Masks, Corpsepaint... whatever Dec. 28, 2016

Neurotic Mental Storm
by Insaniam

The Pitch: "Long time ago, five undiagnosed mental patients were admitted to a high-security psychiatric facility. After years of... quarantine, isolated from any human contact, they were selected to participate in an experiment that ultimately led to a pathological phenomenon called Insaniam" What...

Great New Melodeath Dec. 28, 2016

Order Of The Saviour
by Pave The Path

The Pitch: Oakville, Ontario unsigned melodeath band channel Be'lakor and others on latest outing. What I Like: Great mixture of atmosphere and heaviness. The reverb-laden keys and doomy chords elevate the mood to great heights similar to groups like Dark Tranquillity and Silence Lies Fear; while t...

Go Green...Metal Dec. 27, 2016

EP3: Green Metal / Deterministic Chaos
by Botanist

The Pitch: Split release between two Californiasolo, experimental black metal projects:guitarless, plant-themed Botanist and the doomierOskoreien. What I Like: Who says you need a guitar to make a metal song? Or even a synthesizer for that matter. I am in constant awe of the simultaneously bleak an...

It's Already Been A Year... Dec. 27, 2016

Stage Four
by Touché Amoré

The Pitch: A post-hardcore concept album that serves as an open letter to the singer's mother who died of cancer last year. What I Like: There are a lot of things I love about this record, but if I could only pick one it is simply how personal it is. Hollow Bones already pulled at my heartstrings w...

Better Than H.M. Dec. 26, 2016

Not the Actual Events
by Nine Inch Nails

The Pitch: Believe it or not, this is the first NIN EP since 1992's Broken. The comparisons stop there. More modern NIN featuring Atticus Ross as a full time member as well as collaborations with Dave Grohl, Dave Navarro, and Mariqueen Maandig. Summary: So after Hesitation Marks, I had pretty much ...

We Come Full Circle Dec. 26, 2016

Under The Unholy Command
by Terrorhammer

The Pitch: Let the Venom worship commence with this fusin of thrash, heavy, and black metal from Serbia. What I Like: Fantastic, memorable riffs that just scream late-80's thrash and heavy metal. The vocals are pure Cronos, in fact "Graveyard Witch" sounds like it could have fit quite easily on Bla...

2016 Part Deux: Enjoyability Dec. 23, 2016

The Whole of the Law is not the wildest thing I have heard in 2016, but I'm pretty sure it's the heaviest. Or perhapsa betterdescriptorwould bethe sharpest.Plenty releases this yearhave had a deep, crushing kind of sound, but Anaal Nathrakh prefers a razor-sharp dagger thrust repeatedly intothe fles...

2016 Part Deux: Innovation Dec. 22, 2016

Any release that manages to top out all 3 scales is one truly deserving of special accolades. So it is with much respect and pride that I am able to bestow this honor on a relatively small and unknown group of musicians, Ukraine's Balance Interruption. The songs on this release are not only fast and...

2016 Part Deux: Musicianship Dec. 21, 2016

In short, Ulcerate is possibly the fastest, mathiest metal band around. The vocals are insanely brutal, complimented by guitar and drum work that is quite simply insane. If the riffs previously drilled, here they sear; if time signatures were previously devoured, here they are consumed. Many of you ...

They Grieve: Exclusive Album Premiere Dec. 20, 2016

I Made My Sacrifice Accordingly
by They Grieve

Metal Trenches is proud to present the exclusive stream of I Made My Sacrifice Accordingly. If you like what you hear, be sure to pre-order it HERE. The Pitch: Former member of one of my favorite now-defunct underground sludge groups, Alaskan, begins anew withThey Grieve. "The personal lamentation ...

Leave The Beard Dec. 20, 2016

General Thrashing
by The Barber

The Pitch: Moscow band fuse Southern rock and hardcore (I call it "Southern-friedhardcore)" a la Every Time I Die with more than a touch of Motorhead. What I Like: The riffs! The groove! The energy! The Cowbell! This isjust one of those albums begging for a 30 rack of Keystone Light and a PA system...

Grounded In 2nd Wave Dec. 20, 2016

Wrath
by Natvre's

The Pitch: Argento Records reissues the debut album from Greek extreme and sometimes experimental metal band Natvre's. What I Like: I was sold early onby how heavy and blackened the decrepit sound is on this album. The distorted vocals are reminiscent of both Burzum and the use of filters on certai...

Thrashprogcore Dec. 19, 2016

Arctos
by Unison Theory

The Pitch: Italian band who can't seem to decide if they are thrash, prog, or metalcore...but always keep the musicianship on point regardless. What I Like: These guys really do tread the line between the above genres. It's kind of like if early God Forbid decided to write within progressive song s...

Give Into The Depression Dec. 19, 2016

Eskapisten
by Eskapisten

The Pitch: One man atmospheric black metal project from Sweden releasesdebut EP. What I Like: If you like depressive black metal, this will certainly put you in a dark mood. The guitars achieve asorrowful wall of sound, and the underproduction of the drums makes for a nice effect. The vocals are fi...

Is Gudatall Good At All? Dec. 16, 2016

Gudatall
by Murg

The Pitch: One of the finest new black metal bands to hit the scenein the classic sound returns with the anticipated sophomorefollow-up to Varg and Bjrn. What I Like: In terms of presence and production, these guys hit the nail on the head. The vocals, guitar tone, reverb levels, and general presen...

Throbbing Doom Dec. 15, 2016

III
by Herem

The Pitch: 5 piece doom band from Finland sounds a bit like Trapped Within Burning Machinery with some Sabbath overtones. What I Like: "Earworm" is certainly the key word here. Pretty much any doom band that catches my ear has a strong handle on crafting some infectious melodies into their sound. H...

Raw Death Metal Dec. 15, 2016

At the Onset of Extinction
by Sepulchral Curse

The Pitch: Finnish brutal old school death metal group with members of Solothus. What I Like: This album is just so uncompramisingly raw. The gutteral vocals and more grindcore screeches are extreme metal to the core. D-beats and melding of simple chord progressions with melodic tremolo lines fuse ...

Serpents Crawl Stealthy Dec. 14, 2016

Primordial Subjugation
by Necroven

The Pitch: Band from Spain mixing old school with blackened death metal for fans of Morbid Angel, Incantation, Immolation, etc. What I Like: Necroven manage to navigate quite smoothly between death and doom extremes. They can rage with ferocious drumming or shift gears (see "The Pyre Cycle") for a ...

Glass Shrine Dec. 14, 2016

Lapidary
by Glass Shrine

The Pitch: New label Night Rhythms Recordings (Texas) puts out their first official release from Americanpost-black metal band Glass Shrine. "An ongoing study of beauty within decay." What I Like: This is a pretty unique fusion of black metal with bright, upbeat surfer rock. On some levels it remin...

Instrumental Tech Death? Dec. 13, 2016

Magnitude of Thoughts
by Teramobil

The Pitch: Montreal "instrumental tech death" for fans of Animals As Leaders, Scale The Summit, Archspire. What I Like: This is just plain madness. I was skeptical of the whole "instrumental tech death thing." My thinking was "wouldn't that just be progressive metal?" Nope, this is about asheavy as...
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