El Goro gets in on the action this time, reviewing Clutch's newest album. Meanwhile, SonOfOdin listens to the newest albums from the multi-genre Eluveitie and the blasphemous V.R.P.I.

Albums:

Eluveitie : Origins (2014)

Eluveitie is a Swiss band that plays a hybrid of Gothenburg-influenced melodic death metal and folk metal. Employing traditional instruments and the occasional clean female vocals, they have carved a rather unique musical niche for themselves over the years.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • Spotify

Clutch : Earth Rocker (2014)

Clutch is a hard rock/groove metal band from Frederick, Maryland. The band formed in 1990 and has maintained a fairly stable line-up. Clutch employs a lot of blues influence into their sound and writes songs geared for a concert environment.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • Spotify

V.R.P.I. : Vexilla Regis Prodeunt Inferni (2014)

V.R.P.I. is a Mexican death metal band featuring current and former members of Necroccultus, Sargatanas, Ominous Crucifix, Supplicium and Leper Messiah. Their lyrics are Satanic in nature and the music calls back to mid-1990s Scandinavian death metal.

Listen: Bandcamp • YouTube   Buy Album: Label   Info: Facebook

El Goro and SonOfOdin mix it up once again this month. In new releases, it's the progressive stylings of Mastodon and the blackened death assault of King of Asgard. Things get blacker in the indie segment with Martyrs, and the Metal Valhalla takes on a shade of Deep Purple.

Links From the Show:

* Milkor's Heavy Metal Podcast

* Louder Than Life Festival (Louisville, KY / October 4–5, 2014)

* Metal: A Headbanger's Journey

* Global Metal

New Releases:

Mastodon : Once More 'Round the Sun (2014)

Mastodon started out in the sludge subgenre, but quickly moved in a more progressive direction throughout each subsequent album, sometimes to critical acclaim and other times derision for deviating too much from their original sound.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • Rakuten • Barnes & Noble • Spotify

King of Asgard : Karg (2014)

After Mithotyn dissolved in 1999, two of the members formed Falconer while the others played in various bands before reuniting in 2008 to form King of Asgard and return to their Viking metal roots.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • Rakuten • Barnes & Noble • Spotify

Local/Indie Band:

Martyrs : Demo 2014 (2014)

Martyrs is a two-person band from Norway that plays in a progressive blackened metal style.

Get This Album: Bandcamp     Info:

Yet another SonOfOdin solo effort, he checks out Judas Priest's newest album and finds an overlooked indie submission with I Die You're Dead.

Albums:

Judas Priest : Redeemer of Souls (2014)

Formed in the late 1960s, Judas Priest has been one of the most influential metal bands of all time, especially in the power and thrash subgenres. While the band initially called it quits after the retirement of founding guitarist K.K. Downing, they recruited Richie Falkner and put out a brand-new album for 2014.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • Spotify

I Die You're Dead : Where the Ocean and Mountains Meet (2013)

The Dutch band initially started as a joke in December 2012, but eventually grew into a serious five-piece playing in the metalcore/deathcore style.

Get this album: Mediafire     Info: Facebook • Bandcamp

El Goro and SonOfOdin check out Arch Enemy's new lineup as well as Ice-T's recurring foray into metal, Body Count. Then it's time for some Danish crust/hardcore with Parasight. Finally, Entombed enters the Valhalla with their 2001 album.

New Releases:

Arch Enemy : War Eternal (2014)

Sweden's Arch Enemy has become one of the leading bands in the melodic death metal subgenre, primarily due to former frontwoman, Angela Gossow. Angela and founding guitarist Christopher Amott have left the band since their last album, leaving big shoes to fill for new vocalist Alissa White-Gluz and guitarist Nick Cordle.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • Rakuten.com • Barnes & Noble • Spotify

Body Count : Manslaughter (2014)

When rapper Ice-T got a hankering for metal back in the early 1990s, he hooked up with guitarist Ernie C. and formed Body Count, a rap/thrash hybrid who created waves with their first album Cop Killer (later retitled to Body Count). Twelve years later, Ice-T has the metal bug biting at him again.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • Rakuten.com • Barnes & Noble • Spotify

Local/Indie Band:

Parasight : Munden Fuld Af Løgn/Lommen Fuld Af Profit (2014)

Parasight is a Danish band who plays in the hardcore/crust punk style. They create some interesting sounds with a vocal style landing somewhere between Sick of It All and From Ashes Rise.

Get this album: Bandcamp     Info: Facebook • WWW

Heavy Metal Valhalla:

Entombed : Morning Sta...

SonOfOdin flies solo and listens to Darkest Era's sophomore album, Severance, and Christopher Lee's newest EP, Metal Knight.

Albums:

Darkest Era : Severance (2014)

Hailing from Belfast, Ireland, the band began intermingling the guitar-driven sounds of Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden with Celtic folk melodies and putting them together to create a genre-defying brand of epic metal.

Get this album: Bandcamp • Amazon.com • CD Universe

Christopher Lee : Metal Knight (2014)

A veritable legend of stage and screen, Sir Christopher Lee has dallied in music throughout the years. For his 92nd birthday, he released this EP of metal covers of opera and musical numbers.

Get this album: Amazon.com • iTunes • Spotify

El Goro and SonOfOdin serve up another bonus-sized episode this month starting out with Sabaton's latest album, following it up with the supergroup Killer Be Killed and the newest incarnation of Prong. They return to the Land Down Under with Australia's Gorefield. Finally, as a salute to the late Dave Brockie, the mighty GWAR burst forth into the Valhalla.

