Given that Toothgrinder‘s debut full-length, Nocturnal Masquerade, ended up on the 2016 year end lists of both MetalSucks co-masterminds, you can imagine the level of anticipation around here for the band’s follow-up, Phantom Amour. You can also probably guess how thrilled we were to discover that the band has avoided the dreaded sophomore slump. Phantom Amour has everything that made Nocturnal Masquerade great, and then some: a melting pot of genres, cavernous grooves, mountainous melodies, inescapable hooks, and a seemingly limitless imagination. If Toothgrinder don’t fit the definition of “forward-thinking metal band,” no one does.

It would be difficult for any one song to truly encapsulate the sound of an album as fearlessly diverse as Phantom Amour, but the record’s first single, “The Shadow,” will certainly give you a sense of what you’re in for. By turns elastic, threatening, and phantasmagorical, “The Shadow” is the kind of song that practically dares you to even try and not listen to it multiple times in a row at full blast. Not only are you about to become intimately familiar with this track, but so are your neighbors. If they have any taste, they’ll thank you.

MetalSucks is chuffed to debut “The Shadow,” which you can check out below! Phantom Amour comes out November 10 on Spinefarm. Keep your eyes peeled to the band’s Facebook page for pre-order info, which should go live tomorrow, Friday, September 8. The band will part of Between the Buried and Me’s unmissable Colors tenth anniversary tour starting at the end of this month; Toothgrinder live is truly a sight to behold, so make sure you get to the venue early so you don’t miss ’em. The Contortionist and Polyphia are also on the bill. Get dates here!