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
Ernia – How To Deal With Life And Fail (progressive grindcore)
I knew I’d be getting some great grindcore from a new Ernia record. What I wasn’t expecting was a genuinely progressive album that incorporates elements of jazz, tech death, post hardcore, sludge, dissonance and even the occasional melody, all while going a million miles an hour, and which somehow manages to make it all flow together. Then again, maybe I should have just looked at the cover art. How to Deal with Life and Fail is the most exciting grindcore album I’ve heard in years, and one that firmly establishes Ernia as leaders, not followers.
See Also: Wake – Thought Form Descent (blackened progressive post metal); …speaking of which, can you believe these guys used to be a grindcore band? 2020’s Devouring Ruin was already undeniable, and this one’s even better.
–Josh Bulleid