January has always been my favorite month overall for new music to be released. January is a month full of promise, a fresh start, an opportunity to see how the rest of the year is going to shape up – and from a purely business standpoint, January is not the month that most major artists will put out new albums. It’s an opportunity for independent and lesser-known names to shine for a breath moment out of the dirt and muck of the underground, before being buried once more underneath the crushing weight of tens of thousands of dollars in marketing budgets for better-known bands that will likely be hitting the touring circuit later this year, covid-19 permitting.

2022 is shaping up to be an interesting year for music already. Globally, with a trend towards relaxation of coronavirus measures, combined with scenes of political unrest and social conflict playing out in various ways all across the planet, unstable economic trends, and everything from the rise of NFTs and TikTok to the mysterious Metaverse looming on the horizon – well, artists all over the world have a lot to write about. And to separate the artist from the art industry, the business continues to change more and more quickly, ever struggling to keep up with the pace of technology and changing fads. Some have embraced it, like Megadeth’s release of the new cryptocurrency $MEGA; some have taken a stand, such as Neil Young recently challenging Spotify to remove his content over their exclusive hosting of Joe Rogan’s controversial podcasts; and many artists have made “the new normal” a focus of their music, from emcees rapping about quarantine parties, to Kid Rock yelling at clouds, “don’t tell me how to live!” Tours are being canceled by covid at the same time that 60+-band festivals are being announced; internet-only shows, watched on many living rooms on many laptops, seem now to be a thing of the past. Musicians are catching covid on purpose and dying from it. It’s a really weird time for the music industry. It’s a weird time for everyone right now.

But from a musical standpoint, we’re also seeing some really interesting trends in heavy music right now – such as deathcore and symphonic elements combined with melodic death metal, with one notable example being Shadow of Intent’s Elegy, an hour-long effort expanding on last month’s EP Of Fury. The band brings their signature fury against a backdrop of dramatic symphonic swells, accompanied by vocal features from giants Phil Bozeman and Chuck Billy. While even the presence of the Testament frontman and thrash icon may not win over 80s thrash fans to a symphonic deathcore outfit, those who have enjoyed seeing deathcore progress in a more – well – progressive direction over the past few years will enjoy this release. Those same fans may also want to check out Krosis’ E.V.I.L., with the North Carolina melodeath outfit working hard to stand out in their crowded subgenre, oscillating between dizzying technical passages, ethereal ambient tunnels, and punishing deathcore-inspired breakdowns.

In the similar yet equally notable trend of deathcore bands experimenting with both extreme metal influences and clean vocals, Enterprise Earth’s The Chosen pushes several envelopes – such as ripping guitar solos on “You Couldn’t Save Me,” a rarity in deathcore, followed by the soft acoustic ballad “Unhallowed Path,” an introduction to – you guessed it – more symphonies accompanying breakdowns and Dan Watson’s signature piercing highs. The band even takes a down(tempo)turn as “My Blood, Their Satiation” slows to a crawl, ensuring the album has something for just about every deathcore fan – if they make it through the 67 minute playtime. Worm Shepherd’s Ritual Hymns combines deathcore brutality with black metal influence, an impressive sophomore release that shows the band maturing significantly as songwriters since last year’s In the Wake Ov Sol, making this a band worth keeping an eye on for the future. The Last Ten Seconds of Life’s self-titled full length stays fairly well within deathcore conventions while exploring existential philosophy and the human condition in its first half, with tracks like “Birth of the Butcher” and “Zapffe Isn’t Invited to the Party” delivering the band’s standard chugs and barks to throw a chair at your friends to. The album takes an interesting turn about halfway through with “Vampire (a Blood Ballad)” an epic tale about…a vampire, opening with an a capella intro (sung, not growled), featuring progressive acoustic passages and clean-sung crooning (“Open your heart to me/Let me have a peek”). One of the only truly conventional deathcore albums this month comes, almost surprisingly, from New Jersey juggernauts Fit For An Autopsy – Oh What the Future Holds, a straightforward and predictable but nonetheless enjoyable release by men who continue to be increasingly dissatisfied with the state of the world right now, but sure do know how to write catchy riffs about it.

