debut full length from ritual moon - a fun blast of black/thrash with good energy and old-school vibes without feeling like a rehash

https://ritualmoon.bandcamp.com/album/ritual-moon-i

I don't think they have many fans here, but Gatecreeper just dropped a new EP. The first seven tracks are basically straight up death/grind/crust and the last one is an 11 minute death/doom song.

https://gatecreeper.bandcamp.com/album/an-unexpected-reality

This Konquest album is really good. Definitely by the numbers Maiden worship but pretty dang good at it.

Doesn't have to be full albums, ep's count, if people seem to think this thread is for singles, that's on them, longer splits would work as well.

I'd consider myself a fan, for the most part at least. I liked "Sonoran Deprevation" and their various splits. Didn't care much for "Deserted", which honestly was a bit of a bore to me. This one's an absolute ripper, though!

I'm definitely a fan of theirs. I enjoyed the EP, but I need to hear it a bit more to get a true and proper assessment of it.

Ogasawara - Ogasawara
https://ogasawara2.bandcamp.com/album/ogasawara



Been listening to this for the past couple of days and man does it rule. Easily the best Black Metal I've heard this year.

This is fantastic, thank you snarg!

My only (minor) complaint is the drum sound and some of the drum patterns as well. I believe the drums are programmed but I can't be sure. Don't get me wrong, it is definitely worlds apart from the typical bedroom black metal drum programming, but I think more organic approach would benefit the material, IMO. Other than that, this is excellent black metal. The guitar playing is top-notch, full of interesting riffs and ideas, very dynamic and memorable as well. Great find!

Such a shame this one is an EP, it's fantastic but too short. Aberration make death metal and it sounds so filthy. It reminds me a bit of Altarage. Full EP is out today. Members of Void Rot, Suffering Hour, Tvaer, and Nothingness.

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/aberration

Bloody Hammers (classic horror/sci-fi movies-inspired doom/hard rock) released a new album and it's pretty good. Not a huge fan of that genre in general but it's one of these bands that are the exception to the rule, I love their music a lot but can't stand most similar bands.

Did anyone check out Mechina's latest? I gave it a couple of listens and so far it definitely holds up to their other releases. They seem to be content with sticking to their formula and I can't complain. It's not like anyone else out there is doing it better than they are.

https://ferriterium.bandcamp.com/album/calvaire

French black metal. Sounds cool so far. Great cover too.

I listened to it a week ago and it was not bad, but I prefer Xerath's approach to that sound, though they haven't released an album in awhile now.

That is the strangest album cover I've seen in a while. I like it...I think?

The new Mefitis album rules. More death metal than the previous one and it's a bit more ominous sounding at times.

RE: Bloody Hammers.

I really liked some of the songs on their last album (Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, Now The Screaming Starts), however I HATED the terrible fake drum sound. I listened to the new one a bit, and it seems a bit more polished. Really love the Misfits worship on the song "The Brain That Wouldn't Die".

I'm not familiar enough with The Misfits to have recognized it, tbh, but I love that song.

Canadian trio Fractal Generator have released their sophomore album, Macrocosmos.

Spacey, techy death metal that still manages to sound quite heavy and even has some blackened passages.
It's weird and wacky at times, but surprisingly catchy. Well produced and with top-notch musicianship.

For whatever reason their bandcamp only displays their first release...
https://fractalgeneratorofficial.bandcamp.com/releases

Fractal Generator was surprisingly good. Kind of Hour of Penance-like. It's still insanely early in the year, and some heavier hitters are coming up soon, but for a brief moment it passes Frozen Soul for "album of the year" for me.

I've been reading a whole lot of praise for that album but I'll admit I'm a bit (well, a lot actually) burnt out on new death metal coming out. I've heard one single and it didn't grab me by the balls, not in the very least, though I enjoyed its Demigod-ish guitar tone. So if you don't mind, could you elaborate on why you feel that way?

This is awesome!

