The Weekly Injection: New Releases From THE HALO EFFECT, SPOCK'S BEARD & More Out This Week 11/21

This week's new heavy metal releases include Italian stoner riffs, Swedish melodic death metal covers, and more! To the metals…

Depravity – Bestial Possession

Genre: Death metal
Origin: Perth, Western Australia
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records

Buy now from Bandcamp

Starting this week off with some ripping death metal from Australia. The band's first album in five years is a heavy one that sounds like the album cover looks. There was just a knock at my door and I'm pretty sure it's the… fish(?) from the cover here to squeeze my head. So listen with caution.

Dune Aurora – Ice Age Desert

Genre: Stoner rock/metal
Origin: Turin, Italy
Label: Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records

Buy now on Bandcamp

Next up is straight-up riffage. This Italian trio hit like an Orange Goblin or a Red Fang but with vocal harmonies that add bit of beauty and a haunted vibe to the tracks. Super cool record.

The Halo Effect – We Are Shadows

Genre: Melodic death metal
Origin: Gothenburg, Sweden
Label: Nuclear Blast

Buy now on Nuclear Blast

Even though they released a full record back in January, The Halo Effect guys are already back because they never sleep. This is an EP of five songs originally by folks like Danzig, WASP, Phenomena and more. The melodic death metal approach is a little jarring on some of these, but in a good way.

The Pretty Wild – zero.point.genesis

Genre: Metalcore/nu metal
Origin: Las Vegas, Nevada
Label: Sumerian

Buy now on from Sumerian

I fucking love how there seems to be a wave of bands that just forego genre walls in a really interesting way. The Pretty Wild have have bits that remind me of Poppy or The Nova Twins, but then they lean into nu metal and metalcore in ways those two acts don't. This is a strong debut and I feel like we'll be hearing this name a lot soon enough.

Spock's Beard – The Archaeoptimist

Genre: Progressive rock
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Madfish Records

Buy now on Bandcamp

Now here's one from the old prog dogs (like me). Album number fourteen is Spock's Beard's first in seven years and is a classic progressive rock adventure. This is their first with Nick Potters on drums the dude is a beast.

Stryper – The Greatest Gift Of All

Genre: Christmas/glam rock
Origin: Orange County, California
Label: Frontiers Music s.r.l.

Buy now on Amazon

It really seems like a Christmas album from Stryper would have happened like forty years ago, but this is their first one. They're taking on all the hits like "Winter Wonderland," "Little Drummer Boy," and "Silent Night." No "All I Want For Christmas is You" or "Last Christmas" though. Maybe on the next one fellas?

Also dropping this week…

• Aerosmith + Yungblud – One More Time (Capitol) – Rock
• Airbag – Dysphoria (Live In The Netherlands) (Karisma Records) – Progressive rock
• Aittala – Ill-Gotten Gains (Exitus Stratagem Records) – Sludge/progressive doom
• AngelMaker – This Used To Be Heaven (Self-released) – Deathcore
• Annisokay – Abyss – The Final Chapter (Arising Empire) – Metalcore
• Beast Eagle – Sorceress (Golden Robot Records) – Stoner metal
• Bicycle Inn – Long In The Tooth (Self-released) – Emo
• Bloodbound – Field Of Swords (Napalm) – Power/heavy metal
• Born From Pain – Siege Mentality (Self-released) – Hardcore
• Boys Life – Ordinary Wars (Spartan Records) – Indie rock
• Civil Service – Dark /// (A Cheery Wave / Ripcord Records) – Post-rock
• Danko Jones – Leo Rising (Perception) – Rock/blues
• Darktribe – Forgotten Reveries (Scarlet Records) – Progressive metal
• Dead Head – Repression Tank (Hammerheart Records) – Death metal/thrash
• Def Leppard – Diamond Star Halo: Live From Sheffield (Mercury) – Rock/glam
• Deficit – Deathstyle (Self-released) – Nu metal/hardcore
• Drugoth – The Indomitable Spirit of Merciless Vengeance (Self-released) Black metal/punk
• El Muerto – Lost And Amsterdamned (Self-released) – Death/black metal
• Electric Boys – Shady Side Of Town (Mighty) – Groove rock
• ExitWounds – An Offering To Tragedy (Seek & Strike) – Metalcore
• Flesher – Gore On Gore (Maggot Stomp) – Death metal
• Frozen Land – Icemelter (Massacre) – Power meral
• Gasket – Gasket (Blue Grape Music) – Punk/hardcore
• Gloombound – Dreaming Delusion (Gruesome Records) – Death metal/doom
• Human – Concetto Transeunte (Self-released) – Technical death metal
• In Virtue – Age Of Legends (Self-released) – Melodic metal
• Karu – Perdition (Rockshots Records) – Symphonic death metal
• Kill Ritual – In My Head (Massacre) – Thrash
• The Last Sound Revelation – The Proximity Effect (Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records) – Post-metal
• Maha Sohona – A Dark Place (Bonebag Records) – Progressive metal/grunge
• Monachopsis – The Carcass Choir (Self-released) – Technical/melodic death metal
• Morbikon – Lost Within The Astral Crypts (Tankcrimes) – Black metal/thrash
• Nemorous – What Remains When Hope Has Failed (Bindrune Recordings) – Atmospheric black metal
• Númenor – Runes of Power (Elevate Records) – Power metal
• Old Night – Mediterranean Melancholy (Meuse Music Records) – Melodic doom
• Olde Throne – Megalith (Avantgarde Music) Black metal
• Orodruin / Iron Void – Altar Of Worship (Nameless Grave Records) – Doom
• Outlying – Oblivisci (Self-released) – Melodic death metal/thrash
• Cassidy Paris – Bittersweet (Frontiers) – Glam rock
• pulses. – pulses. pack, vol. 1 (Oh Word? Records) – Post-hardcore
• Rot Fester – Death Row (Death metal) – Death metal
• Sacred Leather – Keep The Fire Burning (King Volume Records) – Heavy metal/thrash
• Shores Of Null / Convocation – Latitudes Of Sorrow (Everlasting Spew Records) – Doom/gothic metal
• Sainted Sinners – High On Fire (ROAR) – Hard rock
• Slaughterday – Terrified (Testimony Records) – Death metal
• Sortilège – Le Poids De L'Âme (Verycords) Heavy metal
• South Arcade – Play! (LAB) – Alternative rock
• Spotlights – Rarities (Ipecac) – Post-metal
• Stone Nomads – Empires Of Stone (Ripple) – Stoner/doom
• Temple Of Katharsis – Worshipers Of The Ancient Necromancy (Theogonia) – Black metal
• Terror Corpse – Ash Eclipses Flesh (Dark Descent) – Death metal/grindcore
• Treat – The Wild Card (Frontiers) – Hard rock/AOR
• Turbo Lovers – Working Blue (Self-released) – Rock
• Weft – The Splintered Oar (Bindrune) – Black metal