TOMBS
All Empires Fall (NA Promo)
Relapse Records
Melodic black metal, a bit on the doomy almost experimental post-metal thing in the past, I think this one has a bit more heavy brutal stuff going on, while still keeping a bit of melody going on in parts.  It’s got some doom and classic black metal stuff going on too.

GRAVES AT SEA
The Curse That Is (NA Promo)
Relapse Records
Noise/core doomy post metal.  Some pretty long tracks here and depressing stuff too.

Blood Ceremony
Lord of Misrule
Rise Above
Old school female fronted doomy sonter type metal. Kinda proggy too… organ/keyboards/flute make it all cool n creepy.  While not “true” metal… it has a metal, kind of Ghost-like vibe (even though they’ve been around longer or the same as Ghost… just using it for comparison sake!

Judas Priest
Battle Cry
Epic
A good slab of modern live Priest.  I’m sure it’s not going to compare to something like Unleased in the East, but still a good treat for the Priest fan.  Good clean sound and production too.

Ihsahn
“Pressure” [Single]
Candlelight
More proggy, still dark, a little bit doomy… If anything, Ihsahn has just gotten more deep and proggy with each of these solo albums… Just a single here, but I’m sure the full will be more good stuff.

Jeff Scott Soto
Divak
earMusic
Thought this would be a lot of just singy power metal stuff… but musically there’s a great catchy heavy groove, a good edge to Soto’s voice too… Kinda really does show how good he is. (I’ve never really been a huge fan)  This one is turning me to be more of a fan.

Hammer Fight
Profound And Profane
Napalm Records
Heavy metal, a bit brutal, some great classic metal guitar stuff mixed in with some nearly brutal and crushing metal… not quiet death or black metal, just heavy groovin’ metal.

Devildriver
“Daybreak” Single from “Trust No One”
Napalm Records
Classic heavy Devildriver track, meaty, heavy, catchy and groovin’.

Amon Amarth
Jomsviking
Metal Blade Records
Not sure what more can be said about these guys… yeah they’re all “viking guys” but this music is some of the best that melodic death has to offer. Heavy, catchy, and you just feel like you are at a show and living it up with these guys too.  It’s like you’re a viking right there with them.,.. this new one is a concept album which i’m sure tells a great story

Sourvein
Aquatic Occult
Metal Blade Records
Doom metal, a bit psychedelic and stoner-like.  Downtempo type stuff

Deathcult (Switzerland)
Demo ’12
Invictus
Pretty raw blackened death metal.

Ectovoid
Dark Abstraction LP
Blood Harvest
Death metal with a little bit of a blackened grindy sound Good n brutal.

Steel Jungle
Soidinmenot
Label: Secret Entertainment
Chilled out instrumental stuff.. kinda more hard rock/jazzy… a couple tracks in, we’re getting a bit heavier, but overall, some decent meedly wanky guitars and experimetnal type stuff too.

Ill Omen
Æ.Thy.Rift CD/LP
Nuclear War Now! Productions
Creepy atmospheric post doomy black metal? I think?   Meh, not my thing.

MURDRYCK
Antologi MMXV
Black Lion Productions
A good modern black metal thing.  Heavy, brutal, evil and good production

MOONSORROW
Jumalten Aika
Century Media
Long epic songs of melodic black metal. Probably for a fan of someone who likes the older Opeth stuff, but a bit more on the raw black metal side of things.  Production is good, there’s just a good rawness to it, a good groove like some old Satyricon too… who am I kidding, this band has been around long enough to say yeah, they sound like Moonsorrow!

BARDUS
Stella Porta
Solar Flare Records
A bit of a stoner noise-core thing.  I’ve never really been a fan of this genre… Eyehategod, Melvins, Unsane and the like… this is screamy with a driving grungy guitar thing… it’s ok for what it is.  Just not a fan .

PISS VORTEX
Future Cancer
Indisciplinarian
This band winds best band name of the year so far… it’s a grindy noisy thing.  Raw and in your face… quick short tracks.

