passage a darkness comes

Upcoming Metal Releases 6/25/2017-7/1/2017

If you’re reading this, I turned this column in last Tuesday. In other words, I have to keep this super short to maintain my schedule. Currently visiting family in the middle of this godforsaken country. Clayton will be filling my shoes next week. Be nice.

Here are the new metal releases for the week of June 25, 2017 – July 1, 2017. 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 Friday 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.

send Jon your promos at [email protected]. Do not bother him on social media.

ANTICIPATED RELEASES

Passage – As Darkness Comes | Exorcize Music | Epic Doom Metal | Canada
The duo of Sébastien Robitaille and Luc Gaulin are more widely known as Quebecois ambient black metal band Sorcier des Glaces – if you aren’t aware already, fix it – but, as it turns out, Robitaille’s wintry might also aptly translates into the atmospheric sadness of doom metal. Twelve years have passed since we last heard from Robitaille and Gaulin’s doom metal alter ego Passage, but their sound has aged well. Maintaining the profundity of the “epic” sound seen in their genre tag, Passage takes the more “downtrodden” path, preferring calm introspection to the off-putting, the now trio of Passage’s plaintive approach makes for a much more personal listen.

Vintersorg – Till Fjälls: del II | Napalm Records | Progressive Viking/Folk Metal | Sweden
From my premiere of “Jökelväktaren”:

““Back to roots!” reads the press releases for Vintersorg’s new Till fjälls, del II, and this Swedish trio certainly has. On his tenth album, Andreas “Vintersorg” Hedlund strays from the science fiction and futurism of his recent works, bookending his near-twenty-year career with the mountains which inspired his music. Recalling his first album, now nineteen years old, Till fjälls, del II is an exercise in folky, progressive nostalgia. While elements of the spacey, mid-period works of The Focusing Blur et al work their cosmic magic behind the scenes, the eventuality of Hedland’s circular approach and return to his impetus is a deliberate move. “Jökelväktaren” opens the album with a familiar atmosphere – folky and triumphant, much like his opening works so long ago – but with the maturity of a man who honed his craft over so many years. Revisiting his early works, Vintersorg playfully reinvents his own roots with a respectful, nostalgic meditation on the fire and ice which initially sparked his creativity.”

gravier-marmurtuuumsplit

OF NOTE

Mar Mortuum/GraveirGraveir/Mar Mortuum | Impure Sounds | Black Metal | Australia
It might be bright out, but don’t let that deter you from listening to the black void made sound. Both Graveir and Mar Mortuum’s eerie, deliberate black metal make for an interesting, albeit brief split. Jef Whitehead’s cover art is also greatly appreciated.

Pig’s Blood – Pig’s Blood | Godz ov War Productions | Black/Death Metal | United States
So this comes off as your garden variety “goat metal,” at least on the surface, but there are actually some very catchy riffs hidden beneath the war and stress.

Summon – Aesthetics of Demise | Iron Bonehead Productions | Death/Doom Metal | Portugal
Whenever the “death/doom” tag pops up, I approach with the enamored expectation of something…Peaceville-y. Romantic and downtrodden Summon is not – Aesthetics of Demise possesses the density and obscurity which initially drew me to Portal now over a decade ago, but with the courtesy of much shorter songs.

OTHER RELEASES

Kafirun – Eschaton | Seance Records | Black Metal | Canada
Unsettling, mystical black metal but without all the atmospheric glut.

Weregoat – Pestilential Rites of Infernal Fornication | Iron Bonehead Productions | Black/Death Metal | United States
Something something goat.

Manilla Road – To Kill A King | Golden Core Records | Epic Heavy/Power Metal | United States
Have you not listened to epic heavy metal masters Manilla Road before? What is wrong with you?

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