That's Not Metal

In one of 2021's best weeks, we finally delve inside and evaluate Spiritbox's debut album Eternal Blue, Employed to Serve's victorious Conquering, and Miss Vincent, questions gage onomatopoeias, title tracks & Rick Astley, and Album Club is a monstrous 2000s death metal springboard from Tobias Forge in Repugnant's Epitome of Darkness.

There's new Biffy Clyro (you're welcome), new Corey Taylor mask, and news of Gulch's split, questions on Halsey's Reznor & Ross produced album and festival horror stories, reviews are Andrew WK, Carcass and Mastiff, and Album Club finally takes to task a wild claim of Gold Cobra being Limp Bizkit's secret best work.

TNM goes in deep on appraising Iron Maiden's new double album Senjutsu, backed by Bokassa, Press to MECO, & Leprous, questions include the most unlikely 10/10 albums, there's Download & Damnation fest news, and the mystery of the Turnstile pit pooper.

Turnstile finally return with Glow On alongside Jinjer & The Bronx, Album Club surveys rock's relationship with industrial hip-hop band Death Grips and their brutal Exmilitary tape, and news bids farewell to Charlie Watts and Eric Wagner while assessing the week's developments with Gloryhammer.

Three sweeping captivating records fill reviews with Deafheaven's pivot to indie rock, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Between the Buried and Me's Colors II, and Album Club is The Sisters of Mercy's 1987 Steinman-assisted goth pop bombast Floodland.

Perran is back from Bloodstock with a review of the UK's most heavy metal festival's big return and birthday celebrations, with massive headlining sets and a bill put together under constantly trying circumstances bringing celebration-worthy successes.

The possible future of Babymetal is pondered, Bloodstock tips given, Lingua Ignota's puritan nightmare album Sinner Get Ready tops an eclectic reviews batch with Gost and Lantlôs, and Album Club is Britrock heroes Funeral for a Friend's underrated hardcore turn Conduit.

A reflection on a sombre week with the passing of Joey Jordison, ZZ Top's Dusty Hill, and the news of Black Peaks splitting. We also review new Creeper, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! and King Woman, and Album Club toasts Joey and Wednesday 13's Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls.

There's discussion of Iron Maiden's Senjutsu being another double album, the success of Eurovision rock winners Måneskin, and Josh Todd's mad Minor Threat fantasy, reviews of new Descendents, Alexis Marshall, and Erdve, and Album Club toasts half a century of Black Sabbath's monolithic Master of Reality.

The week is made massive by new tracks from Trivium, Ice Nine Kills, and actual Iron Maiden, questions include the worst self-titled albums, reviews follow up on our Killswitch Engage special with Times of Grace and Light the Torch alongside Powerwolf, and Album Club is on Blood Command's 2010s cult hit Funeral Beach.There are some issues with microphone quality in this episode that clear up around 45 mins in, so heads up there. Tech has not been on our side this week but cheers for supporting.

Reviews catch up on some of 2021's gems, spanning grunge, NYHC, Norwegian legends, prog goth, expansive doom, and sickening death metal.

Iron Maiden are tickling our tastebuds with their online teaser campaign, At the Gates' masterfully strange new album tops reviews along with Urne and Pt. 2 of The Hell's Joris saga, and with the announcement of its sequel Album Club is Between the Buried and Me's demented prog classic Colors.

Perran is joined by friend of the podcast Mitch Harrod for a review of Download Pilot, the first rock festival to return after the COVID-19 pandemic, to discuss what a festival is like after COVID and of course the bands who won the weekend.

Metallica's Blacklist looks mental and prompts talk of the best remasters, reviews of new Beartooth, Helloween, and Amenra records, and Album Club is the progressive post-hardcore immersion of Thrice's Vheissu.

Perran and Alec topline the crazy Hellfest news, new songs from Machine Head, Unto Others & more, Fear Factory, Hacktivist and Bossk are in reviews, and Album Club looks at the MySpace moment and surviving status as a heavy music landmark of Job for a Cowboy's Doom EP.

It's the arrival week of AFI's Bodies along with new Deafheaven and Poppy in news, Go Ahead and Die and Wristmeetrazor reviews, talk on the best albums not streaming, and Album Club is Alice Cooper's career-reviving crack at making glam spooky with Trash.

We discuss Download Pilot, genre purity, and fictional universes, reviews are of Rise Against, Red Fang's noisy new record and Boss Keloid's odd prog, and Album Club is on one of the most individual metal bands of the 2000s with Nevermore's This Godless Endeavour.

New music from Turnstile, Times of Grace & more, the news that David Ellefson is out of Megadeth, and it's a bumper reviews week racing from punk to black metal to darkwave to deathcore with Noctule, Perturbator, Kaonashi, Fiddlehead, Dödsrit and Mental Cruelty.

UK metal upstarts Vexed, The Devil Wears Prada's Zombie II and Jess & the Ancient Ones are reviewed, there's new Green Day and discussion of how music livestreams might persevere, and an extended edition Album Club goes into Entombed's debut classic Left Hand Path.

Reviews plug into the scene with SeeYouSpaceCowboy and If I Die First's split, Manchester Orchestra and Bala, questions on affectionate blind spots for insufferable artists, and Album Club is Slash's rock jukebox with his first solo album.