That's Not Metal

Outbreak returns in 2025 in a different guise, with a new site in London for a different kind of mass hardcore experience with sets from Turnstile, Sunny Day Real Estate, Speed, Model/Actriz, plus bonus appearances from Deafheaven and God's Hate.Releases:Cryptopsy - An Insatiable ViolenceHelms Deep - Chasing the DragonHaggus - Destination ExtinctionWitherer - Shadow Without a HorizonUpon Stone - End Time LightningValdrin - Apex ViolatorDeadguy - Near-Death Travel ServicesHeaven Shall Burn - HeimatSodom - The ArsonistBlood Vulture - Die CloseJohan Langquist - The Castle - Johan Langquist - The CastleKing Witch - IIIFer de Lance - Fires on the MountainsideKilling of a Sacred Deer - A Visage of a Mangled BodyGreet Death - Die In LoveAll Men Unto Me - RequiemInhuman Condition - Mind TrapLord Belial - Unholy TrinityShining - Divided You'll Stand and United You'll FallCosmic Joke - Forced PerspectiveBotch - 061524Bruce Springsteen - Tracks II: The Lost Albums

A glut of huge hardcore storms TNM reviews with albums from Turnstile, Malevolence, Stray from the Path, Kaonashi, Deadguy (& Hexvessel, not very hardcore), and Nine Inch Nails kick off their incredible Peel It Back arena production.Turnstile 34:18Malevolence 1:18:45Stray from the Path 1:39:00Kaonashi 1:57:44Deadguy 2:18:16Hexvessel 2:35:50

TNM returns from a week off with a cross continent double fest report as we hit up Yorkshire's Fortress and Poland's Mystic Festival, seeing every band under the sun from Agalloch to Ulcerate, W.A.S.P. to King Diamond, Bullet to Beherit.Releases:Turnstile - Never EnoughVolbeat - God of Angels TrustKaonashi - I Want to Go HomeOrthodox - A Door Left OpenView From the Soyuz - UbiquitousKatatonia - Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking StateKing Parrot - A Young Persons Guide ToGruesome - Silent EchoesGaahl's Wyrd - Braiding the StoriesAutumn Nostalgie - MetanoiaAustere - The Stillness of DissolutionDimscûa - Dust EaterBuckcherry - Roar Like ThunderFallujah - XenotaphHexvessel - NocturneDolven - In My Grave…Silenceletlive. - The Blackest Beautiful RevisitedSigh - I Saw the World's End - Hangman's Hymn MMXXVThe Cure - Mixes of a Lost WorldQueens of the Stone Age - Alive in the CatacombsMetallica - Load (Remastered)

A bumper Album Club dissection as Mötley Crüe go horribly wrong on Generation Swine. Crossfaith's electronicore captures a moment on Zion, Have Heart's melodic hardcore landmark Songs to Scream at the Sun, and Suffocation invent/perfect brutal death metal with Effigy of the Forgotten. Brandon. We love you.This episode was originally published May 2024 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

Sam is lured back to the UK's pop punk home for Slam Dunk 2025 and has to think long and hard about Electric Callboy, and we doff our caps to Svalbard's decision to drop the curtain on a decade plus career as one of the UK's favourite heavy bands.Releases:Skunk Anansie - The Painful TruthMidnight - Steel, Rust and DisgustThus Spoke Zarathustra - I'm Done With Self Care, It's Time for Others' HarmHome Is Where - Hunting SeasonWitchcraft - IdagWitchrot - Soul CellarYear of No Light - Les Maitres FousHellcrash - Inferno CrematorioSexmag - SexorczymChepang - JhyappaOssuary - Abhorrent Worship…And Oceans - The Regeneration ItineraryMagus Lord - In the Company of ChampionsHouse of Protection - Outrun You AllMSPAINT - No SeparationCrowquill - CrowquillSwans - BirthingGarbage - Let All That We Imagine Be the LightStray from the Path - ClockworkedDesolated - Finding PeaceThe Haunted - Songs of Last ResortRivers of Nihil - Rivers of NihilVildhjarta - Där skogen sjunger under evighetens granarKUSANAGI - ParamnesiaPlanning for Burial - It's Closeness, It's EasyCwfen - SorrowsGrin - Acid GodsColtsblood - Obscured Into Nebulous DuskTrivax - The Great SatanSvartsyn - Vortex of the DestroyerObsidian Tongue - Eclipsing Worlds of ScornLord Vigo - Walk the ShadowsVader - HumanihilityWormrot - TNT

