2014 Metal Albums: 10 Heavy-Ass Records We Can't Wait To Hear

2013 is about to come to a crashing end. As it does, let us now look to 2014 for the next wave of great music. All are gearing up for the next three hundred and sixty five days, and the extreme music world right at the forefront. It’s impossible to know everything that will be dropped in the new year, but we here at Craveonline have found at least ten heavy records to get excited about. The styles are varied, from drone, to doom, to hardcore and experiment, nothing is off limits. We’re really amped about 2014, and here are ten heavy ass reasons why.

So that’s a list of ten heavy-ass albums to get revved up for in 2014. What other surprises will come down the pike? Who else will drop an album on us, and what new bands will knock the crap out of the extreme music fans? Who knows, but Craveonline will be here to help you sort it out.

Metal Albums of 2014

10. Tool

Album Title: Who knows

Label: Tool Dissectional/Volcano

Release Date: Your guess is as good as ours

Hahahahhahahaa. Sorry. I had to. Okay. On with the list.
10. Pallbearer

Album: TBA

Label: Profound Lore

Release Date: August 2014

There is little being shared about the upcoming Pallbearer album. Lips around the Profound Lore label are on lockdown, and the band isn’t saying much either. Based on how brain crushingly good their last album was, this new one will probably be a darker, heavier statement.
09. Earth Crisis

Album Title: Salvation Of The Innocents

Label: Candlelight Records

Release Date: March 3^rd, 2014

It’s been three years since iconic straightedge hardcore band Earth Crisis released Neutralize the Threat. In 2014, the band will bring their rage into focus by not only releasing a new album, but also a comic book titled Liberator that brings the lyrics to life. Earth Crisis have always been good for heavy riffs and bludgeoning lyrics about the evils of mankind. With more time to write and record, it’ll be interesting to see what the band turns out.
08. Sunn O))) & Ulver

Album Title: Terrestrials

Label: Southern Lord

Release Date: February 2014

With Sunn O))) always bringing the low end, and Ulver’s eclectic blend of metal, rock, electronica and doom, Terrestrials is set to be one of the most interesting releases of the new year. It could be all sonic devastation, or it could mix and bend genres. Whatever it is, Terrestrials will be not just be an album, it will be an experience.
07. Thou

Album Title: Heathen

Label: Gilead Media

Release Date: February 25^th

Ebbing from the dark recesses of the deepest swamp, Thou are a band who surface rarely, but when they do, it’s carnage and destruction. Imagine the heavy music equivalent of Godzilla, slowly stomping through your brain. Thou not only live in the heaviest of doom arenas, they combine the low end with spikes of severe guitar work, and vocals of intense desperation. This is an album I absolutely cannot wait for.
06. Wolves In The Throne Room

Album Title: TBA

Label: Southern Lord

Release Date: Early 2014

While the media this year seemed completely infatuated with Deafheaven’s album Sunbather, the darker side of Black Metal was still toiling away. Cue Wolves In The Throne Room, a band that takes the roots of Black Metal and expands it into harsher territories. Never ones to court convention, Wolves Of Throne Room has always grown creatively from album to album. It’s exciting to think of the possibilities for the band in 2014.
05. Mastodon

Album Title: TBA

Label: Reprise/Roadrunner

Release Date: Spring 2014

The debate rages on where Mastodon stand in the world of metal. Some, like myself, really enjoyed The Hunter, while others found it beneath Mastodon. What will blast from their camp in 2014 is still very much a secret, but we do know that Nick Raskulinecz, has been tapped to produce the album. Outside of Death Angel, Raskulinecz is not really known for his heavy metal resume. Will this mean a new direction for Mastodon, or will they release something overly slick? Only time will tell.
04. Lamb Of God

Album Title: TBA

Label: Epic/Roadrunner

Release Date: Fall/Winter 2014

Lamb Of God could be poised to release the best album of their career. Tragedy and turmoil usually breed amazing art, and Lamb Of God have been through the wringer since frontman Randy Blythe was arrested in Europe. With the manslaughter case behind him, Blythe and his crew are entering the studio in 2014 and aim to have a new album out by the end of the year. If Lamb Of God can filter all their strife into this record, it could be their Ride The Lightening.
03. Godflesh

Album Title: A World Lit Only By Fire

Label: Earache Records

Release Date: Early 2014

A long twelve years have passed since Godflesh released their posthumous album Hymns. After a recent string of successful reunion shows, mastermind Justin Broderick is looking to release a new Godflesh in 2014. Broderick’s most recent musical project was Jesu, which had a very different vibe than Godflesh. How Jesu, and the time away from Godflesh will impact the new album, is part of the excitement.
02. Tombs

Album Title: TBA

Label: Relapse Records

Release Date: TBA

Craveonline’s #1 metal album of 2011 was Tombs’ Paths Of Totality, so we’re really excited that Tombs have started recording a new album. Stepping into the studio with Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse and Hate Eternal producer Erik Rutan, plus new bassist Ben Brand and guitarist Garett Bussanick, Tombs promise the new material to be darker and more extreme. The very idea of that is terrifying, and awesome.
01. Swans

Album Title: TBA

Label: Young Gods Records

Release Date: January/February

Interesting how this new album came about. Swans mastermind Michael Gira released a hand crafted, limited edition live album titled Not Here/Not Now, to which the profits would go to fund the new album. Gira claims most of the record was written during the endless touring this year and that the album will most likely be out in the early part of the year. Based on the albums the newly reformed Swans have released thus far, this new record should be another creative monster.