Top Picks Gatecreeper – Dark Superstition (crossover death metal/melodeath) And the award for the best album with the worst cover art of 2024 goes to... Seriously though, what is going on here? There's a giant spider crawling out of a grave, and the grave's on fire, and some of the fire is blue, and there's a lightning storm, and a nebulous green skull floating in the air, and also the whole thing is shattering somehow, but also only half of it. It's like they took a "less if more" approach to Job For A Cowboy's Moon Healer (2024) an somehow came up trumps. None of that matters though, becaus ..read more

Music that sounds profoundly evil and utterly fun is hard to find. On the evil end of the spectrum, abrasive industrial certainly scratches the itch. On the danceable side of the spectrum, you’re more likely to explore post-punk and synthwave.  Portugal’s Louvado Abismo manage to bridge both worlds with their upcoming self-titled debut. A potent combination of deathrock, heavy post-punk, and industrial grime, listening to Louvado Abismo is like prom night in a crypt. Mesmerizing but caustic beats pound over eerie synthy guitars, plunging you into the dark side of the 1980s. It’s hypnot ..read more

Ah. Black metal in the spring and summer months. I love the smell of decay in the morning. It’s another lean, mean edition of Kvlt Kolvmn. Let’s go.  Admittedly, we here at Heavy Blog have not had as much time to delve into the riches of black metal in 2024, especially over the past few months. But we did hear some bangers, and we're choosing our favorites to share with you this month. It may not be our most robust entry to date, but the content here is spectacular. Let us know your favorites in the comments. Stay frosty.   -Jonathan Adams Winter’s Crown Dystopia- Geen Weg Uit ..read more

Eleven years ago, Okular shook the metal underground with their second album, earning national and international recognition with their aggressive and inventive strain of progressive death metal. Their short but impressive lifespan - two ambitious and well-received albums in five years - left a lingering imprint on the Norwegian death metal scene. But just as quickly as they arrived, Okular fell silent, members contributing to other standout acts like Defect Designer (strong 2024 AOTY contender) and Diskord (2021 favorite to this day).  Once ahead of their time, Okular has seized today’s ..read more

Death metal cannot be stopped. It is the will of the void. Darkness reigns. Riffs abound. All is blast beats.  Praise the sun. It’s Death’s Door.  Below you will find that the genre continues its dominance of 2024 unabated. It’s truly a remarkable time to be a death metal fan, and the month of April was no exception. If time weren’t a factor, there are five or six more records we could have added to this column. But these are our absolute favorites.  Partake and enjoy. Death metal forever.  -Jonathan Adams Cream of the Crop Protosequence - Bestiary I love being right and o ..read more

Alright! It's always a good time when a band gets more fun as time goes by, much more than all the nonsense about "maturing" that rules some parts of the metal scene. No such risk here, as Auralayer returns with a killer new single in the form of "Gelozie". In case you need a reminder who these guys are, I first premiered something from them early last year where I declared it was Time For Riffs. Well, it's about that time again, as their latest single has plenty of that sweet, pop-sludge vibes for you a la Torche, Floor (I love citing those two bands together, it's so pointlessly funny) and ..read more

Man, I have been spoiling with the good riffs lately, huh? This time around, they are provided by Inner Landscape. These guys are from France but instead of playing the stoner metal that's been pouring out of that area of the world, they downtune things by channeling the kind of agile, complex, and encompassing technical post-metal that we've seen the likes of Intronaut and The Ocean playing. However, Inner Landscape go much further into the progressive and jazzy influences than those two bands, while sacrificing none of the heavy and atmospheric impact of their sound. This makes 3H33 a hefty ..read more

Top Picks El Moono – The Waking Sun (progressive post-hardcore, alt rock/metal) I’m not entirely sure how a band can be “back with … their highly anticipated debut album,”* but there’s scant other releases out this week that I’m interested in,** so I’m giving Brighton’s El Moono a shot. I'm also not really sure how to describe their sound. Scott Described them as a mix of alternative and stoner rock, and the band describe themselves as a "genre-phobic" "post-hardcore/alt-metal four-piece." To me though, they like they sound kind of like like a happier, proggier Deftones, except instead of the ..read more

Is this the strongest Editors' Picks ever? It's certainly the strongest entry this year; I sort of prepared you for it, and for June's edition, two months. Now, Spring's insane fever of amazing releases is in full swing and if you blink once, you miss five fantastic releases. While we cannot be the glue that tapes your eyes open, we can draw your attention to some of the brighter flickers in the photonic field of excellent albums we find ourselves immersed in (holy fuck what is this metaphor I have found myself in?) So, sit back, open your eyes wide, and soak in the magnificent blazes of ligh ..read more

Top Picks El Moono – The Waking Sun (progressive post-hardcore, alt rock/metal) I’m not entirely sure how a band can be “back with … their highly anticipated debut album,”* but there’s scant other releases out this week that I’m interested in,** so I’m giving Brighton’s El Moono a shot. I'm also not really sure how to describe their sound. Scott Described them as a mix of alternative and stoner rock, and the band describe themselves as a "genre-phobic" "post-hardcore/alt-metal four-piece." To me though, they like they sound kind of like like a happier, proggier Deftones, except instead of the ..read more