Born in the fury of an Arizona monsoon, Slippery When Wet's Storm the Spectrum conjures downtempo experimental electronica using only guitars and zero effects — a genuinely mind-bending feat. Oskoreien's All Too Human follows, a black metal concept album meditating on free will and morality through Charles Whitman's tragic story — "unrelenting waves of guitars built around achingly beautiful melodies" that "never let you rest." Kill The Reverie's Rest for Reverence rounds things out with a haunting metalcore plea: "you cannot fight a war to acquiesce for peace."

Heavy Metal releases