Every week we get dozens of emails from metal bands and labels asking us to write about their music. Usually it gets passed by because they A) aren’t from RVA or B) aren’t coming on tour to RVA.



Every week we get dozens of emails from metal bands and labels asking us to write about their music. Usually it gets passed by because they A) aren’t from RVA or B) aren’t coming on tour to RVA.

But I do love metal and it seemed like a waste to not put something out about some of the solid and/or ridiculous stuff we get sent. Admittedly I’m no encyclopedia of metal knowledge, but much like porno, I know good metal when I hear it. So here’s a list and a few words about some of the better releases we got this week.

As always, please keep sending your music to [email protected]

Black Wizard

Hailing from Vancouver, Black Wizard‘s new album New Waste hits on a number of things I like to hear in metal: groovy bass, rocking licks and gloomy drums. You’ll hear some epic harmonized sections in between screeching solos and that’s all you can really hope for these days.

New Waste by BLACK WIZARD

UNBORN SUFFER

Polish death/grind trio UNBORN SUFFER are set to drop their 5th studio album, Nihilist, and if they video for Open Defiance is any sign, it should be a solid purchase for fans of Satan, bleeding walls, and screaming.

Gadget

In my mind, Sweden’s metal scene is like 40% grindcore, and Gadget continues that legacy with their upcoming release The Great Destroyer. The folks over at Metal Sucks debuted their new single, “I Don’t Need You — Dead and Gone,” and had probably the best description possible for the track:

It’s kinda like the death of Cyrus the Virus in Con Air — stabbed through the foot with a spear, thrown from a moving vehicle onto live electrical wires, and then crushed by some giant machine created for the purpose of crushing things, “I Don’t Need You — Dead and Gone” is pure overkill… and we mean that as high praise.

The Zenith Passage

There’s something amazing and ironic about a metal band releasing a lyric video, but I thoroughly enjoyed trying to sing along to The Zenith Passage‘s proggy and epic new track “Holographic Principle II: Convergence.” It’s the chorus of backup singers and synth arpeggios that really hit this one out of the metal-park for me. PS, a metal park featuring The Zenith Passage probably involves a lot of worm holes.

Check out the video from these LA metal heads below and be prepared to make a lot of solo-faces:

Bardus

Of all the releases I got this week, Philly’s Bardus stands out as the best. There’s a lot to love on their hard-rocking new release Solus. A bit of doom and gloom, a hole lotta sludge, and a heaping helping of riffage, I kicked this record on for friends more than a few times this week – kudos on these guys and you should try and catch them when they come to Wonderland on April 08.