It seems to be routine at this point that we’re having heavily-loaded new release schedules in recent weeks. Today is no exception to that, and as I promised last week, this list is extremely diverse. Let’s get right into it!
Ghost B.C., Infestissumam (Loma Vista/Republic)
If you have no idea who it is that’s leading this week’s list, take the B.C. off the end. Swedish doom metal group Ghost had to change their name in the US due to legal reasons. The band has already stated that they will never officially use the Ghost B.C. moniker in any official capacity, and they hope to go back to using the name Ghost in the US soon. Regardless, you should remember their debut album, Opus Eponymous, which was released two years ago in the States (and earlier in Europe). One of the most well-received albums of 2011 and recipient of endless critical acclaim, Opus Eponymous opened the door for Ghost to play on the Heritage Hunter Tour with Mastodon and Opeth last year. That tour was one of the biggest tours in the States last year, and it brought Ghost to the forefront of the metal world’s attention. Infestissumam will hopefully reflect this increase in popularity with an impressive sales debut.
Pyrithion, The Burden of Sorrow EP (Metal Blade)
This new group is a collaboration of many great minds in metal. Pyrithion brings together Tim Lambesis (As I Lay Dying), Ryan Glisan (Allegaeon), Andy Godwin (ex-The Famine), and JP Andrade (ex-The Breathing Process) into one traditional death metal group. Lambesis has stated that he wanted to form a more intense metal outfit for awhile, and this is the result of that endeavor. The Burden of Sorrow is just an EP, and was put together in the course of just over one weekend, but it’s a fantastic start to the band’s discography. Hopefully this will just be the beginning for this new band, and a full-length record will be soon to follow.
Anciients, Heart of Oak (Season of Mist)
This Vancouver-based group was featured in our Unsigned & Streamed column back in January 2012, and we were more than happy to share them with everyone at that time. It was a pleasant surprise, though, when they were signed to Season of Mist last November. Their brand of progressive stoner metal, mixed with an intense thrash style of riffing, Anciients will be a big draw to fans of KEN Mode, Inter Arma, Ancient VVisdom, and Call of the Void. The diversity shown in that group of artists should give you an idea of how widely appealing Anciients has the ability to be, and for their sake, I hope this latest full-length nets them a great deal of new fans.
Also being released this week:
Iced Earth, Live in Ancient Kourion (Century Media)
Flotsam & Jetsam, Ugly Noise (Metal Blade)
Ugly Kid Joe, Stairway to Hell (MRI)
Spiritual Beggars, Earth Blues (Inside Out)
Eyeconoclast, Drones of the Awakening (Prosthetic)
October Falls, The Plague of a Coming Age (MRI)
Vhol, Vhol (Profound Lore)
Fallstar, Backdraft (Facedown)
The Eye, Supremacy (MRI)
Kobra and the Lotus, Kobra and the Lotus (Ume)
Aosoth, An Arrow in Heart (Agonia)
This Misery Garden, Cornerstone (Season of Mist)
Eternal Rest, Prophetic (MRI)
Skid Row, United World Rebellion: Chapter One EP (Megaforce)
Whitechapel, The Somatic Defilement Re-Issue (Metal Blade)
Next Week: A fair amount of new albums are coming, but this is a reduction from what we’re used to getting from recent weeks. Still, though, this will be a good week of new music. Come check it out!