In a month that saw two no. 1 metal albums, we go through 2025's biggest reviews gauntlet with Ghost, Machine Head, Behemoth, PUP, The Callous Daoboys, Model/Actriz, Age of Apocalypse, & Sijjin.Ghost 30:52Machine Head 1:17:32Behemoth 1:42:36PUP 2:06:43The Callous Daoboys 2:21:42Model/Actriz 2:47:50Age of Apocalypse 3:00:55Sijjin 3:14:07

We rummage through the wreckage as Trivium and Bullet for My Valentine's Poisoned Ascendancy tour comes to a sudden stop with fingers generally being pointed at one party, and we ask big questions like: are four-sided longsleeves good?Releases:Bury Tomorrow - Will You Haunt Me, With That Same PatienceCallous Daoboys - I Don't Want to See You in HeavenNovelists - CodaPridian - Venetian DarkHundredth - Faded SplendorArm's Length - There's a Whole World Out ThereDeath Before Dishonor - Nowhere BoundPelican - Flickering ResonanceSteve von Till - Alone in a World of WoundsOndfødt - DimsvallBlood Monolith - The Calling of FireAntropomorphia - Devoid of LightCadaver Shrine - Into the Horrible DepthsDrouth - The Teeth of TimeFull of Hell - Broken Sword, Rotten ShieldYouth Code - Yours, With Malice

TNM's 2025 festival summer begins with Incineration descending upon Camden for extreme metal sets from the likes of Lamp of Murmuur, Blackbraid, Spectral Wound, Blood Incantation debuting Absolute Elsewhere in the UK, & a mountain-moving Celtic Frost performance by Triptykon. Ough.Releases:Sijjin - Helljjin CombatPUP - Who Will Look After The Dogs?Propagandhi - At PeacePress Club - To All The Ones That I LoveBleed - BleedModel/Actriz - PirouetteKnives - GlitterYour Spirit Dies - My Gnawing Pains Will Never RestParadise Slaves - With Hell In His EyesSlung - In WavesSnooze - I Know How You Will DieShearling - Motherfucker, I am Both: “Amen” and “Hallelujah”...Dispyt - Från Melankoli till MeningslöshetHate - Bellum RegiisFroglord - MetamorphosisSleep Token - Even In ArcadiaBehemoth - The Shit ov GodTetrarch - The Ugly Side of MeMcClusky - The World is Still Here and So Are WePeter Murphy - Silver ShadeDeath SS - The EntityGhost Bath - Rose Thorn NecklaceSvarta Havet - Månen ska lysa din vägJade - Mysteries of a Flowery DreamCandlemass - Black StarHarms Way - Other World

On the single biggest release week of the year we head down to Ghost kicking off the Skeletour here in the UK, Charli XCX officially declares it a Turnstile Summer, the original Alice Cooper band reunites after 52 years, and there's important updates about last week's Weezer movie announcement.Releases:Superheaven - SuperheavenMelvins - ThunderballLik - NecroAncient Death - Ego DissolutionTribunal - In Penitence and RuinHeaven's Gate - Tales from a Blistering ParadiseZeicrydeus - La Grande HeresieUngraven - Hollows Made Homes In Their Sunken CheeksXweaponX - Weapon X Demo 2Employed to Serve - Fallen StarInhuman Nature - Greater Than DeathGhost - SkeletáMachine Head - UnatonedLandmvrks - The Darkest Place I've Ever BeenCaliban - Back From HellWednesday 13 - Mid Death CrisisH.E.A.T. - Welcome to the FutureHeart Attack Man - Joyride the Pale HorseEluveitie - AnvPagan Altar - Never Quite DeadConan - Violence DimensionSumac / Moor Mother - The FilmBRUIT < - The Age of EphemeralityCancer - Inverted WorldCaustic Wound - Grinding Mechanism of TormentKardashev - AluneaPhantom - Tyrants of WrathVenator - PsychodromeHyena - About Rock and RollBig Boy - Love SongsProfanatica - Wreathed In Dead AngelsDavid Eugene Edwards & Al Cisneros - Pillar of Fire/CapernaumCirith Ungol - Live at the Roxy

Reviews really hot up with some of the most hyped and acclaimed records of the year, some experiments from familiar faces, and some real underground crushers with Deafheaven, Scowl, Employed to Serve, Inhuman Nature, Messa, & Final Dose.Deafheaven 25:41Scowl 57:31Employed to Serve 1:20:33Inhuman Nature 1:43:08Messa 1:52:32Final Dose 2:07:53

