New Six Brew Bantha EP.
Grindcore with a crust/death edge. And enough variety to keep me interested.

https://sixbrewbantha.bandcamp.com/album/blight

Another excellent new album from Ende. Classic French black metal.
https://ende-official.bandcamp.com/album/go-tie-funeste

Also really love this album by Ulvegr. They completely devolved into primitive, raw, stripped down hateful black metal. The album is short, fast and great!
https://ulvegr.bandcamp.com/album/vargkult

Yikes this new Slugdge record absolutely slays obstacles. Yet another great black/death release out of the UK.

Where Owls Know My Name is definitely a progression but Monarchy is pretty similar and I personally enjoy The Conscious Seed of Light as well.

Hierarchy, their first EP, had some deathcore trappings. Especially the song Ultimate Sentience, which was a crowd favorite in the beginning when Rivers of Nihil played at The Silo and later Reverb when that place first opened. I think their earliest shows the versions of some songs were more slammy

Going back even earlier, Amongst the Decay (or Amongst Decay) was a sort of "predecessor" band to Rivers of Nihil, was a slam death metal band. They often covered Baby Killer by Devourment. I think Jon Kunz and Ron Nelson were in Amongst the Decay, Jake was definitely in that band because he established himself to be a very talented death metal vocalist early on. He could do Wormed-like lows that I am sad to say I don't think he uses in any of Rivers of Nihil song.

Lastly, NEW CYPECORE? How did that fly under my radar?!

The distro is up and running again, guys.

Last week featured some great new releases. I've been patiently awaiting Hinayana's debut, and it is everything I could have hoped for. For me this is up there with any other melodic death/doom metal act out there right now.

The Offering by Borealis picks up right where Purgatory left off. Clean, uplifting tone with powerful vocals as usual and great melodies. I'm always surprised this band isn't more well known in the power metal community.

Lastly, Substratum has been straight killing it lately. Only 2 months after their second full length they release a 34 minute EP and somehow it is chock-full of killer songs. If they weren't already at the forefront of this new wave of old school traditional heavy metal, they should be now.

Found some of their stuff on Spotify about a couple of weeks back, didn't realise they had an album dropping. Will need to check that one out.

Primal Cult, epic Greek Black Metal

Non Est Deus - The Last Supper
Just discovered this awesome debut album! Fast, riffy and slightly melodic. Their themes are blasphemy and "humour" and it's name your price on BC. Totally digging this

https://nonestdeus.bandcamp.com/album/the-last-supper

New Substratum!? There is no hype behind this wonderful band! Thanks for the heads up.

I know it's nothing special, but the new Morbosidad is snapping my neck right now.

2018 is becoming a strong year for thrash metal already.
Another strong brutal thrash album was just released. For fans of Kreator.



New kingdom album is some very good death metal, and I am enjoying it more than the other album I have heard by them. Track 3 is my favorite, but didn't find a link to it so here is the whole album.

Yeah I'm really surprised they aren't talked about more considering how much hype bands like Satan's Hallow, Eternal Champion, Sumerlands, etc. have gotten around these parts.

Spectral - Neural Correlates of Hate

I highly recommend this album. 2018 has seemed kind of slow to me so far but it seems to be year for death metal. This album has really captured me. Spectral's debut LP is Progressive Death Metal to get excited about. It's more of a classic sound most of the time but hits all the spots really. Just incredibly impressive. I'll be listening to it all year I'm sure since I find myself listening to more progressive stuff these days. Could be like this year's death metal answer to Vektor's "Terminal Redux" (which I'm still listening to all the time) for me. I imagine this album appealing to a range of people.

https://loudragemusic.bandcamp.com/albu ... es-of-hate

you can check out the whole album on youtube also.

Filthy death metal from Australia. Along the lines of stuff like Ignovimous

The new Sojourner has to be one of the most gorgeous albums I've heard in a while. Epic majesty through your speakers.

The Hinayana debut is great melodic death/doom

Borealis' new album is very strong...killer drumming and powerhouse vocal delivery

I dig the new Visigoth record, mostly. I feel the track "Salt City" takes me out of it considerably.

Yeah I've been listening to Conqueror's Oath basically everyday for a few weeks now, I'm freakin' obsessed with it! "Salt City" has definitely grown on me, but it definitely feels out of place, especially considering it follows "Traitor's Gate". It's like you get sucked in by this epic, emotional tale and then just get taken right out of it by a song about drinking in Salt Lake City. If that song was removed a little bit it would sound so much better, because it's a solid song, it just feels very out of place.

Judicator - The Last Emperor

This is already looking like an album of the year contender for me. I've always been a fan of this band, but I think this is the most complete album they've released yet.

I know this has been briefly mentioned but I want to back up the other posters..

