New week, new set of circumstances, new opportunities, and new metal which is the one reason we’re here. As some band once said ‘nothing else matters.’ And with that, let’s get on with it.
This week will be remembered for many reasons, I’m sure, but the biggest of which is whatever you thought you knew about Lord Dying forget it and make way for their new, more progressive, more classically psychedelic, and more fantastic look on Mysterium Tremendum – talk about surprises, it’s nearly impossible to tell this is the same band but make no mistake, it IS amazing. Then we’ve got black metallers Murg who moved mountains with their debut Gudatall but return to grab the sky and move it too on Strävan, it’s everything that was great about their debut, just better and particularly so in the memorable songwriting department. Next is everyone’s favorite droners Sunn O))) (say it with me…sun) who return with another slab of frequencies on Life Metal that are so heavy you can feel them, or breathe them – points if you know where that came from and if you missed out on RSD, now’s your chance. Last up top but certainly not least is Spotlights who prove that post-metal as a tag is limiting seeing as how Love & Decay is so much more with its power, haunting melodies, and wisps of granite destroying heaviness – ‘iron tone in a velvet glove’ was part of the promo accompaniments and it couldn’t be more accurate.
Beyond that you’ll just have to explore for yourself. Get in there…
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Lord Dying – Mysterium Tremendum (eOne) – heavy metal
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Murg – Strävan (Nordvis Produktion) – black metal
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Sunn O))) – Life Metal (Southern Lord) – SunnDoomDrone
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Spotlights – Love & Decay (Ipecac) – post-metal
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Also on tap:
Altar of Oblivion – The Seven Spirits (Shadow Kingdom) – heavy metal
Arckanum – Första Trulen (Folter) – black metal
Arstidir Lifsins – Saga á tveim tungum I: Vápn ok vior (Ván) – black metal
Avandra – Descender (Blood Music) – progressive metal
BAT – Axestasy (Hells Headbangers) – speed metal
Blyh – Awake To Emptiness (The Crawling Chaos / Akashic Envoy) – black metal
Burial – Relinquished Souls (Redefining Darkness / Raw Skull) – death metal
Cathartic Demise – S/T, EP (Independent) – progressive thrash
Chevalier – Destiny Calls (Gates of Hell) – speed metal
CineMuerte – Refúgio (Independent) – symphonic metal
Crownaside – From Mud to Ashes (Independent) – death metal
De Lirium’s Order – Singularity (Inverse) – tech death
Embalmer – Embalmed Alive (Hells Headbangers) – death metal
Enforcer – Zenith (Nuclear Blast) – metal
Filtheater – Blight of Sempiternal Putrefaction (Memento Mori) – death metal
For All I Care – Forever and a Day (Boersma) – metalcore
Geezer – Spiral Fires, EP (Kozmik Artifactz) – psych metal
Helms Alee – Noctiluca (Sargent House) – metal
Helheim – Rignir (Dark Essence) – black metal
Hypoxia – Abhorrent Disease (Selfmadegod) – death metal
Istapp – The Insidious Star (Trollzorn) – melodic black metal
Ketos – First Strike (Hostile Media) – metal
Liars & Thieves – Thaumatrop (Bastardized Recordings) – hardcore
Lörd Matzigkeitus – From the Many Splintered Minds (Appalachian Noise) – extreme metal
Lost In Kiev – Persona (Pelagic) – post-rock [profile]
Manegarm – Fornaldarsagor (Napalm) – black metal
Marianas Rest – Ruins (Inverse) – melancholic death / doom
Nighnacht – Cristophilia, 7″ EP (Hells Headbangers) – black / death
NNRA – Incarne (Independent) – post-black metal
Norsemen – Bloodlust (Time To Kill) – death metal
Ossuaire – Premiers Chants (Sepulchral Productions) – black metal
Profanation – Into Cascades of Blood and Burning (Hostile Media) – death metal
Protector – Summon the Hordes (High Roller) – thrash
Redshift – Cataclysm (Independent) – prog metal
SINNRS – Profound (Rockshots / Extreme Metal Music) – symphonic black metal
夢遊病者 (Sleepwalker) – Ѫ, EP (Sentient Ruin / Babylon Doom Cult) – black metal
Smoulder – Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring (Cruz Del Sur) – doom / power metal
Tanagra – Meridiem (Independent) – epic metal
The Damned Things – High Crimes (Nuclear Blast) – metal
The Lumberjack Feedback – Mere Mortals (Deadlight Entertainment) – doom
The Well – Death and Consolation (RidingEasy) – psych metal
Trucker Diablo – Other Side of the City (Big Truck) – rock
Vaura – Sables (Profound Lore) – avantgarde
Vargrav – Reign In Supreme Darkness (Werewolf) – black metal
Vigilance – Enter the Endless Abyss (Dying Victims Productions) – heavy metal
Walking Bombs & Gridfailure – Suicide By Citizenship (Nefarious Industries) – metal / noise
Whiskey Ritual – Black Metal Ultras (Folter) – black / thrash
– Josh
Nine Circles 