Let’s get one thing straight: Insomnium is one of the most universally agreed upon melo death bands. Across their discography, Insomnium have blended traditional melo death conventions with melancholic doom metal atmospheres and furious, frostbitten black metal passages, crafting their own sound right from their early demos back in the late 90’s. Everything the band has explored in their discography seems to accumulate with Winter’s Gate, the band’s most ambitious release thus far, and one that already stands out in not just among their best work, but the greater, ever-expanding genre they’re rooted in.  

In actuality, who’s making worthwhile music seventeen albums into their career? Make that twenty-two if you count the albums with Strapping Young Lad, Devin Townsend has essentially done it all since fronting Steve Vai’s band back in 1994. With so much musical output, however, any other artist would normally burn themselves out of originality after a while. Regardless of your opinion on Townsend, one can’t lie that nearly every release is its own entity and sounds different than the rest. Transcendence is no exception to that. Kind of.  

Originality isn’t just rooted in some new sound an artist creates. Oftentimes, the simplest change in instrumentation is enough to make a band with a familiar sound become fresh to the listener of a genre that’s been long played out and often mimicked countless times. Take Beyond Creation, for example: not only is their songwriting tight, but that emphasis on a fretless bass and instrumental sections gave tech death the kick in the teeth it needed.  

I spoke to my friend recently about the state of music being released this year and expressed some concern: I don’t actually love anything that has come out so far. Make no mistake, 2016 is a great year overall and everything has generally been really, really good. My reviews say enough. Yet I still haven’t found an album I’ve listened to and fallen for it. By this point last year, I had amassed enough albums that I had come to love, and it was apparent I’d have plenty to pick from at the end of the year. Almost all of my favorite bands have released albums this year, but aside from the Death Fortress album, I’ve been having more and more difficulty finding anything that I’ve truly loved.  

When you forget about sub-genres, there’s actually two kinds of successful musical acts in the world. Either an artist manages to constantly push their sound and develop as they go, which hopefully means they’re getting better, as well. The other group consists of the ones with a winning formula, in which they know how to make their fans happy and keep drawing in new ones to keep ascending in fame. Either way, artists who have found success know which of the two categories they fall into, and as such they will thrive off of it so long as they are doing well for themselves.  

There comes a point every year where an album is released and instantly the metal community (somehow) all agrees that it is, in fact, good. Normally, come December, this album gets thrown onto everyone’s Best Of lists, and we see websites and magazines give the band awards for such a crowning achievement. As such, this year it is Inter Arma who are falling into that category with Paradise Gallows, and immediately it’s realizable that this album is going to be a wild ride from start to finish, both critically and musically.  

Today, Marvel Comics continues to present this year’s breakout Marvel Super Hero – the Black Panther – through a monthly video series that continues to link the world of comics and hip-hop blending animated comics along with commentary from Black Panther writer, Ta-Nehisi Coates. Additionally, “Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet – Part Two” is launching the brand new track, “Beast With It” by Prodigy of Mobb Deep, featuring Mark the Beast.  

The Melvins, who wrapped up their latest European tour over the weekend, debut a video for “Hideous Woman” (https://youtu.be/UGhK4m-frkQ) from their recently released album, Basses Loaded (Ipecac Recordings).  

Progressive Metallers THIRD ION (featuring former members of THE DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND, INTO ETERNITY, and ANNIHILATOR) have premiered a new song from forthcoming sophomore album Biolith.  

With a name like Gojira, you need to be capable of owning up to the 100-meter creature you take inspiration from. Since their inception in 1996 as Godzilla, and changing their name to Gojira in 2001, the French progressive death metal band has gone on to become a major, heavy-hitting band on the forefront of the scene. From Mars to Sirius, the band’s 2005 concept album, helped put their name on the map of the genre, whereas The Way of All Flesh in 2008 helped them reach a wider audience, resulting in 2012’s L’Enfant sauvage cementing them as juggernauts, Gojira’s career has been nothing short of amazing to watch rise.  

Sweden’s macho-camouflage wearing power metal act, Sabaton, revealed a few weeks ago that  a new album was on the way. The tank that never stops, Sabaton are set to release The Lost Battalion on August 19th of this year, and have just released a slew of information in regards to this forthcoming release.  

It has been a rollercoaster the past fews years, as Volbeat have gone from being that wildcard opening band for Metallica to being a juggernaut in the metal and rock scenes across the world. By the time 2013’s Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies came out, Volbeat had already been incredibly successful, and by adding Anthrax’s Rob Caggiano and having King Diamond guest on one of their songs, there seemed to be nothing that was capable of stopping this band from taking off.