This edition features lots of low-end chugging, some atmospheric bliss, rocking good times, and not really much more. To the metals…
Blaze Bayley – Endure and Survive
Genre: Heavy metal
Origin: Birmingham, England
Label: Blaze Bayley Recording
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This album is very much in the ilk of Bayley's former bands Iron Maiden and Wolfsbane. While a solid, straight up heavy metal record, it's not quite as epic as his past material. That may actually appeal to the Paul Di'anno crowd that dislike the "opera" singer Maiden has now.
Danko Jones – Wild Cat 
Genre: Hard rock
Origin: Toronto, Ontario
Label: AFM
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Just some Canadian rock n roll in the vein of Jet or that whole early -00's rock revival sound that happened. Has a bit of a southern sound to it, and even has some cowbell.
Emmure – Look At Yourself 
Genre: Deathcore
Origin: New Fairfield, Connecticut
Label: Sharptone
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John 5 and the Creatures – Season Of The Witch 
Genre: Shred
Origin: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Label: Self
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Some folk's may no be aware that Rob Zombie's guitar-slinger has some fucking chops. His solo albums typical sound like some evil hybrid of Joe Satriani and Buckethead. If you're down with guitar wanking albums, you need this record in your collection.
Junius – Eternal Rituals For The Accretion Of Light 
Genre: Post-metal/Art rock
Origin: Boston, Massachusetts
Label: Prosthetic
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These guys take way too long in between records, but every time a new one drops it's worth the wait. Like all Junius, this is epic, heavy, beautiful, ethereal, post-metal perfection. An absolute record of the year contender already.
Within The Ruins – Halfway Human 
Genre: Progressive metalcore
Origin: Westfield, Massachusetts
Label: Long Branch
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Some of our readers may put Emmure in the same category as these guys, which I can sort of see, but Within The Ruins bring so much more to the table. The guitar work alone on this record puts them in a world of their own. Frankly, I'm not into the whole deathcore/breakdown-laden metalcore scene, but Within The Ruins are my one exception to this, and this record is further proof of why.
Also dropping today…
Bungler – The Nature Of Being New (Innerstrength) – Hardcore
Gorephilia – Severed Monolith (Dark Descent) – Death metal
Senses Fail – In Your Absence EP (Pure Noise) Post-hardcore
Villain Of The Story – Wrapped In Veins, Covered In Thorns (Stay Sick) – Metalcore
Vitja – Digital Love (Century Media) – Grove metal/experimental
Wolfheart – Tyhjyys (Spinefarm) – Melodic death metal
X Japan – We Are X Soundtrack (Legacy) – Power metal
