Vision of Disorder
Razed To The Ground
Candlelight
Always a grinding hardcore screamy type thing.  I’ve never really been a huge fan of this band, but could respect what they do.  This new one makes them grow on me a bit.  It seems pretty brutal yet thrashy and good in your face stuff.

Turbid North
Eyes Alive
The Pyramid
Good ol Death Metal.  Vocals are more shouted than cookie monster-like.  A chugging brutal death metal sound with some melodic parts underlaying the brutal assualt.  Good stuff.

Mirror
Mirror
Metal Blade Records
Throwback classic metal, a little bit of a deep purple/BOC vibe, but more “metal” than both.  Even though it’s more on the classic hard rock side of things, there’s just this dark feeling that makes it more “metal”

Brick By Brick
This Worlds My Enemy
Eulogy Recordings
Thrash with good chuggy hardcore thing going on.

Transport League
Napalm Bats & Suicide Dogs
Metalville Records
For some reason I always thought these guys were similar to Clutch… and listening to this new one reaffirms my belief.  This is some kick ass hard rockin’ stoner-ish metal.

Threshold
European Journy
Metalville Records
You want some good quality prog metal?  You got it with this band.  I’ve heard them here and there in the past, see a lot of people talking about ’em… so… this live album sounds great and is probably nearly a good starting point if you needed to get an idea of what they are all about.

Flying Colors
Second Flight: Live At The Z7
Mascot Label Group
As you know I’m a Dream Theater, and Portnoy fanboy… so when this project came to be (along with Neal Morse, Dave LaRue, Steve Morse and some other singer dude)… I was thinking it’d be ok… but it’s some of the best rock/hard rock with a pinch of prog out there.  They did a quick like 2 week world tour as this supergroup’s schedule allowed.  One show was near Chicago and I went… one of the best shows of the year!  Well, this is a recording of a different night of the tour… and these guys pull this stuff off live just as great or better than the album.  This might not be a great Mosh Pit staple, but I’m a fan. 😀

Menegarm
Menegarm
Napalm Records
Melodic death/folk metal.  Sounds like the only folksie thing in here is some strings and the vocal feel of some tracks… no accordion/hurdy gurdy stuff.  Pretty fast pace and of course, it’s got that catchy folk metal thing going on.

Cryptopsy
The Book of Suffering Tome 1
self-released
They are releasing a series of EPs rather than one full blown album.  Probably a smart thing in this day and age.  This is crazy brutal death metal which they have always done.  Great stuff.

RETURN FROM THE GRAVE
Three(p)
Argonauta Records
Stoner doom metal, a good stoner metal groove, but also some doomy “breakdowns” if you will.  Pretty decent stuff actually.

INFECTION CODE
00:15 l’avanguardia industriale
Argonauta Records
Some ambient doomy post-metal type stuff.

Zoner
Auralsonic Navigation
Self-Release
Kind of a basic old school thrash sounding thing.

[P.U.T]
LIKE ANIMALS (Reissue)
CIMMERIAN SHADE  RECORDINGS
Sludgey post metal.  meh.

Kampfar
Profan
Indie Recordings
Melodic blackened death metal.  Good creepy black metal sound with some decent melodic stuff too. Thest guys have been around for a bit, so they got it goin’ on.

Swallow The Sun
Songs From The North I, II & III
Century Media
Triple album of melodic doom. Here’s how they describe each album:   “Songs from the North I” continues in the vein of the albums before it – first-rate death-doom., “Songs from the North II” is a beautiful acoustic foray, unplugged revel in the darkness. “Songs from the North III” is the most extreme album, a complete ride into most horrific abyss of finely-crafted, conscience-crushing funeral doom.  So yeah, the first album seems a bit Opeth-ish to me

Saint Diablo
Devil Horns and Halos
Eclipse Records
A modern heavy catchy metal, almost like a Slipknot/FFDP sound but then we get into some sort of clean borderline emo-ish vox .  The heavy stuff is pretty cool and makes it worthy of checking out.

MARIUS DANIELSEN’S LEGEND OF VALLEY DOOM
MARIUS DANIELSEN’S LEGEND OF VALLEY DOOM
CRIME RECORDS
Epic symphonic-ish proggy power metal.  It’s always cool to get one of these epic things once in a while, it’s good to break up all the black metal we get lately.

ARKENTYPE
DISORIENTATED
CRIME RECORDS
Melodic death type stuff.  A bit more on the melodic side, a bit of a power metal thing going on too.

VINGULMORK
CHIAROSCURO
CRIME RECORDS
Strange name, but the music kicks ass… some brutal blackened thrash.   Probably more on the black metal side… but great brutal and catchy.

Chaos
Mortality Makes The Humanity
Inverse Records.
Kind of a thrash and a pinch of some metalcore, but more on the proggy thrash side of things.  Maybe a bit of a Dog Fashion Disco/Mr. Bungle thing going on too.

Grave Pleasures
Dreamcrash
Metal Blade Records
Kind of a Gothy hard rock throwback thing

Death Hawks
Sun Future Moon
Svart Records
A spacy goth-alternative rock type thing.  Not mosh pit material.

Revolted Masses
Age Of Descent
Inverse Records
Melodic death stuff.  a bit thrashy, catchy and brutal, three things I really like in a metal band!

Intronaut
The Direction Of Last Things
Century Media
Good technical proggy metal… a little like tool, BTBAM, Porcupine Tree… lots of prog and cool catchy stuff too.

ALL THEM WITCHES
Dying Surfer Meets His Maker
New West
A real mellow, doomy laid back mostly rock thing, getting a little into stoner rock too.

Insanity
Visions of Apocalypse
Unspeakable Axe / Dark Descent
Classic brutal death metal.  Good stuff.

NOCTURNAL BLOOD
Abnormalities Prevail (CD, DLP)
Hells Headbangers
Doomy black metal.

Austral / Cold
The Exalted Shadows of Death are Dancing
Tyrannus
Austral is frantic crazy black metal, and Cold is cold atmospheric black metal

Mastication Of Brutality Uncontrolled
Preemptive Space Warfare
Rotten Roll Rex
Classic death metal with a groove.

Khors
The Flame Of Eternity’s Decline
Svarga Music
Classic black metal with some melody and that cold black metal sound… good production and yeah, it’s brutal too!

THEM
Forever Burns [single]
Self-Release
Thrashy power metal with melodic death stuff and with a band name like “Them” it makes me think of King Diamond, but just a coincidenc… well, no… there’s a strong King Diamond feeling going on.  And… it’s a supergroup of sorts.  Agent Steel, Symphony X, Kevin Talley and more…

Marasmus
Conjuring Enormity
self-released
Great classic brutal death metal.

Zaibatsu
Zero
Killerpool Records
30 October 2015
Doomy yet kinda poppy hard rock type stuff.

Khmer / Livstid
Split 10″
Halo Of Flies
Khmer (pretty much black metal) is one long song and Livstid (punky/grindy deathrash) is a bunch of 1 minute tracks.

Suffering Mind / Lifes
Split 7″
Halo Of Flies
Lifes is a bit of a folk metal/black death thrash stuff. Suffering Mind is a bit on the melodic doomy/black metal side of things.