It’s the first Bandcamp Friday of
the year! For the occasion, I’m doubling the number of albums I’ll shine a
light on. It’s also because I’m moving out of town at the end of the month and
will not have time to do a BCF roundup for March, so you get a double dose this
month. By now you all know the drill: Bandcamp waives its revenue share and all
the money goes directly to the artists and labels for a full 24 hours. The year
is just beginning and it’s already stacked in terms of new releases. So,
without further ado, here are my ten picks to help you find some great songs
and albums for February.
First off, Kontact, a heavy
metal/space rock quartet out of Calgary, Alberta released their first LP, Full Contact, on January 19th
following their 2022 debut EP, First
Contact. This band has a great sound harking back to the heydays of heavy
metal with some prog rock thrown in for good measure to deliver an awesome
album full of sci-fi tales. You can pick it up here.
Second, the mighty Ripple Music
released a surprise compilation on January 25th titled Planet Desert Rock IV to celebrate the heavy
rock underground show of the same name in Las Vegas for three nights of
incredible music. A “Name Your Price” release featuring 16 tracks from Ripple’s
talented roster, the likes of Freedom Hawk, The Obsessed, Wo Fat, Steak, Salem’s
Bend and many others. Get yours right here.
Third, doom supergroup Slower
released their self-titled debut LP via Heavy Psych Sounds Records on January 26th,
paying homage to the music of thrash metal legends Slayer. It’s a fantastic
album that’s sure to please fans and non-fans of Slayer alike. You can read my
thoughts on it here and get your copy over here.
Fourth, sludge metal one-man army
Titanosaur returns with a fresh new single to kick off the year: “Let Me Go”
was released on January 26th. It’s another earth-stomping tune that’s
sure to get your juices flowing. You can grab the song right here.
Fifth, another Calgary, Alberta heavy
metal band, Traveler, released their third album, Prequel to Madness, also on January 26th. A superb set
of nine kick-ass songs for lovers of traditional metal and NWOBHM. Traveler has
become a very reliable band when it comes to old school metal with a modern
edge. You can buy Prequel to Madness
over here.
Sixth, a great find for me, Ember
Belladonna with her debut album titled The
Grove will be out on February 9th. It’s a wonderful folk metal
album with the flute as its lead instrument that’s cinematic and hypnotic all
at once. You can read my thoughts on it here and pre-order your copy here.
Seventh, legendary doom band The Obsessed return with their fifth LP, Gilded Sorrow, on February 16th via Ripple Music. It’s been seven years since Sacred, their last album, came out and Scott “Wino” Weinrich and company release what might just be their best record yet! You can read what I had to say about it here and pre-order your copy right here.
Eighth, direct from Spain, heavy
metallers Iron Curtain are back with their fifth LP (with also a bunch of EPs
under their belts), Savage Dawn, via metal
boutique label Dying Victims Productions. The album will be out on February 23rd
and it’s a sledgehammer of a record! Fans of old school metal and speed metal
will dig it a lot. You can pre-order it over here.
Ninth, what is definitely one of
my Top Three most anticipated releases of the year, former KISS guitarist and legend
Ace Frehley will return to our galaxy with his eighth solo album, 10,000 Volts, on February 23rd. The spaceman seems to be in rare form
judging by the first single and title track of the record. I can’t wait to spin
the full thing and you can be sure I’ll do a Musings column on it once I’ve had
a chance to give it a couple of listens. You can pre-order 10,000 Volts right here.
Tenth and final, on March 1st,
former Ozzy axeman Zakk Wylde along with bassist Blasko and drummer Joey
Castillo will be back as Zakk Sabbath, their Black Sabbath tribute band. The
trio released a phenomenal first album titled Vertigo back in 2020 covering Sabbath’s debut LP in its entirety.
This time around, Doomed Forever Forever
Doomed, will be a double album covering Sabbath records number 2 and 3: Paranoid and Master of Reality. Please take note that the album will only be available
on vinyl and CD; just as was the case with Vertigo,
there won’t be a digital release (a bad practice and annoying as all hell in my
opinion!). If that’s alright with you, you can pre-order it over here.
There you go! Show your love to all those hard-working bands and labels. I’m sure 2024 will prove to be another terrific year for metal and Bandcamp Friday is a great way to share the love of music. Next edition of BCF is on March 1st, but I’ll see you for the one after that, on April 5th. In the meantime, be sure to drop by the blog often as I’ll have lots of goodies for you until then.
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