Holy shit! In stark contrast to last week, the labels seem to be operating under the assumption that you have plenty of capital left over from your Spring Break partying, because they're seriously not fucking around with this week's releases. I know touring season is kicking into high gear but goddamn…
Anthrax – Anthems
Genre: Duh
Origin: Seriously?
Label: Megaforce
Something like half of these songs have been intentionally leaked by the label over the last few months, so you probably already have an idea whether you need this or not. I've heard complaints about Anthrax being too faithful to the originals but honestly I think that's been a hallmark of their covers since day one. They've never really been able to make a cover their own the way Metallica do, but that doesn't mean the Anthrax renditions are without their own sense of charm.
Clutch – Earth Rocker
Genre: Blues Rock/Stoner
Origin: Frederick, MD
Label: Weathermaker
"On the journey through the world of modern hard-rock, Clutch is like the mad village storyteller. You might not get what he's trying to tell you right away, but after awhile you discover, he's the one you should have listened to all along." See the MI review here.
Intronaut – Habitual Levitations
Genre: Post-Metal/Experimental
Origin: Los Angeles, CA
Label: Century Media
My review may already be up by the time you read this, but if not suffice to say that this picks up where its predecessor left off while improving on its mix of riffs and atmosphere immensely. A career-defining effort.
KEN Mode – Entrench
Genre: Experimental/Post-HC
Origin: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Label: Season of Mist
"What KEN Mode have done here is nothing short of amazing. Entrench will keep you coming back for more even after a hundred listens; it’s a record that’s aware of when an idea is in danger of getting boring, and changing. It’s a record that knows not to string together a whole bunch of songs that sound vaguely similar so the listener has no idea where they are in the track list". Read the MI review here.
Nails – Abandon All Life
Genre: Hardcore/Sludge
Origin: Oxnard, CA
Label: Southern Lord
"On Abandon All Life, Nails has made a gigantic improvement with a punishing, albeit brief slab of fury and aggression. Abandon all pretenders, Nails is the real raw thing." Read the MI review here.
Six Feet Under – Unborn
Genre: Death Metal
Origin: Tampa, FL
Label: Metal Blade
Review forthcoming on this one as well, but unless this is your first time ever on a heavy metal site you know what to expect here: old school, primal death with an emphasis on the riffing. The only thing likely to confuse any fans here is whether this is even a new album: the similarly titled Undead was released just last year with similar artwork. No accident, that: this was deliberately intended as a companion piece.
Also out today:
Batillus – Concrete Sustain (Seventh Rule)
Black Crucifixion – Coronation of King Darkness(Spinefarm)
Call Of The Void – Dragged Down A Dead End Path(Relapse)
Cannibal Corpse – Dead Human Collection: 25 Years of Death Metal Box Set (Metal Blade)
Davey Suicide – Davey Suicide (Standby)
Deathwolf – II: Black Armoured Death (Century Media)
Epicrenel – The Crystal Throne (Inverse)
The Eye – Supremacy Re-Release (Debemur Morti)
Globe and Beast – Grandfather's Axe (Melotov)
Goatcraft – All For Naught (Forbidden)
Thehappymask – Ruines (Domestic Genocide)
Hundredth – Revolt EP (Mediaskare)
Imperium Dekadenz – Meadows of Nostalgia (Season Of Mist)
Inter Arma – Sky Burial (Relapse)
In Utero Canibalism – Sick (Sleaszy Rider)
Iron Reagan – Worse Than Dead (A389)
Jungle Rot – Terror Regime (Victory)
Lecherous Nocturne – Behold Almighty Doctrine (Unique Leader)
The Lidocaine – On the Road to Miero (Inverse)
Lordi – To Beast Or Not To Beast (The End)
The Modern Day Slavery – Requiem For Us All (Pavement)
Nero Di Marte – Nero Di Marte (Prosthetic)
The New Black – III: Cut Loose (AFM)
October Falls – The Plague Of A Coming Age (Debemur Morti)
Ov Hollowness – The World Ends (Code666)
Panikk – Unbearable Conditions (Metal Tank)
Radiance – Undying Diabolyca (My Kingdom)
Reign Of Vengeance – The Final Solution; The Final Rebellion (Synister Empire)
Reign Supreme – Sky Burial (Mediaskare)
Resonance Room – Untouchable Failure (My Kingdom)
Satanic Threat – In To Hell (Hells Headbangers)
Seven Sisters Of Sleep – Opium Morals (A389)
The Solemn Curse – Gateway to Eternity (Mordgrimm)
Tear Out The Heart – Violence (Victory)
Throw The Fight – The Vault EP (Bullet Tooth)
A Transylvanian Funeral – Gorgos Goetia (Forbidden)
Vanna – The Few And The Far Between (Artery)
