April had no shortage of metal and metal-adjacent music. In addition to the music I discovered, I saw Fit For a King and Silent Planet crush it along with opening bands Hollow Front and Avoid during their U.S. tour that ran through March and April. There’s something to be said for the energy mid-sized heavy bands in small venues bring – an atmosphere that massive arena shows can’t duplicate.
Along with the selections below, a wide range of other releases are listed, as well as underground bands covered by New Fury Media during this month.
As for other notable releases not covered below…Veil of Maya dropped an aggressive breakdown-heavy new track “Synthwave Vegan”. Hardcore band Cancer Bats released Psychic Jailbreak, their first album with new guitarist Stephen Harrison, who made his mark with The Chariot and Fever 333. Monuments similarly put out In Stasis, their first to feature new vocalist Andy Cizek. Rammstein are still going strong in 2022, and dropped Zeit, their new album written and recorded in the wake of postponed tours. Primitive Man dropped possibly the heaviest song of the year, an skull-crushing eleven-minute doom-sludge track. As for the underground side, IATT may only have a couple hundred listeners, but their latest single “Prima Materia” provides an fascinating combination of progressive and symphonic black metal. It also features a saxophone solo from Zack Strouse, who made the instrument a key aspect of Rivers of Nihil’s sound.
Greyhaven – This Bright and Beautiful World
Even if they weren’t from the region, Greyhaven’s mix of alternative rock and chaotic metalcore would geographically be right at home within the Southern hardcore scene. Indeed, the swaggering standouts “More and More Hands” and “Foreign Anchor” are reminiscent of Every Time I Die or Norma Jean, and combine chaotic metalcore with melodic, undeniably catchy hooks. However, while Greyhaven prominently showcases their influences, they don’t just copy bands that came before them. With a sound ranging from furious opener “In a Room Where Everything Dies” to moody alternative rock tracks like “Ornaments from the Well” and “Fed to the Lights”, Greyhaven precisely balances the light and heavy elements within ten tracks. This Bright and Beautiful World succeeds on sheer memorability and its sense of unity and versatility throughout.
Lions at the Gate/Tatiana Schmayluk – “Find My Way”
Founded by former members of New Jersey-based Latin metal band Ill Nino, Lions at the Gate have released three singles as of now. The band’s sound will satisfy fans of that early 2000s Roadrunner Records sound, while bringing it into a modern era. Lions at the Gate’s latest song, “Find My Way” is a study in contrasts. This track ranges from aggressive Slipknot-style verses to a melodic chorus. Singer Tatiana Schmayluk from the Ukrainian band Jinjer is featured. Frontman Cristian Machado has described “Find My Way” as a song about holding on to hope and faith, and finding a place of safe surrender. Additionally, he says the main lyrical theme in the band’s upcoming album is “the will to overcome and the power to see the beauty in a world that is unforgiving.” Cristian and Tatiana trade off both harsh and clean vocals, creating an intense, yet melodic sound.
Undeath – It’s Time…To Rise From the Grave
The follow-up to their debut Lesions of a Different Kind, It’s Time…To Rise From the Grave has earned Undeath considerable attention for a band this extreme in sound. This is old-school death metal that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Vocalist Alexander Jones describes his band as a group of “internet music nerds” that prefer having fun and smiling during live shows. On this album, Undeath have several songs about amassing an army of zombies equipped with weapons and high-tech enhancements – a concept cited in the Apple Music description as “Army of the Dead meets The Terminator” – and a handful of others about reading spooky books or gathering bones at the cemetery. The band’s ethos and lyrical approach is very tongue in cheek, but the music is deadly serious. Each track is straightforward and brutal, built around the riff, while still displaying technical guitar skill.
Fallujah – “Radiant Ascension”
“Radiant Ascension” is essentially a more urgent take on Fallujah’s signature style. The song starts out with fast-paced guitar shredding right away, later incorporating the atmosphere that marked albums like Dreamless and The Flesh Prevails. This song is the band’s first with new members Evan Brewer and Kyle Schaefer. The lineup may have changed, but Fallujah made a triumphant return to their core sound here, melding technical death metal with atmospheric instrumental sections. While “Radiant Ascension” emphasizes the tech-death side more, both aspects are present. The duality of female and male vocals that marked Dreamless has returned as well, with Tori Letzler singing in the midst of the chaos. The band’s upcoming album Empyrean will be released on September 9.
