In perhaps the heaviest edition in a while you're getting death metal, thrash, a saxophone, and more! To the metals…
Broken Hope – Mutilated and Assimilated 
Genre: Death metal
Origin: Chicago, Illinois
Label: Century Media
Buy now on Amazon.com
Jeremy Wagner and the rest of Broken Hope are bringing their trademark death metal stylings to you in devastating little bursts. This their first album in four years, and second since their reboot, and it features a song about a pair of pants made from a dead guy's skin (see: "The Necropants"). What more could you want?
Dying Fetus – Wrong One To Fuck With 
Genre: Brutal death metal
Origin: Baltimore, Maryland
Label: Relapse
Buy now on Amazon.com
If Broken Hope wasn't heavy enough for you, then here is Dying Fetus's latest collection of songs you don't want to talk about at the dinner table. As you'd hope, vocals are gutteral, musicianship is chaotic, and subject matter ranges from depressing to gross. Not sure what the deal was with them taking a five year pause between albums (and frankly wasn't concerned enough to google it), but the wait is over.
Ex Eye – Ex Eye
Genre: Experimental metal
Origin: New York, New York
Label: Relapse
Buy now on Amazon.com
Now if I may stray from the norm for a bit, here is probably my favorite release of the week. This is the experimental project of Colin Stetson and it consists of a guitarist, a drummer, (I think) a bassist, and Colin playing saxophone. One you'd think that it would be a jazzy metal album, and while there is some influence there, it really isn't. It's brooding, dark and wonderful.
Goatwhore – Vengeful Ascension 
Genre: Blackened thrash
Origin: New Orleans, Louisiana
Label: Metal Blade
Buy now on Amazon.com
Goatwhore are becoming Motorhead-like in their consistency, and not in a bad way. You know you're about to get a thrashy record with some black metal flairs, and that's exactly what they deliver. I ain't mad about it, are you?
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Murder of the Universe
Genre: Psychedelic
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
Label: ATO
Buy now on Amazon.com
I've been seeing this band pop up on hip festivals, and that's pretty cool. They're a nerdy, proggy, fuzzed out collective that are only getting weirder as they get more popular. This record is their second (of three, I believe) to drop this year, so there's still plenty to enjoy and look forward to.
Municipal Waste – Slime And Punishment 
Genre: Thrash
Origin: Richmond, Virginia
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon.com
Here's another band taking their sweet time between records. Sure, they've been busy with bands like Bat, Iron Reagan, Volture, Cannabis Corpse, and others, but still. Anywhoozle, you wanna thrash? This will be the record to get that circle pit going in your bedroom.
Pristine – Ninja 
Genre: Psychedelic/Blues
Origin: Oslo/Tromsø, Norway
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon.com
This band would pair well with King Gizzard. They're certainly more bluesy, but there is an element of darkness and mystery to Pristine that makes them a lil spookier. They're like a female-fronted Rival Sons with a pinch of Ghost. Ninja is a rad album and Heidi Solheim has a great voice.
Also dropping today…
42 Decibel – Overloaded (SPV) – Hard rock
Bardspec – Hydrogen (By Norse) – Ambient
Jyrki 69 – Helsinki Vampire (Cleopatra) – "Goth n roll"
Kai Hansen – Thank You Wacken (earMusic) – Power metal
KMFDM – Yeah! EP (earMusic) – Industrial
My Regime – Deranged Patterns (Scarlet) – Thrash
Powerflo – Powerflo (New Damage) – Rap metal
Wildspeaker – Spreading Adder (Prosthetic) – Black metal/sludge
