Nothgard
Malady X
Metal Blade Records
Melodic death Catchy melodic parts, heavy, harsh deathy parts, A little like Children of Bodom, catchy, technical, and yeah, heavy!
41Point9
Mr Astute Trousers
The Highlander Company Records
I’d have to throw this in a prog pile… a little quirky, some classic prog rock elements, some fusiony stuff… I wish I could do a show to showcase some of this cool prog stuff.
Them
Manor Of The Se7en Gables
SPV
Originally started as a King Diamond tribute band this morphed into their own band… with a similar style… a big voice, with some more technical more melodic death type music… This album has all that with a bit of a horror lyrical theme. Good stuff!
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats
Wasteland
Rise Above
A little doom, some stoner metal, some psychedelic stuff. Catchy, gritty, grungy… good stuff.
Sirenia
Arcane Astral Aeons
Napalm Records
This has that epic female fronted power metal thing going on, a bit like Epic, but maybe not quite as dark. Well, you know this band, they’ve been around for ever. Decent stuff.
Amaranthe
Helix
Spinefarm Records
Another band that has been around a while… 3 singers, all with diff. styles, there’s a solid groove metal feel, a little commercial metal, a little bit of a Lacuna Coil thing too.
Unleashed
The Hunt For White Christmas
Napalm Records
And another band that’s been around forever! Extreme melodic death/just good old viking death metal. A solid dark groove going on. great stuff.
Soulfly
Ritual
Nuclear Blast Entertainment
Big week for long time artist new releases! This seems to be a return to form… not much messing around, a bit more like some groovin’ Sepultura and grooving old soulfly
Pure Fire
The Ultimate Kiss Tribute
Cleopatra Records
Tribute with a lot of who’s who of classic rock/metal folks teaming up. (probably passing tapes/files around) Dee Snider, Doug Alrich, Marco Mendoza, John Tempesta, Kip Winger, Paul Gilbert, Greg Bissonette, Buzz Osbourne, Bruce Kulick, Blasko, Carmine Appice, Dug Pinnick, Bob Kulick, John Alderete, Vinnie Colaiuta and more
Genus Ordinis Dei
Hail and Kill (single)
Eclipse Records
This has a bit of an Amon Amarth thing going on, but then throw in some melodic power metal type music too. Overall, blackened melodic viking death metal though. Great stuff.
Band: NEVERSIN
Album: The Outside In
Label: Revalve records
Melodic hard rock/prog rock. Good catchy parts, melodic classic metal stuff too.
Band: MONGOL
Album: The Return
Label: Sliptrick records
A good solid heavy folk metal, good meaty extreme melodic death sound with a banjo sound to give it that “folky” sound. otherwise, good and heavy.
Rise to Fall
Into Zero
Self Released
Grooving melodic death metal, heavy brutal stuff, classic hooks and melodies… great stuff.
Pulverized
Monuments of Misanthropy
Krucyator Productions
Classic brutal death metal… all of the cool blast beats, grooves, cookie monster… all of the great stuff.
Solium Fatalis
Genetically Engineered to Enslave
Self Released
More classic brutal death metal, monster grooves, freight train drumming, harsh vox… even a little melodic brutality too.
Band: Deadly Carnage
Album: Through the Void, Above the Suns
Label: Snow Wave Records
Melodic blackened doom. They say it’s “blackgaze” and yeah, it’s a bit drony and makes you want to gaze down with some more interesting black metal type stuff going on.
Sex Messiah
Eastern Cult of Sodomy LP/CD
Nuclear War Now! Productions
Started off with some just noisy, post metal noise, but then got into some noise metal, a bit of a groove, some black-metal feel with a bit of a noise-grind groove going on
Malepeste / Dysylumn
Ce qui fut, ce qui est, ce qui sera
Goathorned Productions
Malapeste is mostly doomy blackened death metal, and DYsylumn is a bit of the same, a bit melodic
Adverso
Ex Inanis
Purodium Rekords
Some old school black metal, a bit doomy and repetitive.
Witches Hammer
Canadian Speed Metal LP
Nuclear War Now! Productions
A little bit lo-fi grooving heavy thrash. I wish the production was better.
Outre-Tombe
Nécrovortex
Temple of Mystery
A blackened grooving death metal, with a dark brutal feel.
Greyhawk
Ride Out
Self-Released
Classic metal, a bit of an Iron Maiden and a little King Diamond feel.