Let’s move away from deathcore for a moment. Wilderun’s Epigone sees the Boston prog metallers soar to new heights, luring listeners in with folk-influenced melodies before showing off their impressive technical talents – and very much unlike the aforementioned deathcore experiments with progressive influences, Wilderun’s target fans will likely not bat an eye at songs ranging up to 15 minutes, winding along unhurried on a journey across a colorful sonic landscape. Meanwhile on a much darker note, black metal fans rejoice at Wiegedood’s There’s Always Blood At The End Of The Road, a tormented, despairing, and riff-packed effort that subjugates its listeners to a chaotic and oppressive atmosphere – which they should be quite happy with. No nonsense, few frills, simply snarling aggression and angry black metal riffage.

Today’s “elder emos” – former scene kids now in our twenties and thirties, anxiously trying to pretend like we’ve never Rawr’d in a Hot Topic before – are going to have a lot of nostalgia fodder in 2022, and that apparently starts with a new album by metalcore darlings Underoath’s Voyeurist – which on a personal note, I enjoyed more than any UO album since 2006’s Define The Great Line. I stil find it a bit startling to hear the former Christian band sing lyrics like “We’re not dreaming, this is fucking hell” on tracks like “Hallelujah,” but the band has made their new stance clear in past interviews, and the song – and much of the album – will no doubt be a hit with fans at this October’s When We Were Young Fest. Those who prefer the less mainstream, more punk/noise side of the emo spectrum may be more interested in Foxtails’ fawn, an emotionally tortured release punctured by Megan Cadena-Fernandez’ angsty, raspy screams, and a violin that sings on “catalyst” or screeches on “space orphan”.

Delving even further into the underground, Shapeshifter’s Dark Ritual sees the Japanese band solidify themselves in the grindcore/powerviolence scene, with eleven blistering tracks that attempt to tear the listener’s head from their shoulders in 17 minutes or less – I may use this album for my next quick workout, in fact. On the other hand, Spanish instrumental rockers Toundra’s Hex envelopes the listener in layers of luscious guitar melodies, a perfect accompaniment for the office or studying. And Night Hag’s Phantasmal Scourge introduces the brand new Virginia death/doom metallers, nine songs crawling through muck, sludge, and…probably entrails or something, I don’t know, but fans of projects like Hooded Menace and Ossuarium will want to take note.

And to move away entirely from rock and metal, January was a great month for rap and R&B as well. Montana of 300’s Rap God may end up being the Chicago rapper’s final solo album, as he has claimed, but despite being the length of a double album at nearly 2 hours long, it’s a high note for him – playing to his strengths, mainly, aggressive freestyles and occasional catchy sung choruses, mostly about shooting people or being shot at, which is something of a team sport in Chiraq. Hopefully 25 songs are enough of a farewell for fans of the rapper’s 7+ year solo career. (Personally, I just hope he takes a page from Ice-T and fronts a hardcore band someday.) Much more laid back is the collaborative DJ Muggs x Rigz’ Gold, waxing eloquent over chilled-out beats about money and the things people do to obtain it. FKA twigs’ Caprisongs is a breathy and ethereal pop/R&B journey from nightclub heartbreaks to London tea parties, while The Weeknd’s Dawn FM is a nighttime car trip through love, regret, and retro electronic beats. J-Pop and Kingdom Hearts nerds fans will not want to miss Hikaru Utada’s BADモード (Bad Mode), a whopping 74 minutes of dreamy alt-pop that provides a cheery bright spot on those cold winter days.

