What would get if you made Dragged Into Sunlight a bit less serious, a tad more melodic and had them sing about slugs? You'd get Slugdge of course. Worship the slime!

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: psykometal, Abattoir, wormdrink414, Nefarious, Deadsoulman, BloodTears

Good grind is like a good Burgundy--philistines will, and quite regrettably, never quite understand it; they will always be jealous of those of us to whom are discerning enough to; what with all it's nuance and history and soul-elevating quality.

Click here for the Romanée-Conti of grind albums from 2013.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: psykometal, X-Ray Rod, Deadsoulman

Simply put, this is a great follow-up to last years album Sui Caedere that further solidifies Eye Of Solitude as one of the elite UK death/doom metal acts.

Listen here.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse, Abattoir, psykometal, Doc G., Auntie Sahar, X-Ray Rod, Deadsoulman, Troy Killjoy

Mories' (Gnaw Their Tongues, De Magia Veterum, Aderlating etc.) Cloak Of Altering project is turning into his most unusual if this little EP is anything to go by. Outside of his chilled-out, non-metal musings in SEIROM, this is probably the most accessible side to his repertoire and this great gem could only be described as avant-garde metal crossed with trippy music from video games made for aliens, played in reverse.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: X-Ray Rod, Auntie Sahar, Daniell, Darkside Momo, BloodTears

Describing themselves as "sci-fi metal", this Norwegian duo release their third album Outbound with the help of funding from fans! Cheesy, spacey power metal; great stuff!

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: R'Vannith

Has some hiccups, but it'll still metal fist you stupid.

click here to stream.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: !J.O.O.E.!, X-Ray Rod

Progressive metal that has some extreme elements in it, but not so much of it to really justify calling them "Extreme progressive metal".

This is definitely rivaling Lascaille's Shroud for my prog AOTY right now.

Features drummer Dobber Beverly (ex-Insect Warfare, Ingurgitate), and some other current members of Ingurgitate.

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The sophomore release from this two piece Colorado outfit. Of The Flock is chalk full of groovy, hard-hitting sludge, at some points darkly melodic and atmospheric in its delivery, helping to give the band a higher dimension of personality that certainly makes them more intriguing than many of their contemporaries.

LISTEN HERE

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: wormdrink414, Abattoir

With their debut "Moments From Ephemeral City" in 2011, I wasn't sure if it was a one-off fluke or indicator of future greatness. Now that "The Tide, The Thief & River's End" is finally here, I am extremely happy to find that they have improved in every aspect and put out another solid album. For fans of Karnivool, Fair To Midland, Lunatic Soul, Haken, Opeth, Tool, and Leprous.

Listen

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: R'Vannith, BloodTears, Nefarious, Ivor

Bölzer got some serious bällz. Managing to be nostalgically old-school and uncompromisingly modern all at the same time, and all achieved in 3 glorious songs.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: X-Ray Rod, Auntie Sahar, Nefarious, wormdrink414, Marcel Hubregtse, Daniell, BloodTears

If you read my review of their previous album, you know I love them. If you didn't and you don't know the band, stop being uncool and go listen to it. Classic heavy/doom metal doesn't get better than this.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse, !J.O.O.E.!, R'Vannith, BloodTears, wormdrink414

Oh look, here's me recommending a Blut Aus Nord record. Pretty sure that's never happened before. If you like Blut Aus Nord, or any music, at its most primitive and twisted then I imagine this will make the blood rush to your lower-middle areas.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Auntie Sahar, X-Ray Rod, Daniell, Introspekrieg

The seventh volume in a saga of quality extreme metal from Singapore. Cloaked in a layer of obvious Asian musical influences sure to interest fans of bands like Nile and Melechesh.
Check out a track here.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: !J.O.O.E.!, X-Ray Rod, Marcel Hubregtse

If you like your prog to be ambitious, diverse, theatrical & technically proficient, then you are gonna love what these Israelis have in store for you!

Listen here.

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Endorsed by: Ivor, R'Vannith, Dane Train

It's Tuomas Saukkonen...you know what to do...

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