Upcoming Metal Releases

Upcoming Metal Releases: 10/6/19 -- 10/12/19

Upcoming Metal Releases

Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of October 6th to October 12th, 2019. Release 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.

Send us your promos (streaming links preferred) to: [email protected]. Do not send us promo material via social media.

UlthaBelong EP | Vendetta Records | Black Metal | Germany

A lovely surprise (just this morning!) from one of my all-time favorite black metal bands. I need more time to digest the two sensationally dense songs which comprise this EP (though, given its length, it might as well just be a full album), but I’m fairly confident that Ultha will yet again unleash their on-brand blackened horror with all the necessary style and aplomb. Their last release The Inextricable Wandering made third place on my top albums of 2018 list because, well, it was simply fantastic through-and-through.

— Andrew Rothmund

Municipal WasteThe Last Rager EP | Nuclear Blast | Thrash Metal | United States (Virginia)

Not much needs to be said for Richmond crossover thrash titans Municipal Waste — their prolific catalog and enduringly singular style speaks for itself. Once derided by a certain faction of critics as “party metal,” the group has evolved into an undeniable staple not only within their genre but across the entire realms of punk and metal. Virile as ever despite two decades of uninterrupted thrashing, their upcoming The Last Rager EP presents yet another offering of high-energy carnage true to the band’s punk and street metal roots but with a pointedly modern sonic edge thanks to the sleek production style of Toxic Holocaust’s Joel Grind who did the mastering. Ultimately satisfying despite its pithy length, the The Last Rager EP is a delicious four-song sampler to hold fans over until the outfit’s next full-length release.

— Thomas Hinds

MortiferumDisgorged From Psychotic Depths | Profound Lore | Death Metal + Doom Metal | United States (Washington)

Death-doom adopts a new sinister ugliness with Mortiferum’s Disgorged From Psychotic Depths, the outfit’s debut full-length. Expect plodding, methodical deconstructions of death metal into doomy components, then reassembled into a sonic hammer of cosmic proportions. This band doesn’t mind chunking it up with clearly demarcated down-breaking moments, but they eschew any trendy slamming (of course) for, well, just sick riffage. This album is nasty and mean, and that’s the point.

— Andrew Rothmund

Singularity Place of Chains | The Artisan Era | Technical Death Metal | United States (Arizona)

From Thomas Hinds’ premiere of “Serpentes, Eternal”:

Formed in Tempe in 2010, Singularity have since chosen to favor the quality and refinement of their output over its volume. The follow-up to their 2016 Void Walker EP, Place of Chains sees the group streamlining the structure of their approach, yet also embellishing it with crisp, polished production and greater depth in its layered soundscapes. Mixed by Inferi guitarist Mike Low and mastered by Anagnorisis guitarist Zak Denham, the record takes on much of the orchestral, neoclassical grandeur of its producers’ work, giving Singularity’s already spacious compositions an even more expansive atmosphere. With guest appearances from a stacked list of subgenre-specific musicians including Inferi guitarist Malcolm Pugh, Equipoise guitarist Nick Padovani, and Arkaik vocalist Jared Christianson, the record will shape up to be a hearty serving of masterful death metal.

ProfanaticaRotting Incarnation of God | Season of Mist | Blackened Death Metal | United States (Connecticut)

A pioneering act with origins in America’s first wave of black metal, Connecticut-based outfit Profanatica were first formed in 1990 but quickly split two years later with no proper studio material. Re-formed by founding drummer/vocalist Paul Ledney in 2001, the group have since honed their vile, grisly underground brand of deathened black metal across four EPs and four studio albums. Now unleashing their fifth record Rotting Incarnation of God, the group presents a harsh onslaught of sound that tests the limits of grotesque evil with its sizzling, mangled bass tones and swamp ooze atmosphere. One of this year’s most wicked and dismal blackened death metal creations, Rotting Incarnation of God further solidifies Profanatica’s reputation as defenders of pure American black metal blasphemy.