Goetic Equivalent
Goetic Equivalent
Ordo MCM
Pretty decent black metal with a cool groove and a bit of technicality

RED ELEVEN
Collect Your Scars
Lifeforce
Modern “metalcore”  A bit pop metal sounding, clean vox, maybe a bit more commercial and glitzy.  Some cool guitar and groove going on though.  A little bit proggy, but probably not for the Mosh Pit.

EMBALMER
Emanations From the Crypt (CD, LP, TAPE)
Hells Headbangers
Blackened death metal with no fucking around.  A bit grindy and heavy as fuck!

APOKALYPTIC RAIDS
The Third Storm (LP)
Hells Headbangers
Deathy punk metal, production is a bit raw… sounds like a muddy live recording, but you get the gyst. It’s like a punk band decided it wanted to be a death metal band too.

Turia
Dor
Altare Productions
Old school black metal

Gracepoint
Echoes
Self-Release
A standard metal hard rock thing with leanings towards prog metal in parts.  When it’s not prog metal, it seems to be kind of power ballad-ey

Interment
Scent of the Buried
Dark Descent
Brutal death metal with a tiny pinch of black metal grind going on.  Dark and evil feelings happening.

Band: Pearly Gates
Album: Unchained
Country: Finland
Some rock type stuff, which branches into some Tool sounding hard rock.

ETHS
Alnilam (Single)
Season of Mist
I guess this is a type of melodic death… just a single. seems like female type clean vox too.

WORMED
Krighsu
Season of Mist
Brutal BRUTAL death metal.  Machine gun double bass, brutal low end, guttural growls… All the good stuff!

ROTTEN SOUND
Abuse to Suffer
Season of Mist
Grindy fast death metal.

ABBATH
ABBATH
Season of Mist
Glad to now be on the list for getting stuff from Season of Mist… Mike bought this and I was blown away, now it’s a little old (came out in Jan)… but this will be getting some airplay as it’s new to us!  Kind of like a Satyricon style of catchy black metal… melodic yet still heavy and with some groove too.  Great stuff.

THE LION’S DAUGHTER
Existence is Horror
Season of Mist
Kind of a doomy noise.  A bit grindy too.

ROTTING CHRIST
Rituals
Season of Mist
Modern blackened death/thrash. A little bit of an epic proggy death metal feel like they’ve done in the past.

URGEHAL
Aeons in Sodom
Season of Mist
A bit black metal sounding, but with some groove. Catchy and more of a heavier Satyricon feel.

BLACK COBRA
Imperium Simulacra
Season of Mist
Noisy extreme stoner metal!?

DESTROYER 666
Wildfire
Season of Mist
Kind of a super extreme thrash.  Great stuff.

Alexanred
Zombie Virus (Single)
Inverse
An electronic rock thing, like, oh a Marilyn Manson without John 5?  meh.

D.A.M
PREMONITIONS…
SELF RELEASED
Melodic death, Kind of classic… normal classic metal type music with keyboards and stuff, growly vox, then some female vox in parts, then a bit more heavy/brutal too.  So exteme prog metal sounding stuff.  Pretty good!

Khroma
Stasis
Inverse
A little electronic, a bit djent-ish and a bit nu-metal-ish.

Cold Snap
These Boots Are Made for Walkin’
Eclipse Records
A single of the old Nancy Sinatra song… which Megadeth famously did on their first album.  This is a cool metal version.  Just a modern groove metal take.

Helhorse
“Hell of a Ride” [Single]
Spinefarm
A melodic doomy hard rock thing.  Good groove, a bit stoner/doom-ish or just straight up hard rock, maybe a hint of Monster Magnet/Clutch too.

SYNTHETIC
Here Lies The Truth
Self-Released
Proggy heavy metal.  Keyboards a good basic metal with some heavier thrash flourishes here and there.  Some melodic death parts, and overall, pretty decent mix of things make it stay interesting.

DEATHTALE
Whole World Burns
Terrasound Records
Great thrashed up death metal.  Heavy, aggressive with a fast galloping classic thrash sound.

AGRESIVA
Eternal Foe
Label:  Minotauro Records
Classic thrash metal from Spain.  Great riff work and clean vox.

VHS
Screaming Mad Gore
Horror Pain Gore Death Productions
Heavy punked up grindy metal… quick sort songs that don’t mess around.  Decent stuff.