Okay folks, May is out, June is in. Time for school to be done, girls to wear much less and metal to jump-start the summer. With so much metal on the horizon, I’ve come along like a tall glass of water on a hot summer day to refresh you with ten metal albums to look for in June.
Melvins
Freak Puke
Ipecac Records
Release Date: June 5th
As I said in my review, this is a record for those who dig what the Melvins have been doing over the last few years. Some slow jams, a couple of weird noise tunes and maybe a rocker, it depends on what you consider a rocker from the Melvins. The band refers to themselves as Melvins Lite because they’ve aced the extra players and stripped back down to Buzzo on guitar and vocals, Dale Crover on drums and Trevor Dunn on bass. A solid effort from the band, but nothing as awe inspiring as Ozma/Gluey Porch Treatments, Houdini, Stoner Witch, or some of their other mind altering records.
Fear Factory
The Industrialist
Candlelight Records
Release Date: June 5th
Do you like technology metal? If so then the iconic Fear Factory’s new record The Industrialist could be right up your ally. This is a concept record, a dystopian tale about a machine that becomes self-aware and eventually turns on mankind. As always we get the rapid fire machine gun riffs, the pulverizing double bass drum work and the weirdly off-center vocals of Burton C. Bell. Any fan of the symphonic metal world will dig on this and there’s enough old school Fear Factory to keep the true blue fans riveted.
Black Shape Of Nexus
Negative Black
Exile On Mainstream Records
Release Date: June 5th
Distorted blues inspired doom-structures that ramp up the heaviness and lay waste to anything in its path. The title Negative Black is not to be taken lightly. The band draws out huge individual epics on each of the seven songs that combine to give us over eighty minutes of new Black Shape Of Nexus material. Noise influenced doom, riff heavy monoliths drenched in nihilistic self-hatred and defiance of the world at large? Yep, sounds like a summer metal record to me.
Marduk
Serpent Sermon
Century Media Records
Release Date: June 5th
Having spent the last two decades attempting to damn souls before the coming apocalypse, Marduk has returned with more black metal satanic good times. Sure the Iron Dawn EP was a war flavored move from their standard fair but now Marduk is back with screeching vocals, harsh guitars and all the Black Metal trimmings you need to wreak havoc on society. Is there much difference in this and the last batch of Marduk records? Nope, but for most Marduk fans, that’s a good thing.
Turbonegro
Sexual Harassment
Scandinavian Leather Records/Volcom Entertainment
Release Date: June 12th
Hey hipsters, it’s time to party. Turbonegro, the good time party band of dirty guitar riffs and punkish growl vocals are back with Sexual Harassment. This is fist-pumping, drink until you puke and go home with that girl who was ugly before the booze set in music. Catchy post-punk riffs, fast changes and lyrics that don’t require a whole lot of thought. If your aim is to blow off steam and dance around trying to get laid, then this is the album for you.
Witch Mountain
Cauldron Of The Wild
Profound Lore Records
Release Date June 12th
Do you like Royal Thunder? If so then you’ll really enjoy Witch Mountain. Thick, sludgy doom riffs with female vocals that bring out the seventies rock feel. Unlike Royal Thunder who stick to writing mainly straight songs, Witch Mountain bring an epic feel to every track. It’s as if every tune is designed to play behind an enormous battle in some fantasy movie involving swords, magic and mean pig-faced creatures. Anybody who lives and dies by the world of doom metal should jump on board the Witch Mountain Train.
Burning Love
Rotten Thing To Say
Southern Lord Records
Release ate: June 19th.
So you think your band is good? So you think your music kicks so much ass it’s almost impossible to not find it genius? Take your band’s stuff, run it up against the new Burning Love album Rotten Thing To Say and really see how it good it is. What’s that? Are you sweating? Is that fear in those eyes? Good, you should be afraid because Rotten Thing To Say is an unstoppable extreme music goliath that oozes awesome sauce from every pour. This is already my contender for album of the year.
Dying Fetus
Reign Supreme
Relapse Records
Release Date: June 19th
Head banging hooks and death metal speed come together in one band with Dying Fetus. Reign Supreme is more of the same from a band that’s perfected the art of taking Death Metal, covering it in grindcore and then making it groove. While the song structures might not have changed, the band is tighter on this album. They transition from speed to groove to technical noodling with a grace they haven’t shown on past records. If you like your death metal beefy and you dig your grooves angry, then Reign Supreme is your summer fling!
Manowar
Lords Of Steel
Magic Circle Records
Release Date: June 19th
Lords Of Steel is a return to form for Manowar. The legendary metal warriors moved into the arena of concept record with 2007’s Gods Of War but have now come back to their tried and true style of power metal. Lords Of Steel is the first album to come out specifically on ITunes and the bands own Kingdom Of Steel online store. With songs like Annihilation and Hail, Kill and Die, plus a tune inspired by the movie The Expendables, it looks like an all-metal summer for Manowar.
Old Man Gloom
No
Hydra Head Records
Release Date: June 26th
From the HOLY FUCKING SHIT pile comes the return of Old Man Gloom. Noise, doom, punk, experimental and black metal all play a part in the epic conglomerate of sound that is Old Man Gloom. Made up of Aaron Turner of Isis, Nate Newton of Converge, Caleb Scofield of Cave In and Santos Montano, No is an crushing testament to how good this band, or should I say recording project, really is. If you like things simple and easy to digest, then No will crush you with the riffs. If you like your extreme music to be smarter than the average bear, then No will amaze you.
