The brand of music that The Interrupters create is a somewhat modernized version of that classic ska punk sound that is highly infectious and commands you to dance. With tracks like ‘Take Back the Power‘ and especially ‘She’s Kerosene‘, they quickly conquered the hearts of punks and other music lovers around the world. So the announcement of a brand new album, the first one in 4 years, with ‘In the Wild’ got a lot of people really excited. The band, and especially vocalist Aimee Interrupter, spoke of their most personal work to date and the first singles like ‘In The Mirror’ showed a whole lot of promise.

The Swedish vikings of Amon Amarth have easily become one of the most popular metal acts with armies of unruly fans around the world. While their origins were more harsher melodic death metal, along the way they’ve been evolving by infusing more and more classic heavy metal sounds. For some people it means that they’ve sold out or have gotten soft, but it’s undeniable that some of their most catchy singalong songs have been featured on the more recent releases and they’ve only grown in popularity with every release. With ‘The Great Heathen Army’ we’re at full-length album number 12 and some of the first singles have really hit home hard. Killer title track ‘The Great Heathen Army’, the over the top kind of themed track ‘Put Your Back Into The Oar’ only a band like Amon Amarth gets away with or the absolute blast that is ‘Get In The Ring’, featuring the one and only WWE wrestler Erick Redbeard in the music video all speak of yet again a kickass album from these Swedes!

Another band that is releasing album number 12 already this month, is the by now absolutely legendary Soulfly. Max Cavalera‘s main band after leaving Sepultura has steadily released quality music and especially the last couple of albums, on which he seems to be looking somewhat to the past for inspiration, have brought in quite the praise of metalheads everywhere. ‘Totem‘ will also be the first album to not feature Marc Rizzo on guitars since his departure from the band last year and has some cool guest/session musicians like guitarists John Powers (Eternal Champion, Sumerlands) and Chris Ulsh (Impalers, Mammoth Grinder, Power Trip), vocalists John Tardy (Obituary) and Richie Cavalera (Incite and stepson of Max) and co-producer Arthur Rizk playing some of the lead guitars. It has that signature Cavalera sound and going on the first singles, it could easily have been part of the Cavalera-era Sepultura catalogue.

Half a decade after ‘Will to Power’, the Swedish metal legends of Arch Enemy are coming with their latest, and 11th, full-length ‘Deceivers‘. While for many people the band is only a shadow of their old self, we got pretty excited about this upcoming new album after hearing some of the singles released. ‘Deceiver, Deceiver‘ seems to take a step back to do what their fans liked the band for the most, with unbridled melodeath that simply kicks ass, while they surprised everyone with ‘Handshake With Hell‘ where they take use of Alissa‘s full vocal range, including epic clean singing, to deliver a more traditional heavy metal forward sounding belter of a metal track. It feels like it might be a highly divisive album, but one we can truly get excited about to check out.

If there’s one album on this list that most definitely is highly anticipated by a whole lot of people besides us, it is ‘Days Of The Lost‘, the debut album of The Halo Effect. When the existence of the band featuring all ex-In Flames members with Peter Iwers, Daniel Svensson, Jesper Strömblad, Niclas Engelin and Mikael Stanne was announced, you could feel the metal community lose their minds collectively. First single ‘Shadowminds‘ delivered on its promise with the best of both old In Flames and Dark Tranquillity blended together into a sound that simply melted any melodeath fan. And the remaining singles hit home hard putting up an absolute schooling what that Gothenburg melodeath sound was and is all about. This one will end up in many albums of the year 2022 lists without a doubt.

How could we not mention our friends of Shiraz Lane in a list of most anticipated releases when they have their 3rd full-length album ‘Forgotten Shades Of Life‘ coming out this month? After releasing the EP ‘Vibration I’ in the beginning of 2020, the pandemic hit hard and instead of finishing and releasing ‘Vibration II‘, they ended up writing off the lockdown into a brand new full-length. While we’re still hoping to see that EP come to life, since it sounded really exciting, getting even more music from these up-and-coming Finnish rockers is nothing to complain about! They haven’t shared a whole lot of music yet in advance except for the video single ‘Scream‘ and the audio single ‘Disconnect from the Matrix‘, but what you can expect is the signature Shiraz Lane rock sound with probably a couple of surprises along the way. With every new release they’ve managed to evolve themselves in some way or form and we want to bet that this time won’t be different! Rockers around the world, unite and check this album out!

After their by now legendary performances at Castlefest and Midgardsblot back in 2017, Heilung officially took over the hearts of people around the world. Since then they’ve been spreading their message of honoring nature and brother/sisterhood among people through their captivating music and live rituals. With their 3rd full-length ‘Drif‘, they continue to take you on a trip back into history with primitive sounds, intricate soundscapes and trance-inducing beats. However, inspired by their many trips around the world on their mission to share the love for their heritage and nature, this album should also include influences and stories from the ancient great civilizations from the east that have left their mark on the tribes in the North and the West. Looking how impressive their passage was at Red Rocks in the US with the inclusion of some native tribes, we can hardly wait to hear how this will translate into their music!

Finally, many years after the departure of both longtime serving Machine Head members Demmel and McClain, this is the first full-length release since the highly divisive ‘Catharsis‘. And after the killer stand alone singles ‘Stop the Bleeding’ (with Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage) and ‘Bulletproof’, it felt like the Machine Head so many people love might be on its way back. Now with ‘Of Kingdom And Crown’, Robb Flynn and his rejuvenated Machine Head deliver their first concept album ever, based on the anime series Attack on Titan, telling the story of two characters who “believe they’re doing good, but both sides are committing evil and atrocities”. Going on the first singles, there is a chance that this 10th album could become an instant Machine Head classic in the veins of ‘The Blackening’ and we’re all there for it!

4 years after ‘Simulation Theory‘, Muse is back with a new album! For many among us some of their earlier tracks are still a staple in their playlists to this day and while some of their more recent music didn’t always strike that right chord, with Muse you’re always in for somewhat of an adventure. When at the beginning of the year, they suddenly came out of the woodwork with the single ‘Won’t Stand Down’, they got us all excited for the ‘Will of the People‘ album. That track is some of the heaviest work we’ve heard from Muse and features what can count as a metalcore breakdown for the band. And while the following single ‘Compliance‘ spoke of a more poppy, but socially critical and aware Muse and the title track ‘Will of the People‘ was more of a glam/stadium rock sound (which will do amazing in a live setting), the most recent single ‘Kill or Be Killed‘ came in hard again with a sound that harks back at that old school progressive industrial-tinged metal sound we love from Muse. It seems that this album will be a highly diverse album that might get us going pretty hard!