Summer has officially begun, and heavy music is out in full force this week with a plethora of new albums. Check out the full list for the first batch of music to blare out your newly-opened windows and deafen unsuspecting pedestrians.
Breaking Benjamin, Dark Before Dawn (Hollywood)
Breaking Benjamin has been on an extended hiatus, due to illnesses suffered by frontman Benjamin Burnley and an extended legal battle between Burnley and former members Aaron Fink and Mark Klepaski. Burnley rebuilt the band with an all-new lineup that was revealed in August of last year, and Dark Before Dawn will be the recording debut of this newest version of Breaking Benjamin.
Lindemann, Skills in Pills (Warner)
It’s not often that two high-powered forces in the music community come together to form a side project. However, that’s exactly what has happened here, as Till Lindemann of Rammstein has teamed with Peter Tägtgren of Hypocrisy/Pain to create an industrial metal supergroup. It will likely be a jarring experience for many Rammstein fans, as Lindemann sings entirely in English for this project, unlike the German vocals for which Rammstein is well-known.
Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody, Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus (Nuclear Blast)
Prometheus is the second album released by Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody, the “parallel continuation” of the band formed after Turilli amicably split from Rhapsody of Fire in 2011. The debut album, 2012’s Ascending to Infinity, was a successful first run at the band’s chosen style of “cinematic metal”. Now, Turilli and Co. have a second chance at making a big impact.
Virgin Steele, Nocturnes of Hellfire & Damnation (Steamhammer/SPV)
As the veteran group approaches their 35th anniversary, Virgin Steele has crafted one of the more unique albums in their discography. According to singer David DeFeis, the album is not a concept album, but it does have a lyrical theme running through it. That theme covers the relationships human beings have with each other, with their philosophical and religious beliefs, and with the external forces and possessions that the world presents. On this album, the lyrical intensity truly matches the musical intensity that Virgin Steele always brings.
Pro-Pain, Voice of Rebellion (Steamhammer/SPV)
Pro-Pain has stated that the main difference between Voice of Rebellion and its predecessor, The Final Revolution, is that the writing process was a collaborative effort this time. It certainly shows on the band’s fifteenth album. Displaying the sum total of their influences in varying capacities throughout the album, Voice of Rebellion features some of the most diverse and impressive material of Pro-Pain’s career.
Tarja, Luna Park Ride (earMUSIC)
Tarja’s third live album is a two-disc release with a huge quantity of material. The main focus is disc one, which contains her entire performance from a 2011 show at Stadium Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Interestingly, all of the music is fan-recorded, which is highly atypical for a live album of this caliber. Disc two, meanwhile, features a plethora of live tracks from other concerts around the world.
Dommin, Rise (Self-released)
The LA-based goth rockers ran a PledgeMusic campaign to fund their follow-up to 2010’s Love is Gone. To say that the campaign was successful would be an understatement – the band reached their funding goal within a few hours of the campaign going live, and by the time it was over, they had raised almost twelve times the amount that they had initially asked for. Rise features the same diverse approach that made Love is Gone such a hit, adding even more unique styles to the band’s already-impressive repertoire.
Hatebeak, The Number of the Beak (Reptilian)
The world’s only death metal band with a parrot as lead vocalist is back after six years on hiatus. For those unfamiliar with Hatebeak, the group is a two-man, one-parrot outfit from Baltimore that made a splash in the mid-2000s before going on an extended break. At this time, The Number of the Beak is only available as a physical release on vinyl, but other versions should come at some point in the near future.
