Adult Swim has just released Metal Swim 2, a fifteen song collection of artists spanning the globe, illustrating both the sonic and cultural breadth of the international metal subculture. Spanning a huge range of styles, from thrash to doom to black metal to power-drone to sludge and everything in between, the compilation features artists from Canada, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Iran, and the U.S.

 Amid songs by some the most seminal names in underground metal (including an unreleased song from the forthcoming Baroness album, a demo by Sunn O))) that did not make it to the Steve Albini-helmed sessions of their recent critical masterpiece Life Metal, hotly anticipated new music by New Orleans’ Eyehategod), the compilation includes songs by Persian black metal unit Akvan (whose music is rooted in the art, literature, history, mythology, and music of Iran), the M?ori thrash of New Zealand’s Alien Weaponry, Brazilian thrash via Nervosa, and the pre-Hispanic rooted black metal of Black Twilight Circle’s Volahn.

Additionally the compilation includes celebrated vocalist Kat Katz’s first recorded collaboration with Thou’s Andy Gibbs (her first recording since leaving grindcore mainstays Agoraphobic Nosebleed), the first new Dark Castle track in nearly 10 years, and exclusive songs by Dreadnought, Oathbreaker, Vile Creature, Author & Punisher, Botanist, and The Body. Metal Swim 2 is adorned with striking cover art by comic book creator Becky Cloonan (Batman, The Punisher, Southern Cross).

The Metal Swim 2 comp was curated by Adult Swim’s Laura Sterritt who offers, “The spirit of metal manifests for listeners in all kinds of ways: as an art form, as an emotional outlet, and just good ol’ fashioned fun. I was excited to curate this group of forerunners from metal’s wide swath of subgenres, so both longtime metalheads and newcomers alike could find something within that resonates with them.”