This edition includes bands ending length album gaps, stuff to thrash to, stuff to get high to (although, once would likely get high to anything), and more! To the metals…
Cloak – To Venomous Depths
Genre: Black metal/rock
Origin: Atlanta, Georgia
Label: Season Of Mist
Buy now on Amazon.com
I'm starting this week with an album that feels like it came out of nowhere. This Georgia quartet combine black metal and straight ahead hard rock to create one of the most accessible blackened albums I've heard that isn't an atmospheric album. Riffs are catchy, the mood is spooky, and overall it's pretty wonderful.
Destruction – Thrash Anthems II 
Genre: Thrash
Origin: Weil am Rhein, Germany
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon.com
In 2007 Destruction dropped the first entry in the Thrash Anthems series, and a decade later here is the sequel. It is exactly what it advertises itself to be. This is is no frills (which for some of you is no problem) thrash front to back.
Electric Wizard – Wizard Bloody Wizard 
Genre: Doom/stoner
Origin: Somerset, England
Label: Spinefarm
Buy now on Amazon.com
In stark contrast to Destruction, here is some lurching stoner to stick in your pipe. Jus Oborn and his slow moving gang are bringing six Sabbath-y tunes to keep you entranced. Riffs on riffs on riffs here.
Entheos – Dark Future 
Genre: Technical death metal
Origin: United States
Label: Spinefarm
Buy now on Amazon.com
The second full album from the prog metal supergroup may just be their most adventurous yet. It makes sense since it is the first to feature Travis LeVrier (ex-Scale The Summit) on guitar, and while it retains the heaviness Entheos does so well, there are moments of joyous guitar meandering in the technical madness. Easily the best thing they've done.
Greta Van Fleet – From The Fires EP 
Genre: Southern Rock
Origin: Frankenmuth, Michigan
Label: Lava/Republic
Buy now on Amazon.com
While at Aftershock a few weeks ago, I could not escape people raving about this band's performance. Come to find out they're a really young band that sounds like Led Zeppelin if they crawled out of the South. Fun show, fun band, and I could see some of y'all heavy folks enjoying these lads.
Quicksand – Interiors 
Genre: Post-hardcore
Origin: New York City, New York
Label: Epitaph
Buy now on Amazon.com
Quicksand have become one of the many bands to drop a new album with decades since their last. They've been on and off again since Manic Compression but since Interiors has arrived it looks like this reunion stuck (cut to: they break up again). It's a good record too. You can really hear the why so many bands have cited them as influences.
Threat Signal – Disconnect 
Genre: Technical metalcore
Origin: Hamilton, Ontario
Label: Agonia
Buy now on Amazon.com
Speaking of length album gaps, Threat Signal have returned with their first album in six years. A handful of lineup shifts have occurred since then, but the soaring melodies and technical musicianship are all back. Feels a little throwback-y, but totally works.
Toothgrinder – Phantom Amour
Genre: Progressive groove metal
Origin: Asbury Park, New Jersey
Label: Spinefarm
Buy now on Amazon.com
Going to wrap this week with some metal chameleons. Like their first album, Phantom Amour features the band tapping into metalcore, hardcore, prog, post rock, and hard rock while grounded in a groove metal core. They've expanded in every direction on their second album. They've grown into a bigger, better band, and quickly too.
Also dropping today…
Amberian Dawn – Darkness Of Eternity (Napalm) – Neoclassical metal
Audn – Farvegir Fyrndar (Season Of Mist) – Atmospheric black metal
Axis – Shift (Good Fight) – Hardcore
Babylon A.D. – Revelation Highway (Frontiers) – Glam metal
The Dark Element – The Dark Element (Frontiers) – Symphonic metal
Evanescence – Synthesis (BMG) – Symphonic rock
Forgotten Tomb – We Owe You NothingLa Caida de Tonatiuh (Season Of Mist) – Gothic metal
Nekrasov – The Mirror Void (Prosthetic) – Atmospheric black metal
The Offering – The Offering EP (Century Media) – Power metal
Pink Cream 69 – Headstrong (Frontiers) – Hard rock
Primal Fear – Best Of Fear (Frontiers) – Power metal
Santa Cruz – Bad Blood Rising (M-Theory) – Glam
Spock's Beard – Snow Live DVD/CD (Radiant/Metal Blade) – Progressive
Sweet & Lynch – Unified (Frontiers) – Rock
The Unguided – And The Battle Royale (Napalm) – Groove metal
Witchery – I Am Legion (Century Media) – Blackened thrash
