Photo by Alessandro Solca

BODY COUNT - MERCILESS (Century Media Records)

Back with an album that meets, then exceeds the bar set with their lauded 2020 Carnivore showing, Body County has resurfaced with a record that emphasizes their status as true OGs in heavy music. Produced by Will Putney and bolstered by contributions from David Gilmour, Max Cavalera, Corpsegrinder, Joe Badolato of Fit For An Autopsy and vocalist Howard Jones, the firepower in terms of talent matches the intensity of the tracks with each entry seemingly tailor made for every guest. Hefty compositions and sharp commentary from the legendary Ice-T make for an album that lives up to it's title. 

KRUELTY - PROFANE USURPATION (Closed Casket Activities)

Tokyo aggressors Kruelty have delivered their latest EP via Closed Casket Activities. The four-track presentation in Profane Usurpation follows the traction earned from the band's 2023 EP, Untopia delivered via Profound Lore. Joining forces again with longtime friend and collaborator Taylor Young, who has worked with the band since their 2020 effort, A Dying Truth, the tandem curate a compelling mesh of punk, hardcore, grind and death metal that lands with as much power as it does precision - asserting Kruelty's rising rank in the space of heavy music. 

DEFEATED SANITY - CHRONICLES OF LUNACY (Season of Mist)

Veteran extreme metal practitioners Defeated Sanity have commenced their debut campaign with Season of Mist, unleashing their seventh studio album, Chronicles of Lunacy. The album serves as the first showing in four years, following the acclaim of the band's 2020 LP, The Sanguinary Impetus. Bridging modern precision and production polish with timeless metallic chaos, the entirety of the album underscores the band's punishing pedigree and their commitment to pushing their performative limits. Working with venerated producer Colin Marston, Chronicles of Lunacy serves as a return to form for the longtime brutalizers - revisiting the intensity and intricacy that first earned the band widespread acclaim.

MARILYN MANSON - ONE ASSASSINATION UNDER GOD - CHAPTER 1 (Nuclear Blast)

Marking Manson's first full length showing since his acclaimed 2020 release, We Are Chaos, the polarizing figure continues to understand the how to agitate with art. Flanked by drummer Gil Sharone, bassist Piggy D., and the tandem of Tyler Bates and Reba Myers of Code Orange on guitars, Manson's latest iteration is one that doesn't rely on hostility on the track, but rather, creates a eerie, consuming moodiness that haunts as effectively as it hits. Anchored by the inflammatory singles "Raise the Red Flag" and "As Sick As the Secrets Within" and "Sacrilegious", Manson's 12th studio album serves well in diversifying an already iconic catalog. 

OPETH - THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT (Reigning Phoenix)

Swedish prog titans Opeth have confirmed the release of their 14th full length studio album, The Last Will & Testament. Among the band's most ambitious creative efforts to date, the album is a narrative-driven, Post World War I concept opus. Drafting a layered story of a wealthy, conservative patriarch whose last will and testament also comes with deep-seeded family secrets, the plot is as intricate as the songs, asserting Opeth's breadth as musicians and storytellers. Along with a elaborate cast of characters, the story arc is one that unfolds throughout the course of the album's eight epic songs - executed with elite level skill and plenty of style to boot.