Got sent a promo for the new EP by Inconcessus Lux Lucis from Manchester, and it is brilliant. One of the finest releases this year and the below song is an instant classic. I reckon it's out 3rd November; infuriatingly, the stunningly beautiful digipak versions sold out within hours more than a month ago.

Loving the new Bullet album more and more. It's everything the new Accept should've been. Shrieking, pissed off, pseudo hard rocky Teutonic heavy metal. I'll never tire of songs called "Hammer Down".

This year's Midnight record was nasty. You can probably guess what it sounds like.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2tTsHVvYauw#

Absolutely amazing the new effort by Deserted Fear (the clip is really amazing, that gravestones...)
Death metal the old european way...

Totally agree man. It proves that the debut wasn't a fluke.

Varathron - Untrodden Corridors of Hades

The Greek black metal masters return with a brilliant album. It sounds more progressive, and less melodic than previous albums but still retains that Hellenic epicness and grandoise.


Fordarv - Between the Eternities

Nothing fancy here, just very good early 90's Norwegian black metal worship nice riffs.
Gotta love the intensity.

Halfway into the new Amaranthe, really great vocal melodies as usual. Definitely worth it if you liked their earlier stuff and just as consistent; might be their best one yet. Guess I will find out.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention one beast of an album - Thantifaxath's Sacred White Noise. Black metal is probably one genre I prefer the least out of all of 'em, and yet this record managed to downright floor me.

Interesting, I found the new Thantifaxath wildly disappointing compared to their debut. Too much focus on dissonance and wannabe DsO tactics, not enough memorable songwriting.

The new Schammasch album, Contradiction, is nothing short of phenom. Everything about it is epic - the songwriting, performances, instrumentation, lyrics. Just mind-blowing black metal. And, uncommonly for metal, the clean passages are just as interesting and well performed as the heavy stuff. This is like Behemoth meets Pink Floyd meets Abigor.

Both new Devin Townsend albums are awesome. Especially Sky Blue. It's a great continuation of his more poppy albums Addicted! en Epicloud with a healthy dosis of throwback to some of his earlier albums like Accelerated Evolution/Ocean Machine mixed in. Although more in spirit and atmosphere than actual songwriting. LOVE Anneke's vocals as always.

To be fair I like Sky Blue more than the second Ziltoid album, and I don't like how it seems to be half ignored in favor of Dark Matters. Sky blue really deserves a seperate release.

As I'm listening to it, I definitely agree with this part. I must have really missed it but what particular reason was there for this disc to be a part of the "Ziltoid" shtick? Conceptually similar? I haven't heard disc 2 /3. I just know that this first part is incredible.

Edit: Ok I read on metalinjection. It's supposed to be Ziltoid vs DTP... what? What? ...

Oh I completely missed it as well. I thought the two disks were actually both Ziltoid material when I started listening. As far as I know there is no particular reason to why the two albums were combined into one packet. Really the only reason I can think of is convenience. I myself am nearing the end of Dark Matters, and so far the only connection to Sky Blue seems to be Anneke van Giersbergen.

EDIT

Oh really? Haha, I actually kinda dig that. It's just the duality thing Devin has been working with for years.

I dunno, haven't listened to Thantifaxath debut yet, and haven't given DsO any spin in years. But from what I recall, Paracletus in particular was a bloody overrated mess, while TSWN hit a nerve almost immediately in that their brand of dissonance sounds utterly compelling, memorable and well executed. Not to mention the unsettling, haunting atmosphere it creates. Might be the fact that I adore that particular brand of dissonant death metal.

Which brings me to Brood of Hatred and their full length debut, Skinless Agony:

Yet another DM winner, and a massive one at that. Especially recommended for Gorguts fans.

Ditto. Granted I had not heard their EP before checking the album out, so my idea of the band was based on the hype-train on some of these metal websites. The album turned out to be a weak bunch of songs. Not my thing.

you know i've never actually paid attention to this dude before but thats probably the worst band pic i've ever seen

That's the joke.

I do enjoy both the new Devin albums, both more enjoyable than Epicloud as far as I'm concerned. Sky Blue is the better in my opinion, terrific soaring vocals and good compact sound. Dark Matters certainly has its moments though.

As for combining the two in one package, I read in an interview or two that he was basically obliged by his business folks to do a follow-up to Epicloud and Addicted! since those records have been his most popular lately and been a big part of his live show. Initially he was doing it without too much personal investment (or "shitting out a sequel" as he put it), but for various reasons ended up putting a lot of time and thought into it. I think it ended up the best out of the three in the "epic pop metal" style.

In other news, streaming the new Dawnbringer off Bandcamp. Been looking forward to this an unbelievable amount, although on a first listen it isn't up to the mark with the previous two. Love that Blackmore DP Mk.II era influenced solo in 'Nobody Home' though.

I have also been listening to the new Dawnbringer. I don't know how I feel about it yet. It's much less obviously catchy than all their other albums, and it's quite lingering and plodding in it's pacing. However this does fit the concept, which I like. I guess. The pacing does pick up in the end though, as it is the climax of the story. I think there's enough in it to call it a good album, but I'll have to listen to it some more.

