Top Pick
Kozoria – The Source (symphonic Gojira-core)
There's lots of cool stuff out this week, most of which are well above my pay grade. What I feel far more comfortable with and am drawn to though is the debut album from France's Kozoria, which blends the trademark sounds of a certain other, well-known French act with a healthy serving of groove-tined prog thrash that I, personally, feel right at home with.
There's no escaping how much Kozoria take after Gojira. Indeed, there's more than a few moments on the The Source that will remind listeners of specific moments from that band's distinctive discography (see: "Demonize Them"). AT the same time though, they bring enough of their own spin to proceedings in order to keep things interesting, if not entirely fresh. Those distinctions come in the form of an ever-present, yet never overbearing, layer of symphonics along with a thrashier approach that I'm constantly tempted to compare to to earlier Sylosis, although Kozoria never get as technical or aggressive as those guys and are probably better likened to other, more-local references like Dagoba. There's still a way to go here in terms of personalising their sound, and the vocals could do with a bit of refinement. Nevertheless, it serves as a strong and intriguing foundation for further development, and the prog-thrash elements suggest a promising point of difference to pursue across future releases.
Release Rounup
1349 – The Wolf And The King (black metal)
24/7 Diva Heaven – Gift (punk)
Ad Infinitum – Abyss (pop metal)
Alias Noone – Weight Of The World (progressive/symphonic melodeath)
Amputate – Abysmal Ascent (death metal)
Ana Argan List – Irrbloss (black metal/gaze)
Andy Gillion – Exilium (powerful melodeath)
Aydra – Leave To Nowhere (techish death-metal/thrash)
Barathrum – Uberkill (black thrash)
Bert McCracken – Robbietheused (terrible pop)
Bozoo – Bozoo (alt rock, grunge)
Carnal Tomb – Dismembered Flesh (death metal)
Cemetery Skyline – Nordic Gothic (gothy mellowdeath)
Chat Pile – Cool World (industrial noise-core, alt-sudge)
Cleanbreak – We Are The Fire (heavy/power metal)
Coping Method – Where Spirit Meets Bone (nu/electro metalcore)
The Crown – Crown Of Thorns (death thrash)
Crucifiction – Will To Power (deathcore)
Cynthia Doll - Welcome to My Manor (electro-drag)
Decayed Existence – The Beginning Of Sorrows (death metal)
Delta – Gemini (prog metal)
Doedsmaghird – Omniverse Consciousness (Ermagerd Dødheimsgard!)
Dragony – Hic Svnt Dracones (power metal)
Enmy – Enmy (melodic butt-metal)
Envy – Eunoia (post-rock/hardcore)
Epiklesis – La Santa Iglesia Católica (very-symphonic black metal)
Far Away – Solastalgia (post rock/metal)
Fixation – Speak In Tongues (melodic prog-metal/core)
For the Storms – Losing What’s Left of Us (blackened mellowdoom)
Fupa Goddess – Fuckyourface (shitty gore-slam)
Godsin – Blind Faith (melodeath)
Griefsoul – Extreme Northern Griefmetal (melodeath)
Grive – Tales of Uncertainty (trip-hop, indie-doom)
Hell Is Other People – Moirae (posty meloblack, dsbm)
Help – Courage (noise punk)
House Of Lords – Full Tilt Overdrive (hard/melodic rock)
In Progress – Gravediggers (prog rock/metal)
Joe Deninzon & The Stratospheerius – Imposter! (prog rock)
Kanaan & Aevestaden – Langt, Langt Vekk (folk prog)
Knightsune – Fearless (thrashy power-metal)
Kosmodome – Ad Undas (stoner prog)
Krvl – Donkere Paden (posty black metal)
Kwakisurpiniku – Nowhere Songs (weird/progressive math-grind)
Laudare – Requiem (weird/progressive chamber-metal?)
Leila Abdul-Rauf – Calls From A Seething Edge (dark ambient, post-folk)
Leylines – Leylines (progish groove-death/core)
The Linda Lindas – No Obligation (indie/alt rock)
Maitreya – Auxesis (progressive metal)
Malasorte – Apex Sovereignty (black metal)
De Mannen Broeders – Sober Maal (post-ambient, drone)
Master Boot Record – Hardwarez (chip metal)
Membrance – Undead Remains (blackened death metal)
The Mist From The Mountains – Portal: The Gathering Of Storms (progressive meloblack)
My Dearest Wound – The Weight of Life Was Greater (dsbm)
Myles Kennedy – The Art Of Letting Go (warbly yarl-metal, butt rock)
Nasty Savage – Jeopardy Room (techy thrash)
Notturno – Our (folky black metal)
Obsoletion – Obsoletion (black metal, crust)
Oda – Bloodstained (doom)
The Offspring – Suprcharged (surprisingly thrashy pop/skate punk)
Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja (weird/psychedelic black metal)
Ornamentos del Miedo – Sueños (Funeral Doom)
Pandemmy – Faithless (thrashy death metal)
Patxa – Just Heavy Metal (heavy metal)
Psychiatric Regurgitation – Death Scriptures (black/death metal)
Pyracanda – Losing Faith (thrash metal)
Radioactive – Reset (melodic/prog rock, AOR)
Regicide – Eternal Siege (sludge death)
Rifftera – Coda (prog metal, not Pantera-core?)
Rise Of Kronos – Imperium (death metal)
Roots of Disease – Saligia Speculum (groove death)
Rotgod – Polemics and Obscenity – Part 1 (blackened grindcore)
Rüsty Diamönds – Stormbringer (Heavy/Power Metal)
Sandveiss – Standing In The Fire (proggy/stonerish metal)
Scumripper – For a Few Fixes More (Blackthrash)
Seven Hours After Violet – Seven Hours After Violet (alt metal, Shavo-core)
Is this the worst band name ever? (And, yes, I know it (kind of) spells Shavo. Also, their other songs are terrible.)
Smash Atoms – Smash Atoms (goth grunge)
Speedrush – Division Mortality (thrash/speed metal)
Star Rider – Outta Time (hard rock/metal)
Thanateros – Tranceforming (folk metal)
Touché Amoré – Spiral in a Straight Line (alt/indie rock, post-hardcore)
Unleash Carnage – A Plague Tale (blackened death metal)
Vicious Rain – There Is Beauty In Letting Go (melodic/modern metal)
Vitriolic – Black Steel Vengeance (black thrash)