Something a little different for everyone today! Given that it is the spookiest day of the year and we cover a lot of metal here, it is only right that we’ve had plenty of spooky metal sent over to us, all released today. So, we thought we’d highlight it all, be it album, EP or single, and enjoy the scary holiday together!
P.S. it for some reason felt odd scoring stuff on this article, so I decided against it. All of it is awesome and worth your time listening to!
Peter Lawson – The Witchfinder
This is an awesome, chaotic dark-synth-folk album, three words that I never thought I’d tack together! From the medieval-style riffs and instrumentation, to almost Pink Floyd/Deep Purple levels of keys and synth solos to the beautifully distorted guitars in both the chunky riffing and technical soloing, there is a lot going on throughout. Sonically it’s weird, and thematically the album follows a real life ‘witch finder’, by the name of Matthew Hopkins. It would have been nice to have some lyrics to explain that path, but this is still a fun, quirky little release. It’s not something I’d normally go for, but I really enjoyed the folkier elements of it, and was really starting to be won round to the combination of genres by the end! If you’re up for something weird this Halloween, check this out! My favourite track was probably ‘Third Eye Blind’!
Klogr: FRACTURED REALITIES
The Italian alt-metal band’s first album in seven years promises to be a good one, and really doesn’t disappoint! It’s less of a spooky-based release than the others on this list, but the fact that it came out today instead of tomorrow earns it a spot on here. And let’s be honest, all metal is spooky really, right?
Right from the offset the band show they have not lost a beat in their gap between releases, ‘Early Wounds’ setting the tone perfectly for the rest of the album. It’s chunky, almost having an industrial edge to it, while also keeping plenty of melody and awesome riffing. The alt side of it is very well described too, as it does have elements of early 2000s radio rock to it that I LOVE (think Burn Halo and Rev Theory). Tracks like ‘Gravity of Fear’, ‘Face the Unknown’ and just-begging-to-be-a-radio-hit ‘Unspoken Words’ are personal highlights, but there really isn’t a bad song on the whole album! My only complaint of the album is that it’s over so fast! Sure, it’s 38-minutes, but I read the band boarder on prog and didn’t get much of that on this album, I feel. I’d have loved a longer, more epic track or two. But still, it’s a damn solid, concise album that I really can’t seriously complain about!
Foul Body Autopsy: The Discovery of Witches
This duo of melodic death metal tracks really pack a punch, considering the release is barely over five minutes in length. It’s a frontal-assault of heaviness from beginning to end, packed full of some amazing riffing and screams. Tom Reynolds is clearly an incredibly talented songwriter and player, and has crafted something very fitting for the end of October. This is an absolute must for any death metal fans out there, as both tracks are awesome!
Serpent Fire: Pathways
More melodeath, this time the debut EP from this awesome band. Honestly, I really enjoyed it, too! The synths added so much to the sound in such a great way, almost giving it early Cradle of Filth vibes at times. It’s just three damn good heavy tracks, the emphasis on synth really setting them apart from the rest of the pack. It’s another perfect release for the time of year, and a fantastic way to debut as a band. They clearly have a very bright future in the genre, and if they keep up like this the sky is very much the limit!