We cover some of the biggest, baddest, craziest Album Clubs there is: Thin Lizzy go studs and leather on Thunder and Lightning, Wintersun undergo an epic, farcical saga to create Time I, Palm Reader's raise UK hardcore's ambition on Beside the Ones We Love, and Agoraphobic Nosebleed's hellish 99 song chemical digi-grind Altered States of America.This episode was originally published March 2024 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

The time comes to hold a funeral for one of our podcast's greatest villains You Me At Six as their reign of tyranny comes to an end assessing their end and legacy, Turnstile hit us with their first track of Never Enough, a bumper questions section talking the best metal solo artists and two album wonders, and announcing a particularly crunchy band special.Releases:Epica - AspiralCabal - Everything RotsTeen Mortgage - Devil Ultrasonic DreamMessa - The SpinIdle Heirs - Life is ViolenceBenthos - From NothingIn the Woods… - OtraMalphas - ExtinctFinal Dose - Under the Eternal ShadowPutrid Offal - Obliterated LifeRyoji Shinomoto - Children of BushidoThe Lord Weird Slough Feg - Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral GladesCBZK - DybuctwoAngell - Veiled by Woe

Linkin Park release a new single but downgrade shows, Evanescence release 2025's hottest AMV, Midnight write an anthem for Cleveland Metal, and Danzig's in hot water for far right dogwhistles on merch.Releases:Scowl - Are We All AngelsBleed From Within - ZenithThornhill - BodiesPigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Death HilariousBenediction - Ravage of EmpiresTómarúm - Beyond Obsidian EuphoriaAllegaeon - The Ossuary LensRotting Christ - 35 Years of Evil Existence - Live in LycabettusBalmora - PrologueDynamite - Settle the ScoreNot Without Punishment - Blood Runs Cold

Sam and Perran sit down to talk about Knocked Loose's recent massive headline tour in the UK bringing Basement, Harms Way, & Pest Control into massive Academy venues, as well as Powerwolf announcing a UK arena and Download booking the Vengaboys, and a mega end of month release round-up.Releases:Ophicvs - Steel BeastCradle of Filth - The Screaming of the ValkyriesBloodywood - Nu DelhiLordi - Limited DeaditionSecret Cutter - ///Stormo - Tagli/TaleeUrsa - Call of the InfiniteNoisepicker - The Earth Will Swallow the SunGates to Hell - Death Comes to AllCorpus Offal - Corpus OffalRancid Cadaver - Mortality DeniedRothadás - Töviskert… a kísértés örök érzete… lidércharangIron Form - Cut From Cold Bloodanvilchandelier - anvilchandelierheavenscoldhands - heavenscoldhandsDeafheaven - Lonely People With PowerUnderoath - The Place After This OneMemphis May Fire - ShapeshifterArch Enemy - Blood DynastyAlien Weaponry - Te RāThe Darkness - Dreams On ToastBackxwash - Only Dust RemainsJivebomb - EtherealDoomsday - Never Known PeaceThe Warriors - Burn Yourself AliveForlorn - AetherSavage Master - Dark & DangerousLady Beast - The Inner AlchemistSeven Sisters - Shadow of a Fallen Star Pt.2Cult of Fire - The One, Who is Made of SmokeTeitanblood - From the Visceral AbyssLucifer's Child - The IlluminantUrn - Demon SteelAmenra - De Toorn / With Fang and ClawWallows - MoreSatsuma - this is my outside voiceSilent Planet / Invent Animate - Bloom In Heaven

In our new reviews show we stop to take stock of the state of some of our most popular heavy bands with Architects, Spiritbox, & A Day to Remember, as well as Whitechapel, Spiritworld, Warbringer, Imperial Triumphant, & Rwake. More hardcore bands imploding over idiocy too.Architects 27:10Spiritbox 1:05:56A Day to Remember 1:30:17Whitechapel 1:46:14Spiritworld 2:08:37Warbringer 2:25:29Imperial Triumphant 2:39:08Rwake 3:03:49

Napalm Death's 2025 edition of the Campaign for Musical Destruction (Bollocks) rolls around, Tool are being sued by their fans over setlist controversy, and we give our take on the ground-shaking moment when a member of Mastodon departs the band.Releases:Coheed and Cambria - Vaxis - Act III: The Father of Make BelieveSteven Wilson - The Overviewclipping. - Dead Channel SkyWarbringer - Wrath and RuinNite - Cult of the Serpent SunRwake - The Return of MagicThe Body / Intensive Care - Was I Good Enough?Wombbath - Beyond the AbyssWarhammer - Total ManiacRed Fang - Deep CutsEarth Crisis / Integrity Split

