Upcoming Metal Releases 5/6/2018-5/12/2018

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Here are the new metal releases for the weeks of May 6, 2017 – May 12, 2018. Release dates are formatted according to proposed North American scheduling, if available. Expect to see the bulk of these records on shelves or distros on the coming Fridays unless otherwise noted or if labels and artists get impatient. Blurbs and designations are based on whether or not I have a lot to say about it. See something we missed? Goofs? Let us know in the comments. Plus, as always, feel free to post your own shopping lists. Happy digging. As a little bit of a challenge, include your own opinion about anything you want to add. Make me want to listen to it! Please note: this is a review column and is not speculative. Any announced albums without preview material will not be covered. Additionally, any surprise releases which are uploaded or released after this column is published will be excluded. This week: Silent Stream of Godless Elegy – Smutnice

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ANTICIPATED RELEASES

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Reverorum ib Malacht – Im Ra Distare Summum Soveris Seris Vas Innoble | AnnapurnA | Black Metal/Dark Ambient/Noise | Sweden From my premiere of “Etiam si omnes, ego non”:

From the chrysalis emerges the terrifying, formidable Im Ra Summum Soveris Seris Vas Innoble. Suddenly, everything falls into place, and Reverorum ib Malacht assumes its truest form, fully assuming the band’s self-imbued stylistic conceit. Their most “black metal-oriented” album in years, Im Ra… is imposing, a nodding beast of powerful, nodding movements and echoic presence. Each element within announces itself with an unprecedented clarity, building upon itself to overwhelming elevation. The album itself can, at times, be recognized as black metal, partly due to the transubstantiation of older guitar tracks from the pre-conversion era (read as: Dödfödd, at least most likely), as well as Lundin’s exceedingly heavy drum approach, but Malacht’s seven heads bury any opportunity to be defined under any qualifier other than their own. This is the “[n]o limits, all in, more is more” to which Lundin alluded last year. This is the terrifying music of devotion and submission. Reverorum ib Malacht is Roman Catholic Black Metal.

Skinless – Savagery | Relapse Records | Brutal Death Metal | United States I hadn’t checked out Skinless since about 2006, but all the insane crowd-killing riffs are still there. For some odd reason they get lumped in with the whole “brutal death metal” thing, but make no mistake, the brutality here isn’t that slippery, “sound of water going down a drain” sort of grossness. No, this is brutal like a bloody hammerfight.

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OF NOTE

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Fractal Gates – The Light That Shines | Rain Without End Records | Progressive Melodic Death Metal | France I am generally a sucker for anything former Ningizzia mastermind Stephane Peudupin participates in, and Fractal Gates is no different. Hearkening back to the more progressive end of melodic death metal (think bands like Vehemence or Edge of Sanity), Fractal Gates may not be Peudupin’s most original band, per se, but the pure, raw emotion here is definitely worth a shot. Body Void – I Live Inside a Burning House | Seeing Red/Crown & Throne Ltd./Dry Cough Records | Sludge/Drone/Doom Metal | United States The crushing sounds of death and corporeal disfigurement. Ill Bill/Ghoul – Split | Tankcrimes Records | Rap / Death/Thrash Metal/Grindcore | United States Ill Bill is a name I haven’t heard in a very long time (does anyone remember his best pal Nekro?), but it makes sense a goofy band like Ghoul would pair up with this “death metal rapper.” Honestly? It is pretty fun, but these things are just kind of novelties… kind of like a gimmick!

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FOR THE ADVENTUROUS

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Primitive Man – Steel Casket | Crown and Throne Ltd./Tartarus Records | Drone/Noise | United States Some of you might recall Primitive Man’s special EP of noise and drone which was recorded during the Caustic sessions. Honestly, I would have used that title for these two lengthy tracks.

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FROM THE GRAVE

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Nevermore – Enemies of Reality | Century Media Records | Progressive Metal | United States I had a pretty rough time when Warrel Dane died earlier this year. Enemies of Reality was the soundtrack of an entire year of my life long, long ago. This is the pinnacle of heavy, progressive music without veering into the “extreme,” though Nevermore was certainly extreme in their own right. Tiamat – A Different Kind of Slumber | Century Media Records | Gothic Metal/Rock | Sweden It took me a long time to get into Tiamat, which is weird. Granted, the vocals on Wildhoney are still not very good, but albums like A Different Kind of Slumber speak directly to my love of really cheesy, sad goth rock. This is my chance to redeem myself. Sanguine Eagle – Individuation | Crown and Throne Ltd. | Black Metal | United States Magnificent, harsh black metal grandiosity. The first relic of the House of First Light collective’s most brazen and powerful son, Sanguine Eagle’s 2016 demoIndividuation finds its way onto the vinyl format.

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OTHER RELEASES

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The Body – I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer | Thrill Jockey Records | Drone/Noise/Doom Metal (I guess) | United States I live in a universe where The Body broke up after Christs, Redeemers. These forays into what they call “pop” have been quaint at best, but met with a loathsome faux-apathy which would be dismissed if Chip King and Lee Buford were waifish and had wispy mustaches. The inclusion of opera-noise artist Lingua Ignota is cool, and, honestly, the strongest part of the album, but I generally feel The Body, themselves, are just kind of duping us. I await the rebirth of their “Music Journalism” patch. De Profundis – The Blinding Light of Faith | Transcending Obscurity Records | Progressive Death/Black Metal | England I wish there was a more defined line between “progressive” and “technical” in metal. Playing a lot of notes really fast doesn’t, at least classically, make one progressive, but here is a bad offender in the world of genre acrobatics. Gallery – Eternal Night | Savage Night Recordings | Black Metal | United States Pure black metal. Really nicely done, but not the most memorable music of all time. I can say that about most black metal, so I guess take from that what you will.

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