Upcoming Metal Releases: 10/18/20 -- 10/24/20
Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of October 18th to October 24th, 2020. Releases reflect proposed North American scheduling, if available. Expect to see most of these albums on shelves or distros on Fridays.
See something we missed or have any thoughts? Let us know in the comments. Plus, as always, feel free to post your own shopping lists. Happy digging.
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Armored Saint — Punching the Sky | Metal Blade | Heavy Metal | United States (California)
While I’m not the biggest fan of the vocals, the riffs and production are more than solid — frankly, surprisingly so. Armored Saint have always been adept at maximizing the impact of mid-tempo heavy metal, however, and that’s a trend that continues here. Plus, it’s always nice when the album name tells you what to do while listening to it, right?
–Ted Nubel
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Pallbearer — Forgotten Days | Nuclear Blast | Doom Metal | United States (Arkansas)
Pallbearer continues their role as one of the flagship expressions of doom metal in (somewhat) mainstream metal today, dodging any obvious sub-genre classifications you can toss at it. There’s some epic doom involved, sure, but not in the bombastic sense and it’s tempered by plenty of other less-pigeonholeable elements. It’s loud, rumbling, and it hasn’t forgotten its heavy metal roots — not much to complain about here.
–Ted Nubel
us
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Kevel — Mutatis Mutandis | I, Voidhanger Records | Progressive Sludge + Post-Metal | Greece
I think there’s some philosophical aspects to this album, actually, but I can’t tell what they are — too busy having my limbs ripped off my body by the riffs here. The genre tags here might not convey the sheer ingenuity of the arrangements on this album, which plow through death metal, black metal, and whatnot like mere pieces of paper on their way to ultimate, tumultuous majesty.
–Ted Nubel
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Prometheus — Resonant Echoes from Cosmos of Old | I, Voidhanger Records | Black Metal + Death Metal | Greece
Black metal that unfolds in non-Euclidean fashion to encompass the darker, esoteric side of extreme metal. The melodies play out agonizingly slowly, casting gloom over the gnashing cacophony below.
–Ted Nubel
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Iskandr — Gelderse Poort EP | Eisenwald | Black Metal | The Netherlands
No public stream for this one yet, but stay tuned for our full premiere on Wednesday.
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Undeath — Lesions of a Different Kind | Prosthetic Records | Death Metal | America (New York)
I crack up every time I realize that it’s actually unusual in the world to refer to something as “putridity incarnate” in the positive, but here we are with Lesions of Different Kind, death metal from absolute filth. And damn, it sounds damn good, I have to say. Bludgeoning OSDM vibes with modern hooks. Bonus: check out my quick interview with vocalist Alex Jones.
–Andrew Rothmund
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Vessel of Light — Last Ride | Nomad Eel Records | Doom Metal | United States (New Jersey)
Just like their other works, Last Ride finds Vessel of Light marrying the riff-centric traditionalism of Maryland doom with the bluesy cynicism of grunge. It works pretty well — seems like the combination has plenty of potential. To be honest, with the band cranking out three full-lengths in as many years, I have to admit I was hoping for a deeper exploration of that potential on this release — it does riff, though, very much so.
–Ted Nubel
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Mörk Gryning — Hinsides vrede | Season of Mist | Black Metal | Sweden
Okay, so I am an absolute sucker for Mörk Gryning’s debut album Tusen år har gått…, but I never actually dug in past that. I feel like I didn’t need to, it was just so perfect and atmospheric and melodic — one of those perfect examples of mid-second-wave hyper-chilling black metal which is finally getting the recognition it deserves (it’s actually being re-pressed). Hinsides vrede highlights why I haven’t really dug any deeper — it just isn’t what I’m looking for. Super modern, slightly progressive black metal. It isn’t bad by any means, just… not what I’m looking in for black metal right now. You should still check it out even though I’m being picky.
–Jon Rosenthal
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