
has a lot of clout. So their new album’s , “Hail to the King” out today,
throwback to and worship of 90s metal may lead some fans in that
direction. The tunes are pretty cool so far, definitely worth checking
out.
One more week of 2013 down, here’s 3 more releases to get you through the next one.
Symphonic death metal pummelers Fleshgod Apocalypse are back with their third full length today. The album, titled “Labyrinth,” is the second with the current band line up and the second album featuring the band’s signature symphonic style. After two or maybe three spins of “Labyrinth” I have to see that I’m definitely underwhelmed. I find the absence of stand-alone and grandiose string intros, outros and bridges, and the absence of amazing melodically beautiful soloing and shred to really take away from the album. But that’s my opinion, and only the first impression. Go stream it yourself and decide, I’ll definitely give “Labyrinth” more of a shot.
Swedish Black Metal band Watain are returning with their 5th album today. These guys take their music, and Black Metal lifestyle very seriously, which to me isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s nice to still see some musicians still deadly serious about the music they make and the message they spread, rather than every band member also acting like a clown when the spotlight is on them. I definitely do appreciate an intelligent, thoughtful and provocative metalhead to a clown. Go read this metalsucks interview with vocalist and mastermind Erik Danielsson here. Anyways, Watain have a new album, titled “The Wild Hunt,” and it’s out today. Everything sounds promising so far. Check it out.
New wave thrashers Diamond Plate are back, after some time and a vocalist/bassist change, with their sophomore effort today. The album will be titled “Pulse” and will be released via Century Media Records. The band claims it was recorded without a click track and done timely, claiming one song took only 3 takes to completely nail. If this is true, that’s impressive and speaks to the competency of the musicians, not only as individuals, but as a group. “Pulse” seems to continue with the bands shift to include Pantera-esque thrash stylings. Some might like that, I don’t. Whatever. I’m still gonna give it a shot, and you should too.
Today is Tuesday, time for you to take time out of your day to listen to metal.
Blackened Death Metal 20 year veterans Panzerchrist are releasing their appropriately titled 7th album, “The 7th Offensive” today. Though this war obsessed band of Danish metallers has gone through about two military squads worth of band members, and seen their ranks decimated before, the guys in Panzerchrist have, as acknowledgment of their 20 year anniversary, been able to create an album that captures the combined essence of all the different styles previously explored by the band. Expect blackened fury, death metal riffage, melodic soloing, and demon possessed low vocals. And it’s streaming fully at Terrorizer. Go, now.
Today I’ve decided to be nice. Maybe some of our viewers are into radio metal ala Black Label Society, Five Finger Death Punch and other southern hard rock bands who wish they could be Pantera but aren’t. I’ve often heard fans of this type of music complain about finding new bands, due to the lack of exposure given to upcoming bands of this genre. This is because the radio doesn’t care about them yet, and most of us who are into underground music don’t care either and don’t spread them around like we do other metal genres. Well today I’m doing my part. I present to you Black Water Rising, an unheard of southern hard rock/metal band. I hope I’ve made someone’s day with this.
Last I have Serianna for you. Their new album “Define Me” drops today. The band plays that scenie brand of hooky, metal-less metalcore, post-hardcore type sound. The band’s newest single and music video is pretty generic and definitely not my thing, but I’m sure fans of the genre will be interested in checking this out. I also saw a very respectful, reasonable, not aggressive at all, comment, on the attached youtube clip, from one of the band members that was replying to a fan complaining about the change in musical direction of the band. The member explained the reason for the change in a couple sentences and said he hoped that the fan could enjoy the new stuff too, all with a little smilie at the end, classy. So yeah that comment was the best part for me but check it out anyway.
Today is one of the best Tuesdays in metal, seriously. I have three albums for you, like usual, all essential listening, so get on it. And all three have full album streams available, what more could you ask for?
First up is Revocation. Oh my god, last year’s “Teratogenesis” EP was some of the best thrash I have heard in a very long time. Just so good. So damn good. This year the question that was left was simple: could Revocation take the success of the “Teratogenesis” EP and match it with their next full length. And the best answer I can give is: yeah, pretty much. This album is a little different, but very awesome. I do feel like I enjoy “Teratogenesis” more, but Revocation’s newest and self-titled album is essential listening and very good in its own right. Stream it here.
I love death metal. So far this year has been a little lacking in the death metal department according to my ears, there’s been some cool releases that I’ve definitely enjoyed quite a bit, but I want more! And here comes Exhumed to change that, all for me, I assume. Exhumed’s newest release “Necrocracy” is absolutely fantastic and is definitely my favorite death metal release of the year so far. The band’s gore themed, death n roll style is better than ever. The riffs are simple and memorable, the solos rip, and the album and I are getting along great. Stream it here.
Last up is Last Chance to Reason. Not surprisingly, their new album is titled “Level 3” and it’s great, proggy and the right evolution of their sound. The songs wind, build up and climax like a video game themed band should. I’m finding both their heavier and softer parts more interesting though with this release. Don’t miss this one as right now, with both guitarists leaving the band and the vocalist joining The Contortionist, the fate of Last Chance to Reason looks kinda iffy. Stream it on Bandcamp!
Here are three releases you should look into this Tuesday.
Ghost has been building up a lot of hype recently with their obscure
"darkened Beatles" sound. And with said classic pop influenced sound,
here's an oddball release. "If You Have Ghost" will be entirely a covers
EP from the band. It includes covers of Depeche Mode, ABBA, Rock
Erickson, and more.
This was done is association with Dave Grohl (The Foo Fighters,
ex-Nirvana). Also turns out you can now stream this entire EP! Head over to Thequietus.com to give it a listen. "If You Have Ghost" hits stores today.
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