HINAYANA from Austin, TX have released their long awaited debut Order Divine. This is some top notch melodeath, the likes of which does not come around that often. Reminds me of Aetherion's album from last year for that reason - a debut which showcases that the band knows what it's doing and what good melodeath sounds like. Fans of Insomnium and Wolfheart should take heed!

https://hinayana.bandcamp.com/album/order-divine-2

Borgne's new album kicks ass. Highly recommended to fans of Mysticum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiJS0g9LoBk

g

Burning Hash - Simulation Theory



Very cool! Metal Archives says prog death/groove, but that's not entirely accurate, in my opinion. There's a lot of clean, atmospheric parts in this, and the death metal isn't really hard-hitting. The songs themselves, however, are really great. The band sounds super authentic. Plus they released an instrumental version of the album for those that want to listen to the music on its own. Definitely check them out.

https://burninghash.bandcamp.com/album/ ... ion-theory

Augury – Illusive Golden Age



I finally got around to listen to the new album, and its most definitely worthwhile, a 4/5 would be my score.
I still think that they sound a lot like old school tech death like late era Death and Atheist. And I like it like that.

Man new Slugdge is amazing as is Mournful Congregation, Drudkh, Arkheth, Aetherian, Genocide Pact and Depravity.
Whoever called out Apophys needs to be shouted a beer or two.

I read a comment about the album that went something like "it's dense, even by Augury standards", and it sure is. The album is definitely a grower since it takes a bit to get past the changes in production and songwriting, as I think they've gotten even more complex with this album. Man, Maritime is a fucking awesome song! Plus, any album that can pull off starting with a guitar solo is a complete winner in my book.

Augury don't still use those operatic vocals do they? Really put me off their first album.

Nah, they only used those vocals on the debut. They had some of those folky female lines on Fragmentary Evidence but none of that is present on this new album. It's more traditional in terms of the elements present but the songwriting is a total mindfuckery. A good one though.

Not sure how it took me this long to get on the Judicator train but The Last Emperor is a pretty terrific album.

Rûr - Rûr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZdsNdNRJPg&t=345s

This one truly deserves to be shared, just found it yesterday and it's simply amazing. It just hits the right spot between the atmosphere it creates and heaviness. Perfect.

Thanks!

New thread:
https://www.metal-archives.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=120848

Asunojokei from Japan. Check'em out on Bandcamp, their debut album "awakening" is seriously going to beat Summoning in the album-of-the-year poll. Written by me is like blasphematin' in a church, as Summoning is my favourite band ever through 6700 and more records I own

This album is pure perfection, and probably one of the most original ever.

+1 even for ætheria conscientia... Saxophone in black metal, amazing! And great complex songs ... Not in the hands for everybody

And watch out for the new Ungfell CD, the first two Abigor albums brought back to life with great riffs, production, arrangements and aggressiveness

new mesarthim album

really really good

space-themed post-lustre atmoblack with a good bit of electronic influence seeping through

So far Solstice's "White Horse Hill" is far and away my favorite album so far this year. Perfect length, perfect flow, amazing guitar harmonies and vocals with a cadence and enunciation so epic it boggles the mind. It is everything I have ever wanted in epic heavy metal, reaching heights often promised in the style but so rarely delivered. Probable AOTY here.

Honorable mention to Rocka Rollas "Celtic Kings". A recent discovery for me, but what a masterclass in fun and fast as shit metal! Definitely getting a lot of plays.

Edit: oh shit, checking out the Ungfell, thanks for the heads up I_Crash_and_Burn. Their debut was one of my favorites of 2017.

You joined the train at the right time. After a few more listens, I'm confident in saying this is their best yet. There's really no weak song on here.

On Thorns I Lay - Aegean Sorrow



I don't think anyone has mentioned this in this thread. I've been coming back to this album the last couple of weeks. It's sort of modern doom/goth I guess. Fans of Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride will certainly like this.

HYRGAL - Serpentine
https://ladlo.bandcamp.com/album/serpentine

French black metal debut. Very catchy and of the less dissonant variant. On the melodic side for my usual taste. Tracks also get more and more grandiose toward the end. Représailles falls a bit flat among the general high standard on this album.

Actually went in to check the new Arkhon Infaustus that came last year. It turned out to be surprisingly meh.
Came back with this instead.

This is one of the best recommendations that I have ever seen on this forum, for real. What an astonishing sound these guys have created. This will for sure be up there with my aoty candidates.

yeah that rur is fucking incredible. thank you.

I trully almost created a thread for that album but decided not to oversell it, people like different stuff, one never knows

but damn, it really is amazing music

the song II has what just might be the best Atmospheric Black Metal riff ever, specially around the 6th minute (min 14 in the youtube version) when the music stops for a brief moment and then the riff just kicks in followed by a scream and then a wall full of amazing music comes right after while that yummy riff just keeps going and going

at that point i just want to hump that riff until it starts squirting baby riffs all over the place