GIZMACHI
“Look What I’ve Become”
The Orchard / CEN
Speed was a hired gun for vox… great solid modern grooving metal, a little bit of a slipknot vibe going on…

Sun & Flesh
“Fractures”
Self Released
Modern metal single.

Korpiklaani
Jylhä
Nuclear Blast Records
5 February 2021
one of the best folk metal bands… mixing a heavier melodic death/metal with the folky elements and slowing down in some tracks to be a bit more like you’re at a renaissance fair… then getting heavy where you want to grab your armor and head into the pit. cool stuff again!

Michael Schenker Group
Immortal
Nuclear Blast USA
Lead single on this, “Drilled to Kill” has ralf scheepers on vox and derek sherinian on keyboards, some just great classic MSG metal going on here.

Immortal Guardian
Psychosomatic
M-Theory Audio
2/12/21
This band… THIS BAND… after they played the High Noon Saloon fest a year or two ago and slated to play Mad With Power fest before COVID struck… I was instantly a fan… the guitar player plays keyboards and guitar at the same time… insanely talented technical prog metal. Big vox, melodic yet heavy

Product Of Hate
You Brought This War
POH Metalworks
Heavy and epic thrashy grooving metal from Kenosha! Great to have a new album from these guys and an awesome cover of Cult of Personality

HO CHI MINH
This Is Hell
Self Released
Release date: Saturday, January 30th 2021
Here’s some djenty kind of metal core type stuff. Some heavy and technical things going on.. pretty cool.

Vermineux
1337
Purity Through Fire
31 January 2021
Old school lo-fi black metal… meh for me.

Meister Leonhardt
Meister Leonhardt
Purity Through Fire
31 January 2021
Raw old school basic black metal.

Old Castles
Die Wampyriskra Symphonie
Inferna Profundus Records
1 February 2021
Old school lo-fi black metal… sounds like it was recorded with a microcassette recorder with the mic in someone’s pocket. I don’t get it.

StarGazer
Psychic Secretions LP/CD
Nuclear War Now! Productions
1 February 2021
Black/death metal with a technicality to it, a little reminiscent of a more basic Death. pretty good stuff.

Neal Schon
Universe
Self Released
Pretty laid back instrumental guitar stuff.

Band: SINTAX
Album: Nano3000
Label: Sliptrick records
Release date: February 2nd, 2021
Groovin’ thrash metal, great catchiness and attitude. Makes you want to throw down in the pit.

Maestitium
Tale of the Endless
Black Lion Records
5 February 2021
Heavy and brutal blackened melodic death with a little viking sound, some proggy epicness too.

Felgrave
A Waning Light
Personal Records
5 February 2021
A dark, doomy black metal, longer songs, a pinch of post-metal too…

Transatlantic
The Absolute Universe: The Breath Of Life (Abridged Version)
The Absolute Universe: Forevermore (Extended Version)
InsideOut
February 5, 2021
As a Portnoy Fanboy… this is quite the progressive undertaking… the same album, but two versions, one a full double album, and one abridged, but completely different takes on some of the songs… not necessarily for a metal fan, but if you like old Yes/Genesis/Spock’s Beard, this band is for you!

White Nights
Solanaceae 10″ MLP/MCD/TAPE
Iron Bonehead
5 February 2021
A bit of a gothy doom-ish black metal.

Dead Exaltation
Despondent
Independent
5 February 2021
Technical, and brutal death metal …great stuff! lots of juicy grooves while staying heavy and brutal !

Serotonin Leakage / Charcuterie
Split
Horror Pain Gore Death
February 5th
Serotonin Leakage is grindy brutal death metal, Charcuterie is a bit more sludgey brutal and raw death metal / gore

COLOSSUS
DEGENESIS
LABEL: COMATOSE MUSIC
RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 5th 2021
I use the word brutal a lot, as well, I’m not great at writing these reviews… Again… yup, this is brutal, fast, and technical too…

Warzaw
Werewolves on Wheels
Self Released
Release date: Friday, January 29th 2021
Solid classic metal pushing a little into thrash.

Band: AMORIELLO
Album: Dear Dark
Label: Sliptrick records
Release date: February 9th, 2021
They call this “Traditional heavy metal” and that’s pretty spot on… a little bluesy melodic thing going on with some clean male vox and cool grooves.

BLESS THE DEAD
Overdue Lies (Mini-EP)
Sliptrick Records
January 26th 2021
For fans of Pantera, Clutch, Faith No More… Hmmmmm, sounds good so far! Yup, almost a thrashy yet groovin’ hard rockin’ fun thing, catchy with monster groovin’ edge..> Great!

Oceana
The Pattern
Time to Kill Records
Jan 29
A bit of a prog meets some melodic death, more on the melodic and prog side of things with an occasional growl.

Illness
Schizophrenic Kingdoms
Self Released
Release date: Saturday, January 9th 2021
one of the tracks is called “Black Schizophrenic Metal” and that describes this pretty good… classic harsh old school black metal (but with good production)

Lawrence Wallace
Journey Through Time
Self-Release
1 February 2021
Solid shreddy instrumetal metal, a cool gritty edge and some keyboard stuff too (i think)