The exciting new releases are arriving thick and fast at the moment. Identifying just three recommendations has become increasingly challenging and that’s just fine by us.

But it does mean we didn’t mention Gouge Away last week. So we’re mentioning it now.

Also worthy of your time are two albums that couldn’t be any more different from one another. The new album by Terror feels utterly alive and, of course, is full to the gills with riffs. And the new 80-minute epic from Coheed & Cambria is gorgeous.

So imagine how good these are…

Black Peaks
All That Divides
Rise Records
[Spotify]

Black Peaks aren’t here to play. Their debut, Statues, was a mighty introduction. But All That Divides is magnificent, a refined and focused showcase for a band staffed by incredible musicians and yet somehow more than the sum of its parts. These are wonderful, razor-edged rock songs with melody to burn and expansiveness where it’s most effective. If our kind of music were still able to command chart places, their second album would have just made Black Peaks massive overnight.

Behemoth
I Loved You At Your Darkest
Nuclear Blast
[Spotify]

Let’s get it out of the way early: The Satanist is a classic and it made Behemoth undisputed darlings of the extreme metal underground. So the follow-up is under intense scrutiny and trying to do something different rather than something better was always going to be the smart move. So it’s proved. I Loved You At Your Darkest is a great album in its own right. ‘Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica’, ‘Rom 5:8’ and ‘Angelvs XIII’ steal the show but this is a record that carries a threat throughout and delivers a few lead guitar flourishes to die for.

Candy
Good To Feel
Triple B Records
[Spotify]

With these 17 minutes of unbelievably satisfying riffy hardcore, Candy have made themselves an essential band to keep an eye on for the future. Good To Feel is jam-packed with snarling, stomping, balls-out aggression but there’s a swagger that brings real cool to its curled lip. This record rages but it also bounces, and it gives away those little flashes of groove that are such an inviting foothold on the noise. ‘Systematic Death’ is a particularly fine example, while ‘Panic Is On’ is comparatively roomy and ‘Distorted Dreams’ is downright sensational.

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