Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on May 17, 2005, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Upon its release, the album received acclaim from critics. The album sold over 450,000 copies in its first week, and immediately topped the Billboard 200.
Pure Instinct is the thirteenth studio album by the German hard rock band Scorpions, released in 1996. Reviewers criticized the album for having too many ballads and not enough hard rock or even rock.
Instinct is the eighth studio album by American rock singer Iggy Pop. It was released in June 1988 by A&M Records.
The untitled seventh studio album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, titled Rammstein on digital platforms and on CD-Text enabled devices, was released on 17 May 2019 through Universal Music. Their first studio album in ten years, it is their first not to be produced by Jacob Hellner; it was instead produced by Emigrate guitarist Olsen Involtini, who also serves as Rammstein's live sound engineer.
Alcest is a French post-black metal band from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, founded and led by Neige. It began in 2000 as a black metal solo project by Neige, then became a trio, but members Aegnor and Argoth left the band following the 2001 release of their first demo, leaving Neige as the sole member. Neige began incorporating elements of shoegaze and post-metal into the project's sound from 2005 onwards. In 2009, drummer Winterhalter from Les Discrets joined Alcest, after eight years with Neige as its sole full-time member.
Koloss is the seventh studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah, released on 23 March 2012 in Germany, on 26 March in the rest of Europe, and on March 27 in North America, by Nuclear Blast.
Les Voyages de l'âme is the third studio album by French blackgaze band Alcest, released on January 6, 2012, by Prophecy Productions. An edited version of the song "Autre temps" was released as a single alongside an accompanying music video. The album was described as a musical synthesis of the previous two albums, blending shoegaze, post-rock, and black metal influences.
Stéphane Hugues Norbert Paut, known professionally as Neige, is a French songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist musician, and record producer from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, now relocated to Paris. He is the primary songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist of the post-black metal band Alcest and is the former guitarist, bass guitarist, and drummer of the post-punk/post-black metal band Amesoeurs.
Shelter is the fourth studio album by French post-black metal band Alcest. It was released on 17 January 2014 via Prophecy Productions. The album's title is related to its overall concept of shelter, "a safe place to escape, this secret thing we all have when life is going too fast and you are full of anxiety." Shelter marks a significant stylistic shift for the band, fully embracing the band's shoegaze and dream pop influences while departing from their previous black metal influences, with Rolling Stone writing that the album has "more in common genetically with Sigur Rós than Satyricon."
Kodama is the fifth studio album by French post-black metal band Alcest. It was released on September 30, 2016 via Prophecy Productions. It is a concept album about "the confrontation of the natural world and the human world", inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke. Musically the album is a return to the band's earlier blackgaze style, due to Neige's feeling that he "needed to go for something more punchy, darker, and more personal." Kodama is also the first Alcest album to feature bassist Indria Saray, though he has performed live with the band since 2010.
Queen of Time is the thirteenth studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis, released worldwide on 18 May 2018 through Nuclear Blast. This is the first album since 1999's Tuonela to feature original bassist Olli-Pekka Laine who rejoined the band in 2017, making this the first time since 1994's Tales from the Thousand Lakes that all four original band members played together on an album. The album was produced by Jens Bogren, who was described as "a true brother in spirit."
Amo is the sixth studio album by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. Originally scheduled for release on 11 January 2019, it was released on 25 January 2019. The album was announced on 22 August 2018, a day after the release of the lead single "Mantra". It was produced by vocalist Oli Sykes and keyboardist Jordan Fish, and was written and recorded primarily in Los Angeles.
Hexed is the tenth and final studio album by Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom. It was released on 8 March 2019.
The Great War is the ninth studio album by Swedish power metal band Sabaton. It was released on 19 July 2019. It is the first studio album to feature guitarist Tommy Johansson. Like many of Sabaton's albums, it is a concept album, this time about World War I, often known as the Great War. The songs cover multiple stories from the war, including those of Manfred von Richthofen, T. E. Lawrence, Alvin York, the Attack of the Dead Men, the Battle of Verdun, and others.
In Cauda Venenum is the thirteenth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth, released on 27 September 2019 through Moderbolaget and Nuclear Blast. It was released in two versions: a Swedish-language version and an English-language version. The band toured in support of the album throughout 2019 and into 2020. At 67 minutes and 57 seconds, it is the band's longest studio album. It is also the band's last album to feature drummer Martin Axenrot before his departure in 2021.
Obsidian is the sixteenth studio album by British gothic metal band Paradise Lost, released on 15 May 2020 through Nuclear Blast Records.
Torn Arteries is the seventh studio album by English extreme metal band Carcass. It was released on 17 September 2021. Named after a demo tape recorded by former Carcass drummer Ken Owen during his teenage years, this is the band's first album in eight years after its predecessor Surgical Steel (2013). It also marked the first time since 1993's Heartwork that Carcass had recorded more than one album with the same lineup – with bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker, guitarist Bill Steer and drummer Daniel Wilding, and the first to not feature Owen in any capacity. Torn Arteries was initially scheduled to be released on 7 August 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the album to be delayed for over a year.
Hushed and Grim is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Mastodon. It was released as a double album on October 29, 2021, through Reprise Records. The album is the band's longest to date, their first double album. Guest appearances include Soundgarden's Kim Thayil on "Had It All" and Troy Sanders' mother Jody Sanders on French horn. There is no guest vocal appearance by Scott Kelly from Neurosis for the first time since their 2002 debut Remission, due to Kelly's domestic abuse allegations, which the singer confirmed were true in a statement in August 2022, where he also stated his intention to withdraw from the public eye. The album also serves as a tribute to Mastodon's former manager Nick John, who died from cancer in 2018.
Sylvaine is the solo music project of Norwegian metal multi-instrumentalist Kathrine Shepard. The project began in Oslo in 2013 and has released four albums to date. In 2019, Shepard became the first woman to earn a nomination for best metal album at the Norwegian Grammy Awards, for her third album, Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone (2018).
Les Chants de l'aurore is the seventh studio album by French post-black metal band Alcest, released on 21 June 2024 by Nuclear Blast. The album was supported by the singles "L'Envol" and "Flamme jumelle". The album received generally positive reviews from critics, and debuted at number 77 in France.
