New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week’s new music includes the solo returns of Bumblefoot and Dax Riggs, as well as the latest from Mogwai, Bilk and The Great Old Ones among the many outstanding works hitting shelves. Don’t forget to check out our weekly playlist below. Enjoy!
January 24, 2025 Release Highlights:
Mogwai, The Bad Fire (Temporary Residence Ltd.):
The band’s 11th studio effort finds them dealing with hard times, with the work being described as “a collection of songs that forgo nostalgia and easy victories, once again finding Mogwai pushing forward with some of the most beautiful and explosive songs of their career.”
Bilk, Essex, Drugs and Rock and Roll (Scruff of the Neck):
The British band combines punk, indie-rock and rapping into a fresh take on an old-school sound.
Bumblefoot, Bumblefoot …Returns! (Independent):
The guitarist’s first solo album in a decade and first fully instrumental album in three decades, the record features appearances from the likes of Brian May, Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan and Ben Karas.
Dax Riggs, 7 Songs For Spiders (Fat Possum):
The Acid Bath frontman’s first solo album in 15 years is said to be “inspired by world music, gospel, hillbilly and proto metal sounds with an undercurrent of rebellious joy.”
The Great Old Ones, Kadath (Season Of Mist):
Based on H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,” the French metal band’s latest effort “captures the essential juxtaposition of terror and wonder” through “violent and breathtakingly beautiful” compositions.
Editor’s Pick: Sunmancer, Everything Falls Apart EP:
Hailing from Atlanta, Sunmancer’s new EP, Everything Falls Apart, delivers a powerful blend of blackened metalcore with somber storytelling. The tracks tackle themes of illness, grief, and moral questions, which can also be heard in the video for their latest single, “Chasm Darkly.“
January 24, 2025 Releases:
flipturn, Burnout Days (Dualtone)
Open Head, What Is Success (Wharf Cat)
Slowly Slowly, Forgiving Spree (Nettwerk Music Group)
TaFFY, Lull (Club AC30)
DITZ, Never Exhale (Republic Of Music)
Larkin Poe, Bloom (Tricki-Woo)
Young Knives, Landfill (Gadzook)
Avatarium, Between You, God, The Devil And The Dead (AFM)
Blacktoothed, Headway (Arising Empire)
Bonfire, Higher Ground (Frontiers)
The Ferrymen, Iron Will (Frontiers)
Harakiri For The Sky, Scorched Earth (AOP)
Labÿrinth, In The Vanishing Echoes Of Goodbye (Frontiers)
Misanthropik Torment, Make Assassinations Great Again (SelfMade)
Negative Thirteen, Recover What You Can (Independent)
Putred, Megalit al Putrefacției (Memento Mori)
Vukovi, My God Has Got A Gun (SharpTone)
Wardruna, Birna (By Norse)
Fleshbore, Painted Paradise (Transcending Obscurity)
End of Green, Twinfinity (Reaper Entertainment)
Ice War, Feel the Steel (Hooked on Metal)
Tormentor Tyrant, Excessive Escalation of Cruelty (Everlasting Spew)
Discordant Meditation, Tragic Creature (Independent)
Clear Sky Nailstorm, Problem Solved (Kernkraftritter)
Umbersound, If the Flies Could Sing (Independent)
Corroding Soul, Corroding Soul (Independent)
Avalanch, 30 aniversario (Maldito)
The Machinist, Contempt for Life (Independent)
Sabhankra, Nocturnal Elegies (Independent)
Atramentum, The Wrath Within (Independent)
Scitalis, Maledictum (Vendetta)
Across the Shade, Madness (Independent)
Deadspawn, Bile of the Gods (Independent)
Descarnado, El eterno odio de las almas desterradas (Independent)
Exterior Palnet, Haragma II (Independent)