We really cover ground on this one: prog goes pop on Rush's Power Windows, 2010s Britrock goes horribly wrong when The Blackout Start the Party, American Football reinvent emo on LP1, and black metal's most comforting album in Agalloch's The Mantle.This episode was originally published February 2024 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

Ghost unveil all things Skeletá, Slayer add yet another mega-show onto the UK summer, and Bobby Liebling is being seen by more people than should ever see Bobby Liebling.Releases:Architects - The Sky, The Earth & All BetweenOversize - Vital SignsCloakroom - Last Leg of the Human TableAvantasia - Here Be DragonsDirkschneider - Balls to the Wall ReloadedStress Test - Stress TestHavukruunu - TavastlandGrima - NightsideEffluence - Pianistic DismembermentSleep Paralysis - Sleep ParalysisGrave Infestation - Carnage GathersSepulchral Voice - Crimson Moon EvocationsRitual Ascension - ProfanationScimitar - Scimitarium IHail Conjurer - Order of DisgraceTubal Cain - Slime AbyssSpiritbox - Tsunami SeaWhitechapel - Hymns In DissonanceThe Wildhearts - Satanic Rites of The WildheartsRaging Speedhorn - Night WolfJethro Tull - Curious RuminantDestruction - Birth of MaliceGuiltless - Teeth to SkyIngrown - IdahoStaticlone - Better Living Through Static VisionsThis Gift is a Curse - HeirDawn of Ouroboros - BioluminescenceCryptosis - Celestial DeathWhipstriker - Cry of ExtinctionReconciler - Three SongsRootbrain - Mother TombSunami/Pain of Truth - Coast to Coast SplitDeath Pulsation - Demo

We close out February with reviews of some of our boldest and sloppiest with Killswitch Engage, Bleeding Through, Winona Fighter, Pissgrave, Vacuous, & Gràb, Green Lung & Unto Others' recent Heathen Neverland trip across Europe, and yes, Sam finally reviews a Dream Theater album.Killswitch Engage 40:37Bleeding Through 1:06:01Dream Theater 1:31:51Winona Fighter 1:56:08Pissgrave 2:10:38Vacuous 2:31:42Gràb 2:43:22

There's reports from High Vis and Tribulation both hitting headline tours around the UK, A Day to Remember bring news of their surprise album and its promised big ole volumes, and Parkway Drive stake a claim on the Sydney Opera House.Releases:Killswitch Engage - This ConsequenceSilverstein - AntibloomAnxious - BambiTo Obey a Tyrant - Frigore InferniWren - Black Rain FallsHirax - Faster Than DeathMorax - The AmuletPissgrave - Malignant WorthlessnessGràb - KremessAbduction - ExistentialismusGod Complex - He Watches In SilenceSpy - Seen Enough

letlive. finally break the seal on their UK return dates, Death Grips seem to disband again, and there's questions on the misconceptions that surround some of rock's most underrated, misunderstood bands.Releases:Bleeding Through - NineLacuna Coil - Sleepless EmpireLove is Noise - To live in a different wayWinona Fighter - My Apologies to the ChefThe Nightmares - Fire In HeavenHangman's Chair - SaddictionPothamus - AburMantar - Post Apocalyptic DepressionSavage Lands - Army of the TreesFell Omen - Invaded by a Dark SpiritChurch Tongue - You'll Know It Was MeFinal Resting Place - Bound by AfflictionLacerated - Lacerated

A bumper edition of Hyperblasts sees Trivium & Bullet for My Valentine embark on the Poisoned Ascendancy tour, Cattle Decapitation & Shadow of Intent also co-headline, Gojira win a Grammy, Courtney LaPlante wins the Grammys, and oh yeah Black Sabbath?! Lot to cover in this one.Releases:Dream Theater - ParasomniaJinjer - DuelMarko Hietala - Roses from the DeepMajestica - Power TrainObscura - A SonicationPhrenelith - Ashen Womb16 - Guides for the MisguidedMorast - FentanylSaor - Amidst the RuinsEreb Altor - HälsingemörkerUnreqvited - A Pathway to the Moon

