Integrity

Howling, For the Nightmare Shall Consume

FILE UNDER: Fire and brimstone hardcore

ROCKS LIKE: All Pigs Must Die, Homewrecker, United Nations

WHAT’S NEW: Dwid Hellion and his mysterious cabal of metal sharpen their teeth to refine their spectral hardcore style on their 12th full-length record, the first since 2013’s Suicide Black Snake. Like something from a supplementary circle of Dante’s Hell, guitarist Domenic Romeo and drummer Josh Brettell supply the thunder and lightning for Hellion’s stormy tales of apocalyptic devilry. The fidelity is higher, the structures are tighter; it’s Holy Terror for a new era. Also, guitar solos—lots of ’em.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Because Integrity are keeping the esoteric aflame in metalcore, a genre they undoubtedly took part in igniting. Here, retaking the signature spell that Hellion and crew first conjured in the ’90s Cleveland scene, the band’s haunted hardcore gets a fresh coat of paint for the next stage of darkness. If you’re ready to enter the nightmare, this will get you howling.

OUR PICK: “Blood Sermon”

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