New Releases From OPETH, BODY COUNT & More Out This Week 11/22

This week’s new heavy metal releases include an album that inspired a Shrek Forever After reference, lots of proper heavy, and more! To the metals…

Body Count – Merciless

Genre: Rap metal/thrash
Origin: Century Media
Label: Los Angeles, California

Buy now on Bandcamp

I like to think I know what I’m in for with Body Count, but every time Ice-T and the guys surprise me. They’re no strangers to covers, and this time they’re sort of covering Pink Floyd? Ernie C shreds on it in a way that brings David Gilmour to mind, but the lyrics are not at all what Roger Waters was saying. Anyway, the rest of this is intense, political, and heavy with some guests like Howard Jones (Sion), Max Cavalera (the screams of The Scorpion King), Corpsegrinder (a prize grab machine near you), and Joe Bad (Fit for an Autopsy and apparently also a barber).

Defeated Sanity – Chronicles Of Lunacy

Genre: Technical/progressive death metal
Origin: Dachsbach, Bavaria, Germany
Label: Season Of Mist

Buy now on Bandcamp

By now you know I’m a sucker for some intense death metal with a really pingy snare, and Chronicles of Lunacy is just that. This is is a violent and technical record that’s sure to leave a bruise. Also, this is their first with guitarist and now full-time member Vaughn Stoffey who was their live guitarist for a bit. Full review by J. Andrew here.

I Declare War – Downcast Vol. 2

Genre: Deathcore
Origin: Seattle, Washington
Label: Self-released

Buy now on Bandcamp

Here’s some more straight up heavy for you this week. Downcast Vol. 2 comes five years after the first volume and ends their drought of new material. Hopefully this is the first release in a new more active era for the band. If not, still a pretty solid collection of songs.

Múr – Múr

Genre: Atmospheric black/post-metal
Origin: Reykjavík, Iceland
Label: Century Media

Buy now on Bandcamp

As much as I like to pretend that I know every band, there are some weeks when I meet (to me) act and I’m immediately enamored. This week that band is Múr. This record sounds that sounds like black metal played by a post-metal act. It has technical moments, epic sections, and offers so much more. So much beauty and devastation.

Opeth – The Last Will & Testament

Genre: Progressive death metal
Origin: Stockholm, Sweden
Label: Reigning Phoenix

Buy now on Amazon

Yes, yes we’re all happy that Mikael has taken the advice of the kid from Shrek 4 and is once again doing the roar. However, what makes this record extra exciting is that it’s the return of a dorkier side of the band. They’re giving us their trademark dark and epic progressive metal, but with a concept again? And Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull is there a whole bunch? Fuck yeah. Jordan’s full review is here.

Xandria – Universal Tales

Genre: Symphonic/power metal
Origin: Bielefeld, Germany
Label: Napalm

Buy now on Bandcamp

On their second release since Marco Heubaum enlisted an entire new band you’re getting a quartet of new songs, orchestra versions of those songs, and an “acoustic film version” of the title track from the band’s last record. The songs are soaring and and nicely balanced between poppy and operatic. Perhaps Xandria will be the forever band for her but Ambre Vourvahis is a star and this is another release proving that.

Also dropping today…

• 10,000 Years – All Quiet On The Final Frontier (Ripple) – Stoner
• Aeon Gods – King Of Gods (Scarlet Records) – Symphonic/power metal
• Ante-inferno – Death’s Soliloquy (Vendetta Records) – Black metal
• Beyond Grace – Welcome To The New Dark Ages, Part 2 (Self-released) – Progressive/technical death metal
• Bloodmoon Eclipse – For I Am Your Death (Purity Through Fire) – Black Metal
• Byrhtnoth – Hatred & Malice Incarnate (Self-released) – Symphonic black/folk metal
• Coilguns – Odd Love (Humus Records) – Noise rock/metal
• Conjonctive – Misère de Poussière (Self-released) – Death metal
• Crossbone Skully – Evil World Machine (Better Noise) – Rock
• Cyclops Cataract – Imperial Might (Self-released) – Black/death metal
• Devil’s Cigarette – I Wanna Be On TV (Sound Pollution) – Rock
• Distant – Tsukuyomi: The Origin (Century Media) – Deathcore – Full review
• Dogma – 12 años Radio Futuro – Groove metal
• Fellowship – The Skies Above Eternity (Scarlet Records)
• Goats of Doom – INRI (Purity Through Fire) – Black metal
• Goblin Hovel – Gobischkevrot (Self-released) – Folk metal
• Golgothan Remains – Bearer Of Light, Matriarch Of Death (Dark Descent Records) – Death metal
• The Grey Men – Lp04 The Shape Of Noise To Come (Self-released) – Noise
• Gutless – High Impact Violence (Dark Descent) – Death metal
• Hjemsøkt – Om vinteren, på en sort trone (Purity Through Fire) – Black metal
• Immortal Force – Mystic Seance Unrealities (Horror Pain Gore Death Productions)
• Iniquitous Savagery – Edifice Of Vicissitudes (Willowtip Records) – Brutal death metal
• Kingcrown – Nova Atlantis (Rockshots) – Heavy/power metal
• Kruelty – Profane Usurpation (Closed Casket Activities) – Doom/hardcore
• Last Temptation – Heart Starter (Metalville) – Heavy metal
• Luminare Christmas! – Mistletoe Madness (Frontiers) – Christmas/power metal
• Maat – From Origin to Decay (FDA Records) Technical death metal
• Miseri Silentium – Live at Darkness Conspiracy 2024 (Bloody Bat Production) – Black metal
• Mudshark – Beware Of The German Shepherd (Self-released) – Modern metal
• Ocean Grove – Oddworld (SharpTone) – Nu/groove metal
• Polar – Five Arrows (Arising Empire) – Post-hardcore
• RedHook – Mutation (Adventure Cat) – Metalcore
• Rvkkvs – Antithesis Of Prosperity (Grindhead Records) – Extreme metal/grindcore
• Scarlatamusic – Ascendance (Self-released) – Progressive metal
• Denis Shvarts – This Picture Is Not for You – Progressive/technical death metal
• Sign of the Jackal – Heavy Metal Survivors (Dying Victims Productions) – Heavy metal
• Starwraith – Distant Shores (Lady Of The Lake Productions) – Symphonic/melodic death metal
• Stenched – Purulence Gushing from the Coffin (Me Saco un Ojo Records)- Death metal
• Stone Horses – Redemption Chronicles (Self-released) – Rock
• Storace – Crossfire (Frontiers) – Hard rock
• Sunrot / Body Void – Split (Riff Merchant Records) – Drone/sludge
• Sunstorm – Restless Fight (Frontiers) – AOR/Melodic rock
• Thunraz – Incineration Day (Self-released) – Avant-garde death metal
• Unholdun – Fœhn (Purity Through Fire) – Black metal