New & Noteworthy is a weekly column in which we highlight some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week features new music from Dethklok Brendon Small and Queens of the Stone Ago. If you would like to check out last week’s New & Noteworthy, you can do so here, and the week’s sales numbers are also available in Metal by Numbers. Hinder debuted the highest, but it was a pretty slow week overall for metal. You can preview this week’s releases in our Spotify playlist.
Studio Releases
Leprous, Malina (InsideOut Music)
Malina is the fifth studio album from the Norwegian prog metal band Leprous. Music videos for “Stuck,” “Illuminate,” and “From the Flame,” and while you can’t go wrong with listening to any of them, I recommend is to starting with “Illuminate.” Malina was recorded with David Castillo at Ghostward in Sweden, and mixed by Jens Bogren. Jens has worked with the band a number of times before, and it seems to be working out pretty well so far.
This album is the first to feature guitarist Robin Ognedal, who replaced their long-time guitar player Øystein Landsverk after he left the band earlier this year. They’ll be touring Europe throughout the rest of the year, but it looks unlikely that there will be an North America shows in 2017. Malina is also available vinyl .
Queens Of The Stone Age, Villains (Matador Records)
Villains is the seventh length studio album from the American rock group. It their first release since 2013’s … Like Clockwork, and also their first album produced by Mark Ronson, best known for his song Uptown Funk. They a music video for the first single “The Way You Used to Do,” but it’s exclusive to Apple Music as of writing this. Also vinyl. QOTSA will be touring the North America in September and October before they head over to Europe.
Brendon Small, Galaktikon II: Become The Storm (Megaforce)
The time has finally arrived for Brendan Smalls’ Galaktikon II. This album is Brendan’s second full lenth solo album, the first release from him since 2013’s Doomstar Requiem. It was self-produced by Small, alongside Ulrich Wild (Pantera, Breaking Benjamin). A series of Behind the Scenes videos were made to hype up the album, but no other videos have been produced for the release yet.I suppose after the tease that was MetalocalypseNOW, this is a reasonable consolation. Everything about this is Dethklok besides the name. Galaktikon II is also available on vinyl.
Akercocke, Renaissance In Extremis (Peaceville)
Bobaflex, Eloquent Demons (Thermal Entertainment)
Bumblefoot, Little Brother Is Watching (EMP Label Group)
Crimfall, Amain (Metal Blade)
Dagoba, Black Nova(Century Media)
Der Weg Einer Freiheit, Finisterre (Season Of Mist)
Drudkh/Paysage D’hiver, Somewhere Sadness Wanders / Schnee (IV) (Season Of Mist)
Edguy, Monuments (2-CD/1-DVD) (Nuclear Blast)
Ektomorf, Warpath (CD/DVD) (AFM Records)
Ewigkeit, Cosmic Man (Svart Records)
Inanimate Existence, Underneath A Melting Sky (The Artisan Era)
Lacrimosa, Testimonium (LABEL)
Ledge, Cold Hard Concrete (Translation Loss/Hibernation Release)
Leng Tch’e, Razorgrind (Season Of Mist)
Morbid Evils, Deceases (Svart Records)
Nervecel, Past, Present…Torture (Lifeforce Records)
Neurosis, The Word As Law (Reissue) (Neurot Recordings)
Portrait ,Burn The World (Metal Blade)
Pyrrhon, What Passes For Survival (Willowtip)
Ruby The Hatchet, Planetary Space Child (Teepee Records)
Sabbath Assembly, Rites Of Passage (Svart Records)
Sannhet, So Numb(Profound Lore)
The Haunted, Strength In Numbers (Century Media)
The New Roses, One More For The Road (Napalm Records)
Vatican, Ache Of Eternity (Sorrow Carrier Records)
Vinyl Releases
Conveyer, No Future (Victory Records)
Marduk, Fuck Me Jesus (Osmose Records)
Marduk, Opus Nocturne (Osmose Records)
Marduk, Those Of The Unlight (Osmose Records)
M.O.D., U.S.A. For M.O.D. (Megaforce)
Noothgrush/Corrupted, Split (20 Buck Spin)
Overkill, The Grinding Wheel (Nuclear Blast)
Limited Edition Yellow/Black Vinyl of The Grinding Wheel, released earlier this year.
Sólstafir, Köld (Spinefarm)
Sólstafir, Masterpiece Of Bitterness (Spinefarm)
Winterfylleth, The Ghost Of Heritage (Spinefarm)
Winterfylleth, The Merican Sphere (Spinefarm)
