Had some much needed downtime this week and, as you might guess, it was grand. Coming home with a full weekend ahead of me just sweetens the pot. And particularly when this week’s new releases are not only exceptional but plentifully so. No more waiting, here we go — Twenty one year death metal vets Lecherous Nocturne are back with their most vicious and darkest album yet, Occultaclysmic and honestly this is the best thing they’ve done since The Age of Miracles Has Passed. Mesarthim seemingly came out of nowhere with The Density Parameter but no surprise here, their blend of cosmic black metal with a heavy dose of atmospherics is amazing. Black Salvation give a class on how to properly vibe on the 70s psych hard rock era while staying fresh and exciting on Uncertainty Is Bliss and if you thought the week couldn’t get any better, Panopticon return with The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness (I and II) and it’s all I had hoped for and so much more — atmospheric black metal meets folk and americana and I’m head over heels with this thing after test driving it on a long mountain hike. Fantastic start to the week already but there’s a ton more to get into so have a seat and ENJOY.
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Lecherous Nocturne – Occultaclysmic (Willowtip) – death metal
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Mesarthim – The Density Parameter (Independent) – black metal
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Black Salvation – Uncertainty Is Bliss (Relapse Records) – psych rock [full review]
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Panopticon – The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness I and II (Bindrune / Nordvis) – black / folk / americana
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Also on tap:
A Story of Rats – The Immeasurable Spiral (Psychic Violence Records) – sonic metal [feature review]
Abjection Ritual – Soul of Ruin, Body of Filth (Malignant Records) – doom / death
Above Aurora – Path To Ruin (Pagan Records) – black metal
Against Evil – All Hail the King (Independent) – heavy metal
Alphastate – The Grind (Sliptrick) – melodic death metal
Black Rainbows – Pandaemonium (Heavy Psych Sounds) – stoner rock
Blackwater Holylight – S/T (RidingEasy Records) – psych metal
Blood Of the Wolf – II: Campiagn Of Extermination (Independent) – black / death
Cadaver Putrefacto – La Maldicion del Zombi Errante (Brutal Records) – death metal
Crisix – Against the Odds (Listenable Records) – thrash
Crossing the Limits – Perseverance (Independent) – pop-punk
Dan Weiss – Starebaby (Pi Recordings) – avantgarde
Drawn and Quartered – Hail Infernal Darkness (Krucyator Productions) – death metal
Epos Nemo Latrocinium – Iter Itineris III (Independent) – experimental
Fall of Carthage – Emma Green (MDD Records) – progressive metal
Glorior Belli – The Apostates (Season of Mist) – black metal
Grift – Vilsna Andars Boning (Nordvis) – dark folk
Hypno5e – Alba – Les Ombres Errantes (Pelagic Records) – post-metal
Inisans – Transition (Blood Harvest) – death metal
Kamelot – The Shadow Theory (Napalm Records) – symphonic metal
Kini – I Too Overflow/Dudu (The Sublunar Society) – experimental electro pop
Kolossor – Crown of Horns (Sludgelord Records) – sludge / doom [premiere, feature]
Kosmik Boogie Tribe – We’re Not Here To Fuck Spiders (Rural Rebel Rock) – rock
Messa – Feast For Water (Aural Music) – experimental doom
Mors Subita – Into the Pitch Black (Inverse Records) – melodic death metal
Paddy and the Rats – Riot City Outlaws (Napalm Records) – punk
Pleasure of Mutilate – Premonition (CDN) – death / thrash
Sanguine Glacialis – Hadopelagic (WormHoleDeath) – experimental death metal
Shadygrove – In the Heart of Scarlet Wood (Rockshots Records) – progressive metal
St Fenton the Tainted – Jaw of the Tyrant Hills (Hibernacula Records) – sludge
Taphos – Demo MMXVI & 7” EP MMXVII (Blood Harvest) – death metal
The Fallen Prodigy – Relive//Regret//Repeat (Independent) – modern metal
The Golden Grass – Absolutely (Listenable Records) – psych retro-rock
The Grotesquery – The Lupine Anathema (Xtreem Music) – death metal
The Human Race Is Filth – Liberate (Independent) – powerviolence
The Negative Bias / Golden Dawn – Temple Of Cruel Empathy / Lunar Serpent, Split (Seance Records) – black metal
Third Island – Omelas (Independent) – doom / post-metal
Tomorrow’s Outlook – A Voice Unheard (Battlegod Productions) – melodic metal
Traced By Enemies – Where the Sun Turns Gray, EP (Dedication Records) – melodic metal
Underoath – Erase Me (Fearless Records) – metalcore [full review]
Vilkacis – Beyond the Mortal Gate (Psychic Violence Records) – elemental black metal [feature review]
Volition – Visions of the Onslaught (Brutal Records) – thrash metal
Whyzdom – As Time Turns To Dust (Scarlet Records) – symphonic metal
– Josh
Nine Circles 