Sh*t That Comes Out Today: November 12, 2021

New metal releases!

Black Soul Horde
Horrors from the Void (Vinyl Store)

Cthulhu has been called loads of times by metal bands at this point, so if you’re going to sing about Lovecraft you gotta bring something else to the table. Black Soul Horde are hard to categorize – they clearly love epic Priest/Maiden style riffing but the vocals remind me more of prog-era Mastodon and there’s some trad doom gallop. Which is to say, I guess they’re metal? Definitely worth summoning this from the void.

Bonded
Into Blackness (Century Media)

I didn’t think we really needed any more thrash bands but since apparently all the OG acts are filled with crazy anti-vax conspiracy theorists it’s good to have some new blood to hit the lights. This Sodom side project fills the role nicely, mixing Bay Area hooks with the ferocity native to their German predecessors. Plus there’s a four-song suite about Nazi vampires? That’s definitely novel!

Haunt
Unplugged Vol. 1 (Church)

Sometimes unplugged records feel gimmicky, but really they’re a test of how solid the songs are when stripped of their electric power. Trevor William Church approached his first acoustic record as a way to see how he would perform his songs if electricity went away, and they definitely pass the litmus test. Reinterpreting his trad metal compositions using tambourines and Spanish guitar brings out the beauty inherent in his work.

Unleashed
No Sign Of Life (Napalm)

Album number 14 for the Viking metal lifers finds Johnny Hedlund and his shockingly long-tenured compatriots (I’m hard-pressed to think of any other death metal band that’s kept the same lineup since 1995) doing their thing – and doing it better than just about anyone. Even if there’s probably not a whole lot to be said about Vikings in metal anymore, Unleashed say it in style. They’ve somehow come up with an album filled with killer riffs from start to finish this far into their career. Still plenty of signs of life here!

OTHER SHIT THAT COMES OUT TODAY

All Hail The Yeti – Within The Hollow Earth EP (Minus Head) Listen
Darkwoods My Betrothed – Angel Of Carnage Unleashed (Napalm) Listen
Dold Vorde Ens Navn – Mørkere (Lupus Lounge) Listen
Insania – V (Praeparatus Supervivet) (Frontiers) Listen
L.A. Guns – Checkered Past (Frontiers) Listen
NorthTale – Eternal Flame (NB) Listen
Rise Against – Nowhere Sessions EP (Loma Vista) Listen
Show-Ya – Showdown (Metalville) Listen
Silent Planet – Iridescent (Solid State) Listen
Suffocation – Live In North America (NB) Listen