— Thomas Hinds

SammathAcross the Rhine is Only Death | Hammerheart Records | Death Metal | Netherlands

From Jon Rosenthal’s premiere of “Ferocious Mortar Fire”:

War isn’t pretty, and a lot of metal romanticizes it. Yes, the act of war itself might be something particularly inspiring for the violent, brooding world of metal. Cinematically, though, metal seems to be more like a propaganda film with a clear winner and chosen side than revealing the true face of war. Sammath‘s is the music of war. It is horrifying, atonal, brutal — the kind of music one would avoid listening to with others. The bloodthirsty, blasting sound which emanates from their instruments is anti-life, anti-god, and, as a result, it is impenetrable.

SorxeThe Ark Burner | Prosthetic Records | Post-Metal + Sludge | United States (Arizona)

Equal parts pretty and devastating, Sorxe’s third full-length effort The Ark Burner sees the band as dynamic and mature as ever. As a collection of intertwined songs, the album takes its time ebbing and flowing with sludgy intensity in a post-metal framework; the closing title track is of special note, a 13+ minute behemoth of immense weight. Credit, too, to Sorxe for not leaving out some proggy post-rock sensibilities among all the bonafidely crushing metal they jam into one album.

— Andrew Rothmund

EntrailsRise of the Reaper | Metal Blade | Death Metal | Sweden

First formed in Stockholm in 1990, death metal outfit Entrails emerged from the same old-school Swedeath scene that bred acts such as Entombed and Dismember, but unfortunately never produced any recordings that were “satisfactory” to the band. Finally resurrected in 2008, the group has certainly made up for lost time with their prolific string of releases in the vintage death metal style. Their upcoming sixth album Rise of the Reaper presents more of the same classic horror-drenched buzzsaw instrumental sound but with a sharpened edge and a heightened sense of relevance (given the OSDM leanings of the scene currently). Material written even before Entrails’ original founding was dredged up from old tapes to be repurposed as the album’s 11 ripping tracks, which in combination with legendary producer Dan Swano’s massive wall of sound style create a truly terrifying modern take on first-wave Swedish death metal.

— Thomas Hinds

Signs of the SwarmVital Deprivation | Unique Leader | Blackened Deathcore | United States (Pennsylvania)

Mind-bendy deathcore with a blackened twist, Signs of the Swarm’s third full-length presents the tenets of deathcore with enough embellishment and craft to situate itself between death metal proper and brutal death metal. All that aside, Vital Deprivation hits (and slams) hard, so if that’s your thing, then this album will also be your thing.

— Andrew Rothmund

Shadow LimbBurn Scar | Seeing Red Records | Progressive | United States (California)

With a sonic blend of gargantuan sludge and intrepid prog à la early Baroness or Mastodon, California four-piece Shadow Limb was first formed in 2013 after the breakup of La Fin du Monde, an instrumental group featuring all of the same members. With their 2017 The King is Dead EP standing as their only official studio release thus far, their upcoming debut record Burn Scar sees the group springing forth from relative obscurity with incredible prowess and mastery over their craft. Mathematically psychedelic solos soar over grooved canyons of stampeding sludge and stoner riffs as vocalists Chris Roberts and Adam Scarborough trade off earth-shaking roars and clean vocals alike. Thematically, the record pays tribute to the losses incurred during the recent wildfires in Paradise, California near the bandmembers’ homes.

— Thomas Hinds

Life of AgonyThe Sound of Scars | Napalm Records | Alternative Rock/Metal | United States (New York)

As a longstanding torrent of creativity, Life of Agony has a lot of “name” behind the music. The Sound of Scars has been penned by the band as “the logical consequence” of the renowned River Runs Red album from 1993, their explosive debut. Whether that pairing holds true is certainly in the ears of the end-listener, but it’s always great to see bands reaching back into the past with one arm and into the future with the other.

— Andrew Rothmund

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