Some of 2025's first heavy hitting singles arrive all at once from Deafheaven, Behemoth, Poison the Well, & also Bring Me the Horizon cover Wonderwall for some reason.Releases:Dax Riggs - 7 Songs for SpidersVukovi - My God Has Got a GunCentury - Sign of the StormAvatarium - Between You, God, The Devil and the DeadNegative 13 - Recover What You CanHarakiri for the Sky - Scorched EarthSunrot - PassagesThe Night Flight Orchestra - Give Us the MoonGrief Ritual - CollapseL.S. Dunes - VioletTayne - LoveGreat American Ghost - Tragedy of the CommonsThe Hellacopters - OverdriverPentagram - Lightning in a BottleJonathan Hultén - Eyes of the Living NightRevenge - Violation.Strife.AbominateScrüda - Fury Among Ruins

Our first TNM reviews of 2025 hit the runway with The Night Flight Orchestra, Wardruna, The Halo Effect, The Great Old Ones, Trauma Bond, & Grief Ritual, and we pay tribute to one of the greatest left-field artists and dreamers of all time David Lynch.The Night Flight Orchestra 45:00Wardruna 1:07:53The Halo Effect 1:28:45The Great Old Ones 1:44:48Trauma Bond 2:00:34Grief Ritual 2:10:30

Album Club returns to start 2024 after a few months away with a bumper episode, setting the record straight on Bring Me the Horizon's Post Human: Survival Horror, destroying orcs with 3 Inches of Blood's Advance and Vanquish, Joyce Manor's micro-classic Never Hungover Again, and Reign Supreme with #WhyNotDyingFetusThis episode was originally published January 2024 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

Hints of a Nine Inch Nails world tour, uncertainty in the SeeYouSpaceCowboy camp, Exodus swap their old singers again, and SpiritWorld go full cowboy.Releases:Eidola - MendGrave Digger - Bone CollectorTokyo Blade - Time is the FireTrauma Bond - Summer Ends. Some Are Long Gone.Sarcator - Swarming Angels & FliesNecrodeath - ArimortisNecromaniac - Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites AbominableOnirophagus - Revelations from the VoidHierarchies - HierarchiesDay By Day - Dust and AshesDark Fortress - Anthems From Beyond the Grave - Live In Europe 2023

We're back for 2025 looking to our hopes and goals for the year ahead, announce our first 2025 special, get a first batch of promising to stupid new singles, and yet another reunion.Releases:Patriarkh - Prophet IljaPaleface Swiss - CursedMutagenic Host - The Diseased MachineEthel Cain - PervertsStick to Your Guns - Keep Planting FlowersLambrini Girls - Who Let The Dogs OutTremonti - The End Will Show Us HowThe Halo Effect - March of the UnheardThe Cimmerian - An Age Undreamed OfHaunted Horses - DwellerEx Deo - Year of the Four EmperorsJota - Haven

For our last show before Christmas we arrive at the TNM Awards for 2024, as we gather to end the year with the successes, stories, downfalls and villain arcs that defined the year in heavy:Most Improved BandSong of the YearWorst Song of the YearHero of the YearVillain of the YearBest New BandBiggest DisappointmentGig of the YearEP of the YearArtwork of the YearMovie of the YearComeback of the YearSurprise of the YearOutstanding AchievementWorst Band of the YearUnsung HeroesStory of the YearBand of the Year

We round off the best rock and metal albums of 2024 with lists from Sam and Mark, plus the all important and really incredibly great this year listener poll from all of you to really see who gets crowned.

The That's Not Metal Albums of the Year for 2024 begins, with Perran and Elliot giving their lists of so much that the best in metal, the underground and beyond had to offer.

Our final reviews bag of 2024 happens to feature the biggest rock comebacks of the year and underground heroes, with Linkin Park, The Cure, Opeth, Better Lovers, Many Eyes, Tribulation & Neon Nightmare getting discussed.Linkin Park 31:45The Cure 1:01:04Opeth 1:25:59Better Lovers 1:49:56Many Eyes 2:09:03Tribulation 2:20:08Neon Nightmare 2:41:53

2025 singles really start coming with Spiritbox, Architects, Killswitch Engage, Machine Head, and Coheed and Cambria, W.A.S.P. go full mental, and we talk the "bad" albums we got into bands on.Releases:Opeth - The Last Will and TestamentBody Count - MercilessKim Deal - Nobody Loves You MoreOcean Grove - OddworldPolar - NovaFellowship - The Skies Above EternityCoilguns - Odd LoveMúr - MúrDefeated Sanity - Chronicles of LunacyGutless - High Impact ViolenceAnte-Inferno - Death's SoliloquyPanzerfaust - The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow ZionKruelty - Profane UsurpationMallavora - EchoesDoro - Rock ‘N' Roll Xmas Party

