New Metal Releases Out Today: 1/21

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It’s Friday, which means two things: giving the week the finger and new music! Tune in every Friday for The Pit’s round-up of new metal releases, from singalong hard rock to pus-drenched underground death metal. Keep those ears bleeding!

Battle Beast, Circus of Doom (Nuclear Blast)

For fans of: Edguy, Gloryhammer, Powerwolf

Standout track: “Wings of Light”

Look, a band named Battle Beast is either going to be brutal hardcore or epic power metal, and given how much purple is on this record sleeve, you know which one it is. But if you’re into power metal, there’s few better than Battle Beast, who soar like motherfuckers on this album. Not only that, but the record’s title isn’t just a throwaway description – there’s a certain circus vibe to this music, where you can imagine acrobats and fire-spinners performing to it. Roll up, roll up. 

Druid Lord, Relics of the Dead (Hells Headbangers)

For fans of: Hooded Menace, Coffins, Grave Miasma

Standout track: “Mangled as the Hideous Feed”

Fucking gnarly. There’s definitely no compromise on Relics of the Dead Druid Lord are really going in on some moldy, stomping, zombie-worshipping death-doom this time around. The record galumphs forward with some weird, eldritch vibes over its wonky riffs, and has a production sound that feels clear and clean even as it gives off a nauseating effluvia of the grave. If you want ooze, you’ve got it.

Age of Apocalypse, Grim Wisdom (Closed Casket Activities)

For fans of: Life of Agony, Carnivore, Tombs

Standout track: “The Patriot”

So if you don’t know these guys already, you see ‘Age of Apocalypse,’ and you see Grim Wisdom’s cover, and you’re like, Oh, this is going to be some slamming hardcore. And it is! But what you’re not ready for is how gothy the vocals sound, and how steely the guitar is. That shit takes you off guard at first. But after a while, it’s its own thing. It scratches a weird but specific itch, and you start appreciating the band even more for going that route. So yeah, very cool, just be ready.

Pensées Nocturnes, DOUCE FANGE (Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions)

For fans of: Igorrr, Sigh, Mr. Bungle

Standout track: “Quel sale Bourreau”

Every time I see this band’s name, I think, NIGHT PENISES. Every time I see this album title, I think, DOUCHE FANG. And listening to this record, this insane soundtrack to a circus being burnt alive in Italy, I realize I am right to think those things. It’s what the band would want.

Other crushers:

  • Boris, W (Sacred Bones)
  • SOM, The Shape of Everything (Pelagic Records)
  • VRSTY, Welcome Home (Spinefarm)

Want to check out other great new metal releases we’ve spotlighted recently? Good. Here you go.

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Words by Chris Krovatin