That's Not Metal

Summer arrives and we go into some classic Album Club territory with Sum 41's moodier metal turn Chuck, Blind Guardian's Nightfall In Middle Earth, Your Demise upset the windbreakers on The Golden Age, and Cattle Decapitation's boundary-crossing look into a dark future The Anthropocene Extinction.This episode was originally published June 2022 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

2023's first TNM reviews come from VV, Katatonia, Obituary, Twilight Force, Fireworks, Swiss Army Wife, Ahab, & Grief Symposium, Fall Out Boy do the unthinkable and write a rock song again, and we debate Trivium setlists after their long awaited UK tour.VV 35:10Katatonia 51:38Obituary 1:04:03Twilight Force 1:16:06Fireworks 1:25:32Swiss Army Wife 1:36:19Ahab 1:43:17Grief Symposium 2:00:40

Hyperblasts returns for 2023 bringing the first round of early news including new music from Sleep Token, Periphery, and Enter Shikari, Till Lindeman's statue getting nicked, and our quick little look ahead at the albums and shows we're looking forward to this year.Releases:Iggy Pop - Every LoserAnti-Flag - Lies They Tell Our ChildrenHellPoison - Ultra Outbreak of HellThe Canyon Observer - FiguraVV - Neon NoirObituary - Dying of EverythingAhab - The Coral TombsPolar - Everywhere, Everything

It's the last dance of the year with the TNM Awards, as the gang assemble to anoint the greats and truly take to task the bull:Most Improved BandSong of the YearWorst Song of the YearHero of the YearVillain of the YearBest New BandBiggest DisappointmentGig of the YearEP of the YearArtwork of the YearMovie of the YearComeback of the YearSurprise of the YearOutstanding AchievementWorst Band of the YearUnsung HeroesStory of the YearBand of the Year

AOTY season continues at TNM with lists from 2022's fresh contributors Mark & Elliot, and most importantly the results of the listener album of the year poll are revealed and given the magnifying glass.

Start up the fanfare cause the Albums of the Year 2022 are here, celebrating another 12 months of great records with lists from Perran, Sam, & Alec.

Metallica are back with an absolute trad metal joy, we predict the albums of the year from metal's major outlets, and we open the official TNM Listener Album of the Year 2022 poll.Releases:Elder - Innate PassageJamie Lenman - The AtheistIn the Woods… - DiversumJudicator - The Majesty of DecayTrhä - endlh​ë​d​ë​haj q​á​shm​ë​na ëlh vim innivteTchornobog / Abyssal - SplitNOFX - Double AlbumAmberian Dawn - Take a Chance - A Metal Tribute to ABBAIsafjord - HjartastakiHammers of Misfortune - OvertakerNihilist Death Cult - Death to All TyrantsOther Half - Soft ActionCrosses - Permanent.Radiant

In May Album Clubs, we take the opportune time to fairly assess My Chemical Romance's as yet final album Danger Days. From there we dive into a world of weirdness with Swans' White Light from the Mouth of Infinity, Big Black's affront to tastefulness Songs About Fucking, and Sigh's ode to madness In Somniphobia.This episode was originally published May 2022 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

In a week with Turnstile up for multiple Grammys, we head into our last reviews bag of 2022 with albums from Nickelback, Skin Failure, Devin Townsend, SpiritWorld, High Command, Turnover, Dream Unending, & Spider God.Nickelback 37:57Skin Failure 1:00:09Devin Townsend 1:14:47SpiritWorld 1:30:27High Command 1:41:29Turnover 1:51:46Dream Unending 2:04:44Spider God 2:18:45

This week we review this year's massive Damnation, seeing exclusive album sets from the likes of Converge and Pig Destroyer as the event steps up to a much larger part of the festival year, and the enormous line-up for 2023's Download is revealed.Releases:Skin Failure - RadillacL.S. Dunes - Past LivesChelsea Grin - Suffer In HellHe Is Legend - Endless HallwayXentrix - Seven WordsDream Unending - Song of SalvationBonecarver - Carnage FuneralSpider God - Fly in the TrapKampfar - Til Klovers TaktFell Ruin - Cast In Oil The Dressed WroughtConstellatia - Magisterial RomanceFjort - NichtEnvy - SeimeiLast In Line - A Day in the LifeEpica - The Alchemy Project