February in heavy music features long-awaited returns from Psychotic Waltz, Envy, and Today Is the Day, along with a healthy dose of black metal and experimental music.
The last month of the 2010s was defined by an explosion of black metal grimness, modern and retro sprinkled with death metal brutality, caustic hardcore and some historic re-releases.
Filled with everything from extreme doom/death and progressive death to experimental avant-garde jazz induced visions and screamo dreams, November does not disappoint.
For yet another year, metal shows its endless well of creativity through fierce musicianship and ambitious outlook, highlighted through these 20 exquisite records.
Opium Lord's Vore is a soul-blackened missive tailor-made to spark crowds as well as to reward contemplative listening.
Everything that fans could want—and everything that makes blackgaze stand out—is contained within Alcest's Spiritual Instinct.
October is dominated by heavyweight returns from noise rock pioneers Swans and Lightning Bolt, while also filled with the black metal bleakness of Blut Aus Nord and the Great Old Ones, while Vastum continue 20 Buck Spin's death metal master class streak.
September is filled with exciting heavy releases, most notably the return of post-metal icons Cult of Luna, the sophomore record of post-black metal mavericks White Ward, and the resurrection of experimental proto-black metallers Mortem.
TOPY and Genesis P-Orridge's knowing adoption of cult iconography and organizing principles quickly slid from satiric emulation to full embrace -- and we all went along with it.
Colorado trio Ghosts of Glaciers combine the primitive pounding of thrash metal with the intellectual nuances of progressive rock on a new track, culled from the upcoming album, The Greatest Burden.
Unconventional rock albums, from poppy sludge outfit Torche, noise rock masters Uzeda and post-hardcore outcasts Cherubs, along with the black metal fury of Falls of Rauros, False, Arkhaik, Celestial Grave and Sanguine Eagle and uncategorized extremists Immortal Bird are among this month's extreme output.
Admission isn't an enormous change in the sound of Torche, but rather an affirmation that this band insists on forging new paths and confounding expectations.
Slough Feg carry on their heavy metal journey while Darkthrone keep digging towards their proto-punk/heavy metal core. Baroness return with their most ambitious work to date, while Pinkish Black continue to explore the endless possibilities of synth driven extreme music.
Can slime mold be a muse? Can you cross more streams than this collective? All those answers and more are shrouded in mystery on new track from Those Darn Gnomes. Maximum weirdness.
Masters of drone Earth return with their more minimal record to date, Full of Hell continue their rampage through power electronics and No Negative carry on bouncing around garage, punk and post-punk. Newer acts Vale, Suspiral, Onkos, and Verwoed take the next step and sound like veterans of the scene.
Sunn O)) return with a magnificent beast, Vaura fully embrace their experimental new wave tendencies, and Dead to a Dying World solidify their position in the extreme metal pantheon, among more exciting new works. And a few announcements regarding the column.
From Sulphur English's all-encompassing reverie to the LP's themes of the arcane, Inter Arma are most certainly in their wheelhouse, continuing to redefine what it means to be a modern-day metal band.
Have you lost control? Are you nearly drowning? Or are you able to survive? Thunderclap asks these questions and more with heavy hooks and DNA-altering riffs on their new album Inebriocean.
From Drastus' monumental second LP to Mystifier's righteous comeback, to Venom Prison's evolution towards death metal infamy, and enthralling debut full-lengths from Devil Master, VLTIMAS, Heaume Mortal, and more, March's MetalMatters highlights a bounty of subversive brilliance.
Former members of Wolvhammer, Nachtmystium, and the Gates of Slumber unite as Chrome Waves on album that unites shoegaze, post-rock, and extreme metal.
Welcome to PopMatters' monthly metal feature, MetalMatters. Each month we listen to a number of exciting releases across metal's many subgenre's to distill the swarm down to what we deem worthy of your precious time.
Welcome to PopMatters' new monthly metal feature, MetalMatters. Each month we'll take a look at a number of exciting releases across metal's many sub-genres to distill the swarm down to what we deem worthy of your precious time.
On Boy Meets Girl, Japan's ENDON carry down the same path of aggression tilting towards their hardcore-esque origins.
Through Conny Ochs is beloved in the heavy rock community, "Dark Tower" transcends musical boundaries, with an appeal that recalls Soundgarden at its most tuneful and emotive.
Amidst all the global socio-political unrest and the personal trials of 2018, metal has had a noticeably strong and positive year.
Japanese black metal stalwarts Sigh explore madness through folklore and experiment with new sounds on Heir to Despair.
With State of Euphoria, Anthrax tempered some of the excessive '80s metal tendencies of their vocal, lead guitar, and song arrangements, reaching back toward something more viscerally punk as the '80s ended.
Metallica has perfected the arena rock experience, creating as immersive and inclusive an atmosphere as possible by performing "in the round".
Now that the classic Motörhead line-up is hellraising on another astral plane, the Iron Fist has been passed to High on Fire.
The good stuff on Sunshine Dust makes it a generally decent listening experience. Skyharbor knows what they're doing as far as playing their instruments.
Following their fantastic collaboration with Keiji Haino, heavy post-metal act SUMAC introduces free rock, noise, and improvisational ideas to their sound on Love in Shadow.
Voivod may be veterans at this point, but with The Wake, they're still providing one-of-a-kind genre-shifting vivaciousness.
Brooklyn-based black metal band Mutilation Rites hone their style and with Chasm deliver their best album so far.
Jody Seabody & The Whirls mix and match musical genres with an eclectic elegance and seamless confidence on "All Gone White".
Prepare to pop your conscious in a psychedelic tumble dryer and kiss goodbye to any shred of sanity you may have been saving for the weekend.
To characterize Our Raw Heart as consistent is not to damn the record with faint praise as Yob's music is as powerful and beautiful as ever.
Four excellent producers reinterpret the sound of Spotlights through an intricate remixing process on Hanging By Faith.
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