Mining Metal is a monthly column from Heavy Consequence contributing writers Langdon Hickman and Colin Dempsey. The focus is on noteworthy new music emerging from the non-mainstream metal scene, highlighting releases from small and independent labels — or even releases from unsigned acts.

If we look back at metal in 1995, we’d find one of its best years. Novelty and innovation were both in stock as death metal had only been around for less than a decade, black metal — as it came to be recognized — was still fresh, progressive metal was bleeding into extreme metal, and the heavy metal old guard had taken a backseat, clearing way for newer acts. Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and even Slayer had all either pivoted away from their original sounds, swapped band members

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