Reflections – The Fantasy Effect Redux
This Minnesota progressive deathcore/djent band released an entirely new reworking of their debut The Fantasy Effect ten years after its original release date. Similar to how Silent Planet remade their debut The Night God Slept, this is not simply a remaster (you’ll notice the track runtimes are different from the original). While the original was self-produced, the redux is mixed and mastered by Buster Odeholm. While Reflections’ recent material (Willow, Silhouette) is nearly invariably a brutal beatdown from start to finish, The Fantasy Effect balances its guitar technicality and deathcore breakdowns with a progressive flair. The opener “Ceilings” starts with a quiet, ominous build leading into the chaos to come. Throughout the album tracks like “And Found” “Good Push”, and “An Artifact” weave in ambient textures, while “Advance Upon Me Brethren” and the closer “Rotations” incorporate clean vocals into the mix. With improved production, these dynamics are crystal clear.
Meshuggah – Immutable
Widely credited as the forefathers of the djent movement with their down-tuned brand of technical death metal, this highly influential Swedish band has released their first new music in six years. The Swedes’ technical sound includes off-kilter time signatures and occasionally experimented with avante-garde compositions, especially on the underrated Catch Thirtythree. While Immutable stays true to Meshuggah’s signature style, there’s enough variety present to hold the listener’s interest the whole way through. The standout opener “Broken Cog” weaves menacing whispered vocals around a polyrhythmic, staccato riff, while the instrumental epic “They Move Below” progresses from a temporary calm to a storm of colossal riffs. Other tracks like “Ligature Marks” and “The Abysmal Eye” are all-out heavy. The end result is – in my opinion – easily Meshuggah’s best work since 2008’s obZen.
Northlane – Obsidian
Newly independent band Northlane delved further into the industrial metal influences introduced on 2019’s Alien. The Australian group’s unique cyber-djent style is dark, aggressive and technical, while also accessible. Jon Deiley creates a Matrix-style backdrop for his and Josh Smith’s dark, heavy guitar riffs and frontman Marcus Bridge’s seething snarls and angelic singing. Alien was a concept album primarily about Marcus’s traumatic backstory, and his refusal to succumb to the heroin addiction, abuse and violence that surrounded him. Obsidian similarly touches on alienation, but on the powerful opener “Clarity”, he is clearly moving forward in the aftermath of the situation.
“Is This a Test?” has the feel of a Nine Inch Nails track from With Teeth or Year Zero. “Carbonized”, a song about the need for accountability – and how abusers will eventually be found out – is a potent djent/nu metal hybrid with sinister verses and a soaring chorus. The title track echoes the atmospheric sound of 2017’s Mesmer delivered with crushing heaviness, while the fantastic trip-hop ballad “Nova” further exhibits the band’s versatility. There’s plenty of layers to this album, especially on tracks like “Xen” and “Dark Solitaire” which follow more abstract song structures. Marcus’ vocal performance is stunning, displaying an incredible vocal range over the futuristic, cybernetic soundscape. While nearly an hour in length, Obsidian remains unpredictable and varies its pacing throughout.
April Release Tracker
Singles
Ithaca – “In the Way” (Apr 4, hardcore)
Artificial Brain – “Celestial Cyst” (Apr 4, technical death metal)
Misery Index – “Infiltrators” (Apr 6, death metal/hardcore)
Origin – “Ecophagy” (Apr 6, technical death metal)
Deathwhite – “No Thought or Memory” (Apr 7, doom)
Temple of Void – “Deathtouch” (Apr 7, death metal)
Upon a Burning Body – “A New Responsibility” (Apr 7, deathcore)
Kreator – “Strongest of the Strong” (Apr 8, death/thrash)
Astronoid – “Eyes” (Apr 14, post metal)
Primitive Man – “Cage Intimacy” (Apr 14, death doom/sludge)
Hollow Front – “Heritage” (Apr 14, metalcore)
