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.

Friday is here, praise Dracula! It's a pretty solid new release day, with two albums I reviewed and really liked and a couple more good ones I didn't get to. We've got all flavors of metal for you below, or all the flavors that matter, anyway. Into the pit with you!

Happy Friday, all! Tonight, I'll be attending a listening party for a new album from a Minneapolis local band and hopefully watching a scary movie or two. And listening to more music, of course! Below we've got some punk rock, noise rock, post metal, doom, and black metal - a real grab bag this week. And since it's October, I've got another horror movie recommendation for you as well. Into the pit!

Happy Friday, all! We have a really interesting New Music Friday lineup for you today. There's a lot of electronic-based music this week, some of which is fun and danceable, while other releases are about as much fun as a black hole. We've also got some black metal, some sludgy post hardcore, and a couple of very, VERY experimental releases. Into the pit!

A look behind the curtain at New Music Friday: When I started this column, I would just start with a new release list on Friday mornings. Then, I started working ahead as much as possible, finding singles that were released mid-week to start working in. When I started getting early album reviews, that changed the game for me and allowed me to get my thoughts on an album down sometimes a couple weeks in advance. But I would still always pick a few new releases on Friday morning to add into the mix. Except this week - this week's column was written entirely in advance, because I've got obligations all day Friday that will preclude me from checking out anything on Friday. On the plus side, that means this column was ready to go first thing in the morning! On the double plus side, there were a lot of really great things that came my way in advance, and I'm happy to share them all with you now. 

[Editor's note: I can't leave well enough alone. I found some time Friday morning and added a couple additional album recommendations.]

Today is a little bit lighter on the new release front, but I've noticed that tends to happen before a really big new release week. And guess what? Next Friday is a big one. There may not be a single massing album coming next week, but there are a few very significant ones, and a ton of smaller, interesting albums. It looks like I will have four or five album reviews for you next week. In the meantime, I've got a selection of solid albums and interesting singles for you below. 

It's a big week here at Both Kinds of Heavy. I was able to review one of my most anticipated albums of the year and another release that clicked with me much more than I was expecting. Throw in a third album review and a column, and it was a jam-packed few days. But wait, we're not done yet! I've got several more exciting releases to recommend today, including a live EP that I'm incredibly hot on, a new album from a band I recently decided that I love, some good prog rock, and much more. You know what to do. 

After a couple weeks without any truly huge album releases, we've got a couple of big ones this week: Mastodon and Russian Circles. There are also a few big-name albums out this week that I'm entirely disinterested in, so we're skipping those! As always, I've got a selection of stuff I'm pretty excited about waiting for you after the break.

It's a bit of a slower week for albums, which isn't surprising because there are some big releases coming in the very near future. That said, it's an absolutely great week for singles. I've compiled several exciting tracks below and, of course, I've got a few albums I'm pumped about as well. They're all waiting for you below in the deep, deep dark. Or after the Read More link, whatever. 

I don't know if I've ever expressed the fact that I genuinely love putting this column together every week. Giving myself a little musical scavenger hunt every makes every Friday feel a little like Christmas morning. And there's nothing better than hearing someone say that they discovered something new through my picks - it genuinely makes me happy. So thank you for reading, and if you find anything that strikes your fancy, let me know in the comments section or drop me a line at bothkindsofheavy@gmail.com

This week is a mix of singles and albums, and, as always, it's an eclectic bunch. Read on!