This Week's New Heavy Metal Releases Include Nu Metal Love, Doom Stuff to Argue About, and More!

This week's new heavy metal releases include nu metal love, doom stuff to argue about, and more! To the metals…

Behemoth – The Shit Ov God

Genre: Blackened death metal

Origin: Gdańsk, Poland

Label: Nuclear Blast

Buy now from Behemoth

On album number thirteen Nergal and the boys are hitting you with their usual successful mix of epic, blackened death metal. Lyrically, this feels a little on the nose sometimes, whatever though. These new tracks will probably crush live.

Candlemass – Black Star

Genre: Doom

Origin: Stockholm, Sweden

Label: Napalm

Buy now on Bandcamp

On this EP Candlemass are just giving fans a little something-something between records. You're getting two new tracks that are trademark sad doom, then a couple covers. They're taking on "Forever My Queen" by Pentagram and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" by Black Sabbath. Nothing too crazy, but it's hard to be mad at this.

Ghost Bath – Rose Thorn Necklace

Genre: Post-black metal

Origin: Minot, North Dakota

Label: Nuclear Blast

Buy now on Bandcamp

Next up, Ghost Bath is keeping the sorrowful heaviness going, but they're bringing in blast beats. Their first record in four years hits hard while also drowning you in atmospheric dread. It's refreshing to hear songs like this with more brief run times and not feel shorted.

Haken – Liveforms: An Evening With Haken

Genre: Progressive metal

Origin: London, England

Label: InsideOut

Buy now on Bandcamp

If you're a fan of Haken, here's A LOT of Haken. In 2023, the band dropped their rad animal-themed album, Fauna. This live album features that record in full plus a set of material from their back catalog like "Nil By Mouth," "1985," "Visions," and way more. The DVD includes the full set and an interview so it clocks in at over three hours.

Novelists – Coda

Genre: Progressive metal/metalcore

Origin: Paris, France

Label: ACKOR Music

Buy now from Novelists

In 2023 Novelists parted ways with their vocalist and they returned with Camille Contreras now fronting the band. This is her first full album with them, and she really shines. There's still massive, djenty-grooves and progressive instrumentation, but the vocal shift really separates this band from their scene. Solid record.

Sleep Token – Even in Arcadia

Genre: Alternative/pop metal

Origin: London, England

Label: RCA

Buy now from Sleep Token

Whether this record hits with you or not, 2025 is the year of Sleep Token. They're headlining massive festivals, selling out arenas, and doing it all while bridging metal and pop music. This record will likely serve as a time capsule for both genres at this time as it nails both. Catchy, rhythmic, moody, groovy.

Tetrarch – The Ugly Side Of Me

Genre: Nu metal/metalcore

Origin: Atlanta, Georgia

Label: Napalm

Buy now on Bandcamp

Now we conclude this week with another genre-blending record. Tetrarch's latest continues their homage to classic Nu metal with moments that sound like Linkin Park, Static-X, or Deftones, but then they're hitting you with more recent metalcore heft. A lot of moments surprised me and made me go, "Oh? hell yeah."

Also dropping this week…