One Big Hitter, Four Reasons to Dig Deeper
Thin week on marquee names, but don’t let that fool you into skipping Friday. There’s one heavyweight anchoring the top and a stack of underground death metal underneath it that punches way above the release count. Quality over volume. Here’s the five.
#1 — DevilDriver — Strike and Kill (Napalm Records) | Groove Metal
The big hitter of the week. DevilDriver are back with a vengeance here, and Dez Fafara sounds genuinely pissed off in the best way. This is the California groove-machine doing exactly what it does best: neck-snapping riffs, gang-shout hooks, and a rhythm section that hits like a loading dock. If you fell off somewhere in the last few records, this is the one that drags you back in.
#2 — Sigyn — From Nation to Chaos (Noble Demon) | Melodic Death Metal
If you ever loved Children of Bodom, drop what you’re doing and put this on. I felt right at home from the first track: the neoclassical keyboard runs, the frostbitten melodeath riffing, the whole Finnish melodic death lineage sitting right in the pocket. It’s not a copy, it’s a torch being carried, and Sigyn carry it well. Easily the surprise of my week.
#3 — If These Trees Could Talk — The Hidden Hand (Metal Blade) | Instrumental Post-Rock/Post-Metal
Their first record in a decade, and the Akron crew didn’t come back quiet. All build, all payoff, no vocals needed. Put it on loud and let it wash over you.
#4 — Apogean — Waste Where Life Begins (The Artisan Era) | Technical Death Metal
Canadian tech-death on the label that basically can’t miss. Precise, brutal, and constantly moving. Fans of The Zenith Passage and Inferi, this one’s yours.
#5 — Volubilis — Theasterion (Independent) | Progressive/Melodic Death Metal
A self-released debut with more ambition than most bands manage on album four. Rough around the edges in the way that makes underground metal exciting. Worth the dig.
One heavyweight, four deep cuts. That’s the list. Run it.