I thought the song with the King Diamond vocals was terrible, first time I've really despised something about a Dawnbringer song, even having heard their pre-"fame" records which were much more stylistically muddled. The review that got posted here was right to stick the knife in when it came to those vocals, even if my opinion of the album as a whole is still that it's generally decent. The intro to 'One Eyed Sister' still gives me the chills, in a good way.

I didn't mind those vocals. Amateurish, yes. But they have their charm. Just like they had their charm on Dawnbringers third album.

His singing on the new album is actually one of the strengths of the thing. But somehow those mentioned parts rub me the wrong way but a track like '11.58' (in particular) and others on In Sickness and In Dreams still sounds good, always has. Apart from anything it fits with the rest of that third record much better for whatever reasons. There's a track with black metal style stuff going on in the new album as well, and I couldn't enjoy that either despite having been fine with all the harsh vocals, blasts and so on that even Nucleus still had in small amounts.

I liked all of that stuff.

An Autumn For Crippled Children - Try Not To Love Everything You Destroy EP
Good continuation of their trusted blackgaze formula

I'm really enjoying Unearth's new Watchers of Rule. Great musicianship, good energy, and fortunately they've stayed away from the obnoxious fad using clean vocals.

Haven't looked at this thread lately, but I will have to check this band out. Working overtime with no headphones to listen to this song, but I trust the recommender

Listening to that Inconcessus Lux Lucis, it's fantastic! Love that frenetic bass and all-around throwback feel. It's like a less-wacky but more technically minded Hail Spirit Noir.

Most of the albums that come to mind for me have already been mentioned somewhere in this thread already. However, there are a few that deserve more attention.

Sacrocurse - Unholier Master
-A perfectly produced bestial/war metal album, lacking the underproduction that plagues a lot of similar albums. Sharp, raw, and powerful. Better than Diocletian's new album, in my opinion.

Abigor - Leytmotif Luzifer
-The best album they've made in years. They finally focused on guitars and riffs again. Still dissonant/chaotic black metal a la DsO, but with more focus (and fewer random techno moments) than their last few albums (Time is the Sulphur... in particular). This album generated a little buzz, but it seemed to die quickly. Which is too bad, because it's great.

I'm still loving Teitanblood's Death, too!

Unearth's new album gets better with every listen. They're easily the most competent metalcore act around right now.

Sidious's debut album, Revealed in Profane Splendour is pretty solid too, they have a bit of the Behemoth gene in them with some symphonic and tech death aspects as well. Not my favorite thing this year, but it's a cool mix of sounds.

And that Phobocosm album has really grown on me also, usually that's a bit slower than I like my death metal, but Solar Storm and 27 Days of Darkness are so damn heavy.

Here's some killer Metal by way of Fleshcraft. The songs are mostly a mix of Death and Black Metal that flow in and out between both styles. The production is extremely heavy but I think it lends itself to just how soul crushing this music needs to be. Audible bass is a huge bonus.

Yeah... this is pretty fuckin' interesting stuff. Something to keep an eye on.

i listened to a few of the songs and thought they were shit. guitar tone sounds dull, riffs are boring as hell and the drumming sounds very artificial(which is funny in a way because their old albums used a drum machine that sounded better)

Oh man, Riot's latest album 'Unleash the Fire' is amazing. I'll admit I'm not an ardent follower of this band but this new album is some top notch power/speed metal!

Nice song, I might have to check this out. I love this kind of 'spacey' production, where the instruments are not competing and you are not bombarded with noise from all directions. The music is allowed to speak for itself without the producer taking centre stage.

IV - One with the Storm is the best Ghost Brigade album to date. Bit more into the post-rock side of things which I hoped the band would venture in.

Awesome to see others are appreciating this band; they have an album coming up through the same label, and there's one full-length already out there from this year (from a different recording session and label) that I am sure will be worth tracking down.

The new Ascension EP is everything I wanted it to be, and the second album comes out on the 24th of December.

Addendum: new Necroholocaust is fucking tight. Brutal, blistering, and bestial. Matches the new Sacrocurse for me.

This has been an amazing year for death metal. From techy/dissonant stuff like Artificial Brain to the stunning Promulgation of the Fall from Dead Congregation (possibly AOTY for me) to the raw and swampy majesty of Teitanblood. What a year for death metal! Drowned's Idola Specua was amazing, and the new full length from Horrendous has been heavily in rotation. It's definitely 2014's version of Formulas of Death for me. They stepped it up big time.

Oh shit new Ascension!? Fuck yes! This, along with Tortorum's second album will make 2014 a great year for black metal as far as I'm concerned. Katababsis, Tortorum's sophomore album is bloody excellent stuff. Great composition, production, musicianship and vocals. Damn good record, and the debut kicks ass as well.

The new Dawnbringer is pretty good so far. Read some comments about it being a disappointment, but I dunno. I didn't hear their previous one, but this is at least as good as I remember Nucleus being. Just bare bones, solid old school stuff.

Damn it, I still need to check out Ascension, Tortorum, Valkyrja, and the new/latest Haemoth album and EP. Stop taking my money World Terror Committee!

I'm thinking it's going to be more of a grower. But I recommend you check out the previous record because as far as I'm concerned it is amazing. It never gets old to me. One of the main reasons this new one was a bit of a letdown.


The Haemoth is good. About time they did something. As for Valkyrja (which is from 2013) I notice a massive improvement over their older two albums, so if you like those this one is a no-brainer.