Upcoming Metal Releases: 2/2/20 -- 2/8/20

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Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of February 2nd to February 8th, 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.

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

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Sepultura — Quadra | Nuclear Blast | Thrash | Brazil

Sepultura go way back, obviously, but I’ll be damned if anyone expected Quadra to be as rock-solid as it actually is. This is thrash incarnate, brought forward a couple decades of course, but still in touch with its roots deep down. The Cavalera brothers might be long-gone, but Sepultura lives through its spirit, not necessarily the members in the band at any given time. Once you reach that plateau as a band, too, there’s pretty much nothing stopping you except for your own faults. Here, Sepultra make few if any errors in unleashing top-notch thrash upon an unsuspecting world.

— Andrew Rothmund

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The Spirit — Cosmic Terror | Art of Propaganda | Blackened Death Metal | Germany

Horror-oriented black/death metal as told through the heartless, frozen silicon of outer-space circuitry. The hybridized riffs here are sinister, aiming to smash through like hammer-blows. Once a breach is established, in come the tasty solos and catchy vocals to lay waste to your doubts. The stylish album art is pretty nifty, too, though the Cyclopean device depicted appears to be a rather extreme way to work on one’s stair climbing.

— Ted Nubel

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Krosis — A Memoir of Free Will | Unique Leader Records | Death Metal | United States (North Carolina)

From Andrew Rothmund’s premiere of “Battles Are Won Within”:

Despite all the black and doom metal I ingest — all those silky atmospherics I soak up so willy-nilly — I still have a serious weak spot: proggy, unrepentant deathcore shit. Basically, the opposite. Maybe I consider it some kind of balance; that, or maybe my taste is metal is just all over the goddamn place and I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. All I do know is that there’s this band Krosis and their upcoming second full-length A Memoir of Free Will is heavy as shit. Borrowing from djent, deathcore, technical death metal, brutal stuff, and slam, Krosis have come up with a savage formula that wields significant heft while also being nimble and flexible. The new album isn’t all blasts and breakdowns; the band actually conjures up some dynamics to breathe actual life into what would otherwise be the machinations of intensely furious cyborgs.

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Sylosis — Cycle of Suffering | Nuclear Blast | Melodic Death Metal + Thrash | United Kingdom

Sylosis has been a hit-or-miss band for me, but nevertheless, they’ve been around quite a while and clearly know what they’re up to. I don’t think Cycle of Suffering breaks any super-high barriers for the band (2015’s Dormant Heart was actually quite strong and offers great self-competition for this new record). That said, the new album is extremely confident, extremely catchy, and plenty juicy. You might have to be an existing Sylosis fan with knowledge of their back-catalogue to really draw everything this music offers, though.

— Andrew Rothmund

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Svart Crown — Wolves Among the Ashes | Century Media | Blackened Death Metal | France

Five full-lengths in (counting this one), Svart Crown have maintained excellent consistency over the past decade or so. Wolves Among the Ashes is a strong, strong contender for best Svart Crown album ever (not to decry from Abreaction from 2017 which had some bite as well) — it’s not going to blow the lid off any genre boundaries, but it will excite anyone looking for powerful death metal carrying with it a significant blackening.

— Andrew Rothmund

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Voimaton — Promo E​.​P. (Live Rehearsal – 01​/​25​/​2020) | Death Metal + Doom | United States (Illinois)

Following their equally-unambiguously-titled Demo 2019 release, Voimaton casually dropped a two-song EP on Sunday, clearly unafraid of the Super Bowl robbing them of attention. Setting out at a quicker pace than some of the demo offerings, this EP bottles up two rancid servings of the Chicago-style death-doom the trio offers: a sludgy, brackish affair with guttural growls, bottom-heavy drums, and WHO-sanctioned riffs. This has been put to tape with a very clear goal, echoed twice in their Bandcamp texts for effect: to find a label with the appropriate facilities to handle their growing contagion.

— Ted Nubel

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Envy — The Fallen Crimson | Temporary Residence | Post-Metal | Japan

As a longtime Envy fan, I really want to like this album, but, alas, I really don’t. Treading into Insomniac Doze stately post-metal territory as opposed to their more energetic, introspective post-rock/screamo/hardcore/whatever you want to call it, The Fallen Crimson‘s concentration on atmospherics over raw emotion makes it… just kind of okay. I still enjoy at least a few songs, but I think I’ll just go back to A Dead Sinking Story this time around.

— Jon Rosenthal

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God Dethroned — Illuminati | Metal Blade | Blackened Death Metal | Netherlands

The 11th God Dethroned album (and the second following the 2014 revival). Sounds like God Dethroned, which may or may not be your thing.

— Andrew Rothmund

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Cloud Cruiser — I: Capacity | Shuga Records | Stoner Rock | United States (Illinois)

Chicago stoner rock doesn’t usually stay in the same vein as the desert rock bands of warmer climates, but Cloud Cruiser’s grungy, concept-fueled rock is about as Sky Valley-bound as you’re gonna get around here, avoiding mixing in occult doom in favor of extraterrestrial adventures told through upbeat jams. Climb aboard and let the dulcet tones of their fuzzy amps wash away reality for a little bit.

— Ted Nubel

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OvO — Miasma | Artoffact Records | Noise Rock | Italy

Claustrophobic and compromising, maybe “noise rock” doesn’t go far enough to describe Miasma fully. Noise comprises OvO’s roots, but there’s so much avant-garde experimentation here that sometimes you need to challenge your preconceptions of music to begin with. Fans of Street Sects might like what they hear here, though I feel like Miasma might be slightly more digestible (to its benefit) than the few peers which immediately come to mind.

— Andrew Rothmund

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Thoren — Gwarth II | Dryland Records | Death Metal | United States (Michigan)

Do you like fucking riffs? I like riffs, so I like Gwarth II, instrumental tech-death actually worth listening to. This effort by Thoren is exceptionally angular, obtuse, and downright wild. Highest recommendations for anyone who wants their grey matter churned into grey butter to be used on satan’s morning toast.

— Andrew Rothmund

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