Wear Your Wounds - WYW
“The long-awaited solo album from Converge’s Jacob Bannon has taken the form of the mind-opening WYW. Channelling his adoration for the likes of Pink Floyd and Swans, Wear Your Wounds is vastly removed from Jake’s day job. Layered in chilling sonic palettes, Jacob’s distorted, slurring vocals permeate through the hypnotic whirrs and sombre acoustics.”
Ghost Bath - Starmourner
“Black metal in 2017 isn’t the beast of 20 years ago, and its shift away from darkness is keenly felt in the otherworldly elements of Alcest, the sun-kissed vibrations of Deafheaven and the celestial threads of Liturgy, whose reach now encompasses indie, post-rock and hip, arty crowds. North Dakota’s Ghost Bath are treading a similar path and on Starmourner they turn black metal on its head.”
Asira - Efference
“Asira’s debut album is an assured step into the realm of post-black metal, and where this young UK act excel is in the contrast between Agalloch-inspired black metal and pretty, Alcest-like sections that rise to the heavens.”
Bear - ///
“The third full-length from these Antwerp math-metal extremists is a twisted melange of unbridled menace and startling melody. Sounding like the bastard offspring of Meshuggah and Converge, the four-piece deliver the kind of dizzying intricacies and mutant grooves guaranteed to have tech-metal aficionados frothing at the mouth.”
Blood Youth - Beyond Repair
“Originally formed from the remains of Climates in 2014, Blood Youth are now powered by guitarist Chris Pritchard alongside drummer Sam Hallett, and frontman Kaya Tarsus, and their debut full-length proves a cathartic mix of aggressive and accessible melodic hardcore.”
Ecstatic Vision - Raw Rock Fury
“From Hawkwind to Amon Duul II, the ancient gods of space rock always had an air of menace about them. It’s that sense of quasi-punk agitation that made Ecstatic Vision so immediately appealing on their Sonic Praise debut two years ago. In essence, Raw Rock Fury deviates little.”
Royal Thunder - WICK
“Royal Thunder’s debut album, CVI, and its follow-up, Crooked Doors, rightly had fans salivating over the Atlanta band, with their kaleidoscopes of hypnotic psychedelia and cauldrons of esoteric flavours backed by a gritty crunch. Third album Wick is an equally elaborate affair, but baring a more naked, primitive soul that’s arguably more captivating.”
Trial - Motherless
“Trial, Portrait and In Solitude were all were formed in central Sweden around the mid-00s by youngsters with roots in extreme metal yet desperate to relink themselves with the Mercyful Fate-pioneered, operatic sound of the 80s. But whereas Portrait welded themselves to Judas Priest and In Solitude got their goth on before imploding, Trial – or Trial (swe) as they’re known due to copyright reasons – fall in between.”
Valborg - Endstrand
“Valborg were once regarded as a perfunctory exercise in Tom G Warrior worship, but the Germans have since evolved into something subtly unique. Endstrand takes its cues from pounding, doom-laden black metal and serrated-edge riffs that exist somewhere between Crowbar’s lumbering doomcore and the mid-paced dagger-jabs of Khold.”
The Obsessed - Sacred
“To say that The Obsessed’s fourth studio album has been a long time coming is an understatement of sorts. Twenty-three years have passed since the release of The Church Within, the stoner doom legends’ brief dalliance with the major label world, and despite occasional reunions, Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich’s numerous other projects have always seemed like barriers to a wholesale return. Fortunately, there are few figures in the heavy music underground who have a clearer understanding of their own appeal. Sacred not only ticks every last musical box that patient fans could possibly desire, it also encompasses many of the subtle detours that Wino has embarked on over the years.”
The Doomsday Kingdom - The Doomsday Kingdom
“Leif Edling doesn’t even know how to spell the words ‘writer’s block’, so Candlemass’s uncertain future as a recording entity has nothing to do with any lack of material but more an overall fatigue of having carried the weight of such a legendary name, with all the expectations that come with it. Hence his regular use of side roads. But Avatarium aside, whose more progressive and classic rock leanings put them in a category on their own, The Doomsday Kingdom is a direct continuation of what Leif initially tried to achieve with Krux before their increasingly difficult logistics prevented them from carrying on.”
Fuoco Fatuo - Backwater
“In addition to its flourishing ‘occult psychedelia’ scene, Italy has led the world in chillingly atmospheric occult horror soundtracks (Goblin, Fabio Frizzi, Antonius Rex/Jacula) and deeply weird occult horror metal (Death SS, Black Hole, Mortuary Drape). In the 90s, Ras Algethi pioneered a form of funeral doom drawing these strengths together, and this obscure but noble heritage is modernised by shadowy Lombardy quartet Fuoco Fatuo.”
The best new metal albums you can buy this week
