In this month’s best metal albums, experimental mystics Locrian re-awaken, sonic chameleons Boris revisit an outlier, and Bloodbox blur the lines between organic and synthetic.
In the best heavy metal of July, Ashenspire’s weaponized avant-garde black metal thrills while Chat Pile relish reality with noise, sludge, and no wave applications.
Artificial Brain complete their tech death metal trilogy, Bekor Qilish open up new pathways of avant black/death grandeur, and Saor continue their folk journeys through blackened grounds.
Faith No More’s Angel Dust showed a band so hellbent on following their creative instincts that they were willing to risk alienating a half-million people.
Heavy Pendulum feels like a naturally collaborative album between Cave In and Converge. It’s a deeply compelling batch of heavy rock songs.
Above & Below take the industrial route with “Ghosts”, relishing the mechanical precision of the genre and its cold detachment.
The unexpected return of Cave In, the dissonant revenge of Blut Aus Nord, and the brutal stampede of Predatory Light arrive to haunt our days in the best new metal.
Exciting, manic avant-jazz/noise trio Bye Bye Tsunami further indulge their fascination with chaos, frenetic energy, entropy, and… bananas!
The best new heavy albums of April 2022 feature Satan’s return, Fer De Lance’s step into traditional heavy metal, and Eunoia’s take on blackened post-hardcore.
Post-metal legends collaborate, boundaries between black metal and emo are crossed, underground cult legends are reshaped, and progressive death metal explorations are underway.
Forty years ago Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast introduced 39 minutes of fury that would turn heavy metal on its ear and introduce new superstars.
Thirty years ago, White Zombie’s La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One reimagined metal in an era dominated by alternative rock.