We hit that point of the year where we have Grammy nominations and Download headliners to either complain about or debunk complaints about, and a mega live review as Sepultura's farewell tour finally arrives on UK shores.Releases:Linkin Park - From ZeroAs I Lay Dying - Through Storms AheadPoppy - Negative SpacesFull of Hell / Andrew Nolan - Scraping the DivinePrimal Code - Opaque FixationThy Catafalque - XII: A Gyönyörü Álmok Ezután JönnekSpider God - Possess the DevilChelsea Wolfe - UnboundLess Than Jake - UnchartedMammoth Grinder - Undying Spectral ResonanceDeadbody / Tribal Gaze - Deadbody / Tribal GazeRefused - The Shape of Punk to Come Obliterated

We once again convene for a review of the UK's biggest underground event at Damnation Festival and witness legendary returns from Dragged Into Sunlight, Nails, Cradle of Filth, Bleeding Through, Inter Arma, and so many other TNM faves absolutely tearing it up.Elliot's audio is beaming in through the internet on this one, but we'll be back sounding proper soon.Releases:Make Them Suffer - Make Them SufferSólstafir - Hin helga kvolState Champs - State ChampsThe Arrival Note - …Home is So Far From HereThe Body - The Crying Out of ThingsThank - I Have A Physical Body That Can Be HarmedKlone - The UnseenMassacre - NecrolutionYoth Iria - Blazing InfernoPaysage d'Hiver - Die BergeCounterparts - Heaven Let Them Die

We convene on Halloween night to talk yet more big reunions at big American rock festivals, the news that Ithaca are calling it a day, and give the definitive answer on whether bands wearing their own shirts is cool or not and whether we're too focused on the size of bands in appreciating their art.Releases:Jerry Cantrell - I Want BloodJapandroids - Fate & AlcoholPinhead Gunpowder - UntGrand Magus - SunravenEnsiferum - Winter StormSwallow the Sun - ShiningHarvestman - Triptych: Part ThreeSerpent Column - Tassel of AresBetter Lovers - Highly IrresponsibleDevin Townsend - PowerNerdPixies - The Night the Zombies CameKids In Glass Houses - Pigs In Glass HousesAmyl and the Sniffers - Cartoon DarknessMeryl Streek - Songs for the DeceasedPom Pom Squad - Mirror Starts Moving Without MeFit for an Autopsy - The Nothing That IsPøltergeist - NachtmusikButcher - On Fowl of Tyrant WingGaerea - ComaSchammasch - The Maldoror Chants: Old OceanBlack Curse - Burning In Celestial PoisonLiving Gate - Suffer As OneBunuel - MansuetudeBehemoth - XXX Years Ov BlasphemyEnforced - A Leap Into the DarkPest Control - Year of the PestFifteen Rhema - Drawing Upon Lost TimeA Year Ago Today - A Year Ago TodayThe Cure - Songs of a Lost WorldCane Hill - a piece of me i never let you findPlanes Mistaken for Stars - Do You Still Love Me?Thirdface - Ministerial CafeteriaTribulation - Sub Rosa In AeternumNeon Nightmare - Faded DreamBombus - Your BloodNachtmystium - Blight PrivilegeNew Skeletal Faces - Until the NightMitochondrion - Vitriseptome

We face some of our toughest Album Club challenges yet: Matchbox 20's Ken anthems Yourself or Someone Like You, ponder how Attila's About That Life achieved some kind of longevity, cheer originality in hardcore on Twitching Tongues' In Love There is No Law, and the troubling eternal mystique of Acid Bath's When the Kite String Pops.This episode was originally published July 2023 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

We convene for conversations on 2024's most monolithic potential landmark records, reviewing Blood Incantation, Undeath, Balance and Composure, High Vis, Touché Amoré, Oranssi Pazuzu, and Chat Pile, as well as scratching our heads at festival clues and Acid Bath(?!), and a toast to the late Paul Di'Anno.Blood Incantation 45:58Undeath 1:22:56Balance and Composure 1:45:20High Vis 2:00:55Touché Amoré 2:19:41Oranssi Pazuzu 2:42:46Chat Pile 3:09:54

On this Album Club episode we return to the scene of the crime to again preview some of the must-see sets at this year's Damnation Festival: Cradle of Filth's old school origins with The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, Ne Obliviscaris' Citadel, Discharge's Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing, and Dragged Into Sunlight's terrifying Hatred for Mankind.

