@GTog: Upon His Return is such a killer tune, can't get that outro riff out of my head.
.....
Scour - Red EP
Phil Anselmo's bm project featuring members from Pig Destroyer, Cattle Decapitation & Decrepit Birth. The music itself much more straightforward blasting brutal bm with ferocious yet kinda' atmospheric riffing. Nothing mindblowing but it bashed my fucking skull in! Like this one better than the last one.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KM2q6BWo6-w

Hunhau Mitnal - Creador Y Formador
Nile playing atmoblack? I dunno. Seamless integration of keys with 'exotic/otherworldly' riffs...& that goddamn drummer, fucking machine-like precision.
https://hunhaumitnal.bandcamp.com/releases

Retortion Terror/Invidiosus - Split
First one has Gridlink's guitarist, much more rougher & muddy sounding but it's got some killer grind riffing.
The second one is deathgrind with quirky, techy bits sprinkled in between.
https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/split-6

Converge - The Dusk in Us
Metallic hardcore legends return with another killer record. It's emotional, thought provoking, melodic while still being crushing & brutal as fuck. This is REAL metalcore motherfuckers!
https://convergecult.bandcamp.com/album/the-dusk-in-us
....
MickeyC where are you bro? :-p

Devilpriest - Devil Inspired Chants. Really solid piece of old school sounding black/death metal.



Technically this comes out in a few days, but there is a full stream of the album on No Clean Singing. Recommended.

http://www.nocleansinging.com/2017/11/0 ... ed-chants/

Lustre released his new full length yesterday Still Innocence. You know what you are getting with this and any fans of his previous works will be pleased.

https://lustre.bandcamp.com

Any self-respecting death metal fan would do well to check the latest Firespawn album 'The Reprobate' out. Amazing fucking album. This is how it is done - never ending heaviness but still catchy and atmospheric. Top 10 of the yurr.

The new Runespell album is very good raw melodic black metal from Oz.

dude from Eternum if that helps anyone, Runespell is good stuff.

Two new killer albums this week. Both fit nicely into the mold carved out by current Icelandic black metal (with only one of these projects actually being from Iceland...)

Auðn - Farvegir fyrndar
Their first album from 2014 was a really solid debut, and they appear to have honed in their sound from the released tracks. Harsh but with an engrossing and at times gorgeous atmosphere. Release date Nov 10th
https://audnofficial.bandcamp.com/
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Au ... iscography


Sisyphean - Illusions of Eternity
Gotta give this thing some more listens, but really enjoying it so far...
https://sisyphean.bandcamp.com/
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Si ... 3540377794

Still here. Haven't been posting as much lately - busy with uni exams and all that shit.

While I'm here, I'll say that the new Blindfolded and Led to the Woods album is pretty good. Not on Metal Archives but they play a cool disjointed metal something-or-other. New album is more digestible than the last one, so it might be a better starting point for new fans.

https://balttw.bandcamp.com/album/modern-adoxography

Had no idea they came out with some new material so thanks for the heads up.

REALLY enjoying this and a definite improvement over their previous release (which I also enjoyed). Purists will be twisted up but this rips.... some absolutely blistering and memorable riffs.

Malokarpatan - Nordkarpatenland

Didn't realize Under the Church had a new one today. Solid Swedeath.

https://pulverised.bandcamp.com/album/s ... punishment

Chaos Moon's Eschaton Mémoire is available for streaming in full now, and after one listen I love this album. A very spacey album, with sprawling songs drenched in trance-inducing synths. Highly recommend it. This has quietly been a good year for US black metal with solid to great albums from Pillorian, Dumal, Nightbringer, Tombs, Suffering Hour, WITTR and Falls of Rauros to name a few....
Listen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQb4k8oU5KY

Aosoth - V: The Inside Scriptures

Wow, better late than never, but this may very well be my AOTY.

I thought Chapter IV from this French BM horde was overrated but this one absolutely stunned me. Dark, suffocating and malevolent atmosphere in abundance combined with superb and memorable song structures. Utterly fantastic!

Endless Main - II

I listened to this album earlier this year and somehow completely forgot about it until now. After listening again, its definitely one of my favorite power metal records of the year. They do very well in blending dark and heavy with upbeat and melodic.

This album was only mentioned once in passing in this thread, so....

Vesicant - Shadows of Cleansing Iron



Some great sounding blackened death metal from New Zealand. Only 7 tracks but they're all quite lengthy, with plenty of evil riffing intermixed with slower, deadly riffs without losing any intensity.

https://vesicantcult.bandcamp.com/album ... nsing-iron

If you got a bit of a soft spot for hardcore and deathcore, I highly recommend the new Kublai Khan album. Top notch grooves, really well written lyrics. Big, beefy breakdowns that will instantly piss off 90% of the people here, but goddam if you love 'em then this is the album you've been waiting for.

Yeah that Vesicant is indeed a good album, Mickey. Your neighbors across the water sure know how to make some good war metal. NZBM to the death!

I'll have to check out that Kublai Khan album... always down for some good beatdown hardcore.

Sure, dude. New Zealand can pump out some cool stuff.

Kublai Khan sounded alright, as well.

Seconding Aosoth and Malokarpatan.

Can't recommend Rebirth of Nefast - Tabernaculum enough, a massive black void oozing total death. Admittedly a tough nut to crack, but after you've digested this it's easily AOTY.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxkaCCPPS5I

On a more dynamic note, White Death truly deserve more attention. Saatanallinen voitto!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngnnFN1jXhE

For NZ metal my choice is Heresiarch, total war metal supremacy!!! Vesicant is brutal & filthy alright but I'm not feeling it tbh. KK though, is right up my alley. I can enjoy a good breakdown here & there.

