Welcome to another Initial Descent and yet another stacked batch of releases. Hopefully you spent yesterday getting a head start because there’s enough on tap here to keep most anyone busy. We all could use some happiness so do yourself, and those around you, a favor and check out High Spirit‘s latest full length Motivator. On the opposite spectrum, if you just recovered from Subrosa’s latest dive into Light Falls from Wrekmeister Harmonies and keep that heavy yet somber feeling alive. Blister your eardrums with Cara Neir and Wildspeaker‘s latest Split on Broken Limbs Recordings, who actually have several out this week that warrant your time. Sumerlands debut Sumerlands deeply satisfies the traditional heavy metal craving and Mare Cognitum returns with their hypnotizing take on atmospheric black metal with Luminiferous Aether. All that and much more so click that “continue reading” link.

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High Spirits – Motivator (High Roller Records) – heavy metal

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Mare Cognitum – Luminiferous Aether (I, Voidhanger) – black metal, atmospheric [full review]

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Wrekmeister Harmonies – Light Falls (Thrill Jockey) – experimental [full review]

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Sumerlands – Sumerlands (Relapse Records) – traditional heavy metal [full review]

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Cara Neir/Wildspeaker – Guilt and His Reflection, Split (Broken Limbs Recordings) black metal/crust

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Also on tap:

Aephanemer – Memento Mori (Primeval Records) – melodic death metal

Barishi – Blood from the Lion’s Mouth (Season Of Mist) – progressive metal

Black Tar Prophet/Iron Gavel – Split (Broken Limbs Recordings) – doom/sludge

Cerebral Fix – Disaster Of Reality (Xtreem Music) – thrash metal

Chariots of the Gods – Ages Unsung (Independent) – heavy metal

Demonomancy/Witchcraft – Archaic Remnants Of the Numinous/At the Diabolus Hour, Split (Nuclear War Now!) – black metal

Hellgoat – Eden in Flames, EP (Boris Records/Pale Horse Records) – black/death/satan

In the Woods… – Pure (Debemur Morti) – progressive/avant garde

Inanimate Existence – Calling From a Dream (Unique Leader) – death metal

Iron Fire – Among The Dead (Crime Records) – power metal – [full review]

Knife Hits – Eris (Hydrogen Man Records) – grindcore – [Mulligan’s review]

Lotus Thief – Gramarye (Prophecy Productions) – black metal, post

Mares of Diomedes/Dreich – Split (Heavy Earth Records) – doom metal

Mentor – Guts, Graves and Blasphemy (Arachnophobia Records) – black-n-roll

Minenwerfer/1914 – Ich hatt einen Kameraden, Split (Archaic Sound) – black metal, militant

Negative Thought Process – Methylene Butterfly (Hibernacula Records) – grindcore, industrial

Nox Formulae – The Hidden Paths to Black Ecstasy (Dark Descent Records) – black metal – [Mulligan’s review]

Sea Of Bones/Ramlord – Split (Broken Limbs Recordings) – doom/sludge metal

Serpent Ascending – Ananku (I, Voidhanger) – death metal – [Mulligan’s review]

Serpent Crown – Incantations Of Vengeance (Independent) – thrash metal

Street Sects – End Position (The Flenser) – punk, industrial

Syndrome – Forever and a Day (Consouling Sounds) – ambient [feature]

Taiga – Sky (Satanath Records) – black metal, depressive

Vimur – Exegesis, EP (Boris Records) – black metal

Warfather – The Grey Eminence (Greyhaze Records) – death metal [full review]

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– Josh