New & Noteworthy is a weekly column in which we highlight some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week we have releases from Primus, Act of Defiance and more. If you would like to check out last week’s New & Noteworthy, you can do so here. If you want to see last week’s sales numbers, check out Metal by Numbers. The Foo Fighters, Profits of Rage, Nothing More, The Contortionist, and Mykur all had respectable debuts. If you want weekly curated playlists of new music, follow us on Spotify.
Studio Releases
Primus, The Desaturating Seven (ATO)
The Desaturing Seven is the ninth studio album from the American rock band Primus. It is the band’s first full length album of new material since their 2011 release Green Naugahyde, and the first of new material to feature drummer Tim Alexander since their 1995 release Tales from the Punch Bowl (although it should be noted that he does appear on Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble). In a series of videos leading up to the release, Les Claypool can been seen wearing his signature pig mask while reading the children’s story The Rainbow Goblins by Italian author Ul de Rico. While it may seem like a strange choice of source material, it which served as the inspiration for The Saturating Seven. The album is also available in an aptly designed rainbow splatter vinyl that looks phenomenal.
I was fortunate enough to catch them earlier this year with Clutch, they played a sold-out show at Stage AE in Pittsburgh. and our contributor Melinda Oswandel got some great shots from that tour on the Ashbury Park, NJ date. If you’d like to see Primus, they will be touring North America from late October until the end of the year.
Act Of Defiance, Old Scars, New Wounds (Metal Blade)
Old Scars, New Wounds is the sophomore album from the American metal band Act of Defiance. It was produced by Dave Otero, best known for his work with Cattle Decapitation and Allegaeon. So far the band has released music videos for the two songs “M.I.A.” and “Overexposure.” Their debut album may have been entirely written by the ex-Megadeth duo Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover, but since recruiting and touring alongside vocalist and bassist Henry Derek and Matt Bachand, they have allowed them to be a part of the writing process. Although the group has no upcoming shows, they have been touring extensively in support of their 2015 debut album Birth and the Burial. It’s hard to imagine they will stay quite for long (if at all).
Nocturnal Rites, Phoenix (AFM Records)
Ten years since the release of their The 8th Sin, Swedish power metal group Nocturnal Rites rises from the ashes with Phoenix. The group has released one music video and one lyric video for the album, “Repent My Sins” and “Before We Waste Away” respectively. Earlier this month the group played ProgPower USA in Atlanta, GA. It was their only show in North America, and will likely be the only one for a little while longer. Although, it doesn’t hurt to stay hopeful.
36 Crazyfists, Lanterns (Spinefarm)
Arkaik, Nemethia (Unique Leader)
Gamma Ray, Alive’ 95 (Reissue) (earMUSIC)
Gamma Ray, Land Of The Free (Reissue) (earMUSIC)
Great American Ghost, Hatred Stems From The Seed (Good Fight Music)
Horrified, Allure Of The Fallen (Shadow Kingdom)
Ice War, Ice War (Shadow Kingdom)
Idylls, The Barn (Holy Roar)
Jag Panzer, The Deviant Chord (Steamhammer/SPV)
Kadavar, Rough Times (Nuclear Blast)
Kublai Khan, Nomad (Rise Records)
Monolord, Rust (RidingEasy Records)
Necrovorous, Plains Of Decay (Dark Descent)
Occasvs, Nocturnal Majestic Mysteria (Dark Descent)
Oculus, The Apostate Of Light (Blood Harvest)
Opeth, Still Life (Peaceville)
Stone Temple Pilots, Core (25th Anniversary Edition) (Rhino)
UFO, The Salentino Cuts (Cleopatra)
Unsane, Sterilize (Southern Lord)
Various Artists, In The Twilight, These Rocks Have Teeth (Pelagic)
Vinyl Releases
Dr. Shrinker, Archive I (Nuclear War Now)
Dr. Shrinker, Archive II (Nuclear War Now)
Evil, Rites Of Evil (Nuclear War Now)
Loincloth, Psalm Of The Morbid Whore (Southern Lord)
Motionless In White, Graveyard Shift (+ Digital Download) (Roadrunner)
Quicksand, Manic Compression (SRCvinyl)
Testament, Low (Translucent Gold Vinyl)(Metal Blade)
Testament, The Ritual (White Vinyl)(Metal Blade)