I also 2nd SVRM and Maquahuitl

Well, I'm being rather cheeky since I've listened to very few new albums at this point and I don't expect that "title" to hold for more than another week or two depending upon what I think of a few upcoming releases. But it just has most of the traits I want out of that sort of music. The guitars are beefy and super downtuned where I like them, the production is full and clear without being excessively fatiguing, the vocals are a low and ferocious roar. A little more variety in tempo might have helped, but for techier-leaning bands a lot of high speeds are par for the course. It has a lot of subtle flourishes in terms of melodies, keyboard textures and such, which prevent it from becoming too monotonous. Aggregation ratings for it are a bit lower than I'd have anticipated in a vacuum, so the hype you're hearing is probably from a few vocal fans. Apparently their first album is pretty weak (I haven't heard it myself), so I don't know if maybe they have a tainted reputation at this point, I haven't really researched them. And I don't yet know how much staying power it has on multiple listens and absorption time. I do like the sci-fi painting vibe of the cover as well. Anyway, the title track is the one that sold me the most on it.

2nding/3rding/whatever Maquahuitl and Gatecreeper. Strong start to the year with short albums.
Enrapture is a pretty good one found through Last Rites blog, really sick prog/post metal with none of the snoozefest trappings of either genre (and a bit of a cowboy vibe on the second to last song - with this and Maquahuitl, maybe this is the year of cowboy metal!).
https://enrapture1.bandcamp.com/album/a ... reen-droug

Listening to Mother of Graves right now. Pretty good!

Oh my, sorry for the mix-up there. I was asking about the Frozen Soul release... My bad.

with this many people already praising the maquahuitl ep, i'm surprised only 1 person besides me voted for the full length in the 2020 aoty poll

anyway, the ep sounds like more of the same (which is a good thing here) - too bad it looks like it's one of those mexi-nazi bands, like blue hummingbird

Yeah, they're definitely nazis. They release their albums through Darker than Black Records and they are also part of the Odio Bronce collective/whatever.

Well, in that case, it has some similar qualities, with the low-tuned guitars, with a grimier production that is quite spacious but not overly diluted. It's in that sweet spot for me that isn't quite "cavernous", but hints at it. Lots of chunky and ominous riffs, a dash of atmospheric keyboards and piano in a few spots, I just like the vibe of it.

I'm spinning the new Plagueborne album right now, and it's some kick ass death metal. Really enjoying it.

The latest from Phantom Elite is great too, as is Lost Sacrament's debut. Two worthwhile symphonic metal albums.

I wasn't a huge fan on my first listen, but I'm enjoying the new album from The Body (I've Seen All I Need To See) more and more each time I give it a spin. It's definitely a break from the more ambient/pop/rap/sludge/drone mixture of the last couple albums, more of a "back to basics" vibe going on with minimal guest appearances and instrumentation outside guitars/percussion/Chip's vocals. I think it doesn't officially come out until next week but when it does it's definitely worth a listen if you're into sludge/drone/doom.

Yoth Iria - As The Flame Withers
Hellenic black metal supergroup, where supergroup doesn't mean "sucks shit through a straw" - Black Curse last year feels like it broke the curse (hah) on bad supergroups. Officially out the 25th but streaming in full!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l878SoA1QGU

Oh I'll check that out, Under His Sway was one of my favorite songs of 2020. I can listen to that song on repeat. Hope lightning struck twice.

i haven't heard of the band before, but i'm about 16 minutes in and it sounds pretty good. the album seems to be getting better than what i thought after the first 5 minutes, tho' that could just be my increasing intoxication talking. you probably won't find this on my top 10 list come aoty time, but i'll surely spin this more than a couple of times in the future

anyway, here's a tiny little ep from torture rack:
https://torturerack.bandcamp.com/album/pit-of-limbs
apparently their other guitarist is now the drummer in skeletal remains, but this stuff is somewhat filthier death metal

Re: Yoth Iria, I like it. I prefer the faster songs, so I too doubt this will end up in my top list, but the Red Crown Turns Black, at least, coudl easily figure among my favorite songs this year.

It's January and y'all are already making assumptions on what your year end lists will look

well, only about what's likely not going to be on it, which is a lot easier to assume than the opposite

I wasn't so sure about this Labyrinth album earlier, but it's gotten in my head all day and now I had to play it again. There's just something kind of cool and heartfelt about it. The previous one was a truly dynamite work of PM but this is also very good in its own way. Sort of rockish and subdued in the songwriting compared to the previous one, but played with a lot of intensity.

I fucking love the new Grima record.

Why not, why are you taking so long?

Yeah, I was a bit premature sharing it in the OP but I've very pleased at how well the full package lives up to the preview tracks.

While this has been re-rec'd several times just imploring no one to sleep on this; this riffs super hard. Good mix of violence and big melodic hooks and payoff sections, reminds me of Selbst from last year but even more riff focused.