Dark Roots of Earth is the eleventh studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on July 27, 2012, in Europe, and four days later in North America by independent German record label Nuclear Blast Records. The album is available in three configurations, CD, CD/DVD and vinyl, with the latter two versions including four bonus tracks. The album was produced by Andy Sneap, who mixed and engineered the band's previous three studio releases, The Gathering (1999), First Strike Still Deadly (2001), and The Formation of Damnation (2008). The album artwork was created by Eliran Kantor. A music video was made for the track "Native Blood". Dark Roots of Earth entered the Billboard 200 at number 12, Testament's highest position ever.
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.
The Electric Age is the 16th studio album by the American thrash metal band Overkill, which was released on March 27, 2012 in the U.S. on eOne Music and in Europe three days later on Nuclear Blast.
Phantom Antichrist is the 13th studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator, released through Nuclear Blast on 1 June 2012.
The Living Infinite is the ninth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork, released on 27 February 2013 in Asia, 1 March 2013 in Europe, on 4 March 2013 in the UK and on 5 March 2013 in the US. It is the band's first double album. It is also the first Soilwork release to feature guitarist David Andersson; founding guitarist Peter Wichers left Soilwork for the second time in 2012, making this the second album to not feature him. This also marks the band's last album with longtime bassist Ola Flink who parted ways with the band right before the recording of the next album The Ride Majestic.
Die Without Hope is the fifth studio album by American deathcore band Carnifex. It was made in Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida and was produced by Mark Lewis. The album was released on March 4, 2014. The song "Dragged into the Grave" was released as Carnifex's first single on January 16, 2014. On February 3, the band streamed a second song titled, "Condemned to Decay" on Nuclear Blast's YouTube channel. It is the band's first album to feature lead guitarist Jordan Lockrey.
White Devil Armory is the 17th studio album by the American thrash metal band Overkill. It was released on July 18, 2014 in Europe through Nuclear Blast and July 22 in North America through eOne Music.
Nails is an American hardcore punk band from Oxnard, California. The group was formed in 2009 by frontman Todd Jones, formerly the guitarist of Terror, along with bassist John Gianelli and drummer Taylor Young of Disgrace. They released their debut EP Obscene Humanity in 2009, followed by the studio albums Unsilent Death (2010), Abandon All Life (2013) and You Will Never Be One of Us (2016), and a split EP with Full of Hell. Nails have achieved widespread notoriety and critical acclaim for their savage and intense sound.
Holy War is the third studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. It was released on 26 June 2015 through UNFD and Nuclear Blast. The album was produced and mixed by Will Putney, recorded in late 2014. Music videos were released for the tracks "Light Bearer" on 29 May, and for "Holy War" on 29 June. Holy War had a successful first week of sales, charting at No. 7 in Australia and No. 82 in the U.S. as well as several other U.S. Charts.
The Concrete Confessional is the seventh studio album by American metalcore band Hatebreed. It was released on May 13, 2016, via Nuclear Blast and was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris.
Retrogore is the ninth studio album by Belgium-based death metal band, Aborted. It was released on 22 April 2016 worldwide, through Century Media Records. It is the first Aborted album with guitarist Ian Jekelis, and the last with bassist JB van der Wal.
Fires Within Fires is the eleventh studio album by American post-metal band Neurosis. The album was released on September 23, 2016, via the band's own record label, Neurot Recordings. Recording began on December 27, 2015, at Electrical Audio Studio; the album was produced by Steve Albini and the cover art created by Thomas Hooper. Like Neurosis' previous albums, Fires Within Fires combines "elements from the post-metal genre they co-created [with] elements of industrial, doom, punk and folk". This is the band's final album with founding member Scott Kelly who was fired in 2019 due to domestic abuse allegations, which he officially confirmed to be true and announced his withdrawal from the public eye in August 2022.
The Violent Sleep of Reason is the eighth studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah. It was released on 7 October 2016 via Nuclear Blast. This album was recorded live in the studio, simultaneously with all members, rather than recording each instrument separately as is more common for modern recording. The band announced the new album, its title, and track list via Blabbermouth.net and Revolver magazine on 5 August 2016.
Dear Desolation is the fourth studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. The album was released on 18 August 2017 by Nuclear Blast. The record is the band's last album with founding drummer Lee Stanton, as well as the first to feature Kevin Butler on bass.
The Dusk in Us is the ninth studio album by American metalcore band Converge. It was released on November 3, 2017, via Epitaph Records and Deathwish Inc, and is the band's first studio album in five years since 2012's All We Love We Leave Behind. The album was produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou and the artwork was created by the band's singer Jacob Bannon.
Firepower is the eighteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. Released in 2018, it was the band's first studio album since 1988's Ram It Down to be produced by Tom Allom and the first one with Andy Sneap as co-producer. The album sold around 49,000 copies in the United States within its first week of release, debuting at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's highest-charting album in the US. The album also reached No. 5 in the UK, making it their first top-ten album in the UK since British Steel. Music videos were made for "Lightning Strike", "Spectre" and "No Surrender". A lyric video was made for "Never the Heroes". The record also produced three singles.
Eonian is the ninth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, which was released on 4 May 2018.
To Drink from the Night Itself is the sixth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on 18 May 2018 via Century Media. The album is the first to feature guitarist Jonas Stålhammar and the first without co-founding guitarist Anders Björler, who had departed from the band in March 2017.
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."
Lamb of God is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Lamb of God. The album was initially set for release on May 8, 2020, through Epic and Nuclear Blast, but was later pushed back to June 19 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lamb of God marks the first studio album of all-new material by the band since 2015's VII: Sturm und Drang, making it the longest gap between their albums, and the first to feature Art Cruz as the replacement for original drummer Chris Adler, who left the band in July 2019. Lamb of God was once again produced by longtime collaborator Josh Wilbur, who has worked with the band since 2006's Sacrament.
