With the holiday season already looming over us and retailers beginning their annual craze for Christmas, new music begins its usual downward trend, with fewer new releases appearing as we approach the end of the year. This is a particularly short week, with the release count only registering in single digits, but the new albums are definitely worth your consideration. Take a look and see what strikes your fancy.
Cavalera Conspiracy, Pandemonium (Napalm)
The third album from the Cavalera brothers is their first as part of the Napalm Records roster. Max Cavalera has described this album as one of the fastest he’s ever written, saying that he had to encourage brother Iggor to “play fast like he’s 15 years old”. Max says that he didn’t want to keep the groove on the record because he was liking the fast material so much, and after listening to the album, it’s fair to say that he had the right idea. This is one of the most intense experiences in the realm of Cavalera music that has been created to date, and it’s well worth your time and attention.
Soen, Tellurian (Spinefarm)
Soen is the collaboration of two incredible musical minds – former Opeth drummer Martin Lopez, and bass wizard Steve DiGiorgio of Testament, Death, and Iced Earth fame – joined by other musicians from the Swedish area. First imagined in 2004 and formally announced in 2010, Soen is a progressive music fan’s dream. With more atmosphere than Opeth and a high degree of influence from Tool, Soen melds progressive rock and metal together to weave an intricate and complex sound that has to be heard to be understood. Just give it a listen and you’ll see what we mean.
Lordi, Scare Force One (AFM)
The masked and costumed Finnish devils are back with their modern-day variety of shock rock. Scare Force One is the group’s seventh album in total, and comes surprisingly shortly after last year’s To Beast or Not to Beast. Lordi only did one tour in support of that album before heading back into the studio for this new release. Lead single “Nailed by the Hammer of Frankenstein” has already been making quite a solid impact ahead of the album’s release.
Toothgrinder, Schizophrenic Jubilee (Spinefarm)
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, we really love Toothgrinder here at Metal Insider. We love them enough that we had them play our CMJ Showcase a few weeks ago, and it was entirely worth it. This band is destined to be huge, and if you don’t believe us, listen to their debut EP today and see for yourself just how incredible they are. This band might be the next big thing in metal, because they are playing a unique style and they have the skill to back it up. Watch for big things to be happening with Toothgrinder in the near future.
