I was up north all week on vacation, which left me with less time than normal to check out new albums, much less to write about them. Nevertheless, I did find a couple new (not very) heavy albums to recommend. 

First up is the new album by Minnesota-based death metal band Panopticon. Panopticon normally combines death metal with folk elements, but this album is pure folk. Laurentian Blue is a purely acoustic album and some of the lyrics fell a little flat for me on my first couple listens, but there are still enough solid songs on here that I'll likely keep coming back to it. Probably an album for diehard fans only, but considering that the vinyl version sold out on day one as all Panopticon albums do, the diehards are probably the majority of listeners.

​Up next is the debut album from The Discussion. This came out in May and I'm embarrassed that I missed it - I've been listening to The Discussion since their debut EP in 2017 and had been waiting for this long-delayed debut album. The Discussion is the solo project of Laura Pleasants, part of the recently reunited sludge band Kylesa. The Discussion is a far cry from the dual-drum assault of Kylesa - the band is focused on keyboard-driven goth rock. Siouxsie Sioux would be proud. If the glory days of Wax Trax! Records speaks to you, then you definitely need to give The Discussion a spin.