Everyone minus Jeff Olivier. So count me in for this one!

Benighted has a new album scheduled to come out pretty soon. Listening to the weird new music video they came out with for the new album, music is awesome as always.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming Overkill and Helstar albums.

new Impetuous Ritual. http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/impe ... bivalence/

album artwork + minute snippet up on Profound Lore's facebook page too. Cannot wait to hear this monster

According to history it should be that Taake released a new album this year. Anybody already knows something about this?

I was pretty excited to find out today that they will come over and play a gig together with Aeternus. This could be the gig of the year. No mention it's in support of a new album though.

There should be. I talked to Todd Haug a couple months back and he said the Powermad album was done, but they were working on how to release it. Label vs. independently.

I hope their new one leans back toward black metal instead of the thrash sounding riffs that Blood for the Master had.

New YOB will be upon us later this year. They've also signed to Neurot. I'm really looking forward to this now.
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2 ... _to_t.html

Cannot wait this one, great news!

Also, theres new Impaled Nazarene album titled "Vigorous And Liberating Death" coming in April.

New YOB? Fuck yeah! That was all I needed to hear...

The new Blood on the dance flo... I mean, brutal stuff.

There will be a new Blood on the Dancefloor? I expected them to have fallen apart years ago.

S my D and Scream for my Icecream are solid tunes, man.

the upcoming Down and Thy Will Be Done albums!

teitanblood - death next month
Bolzer - Soma possibly next month
morbus chron - Sweven
acid witch/nunslaughter 7"

Light Bringer is apparently going to start recording soon and will release a new album in June. I'm pretty confident it will be in my top #3 come year's end.

I will never understand why people put albums on a pedestal before even hearing a single song. It's so stupid. What if they decide their new album will be a concept work called "Farting into Microphones for 2 Hours"?

Easy one. It's called expectations, which then leads to either fulfilment or disappointment.

Oh yeah because most bands would totally do that...seriously, some people have favorite bands and enjoy them enough to expect a reasonable quality. If you like a band's work you usually wouldn't expect them in any reality to come out with something horrible or that you would hate. It's just logical deduction, even if what they come out with ends up being disappointing.

Bingo! Actually, such projections I've made over the last year have been pretty accurate (and justified). I have a 100% success rate with Japanese pre-orders/new releases (thank fuck, because those things are expensive), so I'm not too worried. I find bands over there to be very consistent (almost to a fault).


Anticipating releases I think is one of the best parts of being a music fan. Before 2013, I can't remember the last release I got really amped for (maybe Grave Digger "Ballads of a Hangman"). Historically its mostly been guarded optimism, at best. Its been a long time since I've had my expectations shattered - either I went in with reserved/minimal expectations, or I expected a great album and got an average one instead.

I know it's been mentioned before, but Gridlink's new album releases this week. Something to look forward to!
http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Gr ... ena/400238

While that album was a step in the right direction after the admittedly really lame Liberty or Death, it doesn't do a whole lot for me personally. The guitar sound is still too cleaned up and weak like on LoD, which neuters Grave Digger's normally monolithic riff delivery. The Clans Will Rise Again is their best post-Rheingold album IMO.

I can't wait for the new albums by Vader, Dark Fortress, Blut Aus Nord and Absu plus the Dawn reissues. Am interested in checking out the new Cannibal Corpse, Septic Flesh, Belphegor and Massacre albums too. Am curious but don't expect much from the new Entombed.
Even though nothing is announced at this stage, both Enslaved and Unleashed have something out every two years so I'm looking forward to both provided they don't break with their release schedule tradition.

Hope that long overdue Divine Eve album see's the light of day this year too.

Oh, I'm not disputing this. What I was referring to was the amount of anticipation I felt towards that album before it came out. Starting with the Pray single, which I really liked. Then the artwork (which I really liked) and the PV for the title track were released - so my anticipation was through the roof. Given the album is decent with a few good songs, but nothing could have lived up to the expectations I had for it.

It was a turn-around from the lethargic "Liberty or Death" (given, that album grew on me a bit). I had no expectations for this album because I didn't like "The Last Supper" at the time (that album grew on me a lot, actually). I think "The Clans Will Rise Again" was a definite return to form - my only complaint being the usual "too long / too many songs". "Clash of the Gods" seemed alright, but I haven't really played that one as much as I should have (gonna review that one soon?).

Staying on topic - Grave Digger is recording a new album as we speak. I'm definitely looking forward to it, but my expectations are a bit more realistic this time.

I'm making a concerted effort to listen to Clash of the Gods enough to review it. So far, it sounds like The Clans Will Rise Again and the first three tracks are pretty smashing and classy. We'll see how it holds up after repeated listens, though. Cool that Boltendahl is attacking new historical lyrical themes as well.

I just ended up on a youtube video I found last summer. Apparently Blind Witch (with Temis Osmond of Sabbat and Elizaveat of Sabbat/Metalucifer) will release their debut this year! Can't wait to hear that as I loved the demo. Samples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imVGr9hi9yo

new Cauldron Black Ram coming in April, new song here:

http://www.cvltnation.com/exclusive-cvl ... ork-pitch/

I rarely get excited for new releases, but I am getting pretty hype over the new Qantice coming out in March. Their first album quickly became one of my all-time favorites, so my only fear is that the follow-up might not be as good.

The one track they've released so far does sound pretty sweet though. PelleK's voice fits well with their style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UWCr48G-98

Never heard of Vredehammer before this track was posted, but Indie Recordings can do no wrong so I'm excited to pick this up. Sounds like a cross between Enslaved and Behemoth with some melodeath influences.

https://soundcloud.com/indierecordings/ ... we-are-the

Nice! Good news! Their demo was indeed very good.

Vampire's (swe) debut will be the album of the year. With a demo like this, who can say otherwise?
http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Va ... ire/351952

Many

New Bolzer? Great, great news, totally praise their Aura ep and of course this is mandatory already on my wishlist.

I'm gonna assume Kartikeya's Samudra is gonna be released sometime this year. It kinda sounded like it was going to be released in quarter 4 of 2013 but they've been pretty quiet about album updates aside from that badass music video they did for tunnels of Naraka, needless to say this and Anaal Nathrakh are the two I've really got high hopes for this year, and Nexilva, which should be releasing Eschatologies sometime in May I think? Quality deathcore if you can stand Born of Osiris without some of that lame djenty crap they do now.

There is already few decent 2014 albums, but this is what 2014 will be about, I hope:

Dead Congregation - Promulgation of the Fall
Teitanblood - Death
Mithras - On Strange Loops

As I have soft spot for Solefald, I still expect Kosmopolis to be very great, but that video from Kosmopolis session that they have just released is really weird/dull, even though it is only some "fun on the way".

Link? I loved their last album.

I read in a Terrorizer that Immortal is recording. I seriously hope that is true because I would love to hear a new album by them. Other than that probably new Goatwhore, Belphegor, Cannibal Corpse, 1349, Decapitated, Mastodon, ect.

Klabautamann just announced they will be recording drums for the new album in April, so I can only assume that means a release sometime in late summer/fall.

Although I love Merkur the rest has been hit and miss for me. If they get back on track though I'm game.