New Releases:

Sabaton : Heroes (2014)

Swedish power metal band Sabaton writes songs based on war and historical battles. After 2012's critically-acclaimed album, Carolus Rex was finished, four members left the band to form Civil War, forcing vocalist Joakim Brodén and bassist Pär Sundström to rebuild the band almost from scratch.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • DeepDiscount.com • Barnes & Noble • Spotify

Killer Be Killed : Killer Be Killed (2014)

Killer Be Killed is a "supergroup" consisting of The Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato, Soulfly/ex-Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, Mastodon bassist and co-vocalist Troy Sanders, and former The Mars Volta drummer Dave Elitch. Each member brings his own approach to their songs to create a unique-sounding groove/thrash/metalcore hybrid sound.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • DeepDiscount.com • Barnes & Noble • Spotify

Prong : Ruining Lives (2014)

Prong formed initially in 1986 and finally hit big with their 1994 release, Cleansing. They disbanded, however, one album later in 1997. After a stint with Ministry, Tommy Victor reformed the group in 2002 with a new band and musical direction.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe •

El Goro and SonOfOdin keep it in the USA this episode. Steel Panther attempts to relive the glory days of glam, while Black Label Society keeps it serious with their brand of Southern groove metal. The Minnesotan quartet of Noble Beast injects a healthy dose of power metal into the indie segment, and then things devolve completely when S.O.D. crash the Valhalla.

New Releases:

Steel Panther : All You Can Eat (2014)

Steel Panther is mostly known for their profane and humorous lyrics as well as their exaggerated on-stage personae that reimagine and parody the glam metal scene of the 1980s.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • Overstock.com • Barnes & Noble

Black Label Society : Catacombs of the Black Vatican (2014)

Black Label Society is a band from Los Angeles, California formed by former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde. The band plays a hybrid of classic heavy metal with Southern blues rock.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • Overstock.com • Barnes & Noble

Local/Indie Band:

Noble Beast : Noble Beast (2014)

Noble Beast are a power metal quartet hailing from St. Paul, Minnesota. Pulling inspiration from a variety of sources, their music treads the line between traditional power metal and speed metal, with dips into thrash and NWOBHM.

Get this album: Bandcamp     Info: Facebook • SoundCloud

Heavy Metal Valhalla:

Stormtroopers of Death : Speak English or Die (1985)

Scott Ian wanted to form a hardcore band based on a character he drew, called "Sargent D". Recruiting current and former Anthrax members and the Psychos bassist for vocals, their first album,

El Goro and SonOfOdin keep it European this month, checking out new albums from Finland's Sonata Artica and Germany's Stormwarrior. Then they listen to some instrumental djent/prog from England's Miroist, and SonOfOdin introduces El Goro to funeral doom with the only album from Finland's Thergothon.

New Releases:

Sonata Arctica : Pariah's Child (2014)

Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band with songs centering around fantasy and philosophical themes. Their music often incorporates elements of symphonic and progressive metal as well as lots of vocal harmonization.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • DeepDiscount.com • Barnes & Noble

Stormwarrior : Thunder & Steele (2014)

Stormwarrior is a band from Germany drawing a lot of influence from 1980s heavy metal, especially bands like Helloween and Running Wild. Their lyrics revolve around Scando-Germanic myth and folklore, making them essentially a Viking speed metal band.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • DeepDiscount.com • Barnes & Noble

Local/Indie Band:

Miroist : Curve (2014)

Miroist is an English instrumental project meshing the intense grooves of djent and progressive metal with the deep ambient tones of post-metal and electronica.

Get this album: Bandcamp     Info: Facebook • SoundCloud

Heavy Metal Valhalla:

Thergothon : Stream From The Heavens (1994)

Finland's Thergothon were one of the pioneers of the funeral doom subgenre, despite disbanding two years before the release of their only album. Their songs are extremely slow and employ heavy guitar riffs, extremely deep death grunts, and sparse lead guitar melodies.

Get this album:

El Goro and SonOfOdin explore the question of "Is this metal?" this month, first with two of the stranger new releases: the a capella stylings of Germany's Van Canto and Japan's J-pop/metal hybrid Babymetal. Then it's back to North America to check out the gothic stylings of Canada's Unveil and the blues-y crooning of Glenn Danzig's second solo album.

New Releases:

Van Canto : Dawn of the Brave (2014)

Van Canto is a German a cappella ensemble who perform a hybrid of classic, power, and symphonic metal. Two of the five singers perform the lead vocals, three imitate the guitars and the bass, and one actual drummer provides the percussion.

Get this album: Amazon.com • CD Universe • DeepDiscount.com • Barnes & Noble

Babymetal : Babymetal (2014)

What happens when you combine metalcore with Japanese idol pop? You end up with Babymetal, a fusion of metal and idol music. Despite the underage nature of the singers, the name actually refers to this being a newborn musical style, rather than aimed at children.

Get this album: Amazon.com • eBay

Local/Indie Band:

Unveil : Codex Noctem (2013)

Formed in 2004, Unveil is a gothic metal band from Quebec, Canada. Originally an all-male band, Unveil performed at a fundraiser with a local female folk-rock singer who quickly became a full-time member. Their first EP is a collection of songs inspired by vampires, solitude, and the secrets of the night.

Get this album: Bandcamp • Amazon.com • CD Baby     Info: Facebook • ReverbNation

Heavy Metal Valhalla:

Danzig : Danzig II: Lucifuge (1990)

When Glenn Danzig left the Misfits, he formed the group Samhain to explore a darker, blues-influenced form of heavy metal. After a few linup changes, Danzig changed the group's name to his own surna...