Upcoming Metal Releases: 7/7/19 -- 7/13/19
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Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of July 7th to July 13th, 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.
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Surprise Releases + Things We Missed
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Panopticon — …Scars II (The Basics) | Folk + Americana | United States (Minnesota)
What a treat from Panopticon mastermind Austin Lunn here: …Scars II (The Basics) comprises the songs from the second half of last year’s magnum opus double-release album, only here they are “stripped down and recorded live.” This means vocals and guitar only, removing much of the shoegazey atmosphere (which I touched on in my extensive review of the release) for a more bare-bones feel. And it works gloriously, actually, with Lunn’s hardened voice offering plenty of grit and gravel to juxtapose the somber beauty of his acoustic guitar playing. Deep down, Scars II (The Basics) feels authentic in its own right; nevertheless and notwithstanding, the album is nowhere near “metal” in a strict sense, but Lunn of course has imbued a powerful metal spirit into the emotionality of even this most technically basic iteration of his music.
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Unreqvited — River EP | Ambient | Canada
Here is some more minimalist ambient soundscaping from the DSBM/blackgaze master, following-up a similar release from earlier this year. To me, these soothingly dark songs feel like perfect adjoiners to something like last year’s full-length Mosaic I: l’amour et l’ardeur, or maybe the aperitif depending on what order you want to digest this delicate and intricate music. It’s great that all these albums nestle perfectly under a solidly defined Unreqvited “sound,” resonating within an explorable themed universe of the sound’s own creation. This artistic cohesion allows for something more dynamic than the genre tags possibly lead you to believe, depending on what your perspective is on the realm of blackgaze vis-a-vis a “depressive and uplifting” sound overall.
Bonus: check out Jenna’s recent interview with project mastermind 鬼 about his other musical output via The Ember, The Ash.
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Upcoming Releases
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Impavida — Antipode | Van Records | Black Metal | Germany
I cannot get enough of this type of black metal: hyperbolically atmospheric, but sharpened to such a pin-point that you end up pierced by the music, not just saturated by it; also, above all else, it doesn’t end up over-blown (a big risk when black metal bands reach for the cosmos). As for Antipode, though, it’s the causticity of the vocals which hone the sound’s final, near-perfect edge — seriously, some of these screams and hows will downright give you chills, and they really help “burn in” the music mentally. Meanwhile, the instrumentation forms the blast-hardened steel of Impavida’s structure, a dense array of ever-shifting riffs and drum blasts which seem to echo cavernously within the album’s extremely bleak production (it does pay off to crank this one for maximum fidelity). While the music’s mechanics are ever-shifting in the immediate sense — there’s quite a bit of technical instrumentation often going on within other layers of noise — Antipode‘s emotional wavelengths undulate like steep, treeless hills on a dark horizon. This is black metal sensationally rich with flavor, of course, resulting in a rewarding listen; when you fully digest Antipode, though, it unforgivingly slices right back through you.
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Disentomb — The Decaying Light | Unique Leader | Death Metal | Australia
The third full-length from Australian slam dealers Disentomb, The Decaying Light comes as yet another disgusting entry into the group’s ever-expanding discography of gory and guttural brutal death metal. Assaulting the listener with an unrelenting whirlwind of double-bass and jagged, serpentine riffs, The Decaying Light consists of 13 tracks of straightforward and tightly wound brutality, all topped off by surprisingly crispy production. Demonstrating the primal savagery of slam with a more tasteful and virtuosic edge, Disentomb’s latest record will undoubtedly pique the interests of those seeking a more refined take on the subgenre.
— Thomas Hinds
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Svadilfare — Fortapte Roetter | Naturmacht Productions | Black Metal | Norway
This is the fourth full-length from this Norwegian one-man black metal project, specializing in raw atmospherics and plenty of ups-and-downs between blistering blasts and ice-cold retreats, as it should be. Second-wave black metal fans should find much to enjoy within Fortapte Roetter‘s dynamic but decisively old-school breadth, but Svadilfare’s more modern attention to the detail and application of atmosphere lends the album to wider appreciability for sure.