BE THE WOLF
Empress
Scarlet Records
A little bit classic metal, a little power metal, some electronic stuff… almost techno beats going on… catchy though!
Sacral Rage
Beyond Celestial Echoes
Cruz Del Sur Music
A little thrashy, a bit power metal, and classic metal too. Great grooves, big screamy voice, catchy riffs.
ESOCTRILIHUM
Inhüma
I, Voidhanger Records
Wall of black metal sound, vox are a bit low in the mix… music is mostly black metal, wall of sound production, sounds kind of a thrashy black metal, but the mix/vox are odd.
Eadem
Luguber 12″ MLP/MCD
Iron Bonehead
Classic black metal, harsh vox, some heavy grooves, meedly guitars.
Dirge
Ah Puch
Independent
Doomy sludgey with a post metal blackness
Tezcatlipoca (Mexico)
Tlayohualtlapelani LP/CD
Iron Bonehead
black metal with a pagan dark evilness
Rise of the Northstar
The Legacy of Shi
SharpTone Records
A modern groove metal… bit thrashy, lots of head banging riffs, vox are almost rapped or nu-metal style… a bit similar to NonPoint i guess too.
Black Lotus
Sons of Saturn
Inverse Records
Classic doom, big meaty riffs, longer tracks, clean vox, a bit of sludge.
Antiverse
Under the Regolith
Seeing Red Records
Melodic death leaning towards thrash, great heavy edge, catchy, a little brutal heavy too, all with melodic grooves.
Karmic Link
Dark Metropolis
Rockshots Records
A gothy electronic-ified metal. A little dark, gloomy.
HATESPHERE
Reduced To Flesh
Scarlet Records
Gritty melodic death, cool thrashy edge, harsh vox, good melodic stuff to keep it grounded.
KYPRIAN’S CIRCLE
Noitatulen vartija (MCD, 12″ MLP)
Werewolf Records
An extreme doomy black metal.
Exxxekutioner
Death Sentence
Ulthar
Kind of thrashy, kind of black metal, full on heavy extreme! Melodic riffin’ too.
Valdur
Goat of Iniquity
Bloody Mountain Records
A bit of a low-fi blackened death metal, dark, heavy, some evil grooves too. Production is a bit raw, but it’s not totally awful.
Evil (Japan)
The Gate of Hell TAPE
Nuclear War Now! Productions
Raw, old school blackened death. Yeah, it’s mastered for a tape, but it’s got a brutal thrashy thing going on that you can’t deny as cool.
HIEROPHANT
Spawned Abortions
Unholy Anarchy
A full wall of blackened death sound, it’s a bit raw, but brutal with some grooves and yeah a tiny bit of melodic guitar work .
Band: Ivan
Album: Memory
Label: Solitude Productions
Melodic doom death metal, two 20+ minute tracks, violins, piano, doomy dark music, growly vox
Band: Voidhaven
Album: Voidhaven
Label: Solitude Productions
deathy doom metal. a bit more of a dark slow grooving death thing… along with the melodic stuff that goes along with doom.
Band: Vst
Album: The Beast Manifesto
Label: Concreto records
This might be the pick of the week here, brutal melodic, epic blackened melodic death. Catchy, and brutal, all that cool stuff that makes death metal heavy and growly and dark, with melodic blackened stuff going on too.
Moab
Trough
Falling Dome Records
A doomy stoner metal, grungy guitars, melodic vox, a little bit of an old sabbath vibe
GC PROJECT
Two Of A Kind
Sliptrick Records
Prog rock/hard rock/fusion, good stuff.
Saber Tiger
Obscure Diversity
Sliptrick Records
A fast, classic metal with heavier proggy and thrashy stuff, catchy, with big clean vox.
Central Disorder
Eradication
Self REleased
Chicago band with a random email to Matt n Mike… a cool melodic death thing, harsh vox, great dual guitar work, extreme yet catchy and heavy too.
ORACLE
TALES OF PYTHIA
LABEL: INDEPENDENT RELEASE
A kind of standard Melodic death metal thing. Catchy riffs, extreme vox, a good heavy deathy base. Good stuff
Zarthas
4 Letter Word
Label: Inverse Records
This is a power metal/classic metal single. Clean vox, catchy.
Sargeist
Unbound
W.T.C.Productions
A bit of a classic black metal sound, heavy, cold, brutal, fast with some melodic stuff (yeah I just described every decent black metal release)