2017-MOST-ANTICIPATED-HEADER_METAL

Our Most Anticipated metal albums of 2017

We can't predict the future, but we can assure you that 2017 will bring plenty of awesome new music. We talked to some of your favorite artists, who are in various stages of the recording process, to get the scoop on what's to come next year. Everything from heavy to pop punk, we'll be spending all week looking ahead at the Most Anticipated Music of 2017. First up: Our Most Anticipated metal albums. 

SEPULTURA / Machine Messiah


We spoke to: Andreas Kisser (lead guitar)
EXPECT IT: January 13, 2017
WHAT'S DIFFERENT: Derrick [Green, vocals] stepped up a lot, especially on the lyrical side. He and I talked a lot about different movies, documentaries and books. We go after song titles and stuff, and then he develops the lyrics. I think it’s his best work. Paulo [Pinto Jr., bass] as well—he did a lot of the pre-production work, which was something he was very lazy about before. Always waiting til the last minute to go to the studio to try and work the producer and stuff, which is fine, but I think this time he was a lot more prepared. Also, the cover is very colorful, very different from the last album. [It’s by] an artist from the Philippines—it’s a new vision, it’s fresh blood in the business, in the metal. We know so many artists, but Camille [Della Rosa] really brought something special and new for us, and that also brings a little bit of a new element to our music.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN MAKING THE RECORD: Every album is a big challenge. We have a 32-year career—many albums before, different formations. The biggest challenge was to try and explore and try to break our limits. We wanted to make the best album we could possibly make. We brought some Brazilian rhythms, different from the rhythms we’ve used in the past. Just try to explore different territories, try to break our limits and I think we achieved that. I’m very happy with my guitar work, and Paulo’s and Derrick, and Eloy [Casagrande, drums] is a monster. It’s something very special. It’s a lesson in drumming, this album; it’s an amazing performance. Very powerful, very energetic—technical but with a lot of heart and groove. It’s an album that I enjoy listening to.


IS IT MORE THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN HEAD AND HANDS MUST BE THE HEART OR KAIROS? I guess neither one. They are very different albums. Kairos was the last album we did with Jean Dolabella and The Mediator was the first album we did with Eloy on drums, which brought a lot of amazing possibilities for the band. He’s an amazing musician, and now he’s been with us for five years and [we’re] really more connected; we know each other a lot better. Working on this album was easier to work with him. Everything started doing some guitar riffs and drum loops and developing all the ideas from there. It’s a more musical album. Worked a lot more on the details. There’s a lot more melody. The first song, “Machine Messiah,” is very melodic and slow-paced and intense, a lot of guitar leads. We have violins from Tunisia in a few songs. A horn quintet from a guy from Brazil here in some songs as well. An instrumental song with classical guitar and lots of Brazilian rhythms. I think we explored our musicianship a lot more. We worked toward breaking our limits, trying to do our best. In the end, Jens Bogren was an amazing producer who was a perfect choice. He’s a young guy with amazing knowledge, and he’s a great musician. We really think it’s our best work ever and we are really happy and really excited about the release of the album and getting ready to go to the stage and start touring. —Stevie James

GHOST / TBA

The Grammy-winning theatrical metal band will put out their fourth full-length record this year. The ghoulish rockers have yet to reveal the title or release date of the record—or really any specific details about the album—but they have made one thing very clear: their work ethic is as inhuman as their persona. The album was written and went into production in a matter of just a couple of months, a feat that usually takes most bands at least a year or two to accomplish. What the future holds for this band in terms of sound and scheme is uncertain, but if it's anything like their previous work, it's going to be big, strange and otherworldly. —Taylor Markarian

NEXT PAGE: SUICIDE SILENCE/RINGS OF SATURN

SUICIDE SILENCE / SUICIDE SILENCE

We spoke to: Eddie Hermida (vocals)
EXPECT IT: early 2017
WHAT'S DIFFERENT: We decided as a band to do something way outside the spectrum of what Suicide Silence has done in past. We wanted to maintain a heavy sound while exploring our love of music, and what came out surprised us 100 percent. Really, the biggest difference is that we stopped giving a fuck, and when you do that you feel free, and you learn who you really are.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN MAKING THE RECORD: Working without any kind of guide. With our previous sound, we could look back to our last record, or you can look around to see what other bands are doing and think, “We’ve got to be just as heavy/just as technical/push the envelope like they are,” and without that it can be intimidating. But our producer Ross Robinson (Slipknot, Korn) played a massive part in giving us the confidence to let everything we were thinking and feeling out.

IS IT MORE YOU CAN’T STOP ME OR THE BLACK CROWN? I would say You Can’t Stop Me is more The Black Crown than this record is anything Suicide Silence has ever written. —Dan Slessor

RINGS OF SATURN / TBA

We spoke to: Lucas Mann (guitar)
EXPECT IT: Early 2017
WHAT'S DIFFERENT: The level of collaboration between our new guitarist, Miles Dimitri Baker, and myself. As the main composer in the band on all of our records, I’ve never collaborated with another musician to the extent I have on this one. We also went for more raw guitar tones, and I personally feel that this album has expanded our music in a logical way, without losing what makes the band Rings Of Saturn. 
BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN MAKING THE RECORD: Getting everyone on the same page to make a product the best it can be is difficult at times. I always have to be very particular in choosing things that will enhance the band in a way that our current fans will be receptive to, and at the same time open our music up to new fans. Even though an idea may sound amazing, not all ideas fit the context of our music.

IS IT MORE EMBRYONIC ANOMALY OR LUGAL KI ENThis new release is definitely a Rings album, however, it doesn’t sound like any of our previous records. When Embryonic Anomaly was out, people didn’t expect Dingir, and when Lugal Ki En came out that surprised people even more. I expect this album to do the same. It musically explores areas previously untapped in our records. —Dan Slessor

NEXT PAGE: ALL THAT REMAINS/AUGUST BURNS RED