We've got a big catch-up chat talking about Sam's trip to a Tokyo hardcore show, tours from Orange Goblin, Cannibal Corpse, and Frank Carter fronting the Sex Pistols, leading into a discussion of the surprising news around The Rattlesnakes calling a hiatus and their potential future, and questions around nostalgia festival booking double standards and which band we'd want to see "do a Wintersun".Releases:High Parasite - Forever We BurnWeather Systems - Ocean Without a ShoreOrigami Angel - Feeling Not FoundAdorior - Bleed On My TeethSpite - The Third TempleBlood Incantation - Absolute ElsewhereUndeath - More InsaneFever 333 - Darker WhiteTrash Boat - Heaven Can WaitBalance and Composure - With You In SpiritDrug Church - PrudeChubby and the Gang - And Then There Was…Godspeed You! Black Emperor - No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead1349 - The Wolf and the KingLowen - Do Not Go to War With the Demons of MazandaranCosmic Putrefaction - Emerald Fires Atop the Farewell MountainsMaul - In the Jaws of BereavementMotley Crue - CancelledSylosis - The PathThe Offspring - SuperchargedMyles Kennedy - The Art of Letting GoReal Friends - Blue HourTouche Amoré - Spiral in a Straight LineEnvy - EunoiaThe Linda Lindas - No ObligationChat Pile - Cool WorldOranssi Pazuzu - MuuntautujaDoedsmaghird - Omniverse ConsciousnessThe Crown - Crown of ThornsVomit Forth - Terrified of GodDe Mannen Broeders - Sober Maal

Autumn releases arrive with the album for the season, a huge return, and several much hyped debuts to assess, from Unto Others, The Black Dahlia Murder, Nightwish, Zetra, Heriot, Vended, Vicious Blade, & The Jesus Lizard.Unto Others 21:45The Black Dahlia Murder 57:55Nightwish 1:19:30Zetra 1:37:58Heriot 1:52:42Vended 2:08:41Vicious Blade 2:27:34The Jesus Lizard 2:38:44

Album Club is back with Slayer's sunset on their imperial era Seasons in the Abyss, My Bloody Valentine's shoegaze starting gun Loveless, a comprehensive look back on the divisive effect of Cancer Bats' Searching for Zero, and Blood Incantation's Starspawn blasting death metal through the stargate.This episode was originally published July 2023 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

Another UK live event hits with Cosmic Void Festival and Cirith Ungol's UK date on their final tour, Iron Maiden announce their huge 50th anniversary tour, The Cure start to finally tease new music, and there's the unfortunate Jane's Addiction punch-up implosion to deal with.Releases:Nightwish - YesterwyndeUnto Others - Never, NeverlandVended - VendedCrimson Veil - HexCharlotte Wessels - The ObsessionKublai Khan TX - Exhibition of ProwessRegional Justice Center - Freedom Sweet FreedomGiant Walker - SilhouettesAlunah - Fever DreamDemon Head - Through Holes Shine the StarsDungeon Crawl - Maze ControllerGlacial Tomb - Lightless ExpanseCoffin Rot - Dreams of the DisturbedKanonenfieber - Die UrkatastropheMork - SyvDreamless Veil - Every Limb of the FloodEsoctrilihum - Döth-DerniàlhDeathless Void - The Voluptuous Fire of Sin

We take a trip to No Play Festival to see SeeYouSpaceCowboy and a day of UK hardcore bands, and follow up on last week's Linkin Park announcement with, well... all of that. Not the conversation we imagined having last time.Releases:Pyrrhon - ExhaustMan's Gin - The ReprobateThe Jesus Lizard - RackCursive - DevourerNada Surf - Moon MirrorChastity - ChastityZetra - ZetraOceans of Slumber - Where Gods Fear to SpeakSatan - Songs In CrimsonWolfbrigade - Life Knife DeathSlomosa - Tundra RockTorus - TorusDale Crover - GlossolaliaWinterfylleth - The Imperious HorizonTrelldom - …by the Shadows…Taur-im-Duinath - Verso casaNightWraith - Divergence

The fruits of Linkin Park's rollout emerge with all of the details of their reunion and return, Slam Dunk leads with its first announcements for 2025, there's trouble in the W.A.S.P. camp, and there's a live report from NWOBHM cult legends Satan.Releases:Rat Lord - Blazed in the Northern SkyEnumclaw - Home In Another LifeBoston Manor - Sundiver40 Watt Sun - Little WeightMolchat Doma - Belaya PolosaAluk Todolo - LUXBlitzkrieg - BlitzkriegHelvetets Port - WarlordsGod is an Astronaut - EmbersGod Dethroned - The Judas ParadoxPeelingFlesh - The G CodeBodysnatcher - Vile ConductLaura Jane Grace & The Mississippi Medicals - Give An Inch