So to recap, here are my personal recommendations for new music in January 2022:

Enterprise Earth: The Chosen (Deathcore // Spokane, WA)
Fit For An Autopsy: Oh What the Future Holds (Deathcore // Jersey City, NJ // Nuclear Blast Records)
Foxtails: fawn (Screamo/Post-Hardcore // Monroe, CT // Skeletal Lightning)
Krosis: E.V.I.L. (EP) (Melodic Death Metal // Raleigh, NC // Seek & Strike)
The Last 10 Seconds of Life: The Last 10 Seconds of Life (Deathcore // Mansfield, PA // Unique Leader Records)
Night Hag: Phantasmal Scourge (Death/Doom Metal // Virginia Beach, VA)
Shadow of Intent: Elegy (Symphonic Deathcore // West Hartford, CT)
Shapeshifter: Dark Ritual (Powerviolence // Japan // ungulates)
Toundra: Hex (Instrumental Post-Metal // Madrid, Spain // InsideOutMusic)
Underoath: Voyeurist (Metalcore // Tampa, FL // Fearless Records)
Wiegedood: There’s Always Blood at the End of the Road (Black Metal // Ghent, Belgium // Century Media Records)
Wilderun: Epigone (Progressive/Folk Metal // Boston, MA // Century Media Records)
Worm Shepherd: Ritual Hymns (Blackened Deathcore // Connecticut // Unique Leader Records)

DJ Muggs x Rigz: Gold (Hardcore Hip-Hop // Soul Assassins Records)
FKA twigs: Caprisongs (Alternative R&B/Art Pop // London, UK // Atlantic Records)
Hikaru Utada: BADモード (Bad Mode) (J-Pop // London, UK // Sony Music Label)
Montana of 300: Rap God (Drill/Trap // Chicago, IL // FGE Records)
The Weeknd: Dawn FM (Alternative R&B/Synthpop // Hidden Hills, CA // Republic Records)

Wouldn’t it be convenient if all of these artists were in one playlist for you to listen to at leisure? I’ve got you covered. Listen now on YouTube or Spotify, whichever floats your boat.

So what does February look like?

This coming Friday, Feb 4, is Bandcamp Friday – where 100% of purchases made through the platform go directly to the artist, all fees waived. It’s also shaping up to be the biggest day so far in 2022 for new album releases, with new music due out the same day by:

Abysmal Dawn: Nightmare Frontier (death metal)
Circa Survive: A Dream About Death (post-hardcore)
George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher: Corpsegrinder (death metal)
Korn: Requiem (nu/alternative metal)
Persefone: Metanoia (progressive death metal)
Rolo Tomassi: Where Myth Becomes Memory (mathcore/post-hardcore)
Saxon: Carpe Diem (NWOBHM)
Venom Prison: Frebos (death metal/deathcore)

(And a few non-heavy albums I’m keeping an eye out for as well:)

2 Chainz: Dope Don’t Sell Itself (trap)
Saba: Few Good Things (conscious/cloud rap)
Yo Gotti: CM10 (trap)

The rest of February is already filling up quickly with new upcoming releases as well. After 2 years in various stages of pandemic-induced isolation and uncertainty, it looks like a lot of performers are gearing up to return to the stage, and some semblance of normal touring cycles – and the calendar has a lot to offer for heavy music fans.

Friday, Feb 11:

Amorphis: Halo
Cult of Luna: The Long Road North
Napalm Death: Resentment Is Always Seismic
Once Human: Scar Weaver
Voivod: Synchro Anarchy
Zeal & Ardor: Zeal & Ardor

Friday, Feb 18:

Annihilator: Metal II
Dagoba: By Night
Immolation: Acts of God

Friday, Feb 25:

Allegaeon: Damnum
Bad Omens: The Death of Peace of Mind
Blood Incantation: Timewave Zero
Embryonic Devourment: Heresy of the Highest Order
Guns ‘n Roses: Hard Skool
Hammerfall: Hammer of Dawn
Scorpions: Rock Believer
(bonus) Dashboard Confessional: All the Truth I Can Tell

That’s a lot of music to try to browse through – luckily, I’ve already got you covered. Listen to new singles from the above upcoming releases, and more, on YouTube or Spotify.