Crest Of Darkness - 2016 - Welcome The Dead

Crest Of Darkness is a blackened death metal band from Norway signed to My Kingdom Music. Welcome The Dead is the title track from their fifth LP.

Humavoid - 2016 - Coma Horizon (Video)

Humavoid is a thrashy, progressive symphonic metal band from Finland. Coma Horizon is their latest single.

Winterhearth - 2016 - What Lurks In Dark Forests (Video)

Winterhearth is a blackened thrash metal band from St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. What Lurks In Dark Forest is from their sophomore LP Resettlement.

Add1ction - 2016 - Nothing Left To Lose (Video)

Add1ction is a four piece nu-metal band from Brownsville, Texas. Nothing Left To Lose is from their debut EP Add1ction Nation.

Nick Johnston - 2016 - Remarkably Human (Video)

Nick Johnston is a guitar wizard. His new LP of instrumental guitar rock features veterans of Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, the Aristocrats, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Plini. Embedded is the title track from the new LP.

Aeon Of Corruption - 2016 - Unholy (VIdeo)

Aeon Of Corruption is a deathcore band from Giessen, Germany. Unholy is the title track from their latest EP

Devanation - 2016 - Suffering Bay (video)

Devanation is a metalcore band. Dominion Of Oblivion is their new LP.

Fort Hope - 2016 - Say No (video)

Fort Hope is a melodic post-hardcore band from  Hertfordshire, England. Say No is their new single.

Megatherium - 2016 - Fly High (video)

Megatherium is a four piece stoner doom band from Italy. Superbeast is their debut LP.

Nine Inch Nails - 2016 - Burning Bright (Field On Fire) (video)

Nothgard - 2016 - Shadow Play (video)

Nothgard is an epic melodic death metal band from Bavaria. Shadow Play is from their The Sinner's Sake, their third LP.

Oceans Of Slumber - 2016 - Sunlight (video)

Oceans Of Slumber is a progressive metal band from Houston, Texas. Sunlight is from Winter, their second LP courtesy of Century Media Records.

One If By Land - 2016 - True Blue, Through, And Everything About You (video)

One If By Land is an indie rock band from Meadville, Pennsylvania, America. Members have also played in The Twirpentines, Signal Home, The Walnut Street Project, The Caddies, and Waiting for Never. Nobody Wants To Leave is their sophomore LP.

Darmage - 2016 - El Gran Titán (video)

Darmage is a crossover thrash & groove metal band from Zaragoza, Spain. The below video is the title track for their sophomore LP.

Beasto Blanco - Feed My Frankenstein (video)

Beasto Blanco is a five piece hard rock band featuring Chuck Garrick of Alice Cooper. Embedded is them putting a modern spin on some classic Cooper.

My Darkest Hate - 2016 - You Shall Know Them (video)

My Darkest Hate is a death metal band from Germany. You Shall Know Them is taken from their fifth LP Anger Temple

Herman Frank - 2016 - Ballhog Zone (video)

Herman Frank is a german guitarist best known for playing with Accept, Victory, Hazzard, Sinner, Moon'Doc, Saeko, Thomsen and Poison Sun. His new Solo LP The Devil Rides out Rick Altzi (Masterplan, At Vance), Andre Hilgers (Rage) and Michael Müller (Jaded Heart) on bass.

Madlib & Doom - 2016 - Avalance

Devast -2016 - Chaotic Proliferation (video)

Devast is a four piece brutal, technical death metal band from Argentina. Apocalyptic Human Extinction is their third LP.

Bloodclot - 2016 - Up In Arms (Lyric Video)

Bloodclot is a new hardcore punk supergroup consisting John Joseph (Cro-Mags) on vocals, Todd Youth (Danzig) on guitar, Nick Oliveri (Queens Of The Stone Age, Dwarves, Mondo Generator) on bass and Joey Castillo on drums.

Half Sight - 2016 - The Greater Good (video)

Half Sight, formerly known as Atlas is a melodic hardcore band from Leeds, UK. The below video is from their debut LP Rhetoric courtesy of Dreambound Music.

Healer - Voices (video)

Healer is a melodic hardcore band from Bristol, UK. Embedded below is the title track from their debut EP Heal Me, I'm Hopeful.

Holding Absence - 2016 - Dream Of Me (video)

Holding Absence is an ambient post-hardcore emo band from Cardiff, UK.

FAM - 2016 - VI (video)

F.A.M. (Furor Arma Ministrat) is a death metal & grindcore band from Poland. Below is a track from their sophomore LP Human Cargo.

Lock Up - 2016 - Mindfight

Lock Up is a death metal grindcore supergroup made up of Shane Embury (Napalm Death, Bent Sea), Nick Barker (Dimmu Borgir, Catalepsy) Anton Reisenegger (Inner Sanctvm) and Kevin Sharp (Brutal Truth, Venomous Concept)

Hammer King - 2016 - King Is Rising (video)

Hammer King is a power metal band. Below is the title track from their sophomore LP.

