Solid releases all around this week, so let's get right into it: we'll take a look at highly anticipated albums from Baroness and The Contortionist, and delve into albums from Hexen and Bestial Holocaust that, if not already on your radar, should most definitely be. Here are all the new releases for 7/17: Baroness – Yellow & Green Genre: Stoner/Sludge/Rock n' Roll Country: United States Label: Relapse Records Listen: I'll be honest here: I've never exactly been the biggest Baroness fan (blasphemy, I know). And while I've never dedicated any serious amount of time to their music, the bits and pieces I have heard do absolutely nothing for me, as is the case with most of this pop-sludge/rock stuff. Despite this, however, I can't deny that the Baroness fan-base is absolutely rabid.

LUGUBRUM - Face lion, face oignon We don't know how to describe this in terms of style, all we can say is this is fucking genius. Lugubrum is Lugubrum, you can't put any label on them. This is their 10th album for 20 years of existence. We'll just end with a quote from Dutch band URFAUST on this album: 'Just listened to.

So I've tried to give this album a genuine shot from an objective standpoint. And it's not bad. The band has dropped most of their harder, darker elements; opting instead for a light, airy, upbeat and retro-rock sound. Everything is smooth, there are no sharp edges; it's fuzz and warmth and happiness wrapped in a sweet southern charm.

This is all well and good, but at certain moments I found myself dozing off, as the album seems to endlessly repeat its central motifs, playing off all the aforementioned qualities to a tedious degree. This is an enjoyable album if only for its accessibility, but its focus on melody and convention leaves a giant hole where their should be some heavy hitting rock n' roll; some genuine punch and swing. The Contortionist – Intrinsic Genre: Deathcore/Progressive Country: United States Label: Good Fight Music Listen: The Contortionist are one of those rare, popular deathcore bands that actually get respect from the metal community.

And it's not hard to see why. Their new album, Intrinsic, is a spacey, groovy, heavy and meditative journey of sound, pulling heavily from the likes of Cynic and Between The Buried & Me while also incorporating the modern, djenty undertones of bands like Tesseract and Periphery.

The album is connected from start to finish by a common musical concept; maelstroms of brutality and tranquility and the space that opens up between them. The Contortionist fill these spaces with silken jazz chords, glitchy effects, singing piano lines, otherworldly clean vocals. It all comes together perfectly, all parts of every song being necessary to the success of one another. This is the type of music that will draw you in immediately, and by the third song you'll be completely engulfed in this cosmic soundscape; in deep reflection at what is being presented to you. I have never listened to a Contortionist album before this, but Intrinsic has impressed the fuck out of me, and I'll most certainly be coming back for more.

Bestial Holocaust – Into The Goat Vulva Genre: Blackened Thrash Metal Country: Bolivia Label: Iron Bonehead Listen: This kind of stuff is just fun. This is the kind of stuff you throw on when you just want something METAL. No bullshit, no frills, no grand concepts or dramatic experimentation.

Just filthy, raw, nihilistic fucking metal. Bestial Holocaust deliver on all fronts; Into The Goat Vulva, aside from having potentially the most ridiculous/awesome title of the year, is a fucking clinic in old-school satanic thrash metal, hitting every sinister note, every blood-curdling scream, every ferocious blast beat.

It even sounds like it was recorded in the early 90's. And knowing exactly what you're in for before you even hear the music only adds to this album's charm. Hexen – Being And Nothingness Genre: Melodic Thrash/Progressive Country: United States Label: Pulverised Records Listen: I had absolutely no idea who Hexen was when I went to select the featured albums this week; I was merely intrigued by the very direct reference to Sarte in their album title. The concepts developed in Sarte's Being and Nothingness have been influencing metal lyrics for years now, so I was interested to see a band tackle his work more directly.

And while I will shamefully admit that I did not read the lyrics to this, I can say that the music most certainly did not fail to pique my interest. Advent 8115 Drivers. I'm not exactly sure how to describe these guys; the general sound is one of Kreator or Sodom-esque thrash metal, infused with tons of melody and solid song structure, and with more than a hint of Death influence. But there's also a heavy progressive element, with virtuosic instrumental sections at every turn, as if the members of Dream Theater suddenly decided to play 80's thrash metal. This all leads to a very interesting dichotomy, as the album alternates between being painfully generic and absolutely amazing. I don't have a final word on this, but I will say it is definitely worth checking out and taking note of. More Releases: Andrew W.K.