Within the realm of current black metal, Portland’s Wolves in the Throne Room have truly perfected the art of projecting ethereality. And the band’s new release, Celestial Lineage, faithfully reaffirms this. The remarkability of Wolves’ sound lies in their ability to create an atmosphere that is both sinister and consoling; progressive, yet suspended in some antiquated, fantastical nostalgia. While the bands’ most former release...

Toxic Holocaust’s new album, their fourth, exhibits many of the core qualities of their previous work: remarkably tight layering of precise speed drumming, punk synched bass and guitar foundation, and the guttural reverberation of Joel Grind’s vocals that lend the essential twinge of evil and a feeling of apocalyptic anxiety.The new album, Conjure and Command, released July 19 on Relapse records, deviates from previous releases on a...