Deafheaven: "Dream House"

Roads to Judah came out almost exactly two years ago, helping to establish Deafheaven (I keep wanting to call them Deaf"haven"... sounds more metal) as preeminent blackened experimentalists. The oh-so-Mexican-Summerish cover of their upcoming sophomore album, Sunbather, might lead you to think they've gone full on shoegaze (chillwave, even) but nope... one listen to "Dream House" proves that their black metal affiliation is no mere historical marker but an active presence in their sound. Yeah, there's plenty of shoegaze affectation there, but isn't that the case with most experimental black metal these days? Then again if Liturgy is officially kicked out of the "kvlt" playhouse then Deafheaven don't stand a chance.

Intronaut: "Milk Leg"

I was excited to get an email last night stating that my Century Media rep had activated new content on my digital promo account, and that the material in question was from the vaunted Intronaut, one of the few bands that I've ever reviewed to the tune of a perfect score. Ahhh, goddammit, it was a single track upload of this one damn song.

Looks like I'll be waiting God knows how many more weeks for a full album promo, because Habitual Levitations doesn't come out until March 19, and since most leaks seem to come from people in the music journo game that means we all suffer. That's as close as you'll ever get to an anti-piracy rant from me, though... people that get their albums for free shouldn't be telling other people that they're not spending enough money supporting their favorite bands.

Deftones: "Tempest"

Long hard road out of Hell for Cali's Deftones lately, bassist Chi Cheng climbing that slow hill to recovery while Sergio Vega respectfully fills his duties. Koi No Yokan (out November 13) isn't exactly a comeback record - the first post-Cheng product, Diamond Eyes, came out two years ago - but it's the first that can be taken at face value without the story of Cheng's accident being front and center.

"Tempest" isn't the 'tones' most challenging song musically, but it's a reliably catchy number that proves they can still hit that infectious 90's groove when they need to.

Gojira: "The Axe"

Hey, a lyric video for a Gojira song that actually isn't about environmental holocaust! I don't know, this one seems to be some kind of self-flagellation trip over unspecified faults... perhaps Joe Duplantier is kicking himself in the ass over that styrofoam coffee cup he forgot to dispose of properly?

Enslaved: "Thoughts Like Hammers"

Just when other bands thought they had a shot at Best Metal Album of 2012, Enslaved come out of the woodwork with a new album due September 28 on Nuclear Blast. R||T||R will apparently be taking advantage of the modern penchant for Hebrew-izing band names and album titles to represent Roto Rooter, the better to flush their BOTY competitors.
[UPDATE 10/23/12: added official video]:

[UPDATE 8/29/12: added lyric video]: