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Halloween is almost upon us, and I am woefully behind on horror movie viewing for the season. I'm not, however, behind on listening to new albums. Below I've got a bunch of stuff for you, including some black metal, a new album from one of the genre's biggest icons, and a few things that are hard to classify. I've also got another horror movie recommendation for you, and a couple of other surprises.
Update: After I published this, I listened to a couple additional albums that I really liked, and have added those below.
Wolves in the Throne Room are back with their new concept album, Estuary. I reviewed it here and I liked it quite a bit, although I've heard a little bit from some black metal snobs about why I'm wrong about this one. Listen and decide for yourself. If I'm an idiot, let me know in the comments!
Speaking of USBM, here's a super solid new album by Kentucky's Anagnorisis. Caregriever is an album about the grief of watching a loved one suffer from dementia, but it actually has a surprisingly upbeat and groovy vibe across most of the album. There's a bit of a blackened punk vibe, as well as a few industrial touches. I was very pleasantly surprised by this one.
Parallax by Madam Orange is the most experimental album I've reviewed for this site so far. It is definitely not a metal album by any stretching of definition, but it is heavy. This experimental, improvisational jazz album won't be for everyone, but if you're open to music that falls outside of typical song structures, you'll find this record to be vital, alive, and thrilling.
Speaking of unconventional music, here's Tortoise by Ensemble Tikoro. Ensemble Tikoro is an Indonesian band that fuses extreme metal vocal techniques with throat singing and traditional instruments like singing bowls. The result is primal, shamanistic, and haunting. This is one of the most atmospheric and downright creepy albums I've heard in a long time.
Let's do a hat trick of albums that aren't metal this week. They Dead are friends of mine, and Lucy's Gone is their new album, which released earlier this week. This is noisy indie rock/alternative/post punk that's full of hooks and catchy choruses. It's a fun record, but still has some genuine emotional heft and rage to it.
Shedfromthebody is a performer I find interesting because of how hard her output is to categorize. A little pop, a little shoegaze, a little metal - sometimes all at once. This one is a little more poppy than the other releases I've heard, but there's definitely a blackened edge.
The legendary Tony Iommi is back with his first solo album in over 20 years. You don't need me to tell you that the riffs on From the Dark are immaculate. I'm actually kind of taken with the vocalist on this album, a Norwegian fella named Jorn. His voice makes me think of Yob's Mike Scheidt imitating Rob Halford or Ronnie James Dio - in other words, classic metal soaring vocals with a little modern gravel. I'm into it.
Late addition: Tschaikowsky & Kann are definitely not metal, but they're metal band approved. This ambient/krautrock band has drawn praise from Blood Incantation's Paul Riedl, and it's easy to understand why. A New Way To Life is gentle and relaxing, but still complex enough to be engaging. I can see myself listening to this one a lot, especially in the early morning.
Late addition: The Blood Mountain Black Metal Choir is some solid Panopticon-esque black metal with folky flourishes. In case you were feeling a little light on black metal this week!
Director Damian McCarthy made his Hollywood debut this year with Hokum, a well-reviewed and financially successful horror film starring Adam Scott. I'm personally lukewarm on that movie, but McCarthy's previous film, Oddity, is incredible. I don't want to say too much about it, other than it's genuinely creepy. Check out the trailer above and have a great weekend, everyone!