Dopethrone is a three piece band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Active since 2008, this DIY band is known for their abrasive mix of sludge and doom with lyrics based in the self destruction, cannabis, sleazy drug abuse, and the macabre. Influenced by rock n roll, punk, black metal, and blues, the band refers to their music as “Slutch”, the Canadian term for cold sludge, a.k.a. dirty mud snow. They once described it as “frozen sludge, snow covered in addiction, blood, tears, and broken dreams”. After their second release, the band started drawing some attention to them and were invited by Voivod to perform at Roadburn 2012. They since haven’t stopped growing their audience in Europe, their adoptive land. Since their formation, Dopethrone has release five full length studio albums to date, joined some collaborations with other artists, and have regularly toured Europe and Canada. After a series of massive tours in 2019, the band has not hit the road since, and focused on the ‘delicate’ baking of their new release. The new effort, to be out early 2024, will come with North American tours, and even a return to Europe for select dates.

Conjurer have evolved radically since the release of their debut album saw them lauded among the most exciting British metal bands. Conjurer’s evolution has been all-encompassing; in the process of their individual and collective maturation, they found purpose within their union and developed fresh meaning within their musical output. By turning inwards, they find themselves with something new to offer as they turn back outwards on their latest album, Unself. Within the tumult of forging a renewed identity as a band, on Unself there is a more intense, more personal voyage of discovery unfurling for vocalist/guitarist Dani Nightingale. Diagnosed with autism at age 31, their long-held view of self, and perception of their place in the world began to unravel. Unself documents much of the piecing back together around the diagnosis, alongside the realisation they were non-binary. These vignettes of processing and self-actualisation take place against the backdrop of a society careening towards glassy-eyed capitalist dystopia. Unself delivers the writhing post-metal Conjurer have become known for, but they have leaned into utilising space within their sound. Stripping back the excesses of previous outings allowed for more clarity and more dynamics to shine through. This record is the sound of four individuals living with more purpose and as a consequence creating with more purpose. Unself sees them reaching out to offer community, catharsis and connection.

Formed in Chico, CA. in the aughts, quickly releasing 2009’sDefeat(Ironclad). That’s where they laid out their mission statement: we are going to tune low, play riffs, and make heavy metal that makes you bang your fucking head. Real amps turned up, real drums hit hard, no bullshit. Armed For Apocalypse newest release Ritual Violence, is exactly that — ritual violence — which has made this band what it is today: a group of brothers who uncompromisingly create the music that moves them. Ritual Violence is both a product and expression of that never-die attitude. It’s the album they wanted to make, with the engineer they wanted to make it (Kurt Ballou, God City) and the label they wanted to partner with (Candlelight). It is Armed refined to its purest form: 0 percent frills,100 percent heavy riffs.

Dawn Fades is a five-piece post-metal band from Los Angeles, brought together by common vision and influences. In a world where aggressive music often overheats and palatable music often feels packaged, Dawn Fades presents an alternative, rife with emotional moments and unpredictable appeal backed by brute force. Formed in August 2016 under the fluorescent bulbs of gritty L.A. rehearsal rooms, the band quickly amassed an impressive collection of heavy, thoughtful material based on songs conceived by main songwriter Sam Sherwood (guitar and vocals) and realized with the input and experience of Markus Erren Pardiñas (bass), Scott Quist (drums), and Nate Hertweck (guitar). As the arrangements took form, the inventive sound covered ground from gorgeous to punishing, finding poignant and personal places to explore in between these extremes. What emerged has prompted comparisons to Deftones, Isis, Failure, and something just out of reach, familiar yet fresh, crushing yet calculated.