That White Death sounds killer, nothing new but it scratches an itch.

Blaze of Perdition - Conscious Darkness is another great black metal album. I for one really enjoy this post-DsO wave of bm. Long songs with various changes & sections, remains relatively accessible but always compelling, good shit.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf1zkmd8kB4

Devoid of Thought - Astral Necrosis; 'proggy' osdm claiming thrash influence, weird otherworldly sounding stuff, pretty promising for a debut
https://caligarirecords.bandcamp.com/al ... l-necrosis

Jupiterian - Terraforming; black/doom with a ritualistic vibe; your favorite blackened death bands slowed down to doom tempo
https://jupiterian.bandcamp.com/album/t ... udge-metal

Impureza - La Caida De Tonatiuh; Death metal/flamenco hybrid exploring Mesoamerican themes, convincing integration of two very different styles. I hope this becomes yet another cool niche to explore.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LCGWoPuNJaI

Desolate Shrine - Deliverance from the Godless Void; black/death with atmospheric stuff, absolutely monstrous in every way, great riffage & songwriting. Dark Descent always delivers!
https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com ... dless-void

KMac2021's A Death Metal Christmas. Just give it a listen.

Narcotic Wasteland’s new album, “Delirium Tremens,” has been a more entertaining listen than I expected going in. It’s street-level Nile with much of that same style of riffing, drumming and of course the vocals but without the grandiose atmosphere, extra instrumentation, and all the other hallmarks of Dallas’s previous band.

The lyrics don’t offer much in the way of poetry or creativity, although perhaps that can be forgiven considering the subject matter and that it’s an overt aspect of the band’s identity. How long it will remain the overriding theme is a choice they’ll have to eventually make, as touching on such a specific topic repeatedly could have a limited shelf life.

Not the most original one, but a solid mid-tempo Thrash album in proper production: Worsis - Blinded By the System.

I'll second the Chaos Moon and Aosoth albums, and I'm not even a fan of black metal

Legendry of Pittsburgh put out a great album of ancient school epic heavy metal, "Dungeon Cralwer". In addition to a rad name it has fuckin' excellent cover art. 100% represents the D&D/pulp fantasy vibe they are going for. The amateur charm of the artwork perfectly reflects the amateur charm of our own childhood fantasy adventures with dice or controller in hand. The opening of the title track strongly reminds me of the Meridian 59 theme.

Has a fair bit of prog rock in their sound as well. Their self description is pretty accurate: "From a metal age undreamed of, comes forth LEGENDRY: an epic heavy metal band from Pittsburgh, PA that carries on in the tradition of Manilla Road, Omen, and Cirith Ungol, with a nod to the 70s prog sounds of Wishbone Ash, Yes, and Jethro Tull."

Been listening with extreme intensity for a whilst now!

https://legendry.bandcamp.com/album/dungeon-crawler

Thanks for the heads up John_Sunlight. I'm listening to their latest now. I'm digging it...a lot!

Man maybe I need to go back to "Dungeon Crawler", I loved "Mists of Time" immensely but can't get into the more speedy styled riffs of the new one. It has less epic chord progressions and more hard rockin' sound to it. Not bad by any means, but it may take some growing.

I've got to say that my recent discovery of Wulkanaz has been a highlight. "Paralys" is incredible and incredibly weird. Something about the bouncy-blasty rhythms and the wavering harmonies...
Also have to say something about the Runespell album "Unhallowed Blood Oath". Very nice, majestic and melodic but raw. Really my favorite type of lo-fi black metal. Fans of like... Drowning the Light and other such bands would really enjoy it, I think, though I tend to prefer this to DtL.

Damn it, John, it's too late for year highlights! But seriously, this sounds awesome. Good find!

Hey yeah - this is good. Very cool stuff. They seem to get how to evoke that classic feel in a genuine way. Sweet classic metal guitars and nerdy, weird, but catchy vocals.

If everything is as good as the first song, this is probably the best classic metal album this year that I've heard.

Hope you guys haven't submitted your lists to the best of 2017 thread yet.

Ice Age – Breaking The Ice



I just had to put this here. This "debut" has been 30 years in the making. The band made some demos in the 80's and then for various reasons disbanded. But now the cards aligned and we got to hear their first album, which is a mix och new and newly recorded songs.

And what do we get? Well the best (old school) thrash album you've heard in ages. It's very Megadeth-ish with some Holy Moses influences as well. They used to be all female, but now they have a guy playing drums. This album is ridiculously good.

The Grave Alchemist: All Hell's third album which has been grossly overlooked ever since it was released back in April. Quality black/thrash that manages to have its own unique take on the genre. Also, it has irresistible cover art:


Rites of Evil: more black/thrash from Japanese newcomers, Evil. The opening instrumental track is killer.

Bufihimat - I
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vhL3m8eDGoM

Russian brutal/tech death with mathcore/grind influence. If you like your metal brutal & inaccessible, give this a shot. Shit rips!

Awesome!!!

Done my top 50 list here if anyone's interested

https://swirlsofnoise.com/2017/11/30/to ... s-of-2017/

I read that. Good list! Of course I don't agree with some inclusions (and exclusions), but I like your descriptions and there's a bunch there I definitely enjoy.

Yeah that's fair enough, no one has the same tastes! I struggled to pick 50 to narrow it down to, left so many out! Do more than 50 though and it looks like you have no filter.

What ones would you have included? I really liked Elder but I always drift off on the third track, and then Archspire, Artificial Brain, Hideous Divinity and loads of others were good.

Neil of Krieg did a write up on these guys new album that is a total old school death metal rager. Anyone who loves their death metal with hardcore influence and filth is gonna like it. Headbanging frenzy of an album.

https://leftcross666.bandcamp.com/album/chaos-ascension