Dimmu Borgir makes their first album in eight years and yeah, that’s the obvious story this Friday. But while everyone’s eyes are on Grand Serpent Rising, two Dying Victims Productions releases deserve their own spotlight, Armored Saint reminds you why longevity matters, and Finland quietly keeps being Finland. There’s more going on this week than the headline.
#1 — Dimmu Borgir — Grand Serpent Rising (Nuclear Blast) | Symphonic Black Metal
Will any of it rise up to their past peak efforts like “Progenies of the Great Apocalypse”? Probably not. But eight years is a long time to sit with a legacy that heavy, and they have to do something with it eventually. We’re still going to listen — and that says everything about what Dimmu Borgir actually built.
Thirteen tracks, first album since Eonian in 2018, recorded with Fredrik Nordström at Studio Fredman. Whatever it is, it’s here.
#2 — Armored Saint — Emotion Factory Reset (Metal Blade) | Traditional Heavy Metal
Still going strong after all of these years. Ninth album since 1984, John Bush still one of the better vocalists doing it, and they’re not pretending to be something they’re not. Exactly what it’s supposed to be.
#3 — Deathstorm — Cascophonies (Dying Victims Productions) | Thrash Metal
Get your thrash on. Twenty-nine minutes, no filler, no apologies — fifth album from a band that’s been doing death-thrash right since 2010 and hasn’t run out of riffs yet.
#4 — As The Sun Falls — Songs From The Veil (Theogonia Records) | Melodic Death Metal
These guys are great, with a vocalist that harkens back to bands long gone. Finnish melodic death that actually sounds like it belongs to a different era — and means it.
#5 — Witching Hour — Descending… Where Time Has Ceased to Exist (Dying Victims Productions) | Blackened Thrash Metal
The music video for “The Graves Yearn for the Dead” is awesome — home video nostalgia, the kind of visual approach that makes you pay attention before the album even drops. Eight years between records and they clearly spent them well.
Five records. One weekend. Don’t sleep.