With barely any recognizable names coming out with albums today, it’s time for metalheads to dig into the underground to get their new music fix this week! Fortunately, the underground is quite well-stocked with new and amazing records for your listening pleasure. By the way, if you were waiting until today to buy new music, you lost a day. Due to Pharell Williams releasing his album yesterday, every other album has been available since then. Check out the list and enjoy!
Carnifex, Die Without Hope (Nuclear Blast)
After the release of 2011’s Until I Feel Nothing, Carnifex quietly went on hiatus, only to come back in June of 2013 to sign a deal with Nuclear Blast and start recording a new album. Die Without Hope was recorded at Audiohammer Studios in Florida, the band’s first time recording outside of their native California since 2008’s The Diseased and the Poisoned.
Comeback Kid, Die Knowing (Victory)
Comeback Kid has spent so much time on the road since releasing 2010’s Symptoms + Cures, we’ve lost track of where they’ve been. But they’re back now, and sporting a new guitarist – ex-Misery Signals axeman Stu Ross joined Comeback Kid’s roster in 2012 after Casey Hjelmberg left the band.
Flotsam & Jetsam, No Place for Disgrace 2014 (Metal Blade)
After 2006’s successful remix and release of debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver, Flotsam & Jetsam’s fans clamored for the band to do the same with the group’s magnum opus, 1988’s No Place for Disgrace. Thanks to a successful campaign on PledgeMusic, that was made possible, but the band wound up re-recording the album in its entirety using modern technology instead. The band members have all praised the clearer, more modern sound, so fans of the classic album should check this out.
Crematory, Antiserum (SPV/Steamhammer)
Crematory is widely considered to be one of the longest-running gothic metal bands from mainland Europe. Antiserum carries over the electronic influences that made 2004’s Revolution such a hit, while also increasing and broadening their spectrum to make electronic parts a genuine and valuable inclusion throughout the album.
Destrage, Are You Kidding Me? No. (Metal Blade)
I’ve been a big fan of Destrage since their 2009 debut, Urban Being, and the Italian group has only grown in their musicianship since that album. We premiered their song “Hosts, Rifles & Coke” last week for your listening pleasure, and our buddies at MetalSucks have had a stream of the entire album up and running since Friday.
Ektomorf, Retribution (AFM)
The veteran groove metal act remains one of the only Hungarian metal bands to ever garner international attention. Retribution is the band’s ninth album, and Ill Niño vocalist Cristian Machado makes a guest appearance on the record, providing his vocal talents on the track “Numb and Sick”.
Hirax, Immortal Legacy (Steamhammer)
This album first appeared on our release calendar last October, but the album is also getting a digital and vinyl release today. We also recently talked with the brains behind Hirax, lead singer Katon W. De Pena, about his favorite thrash bands from the ’80s.
Freedom Call, Beyond (SPV/Steamhammer)
Freedom Call revamped their lineup since 2012’s Land of the Crimson Dawn. Founding bassist Ilker Ersin returned to the fold in 2012, after seven years away from the band. The band also welcome drummer Ramy Ali in 2013, who is best known as one of the drummers involved with power metal project Kiske/Somerville.
I Am Heresy, Thy Will (Century Media)
I Am Heresy is the newest venture of Nathan Gray, best known as the voice of Boysetsfire. After his most recent project, The Casting Out, fell into nonexistence, Gray recruited his son, a close friend, and some talented local musicians to create a new project. I Am Heresy is heavily influenced by the punk and hardcore that Gray helped to make famous in Boysetsfire, but also by heavier, more current black metal and hardcore. For more, check out this interview we did with Gray.
Nothing, Guilty of Everything (Relapse)
Nothing is a Philadelphia-based dark ambient noise duo that was masterminded by Domenic Palermo, who founded the hardcore punk group Horror Show in the early 2000s. Palermo and Brandon Setta have written and recorded all of Nothing’s music together, and Guilty of Everything is their debut full-length, in addition to being their Relapse debut.
Wolves Like Us, Black Soul Choir (Prosthetic)
Norway is not a place you’d expect to find a lot of post-hardcore, but Wolves Like Us have found plenty of success in their homeland. The group has toured all over Europe with bands such as Kvelertak, Toxic Holocaust, Doomriders, Swing Kids, Junius, and many more.
Battleaxe, Heavy Metal Sanctuary (SPV/Steamhammer)
After enjoying a prominent career in the ’80s that saw them opening for the likes of Saxon, Girlschool, and Twisted Sister, Battleaxe broke up in 1987, despite having a third album completed and ready for publication. The group reappeared in 2010, with two new members and two originals, to finally record a new album, which will be their actual third release.
Vanishing Point, Distant is the Sun (AFM)
Vanishing Point is a progressive/melodic metal group from Melbourne, Australia. Distant is the Sun is their fifth album, but it’s been seven years since their fourth album The Fourth Season was released. A number of lineup changes and differences over musical direction slowed the writing and recording for Distant is the Sun, but it is finally time for Vanishing Point to release the album and get back on track.
Ready, Set, Fall!, Memento (Lifeforce)
Formed in Genoa, Italy in 2010, Ready, Set, Fall! is a melodic metalcore and hardcore group that melds the Gothenburg style with modern American metal stylings. Memento is the band’s debut album, and is the follow-up to their five-song EP Buried, which was released in 2011.
Mount Salem, Endless (Metal Blade)
Mount Salem hails from the Chicago area with a unique blend of doom, stoner rock, and psychedelic atmosphere. The band self-released Endless last year in a limited distribution before signing a contract with Metal Blade. This re-release of the EP will allow a much wider audience to experience what Mount Salem has to offer.
The Wounded Kings, Consolamentum (Candlelight)
The Wounded Kings have only been around since 2005, but in a very short time they’ve already made quite a name for themselves. Many international websites and magazines have heaped praises on the British doom metal group, including Terrorizer, MetalSucks, and The Obelisk. Consolamentum is the group’s fourth full-length album, and it offers plenty for fans looking to hear traditional doom metal at its finest.
Hammercult, Steelcrusher (Sonic Attack)
This thrash-death hybrid group first got started in Israel in 2010 and immediately starting making waves, winning the Metal Battle at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany in 2011. Steelcrusher is the sophomore album from a band that is driven by an ironclad determination and vocalist Yakir Shochat’s straightforward approach to making music.
Next Week: Another short release list is highlighted by some rising stars from the UK. Come find out more in seven days!
