New Releases From IBARAKI, HALESTORM & More Out Today 5/6

This week’s new heavy metal releases include an album with “death howls,” unique prog, druggy riffs, and more! To the metals…

Also! Today is Bandcamp Friday where artists get 100% of the proceeds for all sales on Bandcamp. So if you can get stuff from there, please do.

Aenimus – Sacrificial EP

Genre: Progressive metal / deathcore
Origin: San Francisco, California
Label: Nuclear Blast

With a shiny new lineup, Aenimus are making their mighty return with this EP. Melody and technicality are at the forefront of this one as always. Fans of Fallujahand especially new Fallujah, should get on this.

God Mother – Obeveklig

Genre: Mathcore
Origin: Stockholm, Sweden
Label: Self-released

Buy now from Bandcamp

There’s another technical EP. This time we’re swapping melody for chaos. God Mother are abrasive and fucking weird. Their first batch of new material in five years will leave you reeling.

Halestorm – Back From The Dead

Genre: Hard rock
Origin: Red Lion, Pennsylvania
Label: Atlantic

It’s been four years since the Hale siblings have brought the rock. Their fifth album is soaring hard rock, with tons and tons of energy. Lzzy continues her reign as one of the era’s finest voices here.

Haunter – Discarnate Ails

Genre: Black / death metal
Origin: San Antonio, Texas
Label: Profound Lore Records

Buy now on Bandcamp

Now for some nastiness and blast beats. Over three epic songs, Haunter are surely summoning some spooky shit on Discarnate Ails. The chords are dissonant, the vocals are full of reverb, and their picking hands are never not full speed. Good stuff.

Ibaraki – Rashomon

Genre: Black metal / metalcore
Origin: Orlando, Florida
Label: Nuclear Blast

Like a Chinese Democracy or Fear Inoculum, it feels like there has always been a Matt Heafy extreme metal album in the works. The day is finally here and it’s not at all what I expected. It’s not as good as I was imagining, but I’m not sure I really want Matt going full forest troll anyway. The guitar work is unmistakably Heafy with oodles of Trivium-esque harmonies and It features guest spots from Nergal, Ihsahnand Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance). Max gave it a review here.

Ou – One

Genre: Progressive metal
Origin: Beijing, China
Label: InsideOut

Buy now from InsideOut

This band is full of surprises. You’re getting melodic prog, a little djent, and a vocal delivery that’s somewhere in between Kate Bush and Four Stroke Baron. One is unlike anything I’ve ever heard and I keep coming back to try to wrap my head around it.

Puppy – Pure Evil

Genre: Hard rock / stoner
Origin: London, England
Label: Rude Records

Buy now on Bandcamp

Puppy are a weird band that bring the riffs, but also bring a tongue-in-cheek cockiness that’s hard to be mad at. There’s a swagger to their songs that has an old school rock vibe with Goblin Cock and Ghost overtones. Pure Evil is a good time.

Terror – Pain Into Power

Genre: Hardcore
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Pure Noise Records

Buy now on Bandcamp

If you’re in the mood for a bite-sized hardcore rage, then this is the record for you. The songs are swift kicks to the teeth in sonic form. Corpsegrinder pops up on a track giving it a lil death metal flair, but that’s the closest thing to a frill you’re getting here. Greg’s full review is here.

Tzompantli – Tlazcaltiliztli

Genre: Death metal / doom
Origin: Pomona, California
Label: 20 Buck Spin

Buy now on Bandcamp

Tzompantli‘s debut is offering a refreshing take on the death metal subgenre. Riffs and rhythms are aggressive and dark of course, but they also infuse drum circles, shells, Teponaztli drum, and other Indigenous instrumentation in their sound. Fans of Coffins, Disembowelmentand the likes should come for the death doom, but stay for the rest.

Ufomammut – Fenice

Genre: Doom / psychedelic
Origin: Tortona, Italy
Label: Neurot

Buy now on Bandcamp

The usually rather prolific riff masters in Ufomammut have returned from their longest break between records with Fenice. The psych part of their sound feels like it’s pushed to the front this time more than ever. There are weird sounds beneath the doom that are sure to be mind altering in some way.

Also dropping today…

• Battle Born – Battle Born (Prosthetic Records) – Power metal
• Black Eye – Black Eye (Frontiers) – Rock
• Christian Death – Evil Becomes Rule (Season Of Mist) – Gothic rock
• Cosmic Putrefaction – Crepuscular Dirge For The Blessed Ones (Profound Lore) – Death metal
• The Dark Overlords – Darkpocalypse (Uprising) – Blackened death metal
• Demonical – Mass Destroyer (Agonia) – Death metal
• Drag Me Out – Demons Away (Lödereih Music) – Metalcore
• Elbow Deep – Homeschool Shooter (Horror Pain Gore Death Productions) – Death metal
• Fozzy – Boombox (Century Media) – Heavy metal – Full review
• Fuzz Meadows – Orange Sunshine (Copper Feast Records) – Psychedelic
• Haunted By Silhouettes – No Man Isle (Eclipse Records) – Melodic death metal
• I Am The Night – While the Gods Are Sleeping (Black) – Black metal
• Kaleidobolt – This One Simple Trick (Svart Records)
• Jani Liimatainen – My Father’s Son (Frontiers) – Heavy metal
• Lord Of The Lost – The Heartbeat Of The Devil (Napalm Records) – Gothic metal
• Morgue Supplier – Inevitability (Transcending Obscurity Records) – Death metal / grindcore
• Motor Sister – Get Off (Metal Blade) – Rock
• Praise – All in a Dream (Revelation Records) – Hardcore
• Pure Reason Revolution – Above Cirrus (InsideOut) – Progressive rock
• Sabbath – The Symphony To End All Wars (Nuclear Blast) – Symphonic
• Silverstein – Misery Made Me (UNFD) – Post-hardcore
• Jeff Scott Soto – Complicated (Frontiers) – Heavy metal
• Stoner – Totally… (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Desert rock
• Syberia – Statement on Death (Metal Blade Records / Blacklight Media Records) – Post-metal
• Three Days Grace – Explosions (RCA) – Rock
• This Is Oblivion – This Is Oblivion (Silent Pendulum Records) – Experimental metal
• My lake – Ash In Realms Of Stone Icons (Prosthetic Records) – Progressive black metal
• Upon A Burning Body – Fury (Seek & Strike) – Metalcore
• Vital Spirit – Still As The Night, Cold As The Wind (Vendetta Records / Hidden Tribe) – Black metal
• Windwaker – Love Language (Fearless Records) – Heavy metal
• Wo Fat – The Singularity (Ripple) – Psychedelic / doom