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Batushka — Hospodi | Metal Blade | Black Metal | Poland
Following a lineup split and intense controversy concerning the true ownership of the outfit’s name and fate, Polish liturgical black metal group Batushka broke into two factions earlier this year. Though guitarist Krzysztof Drabikowski claims sole creative responsibility for Batushka’s breakout 2015 album Litourgiya, it is his former compatriots who still carry the outfit’s original moniker and existing contract with Metal Blade, under which they are set to release their sophomore full-length Hospodi. Though Hospodi still emulates the same mix of dark religious imagery and traditional black metal established on Litourgiya, many die-hard fans of the group have deemed this new record unfaithful to band’s true creative identity and instead proclaim Drabikowski’s solo record Панихид as the true continuation of Batushka.
— Thomas Hinds
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Aeon Winds — Stormveiled | Avantgarde | Black Metal | Slovakia
Stormveiled is the bombastic sophomore effort by Aeon Winds, a four-piece which relishes in imbuing their black metal with ambient interludes and a shitton of melody. Honestly, sometimes the onslaught can be overwhelming; holding on to the railings, though, and Aeon Winds can give you a decent rush. Their brand of black metal traverses everything from heavily layered, synth-ridden ascents to moments of proggy guitar noodling across catchy melodies — it’s obtusely lush and, indeed, has great moments with high slap-factor.
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Torche — Admission | Relapse | Rock + Sludge | United States (Florida)
A rare southern gem uncovered in the barren mines of Miami’s metal scene, native Floridians Torche have been developing their own uniquely jolly blend of sludgy tones and stoner riffs since their 2005 self-titled debut. Now approaching the release of their highly anticipated fifth record Admission, the group sees itself expanding on the themes and atmospheres that have consistently defined its sound, culminating in a fresh take on their material more versatile and crushing than ever before. By simultaneously reaching into heavier and catchier spaces, Torche have pushed themselves even further into their own idiosyncratic realm of undeniably fresh heavy rock/metal fusion.
— Thomas Hinds
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False — Portent | Gilead | Black Metal | United States (Minnesota)
The greatest metal performance I’ve ever witnessed was False tearing up a basement show. It was simply spectacular: the viscerality, the complexity, the effortless speed with which this band wields its black metal comeuppance is nothing short of almighty. The performance was frighteningly intense, but sublime catharsis cut through the fright and doled itself out in spades on the furious wavelengths of sound this band summoned from an unimaginable void. And the drumming, holy heavens, the drumming: it’s the sort of playing which really makes you question the existence of cyborgs. Anyway, the new album, Portent… I’ll put it this way: I’m skewed and biased on this band. False’s performance in that basement years ago cannot be matched, even by new False, in my mind. It’s definitely in context of that time and place and setting, but that performance stamped a permanent mark on my mind. Really, Portent is very good black metal; instead of pitting it against the now-renowned Untitled album, which I might tend to do mentally, think of it as a companion instead. Together, these albums paint a wonderfully lush and detailed picture of what’s capable — and what can be challenged — in modern USBM.
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Wear Your Wounds — Rust on the Gates of Heaven | Deathwish Inc. | Post-Metal + Post-Rock | United States (Massachusetts)
The project from Converge founder Jacob Bannon is back, featuring members (or ex-members) from The Red Chord, Cave In, Trap Them, and so many more. Luckily, with Rust on the Gates of Heaven in mind, Wear Your Wounds avoids that “supergroup” feel entirely, instead offering up a postmodern take on heavy emotionality expressed through undulating walls of sound. This is a huge album for sure — it definitely sounds huge and it aims sky-high with its monumental climaxes — but it will likely champion close, solo listens versus anything less intimate. Rust on the Gates of Heaven is a hot bath for soaking.
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Concrete Winds — Primitive Force | Blackened Death Metal | Finland
Fucking woah.
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