At first, The Tower might seem like your typical atmospheric black metal album. However, with a uniquely ominous swirl of Jazz Noir, 2nd wave black metal, and dark ambient, Bolt Gun is not afraid to break free from the typical confines of the ABM subgenre.

Notable popular releases from this week!

With a sense of romantic tragedy, the album explores the tumultuous relationship between humans and nature, and the sometimes awe-inspiring, sometimes terrifying, reality of those environmental forces outside of our control. This album subverts the Arthurian legend to tell a modern fable, presenting a new mythology that feels familiar to those of us today who are faced with the fallout of natural disasters and climate change.

Ex Machina by Steve Lehman and Orchestre National de Jazz fuses the massive-sounding lead lines from the big band era with some of the most outlandish solo performances imaginable. Rather than have the band jam out on some smooth chords in the background, the solo support on this record at times feels so crunchy as to fight for attention with the soloists, a battle which the soloists fight hard and win every time.

Originally part of an audiovisual project, Soaring Wayne Phoenix Story the Earth and Sky by Wayne Phoenix retains an intense component of sonic imagery that’s instantly recognizable. As the first few tracks suggest with their trance-like ramblings about the challenges of daily life, Phoenix designed this record to put us in a meditative state that enables a deeper form of communication.

Spashy indie rock–you know, the type with massive, earwormy riffs and airy, harmonized choruses–often tackles dark personal themes through lyrics, but rarely will a band cross the line into introducing musical darkness as well.

Here’s our roundup of the best underground metal records that came out (more or less) this week!

It is extremely satisfying when a project so deftly aligns its musical expression and its thesis in the way Freedom Doll does.

Exploring suffering from every angle, This Body Is A Burden is a cathartic expression that showcases just how far one’s meatsuit can be pushed before it finally gives out in the end.

With a strong debut that proves the genre’s continued relevance, Bugslam enters the scene with their EP This is All There Is. Harboring an undeniable moodiness, its emo attitude is what drives it forward, launching fuzzy math overtones from one idea to the next alongside aloof yet sensitive lyrics.

Featuring the combined talents of over 25 international musicians, and with British comedian James Acaster at the creative helm, this short EP leans even harder into the genre-defying bravado that made their first record so groundbreaking.

Here’s a look at some of the best underground dance records from the week!

Coming closest to the Lil Yachty rebrand of rock-infused rap, GAIKA also skirts past the potential traps of pretension that Yachty was accused of, landing on a style that augments the rap verses rather than trying to overcome them.

For those questioning the point of making art in this oversaturated, hectic world, Luge brings one inspiring message: art is fun.

Let’s see how these two successful artists followed up on their previous work!

This record really animates the most misanthropic elements in anyone with its electrically energetic hardcore sound, jumpy bass lines, and harsh vocals.

With its ebbs and flows, Time Lost / Time Regained follows the emotional contours of a cathartic crying session, always applying pressure but expressing extreme upwellings at a few intuitively well-timed moments.

Constant sonic pinches cast Mermaids in the golden hour lighting of an eternal ending, continually zooming out to provide a clearer picture of the conclusion of an adventure.

Sprain writhes in unparallelled suffering as their closely-held belief that none of their decisions bear any consequences careens head-on into their soul-shredding guilt for their past mistakes.

Singer-songwriter Prewn briefly pulls off the road of ambition and takes stock of their journey on their new record Through the Window, thumbing through a trucker’s atlas and struggling to find their destination or even their current location.