Album Clubs kick off with an EP that set it all alight with Nine Inch Nails' Broken, Baroness make modern rock's great double album Yellow & Green, The Hotelier hit an emo revival high Home, Like Noplace Is There, and Satyricon take black'n'roll to the mainstream with Now, Diabolical.This episode was originally published May 2023 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

The big reunion the world was apparently waiting happens with Oasis, but it was nearly two in week with Deryck Whibley finding himself at the centre of a storm of confusion, plus talk on the comedy metal albums we actually like.Releases:Stand Atlantic - Was HereSimone Simons - VermillionWithin the Ruins - Phenomena IIUniform - American StandardMelt-Banana - 3+5Fleshgod Apocalypse - OperaSpectral Wound - Songs of Blood and MireKoldbrann - Ingen SkanselGravenoire - Devant La Porte Des EtoilesBlack Birch - Black BirchDemiser - Slave to the ScytheNil / Castle of the Winds - Bastard Sons of TyrannyMark Lanegan - Bubblegum XXWintersun - Time IINails - Every Bridge BurningLeprous - Melodies of AtonementNick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Wild GodThrown - Excessive GuiltOceano - Living ChaosSatan's Satyrs - After DarkPhaëthon - Wielder of the SteelTeeth - The Will of HateAnciients - Beyond the Reach of the SunDeceased - Children of the MorgueConcrete Winds - Concrete WindsAvmakt - Satanic Inversion of…Copse - MMXXIVCutdown - To the GraveChelsea Wolfe - UndoneHellripper - Fork-Tongued Messiah

Actual mythical albums lead this month's album reviews, as we discuss the actually real Wintersun album Time II, the comeback of Nails, Zeal & Ardor, Twin Atlantic, Four Year Strong, Leprous, & Nile.Wintersun 40:06Nails 1:21:18Zeal & Ardor 1:50:16Twin Atlantic 2:06:28Four Year Strong 2:24:22Leprous 2:37:44Nile 2:51:32

We're back for our annual report from Bloodstock Festival where Opeth, Architects, & Amon Amarth headlined atop Malevolence, Clutch, Satyricon, Whitechapel, Hatebreed, Green Lung, & plenty more.

Aerosmith unceremoniously call it a day, OPETH HAVE GROWLZ AGAIN, and we discuss the most disgusting things we've witnessed at festivals and have a conversation on the ethics of using depictions of real death on album artwork.Releases:Twin Atlantic - MeltdownFour Year Strong - Analysis ParalysisDune Rats - If It Sucks, Turn It UpKing Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Flight b741Oso Oso - Life Till BonesFucked Up - Another DayDestroy Boys - Funeral Soundtrack #4Mushroomhead - Call the DevilHammerFall - Avenge the FallenAnd So I Watch You From Afar - MegafaunaKurokuma - Of Amber and SandTendrils - Long DeadMamaleek - Vida BlueFulci - Duck Face KillingsOxygen Destroyer - Guardian of the UniverseMalodorous - The Carrion RecoilViscera Infest - TeratomaIn Aphelion - ReaperdawnHeilung - Lifa Iotungard: Live at Red Rocks Ampitheatre

Gojira make history with their absolutely insane Olympics performance, there's a massive stream of singles from Undeath, Better Lovers, High Vis, Jinjer, Oranssi Pazuzu, Jerry Cantrell, & more, and Sam talks about Bruce Springsteen again.Releases:The Smashing Pumpkins - Aghori Mori MeiAnberlin - VegaBlues Pills - BirthdayBarbarian Hermit - Mean SugarShadow Knell - Shadow KnellBlind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond RevisitedFootballhead - Before I DiePoison Ruin - ConfrereCalderum - Desecration of the Bastille

We are joined by drummer and vocalist Alasdair Dunn of experimental black metallers Ashenspire to blow the doors open with one of our most eclectic Album Roulettes with dance-noise, abstract hip-hop, discussion of the true ethos of post-black metal, and tips on getting into jazz as a metal fan.Ed Scissor & Lamplighter - Tell Them It's WinterCIVIL ELEGIES - CombatAltar of Plagues - Teethed Glory & InjuryModel/Actriz - DogsbodyEx Eye - Ex EyeDoomCannon - Renaissance