Editor’s Note: Do you think we “missed” an album this week? Click here. Each month, we always seem to come to the same conclusion when it comes to our

2 years ago

Editor’s Note: Do you think we “missed” an album this week? Click here.

Each month, we always seem to come to the same conclusion when it comes to our Editors’ Picks column: Friday release days open the floodgates and unleash a seemingly endless stream of quality new music. But while some of our Editors and Contributors sit down gleefully each week to dive into this newly stocked treasure trove, others find themselves drawing a blank at the end of the month due to the breakneck pace needed to keep up to date with what’s been released. Which brings us to this Heavy Blog PSA: a weekly roundup of new albums which pares down the week’s releases to only our highest recommendations. Here you’ll find full album/single streams, pre-order links and, most importantly, a collection of albums that could very well earn a spot on your year-end list. Enjoy!

Top Picks

Fit for an Autopsy – Oh What the Future Holds (progressive deathcore)

Fit For an Autopsy have long been one of the best deathcore/extreme metal bands on the planet, but they’ve truly outdone themselves with this one. The Jersey Crew’s sixth full-length serves as the culmination of the progressive bent begun on 2017’s Great Collapse, delivering their most consistent and ambitious collection of tracks to date. Oh What the Future Holds is the first great metal album of 2022 and one you’ll definitely be hearing about again in another twelve months.

See Also: Shadow of Intent – Elegy (symphonic blackened deathcore, progressive melodeath); Some might say it’s a shame this album had to come out today and be overshadowed by FFaA, others might say two outstanding, experimental, modern extreme metal records are better than one and the two compliment each other rather nicely. Sure, Shadow of Intent will have to settle for second best today, but releasing the second best album of the year so far is no small shakes.

Last Week’s Best Album: Wilderun – Epigone; Much of Wilderun’s previous symphonic melodeath/folk metal influences have been foregone here in favour of a more sullen approach that sets the stage well for Porcupine Tree’s impending return, but there’s still plenty of tasty prog epicness to latch onto.

Josh Bulleid

Best of the Rest

Aethereus – Leiden (tech death)

Almach – Realm (atmospheric black metal)

Anyone, Anywhere – Finding The North Start (post-rock, math rock)

As Within, So Without – Salvation (prog metalcore, post-hardcore)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go0efoZvdm0

Bonobo – Fragments (electronica, downtempo)

Broken Social Scene – Old Dead Young (indie rock, chamber pop)

Mike Cooper – Oceans of Milk and Treacle (exotica, ambient)

Cordae – From a Birds Eye View (hip-hop)

Dance With The Dead – Driven To Madness (synthwave, metal-synth)

Descent – Order of Chaos (death metal)

Dysnerved – Man In The Middle (avant-garde black metal, dissodeath)

Electromancy – Technopagan (weird black metal)

Eliminator – Ancient Light (heavy metal)

Enterprise Earth – The Chosen (nu-deathcore)

FKA twigs – CAPRISONGS (art pop, trip-hop)

foxtails – fawn (screamo)

Ilium – Quantum Evolution Event (power metal, heavy metal)

King Bastard – It Came From The Void (psych doom)

Mathan – Darkroot Tzantza (tech death, prog death)

Mizmor – Wit’s End (blackened sludge, drone metal)

Observants – Ave Destruction (deathcore)

Party Cannon – Volumes of Vomit (slam)

Pridelands – Light Bends (prog metalcore, melodic metalcore)

Punch Brothers – Hell on Church Street (progressive bluegrass, Americana)

Steve Roden – Oionos (lowercase, sound art)

Shadow of Intent – Elegy (symphonic deathcore, melodeath)

Six Eyed Tiger – On the fallacy of the repetition of parts (alt-rock, hardcore punk)

Slowbleed – A Blazing Sun, The Fiery Dawn (death metal, crossover)

Toundra – Hex (post-metal)

Underoath – Voyeurist (post-hardcore, metalcore)

Anna von Hausswolff – Live at Montreux Jazz Festival (dark ambient, darkwave)

Weigedood – There’s Always Blood At The End Of The Road (atmospheric black metal)

Weress – Au​-​Delà des Lieux Légendaires (dungeon synth, dark ambient)

Wintaar – Deathentrance (black metal, melodic black metal)

Worm Shepherd – Ritual Hymns (symphonic deathcore)

Scott Murphy

Published 2 years ago