That's Not Metal

July Album Clubs look at the victory of one of heavy metal's patron saints Dio's Holy Diver, the most ripped off pop punk album of the decade Under Soil and Dirt by The Story So Far, the psychological horror metalcore splurge of Norma Jean's Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child, and examines bluegrass and worker's solidarity in black metal with Panopticon's Kentucky.This episode was originally published July 2022 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

The superb new Paramore record tops February reviews with In Flames, Hellripper, Sanguisugabogg, Narrow Head, Naut, Host, and Going Off in tow, as well as Unto Others b-sides, lost Linkin Park songs, and Code Orange's ARG remix album.Paramore 37:30In Flames 59:54Hellripper 1:16:12Sanguisugabogg 1:27:06Narrow Head 1:41:38Naut 1:51:52Host 2:00:02Going Off 2:11:16

The results of the 2023 Grammys are discussed with a particularly poor showing for Rock & Metal, with the problems of treating categories like lifetime achievement awards and valueing genre tourism over homegrown acts, and we pay respects to one of our favourite alt punk bands Camp Cope.Releases:Paramore - This is WhyYou Me At Six - Truth DecayPierce the Veil - The Jaws of LifeNarrow Head - Moments of ClarityDelain - Dark WatersKlone - MeanwhileStormo - EndocannibalismoFrozen Dawn - The Decline of the Enlightened GodsOak - Disintegrate

The Prince of Darkness announces his touring retirement, Slipknot and Year of the Knife surprise drop new music on us, Zara Larsson pulls an oopsie! with her choice of questionable band merch, and we try to drill into the intrinsic appeal of a skeleton.Releases:In Flames - ForegoneSanguisugabogg - Homicidal EcstasyMemoriam - Rise to PowerFvnerals - Let the Earth Be SilentCalderum - Lord CramridorTorso - A Crash Course In Terror

News absolutely boots off with discussion of Pantera being removed from various festival lineups in Europe, Panic! At the Disco calling it quits, and a barrage of bizarre and questionable new music arrives from The Xcerts, Ghost ft Joe Elliot, power metallers dropping diss tracks, and... David Ellefson and Violent J covering Faith No More. Give us strength.Releases:Maneskin - RushNew Found Glory - Make the Most of ItRiverside - ID.EntityTidal Wave - The Lord KnowsImperium Dekadenz - Into Sorrow EvermoreNothingness - SupraliminalDeiquisitor - ApotheosisTribunal - The Weight of RemembranceDryad - The Abyssal PlainGrief Symposium - …In the Absence of LightFucked Up - One DayWhite Reaper - Asking for a RideSightless Pit - Lockstep BloodwarOozing Wound - We Cater to Cowards…And Oceans - As in Gardens, So in TombsBizarrekvlt - Den Tatpe KrigenTrastorned - Into the VoidFreeroad - Do What You Feel!The Lucid - Saddle Up and Ride

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.