Mutually Assured Destruction/Randy Blythe – “Spirit Liberation” (Apr 14, hardcore)
Wormrot – “When Talking Fails, It’s Time For Violence” (Apr 14, grindcore)
Bleed From Within – “Stand Down” (Apr 14, metalcore)
IATT/Zack Strouse – “Prima Materia” (Apr 14, symphonic black metal/progressive metal)
While She Sleeps – “Eye to Eye” (Apr 14, metalcore)
Motionless in White – “Masterpiece” (Apr 14, metalcore)
Machine Head – “Choke on the Ashes of Your Hate” (Apr 14, groove metal)
Palisades – “Reaching Hypercritical” (Apr 15, nu metal)
coldrain – “Calling” (Apr 16, alternative metal)
Soreption – “Död Jord” (Apr 16, technical death metal)
The Safest Ledge/Aaron Gillespie – “Healing Pool” (Apr 18, post-hardcore)
Tallah – “The Impressionist” (Apr 19, nu metal)
Veil of Maya – “Synthwave Vegan” (Apr 20, djent)
Architects – “When We Were Young” (Apr 20, metalcore)
Spirit Adrift – “Sorcerer’s Fate” (Apr 20, traditional heavy metal)
Alexisonfire – “Reverse the Curse” (Apr 20, post-hardcore)
Conjurer – “Rot” (Apr 21, doom/sludge)
Static Dress – “fleahouse” (Apr 22, post-hardcore)
Monasteries – “Lilac” (Apr 22, technical death metal)
Lions at the Gate/Tatiana – “Find My Way” (Apr 25, nu metal)
Final Light (Perturbator/Johannes Persson) – “In the Void” (Apr 26, industrial)
Fallujah/Tori Letzler – “Radiant Ascension” (Apr 27, technical death metal)
Of Virtue – “Sinner” (Apr 29, metalcore)
Yatra – “Death Cantation” (Apr 29, death metal)
Betraying the Martyrs – “Swan Song” (Apr 29, metalcore)
Albums/EPs
Kublai Khan TX – Lowest Form of Animal EP (Apr 1, deathcore)
Islander – It’s Not Easy Being Human (Apr 1, alternative metal/nu metal)
Meshuggah – Immutable (Apr 1, progressive death metal)
Design Flaw – Beasts of a Future Decay EP (Apr 1, post-metal)
Windrunner – Tan (Apr 1, progressive metal/metalcore)
Dreamwake – Virtual Reality (Apr 5, metalcore/synthwave)
Tesseract – Regrowth (Apr 7, progressive metal) – 2 track EP with proceeds donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee
Glasslands – The Deep (Apr 8, post-hardcore)
This White Mountain – The Final Sorrow (Apr 8, atmospheric black metal)
The Veer Union – Manifestations (Apr 8, alternative metal/post-grunge)
Papa Roach – Ego Trip (Apr 8, alternative metal/pop rock)
TVLPA – Walk With Me (Apr 8, blackened hardcore/noise rock)
A Wilhelm Scream – Lose Your Delusion (Apr 14, hardcore punk)
Monuments – In Stasis (Apr 15, metalcore)
Alunah – Strange Machine (Apr 15, psychedelic rock/doom metal)
Cancer Bats – Psychic Jailbreak (Apr 15, hardcore)
Grayscale Season – Do You Like Violence (Apr 15, deathcore/thall)
Greyhaven – This Bright and Beautiful World (Apr 15, metalcore/alternative metal)
Northlane – Obsidian (Apr 22, industrial/djent)
Caliban – Dystopia (Apr 22, metalcore)
Bodysnatcher – Bleed/Abide (Apr 22, deathcore)
Ocean Grove – Up in the Air Forever (Apr 22, punk/nu metal)
Static Abyss – Labyrinth of Veins (Apr 22, death metal)
Vanum – Legend (Apr 22, black metal)
Sentient Horror – Rites of Gore (Apr 22, death metal)
Undeath – It’s Time…To Rise from the Grave (Apr 22, death metal)
Reflections – The Fantasy Effect Redux (Apr 28, progressive deathcore)
Heriot – Profound Morality (Apr 29, hardcore/grindcore)
Void of Vision – Chronicles II: Heaven (Apr 29, metalcore)
Vagrants – Be Consumed (Apr 29, metalcore)
Devil Master – Ecstasies of Never Ending Night (Apr 29, black metal)
Rammstein – Zeit (Apr 29, industrial)
New Fury Media’s April Features from the Underground
The Sight of Impact – “Carnage”
Moodring – “SYNC.wav”
Wasted Away – “Finally Free”
A Bitter End – “2:00 AM”
Mascara – HLA-11TF
In Lessons – “Parasitic Withdrawal”
These Days and Those Days – Comatose Overdose
Magnolia Park – “Tokyo”
Abbie Falls – “Hell is Other People”
Abyss of Gehenna – The Divine Comedy
Valley of Dismay – “Till Death Did Us Part”/”Good Mourning”
Dead Days – “Tyrants”
Malevolence – “Still Waters Run Deep”
Moments – “Expectations”
Unhallowed Promethean – “Eternal”
Floya – “Wonders”
Bite the Hand – “Muddy”
Across the White Water Tower – If You Died Right Now, What Would They Remember?
My Hollow – Fighting the Monsters
I Found Paradise – Paradise