At The Drive-In - 2016 - Governed By Contagions

At The Drive-In is a post-hardcore band from El Paso. In 2016 they reunited for a second time, with Jim Ward being replaced by Sparta's Keeley Davis. Get Hype?

Morthifera - 2016 - Basurero Humano

Morthifera is a five piece thrash metal band from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Basurero Humano is their debut LP. Members also play in Malicia and Diebrator, describing them as more progressive and more melodic respectively.  There is very little fat and a real feeling of urgency in these songs. Even when Morthifera pulls back for a moment to allow some more melody to shine through the rhythm section is still churning away underneath. 

The riffs are aggressive and agile while the singer spits his lyrics with inspired venom. That feeling of speed is only accented with the judicious use of gang vocals. Highlights include Caos, Agonizante Cura Pederasta, Inyectando Thrash, Castigado and Régimen De Sangre. With Basurero Humano Morthifera have crafted a rock solid, riff heavy thrash metal statement.

Husbandry - 2016 - Nature Vs Nurture (video)

Husbandry is a four piece post-hardcore band from New York City. Nature Versus Nurture is their debut LP courtesy of Aqualamb Records.

Nervosa - 2016 - Agony

Nervosa is a three piece thrash metal band from São Paulo, Brazil. Agony is their sophomore LP. Nervosa was formed in 2010 by Fernanda Lira, Prika Amarel and Pitchu Ferraz, they signed to Napalm Records in 2012. They play an aggressive, gutsy no punches pulled brand of thrash metal with some death and speed metal elements. The singer has an excellent, raspy shout that sounds like she's simultaneously summoning demons and fighting back monstrous hordes while the rest of the band beats you into submission with their thick, muscular riffs.



From the opening blasts of Arrogance through the final stomps of Devastation Nervosa never let up. Occasionally things get slightly less heavy but that's only to let a riff dominate before speeding back up. Highlights include Deception, Intolerance Means War, Failed System, Surrounded By Serpents and Hypocrisy. With Agony, Nervosa continue to progress and make their mix of thrash, speed & death their own.

Luciferian Insectus - 2016 - Deliver Me In The Name Ov Satan (video)

Luciferian Insectus is a one man blackened death metal project.

Aphyxion - 2016 - Aftermath

Aphyxion is a five piece melodic death metal band from Denmark. Aftermath is their sophomore LP. Aphyxion play a brand of melodic death metal that also incorporates both more straightforward elements of modern metal as well as flourishes of progressive metal.

Songs like Dark Stains On Ivory lean to the melo-death side of things, Same Kind of Different leans towards the thrashy, modern end of the spectrum while Consumer Consumed cuts the difference between melodic death metal and a more mainstream, modern metal sound, accenting both with keyboards. Highlights include A Part Of The Solution, Born To Stand Strong As We Blacken The Sky, Destined To Fall and the aforementioned Dark Stains On Ivory, Same Kind Of Different and Consumer Consumed. If you're looking for some forward thinking melodic death metal Aphyxion's Aftermath will serve well.

Black Inhale - 2016 - The Die Is Not Yet Cast (video)

Black Inhale is a thrash & groove metal band from  Zillingtal, Burgenland, Austria. A Doctrine Of Vultures is their sophomore LP.

Nightmare - 2016 - Ikarus (video)

Clutch - 2016 - Wacken Open Air

Gone Is Gone - 2016 - Dublin

Gone Is Gone constis of Troy Sanders (Mastodon) on bass/vocals, Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens Of The Stone Age) on guitar, Tony Hajjar (At The Drive-In) and guitarist/keyboardist Mike Zarin. Their debut recording Echolocation is up for pre-orders now, set to be released January 6 by Rise Records.

Thrown Into Exile - No Words

Among The Automated - 2016 - Among The Automated

Among The Automated is an experimental metal project from Waterloo, Ontario. This is truly a one man studio experiment, Mike Rideout performed all music as well as the recording and production aspects. He has produced a confoundingly eclectic but compelling group of songs. This record defies simple categorization and easy listening but there are untold riches inside. My favourite moments are all the more straight forward death metal songs, they gallop along with solid riffs and just a hint of synth based melody around the outside. But if you have an ear for more meditative synthesizer based pieces then there is a lot here for you.

There are roughly two kinds of songs on this record, straight forward death or otherwise heavy metal (Binary Bloodline, Evil Disco, The Room, Design, H.W.A.S.A.Z.) and synth based electronic or ambient pieces (Admittance, Erratic (The Automation), Intro_z, Totality (The Automation), The Last Song He Never Wrote).

My main problem with this LP is how inconsistent is. Clearly Mike Rideout is a talented musician, he writes great songs and performs them with style. The problem comes when it's time to stitch disparate genres together. This isn't an LP that I will come back to as a whole, but more than half of this album will make its way onto various playlists. If you're looking for a record that combines death metal, electronica and ambient sounds Among The Automated will serve well.