Upcoming Metal Releases 7/24/2016-7/30/2016

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Oh man, last week was a week. I haven’t been to that many separate shows in one week since I was in college, and Spectral Voice, Undergang, AEvangelist, Krieg, Anicon, Fin, and Haunter totally killed it. I normally have terrible anxiety about going to shows, but I guess it’s more comforting when you see friends play music. What shows have all y’all been to as of late?

Also, it is way too hot to spend too much time writing. It’s currently 88 degrees Fahrenheit, but the humidity makes it feel like it’s actually over 100. I hate summer.

Here are the new metal releases for the week of July 24, 2016 – July 30, 2016. 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.

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ANTICIPATED RELEASES

Shataan – Weigh of the Wolf | Iron Bonehead Productions/Crepúsculo Negro | Avant-Garde Black Metal/Rock | United States

You’re going to have to wait to get a good listen to this beauty. We’re hosting a full stream later this week.

Those already familiar with Shataan probably know the reclusive black metal outfit as part of the Black Twilight Circle, a collective of black metal musicians and groups based in Southern California. While Volahn is far and away the most well-known Black Twilight Circle act, Shataan’s contribution to the collective’s Desert Dances and Serpent Sermons compilation last year was probably the best composition on that release. At least it was my favorite. Expect more of the same, although greatly expanded and elaborated upon, from Weigh of the Wolf. Charming low-key black metal riffs make a pleasant backdrop for expressive guitar solos and a great deal of native flute playing. The Black Twilight Circle all share mesoamerican heritage, and the influence of their ancestral roots music unites their style, but Shataan probably expresses that influence most prominently. Either you’re going to think this sounds like Darkthrone mixed with National Geographic title card music, or you’re going to find it fascinating. Meet me in the latter camp, we’re gonna barbecue later. The rest of you can eat McDonalds and get off my lawn.

–Joseph Schafer

A.M.S.G. – Hostis Universi Generis | Profound Lore Records | Black Metal | Canada
AMSG – Ad Majoram Satanae Gloriam – for the glory of Satan. The second quarter of 2016 has been Profound Lore Records’s dedication to “religious black metal.” Though Gevurah’s orthodoxy was steeped in thick atmospheres and strange drones, AMSG’s own brand of devotional strangeness delves deep into long, psychedelic passages and unbridled Satanic rage. The proselyte may take up serpents, but AMSG devours them.

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OF NOTE

Ghoul – Dungeon Bastards | Tankcrimes Records | Death/Thrash Metal/Grindcore | Creepsylvania (United States)
The ghouls from Creepsylvania doing what they do best – gory, catchy death/thrash metal. Granted. This is par for the course from these weathered monsters, but Dungeon Bastards is a different kind of beast entirely. In fact, it isn’t just an album – it’s a board game, kind of like Candyland, but instead of getting stuck in the Gumdrop Forest…you fucking die.

Korgonthurus – Vuohen siunaus | Woodcut Records | Black Metal | Finland
Big, gross Finnish black metal. I’m more attuned to the melodic, folky, “dark metal” from bands like Thy Serpent and Mustan Kuun Lapset, but Korgonthurus’s filth cuts right to the bone. It’s hard to recognize the hidden multi-faceted nature of a country’s “scene,” but Vuohen siunaus is a solid reminder that the Finns are so much more than gothic-tinged, folky melody and sugary atmosphere.

Ringworm – Snake Church | Relapse Records | Thrash Metal/Hardcore | United States

From Rob’s premiere of “The Razor and the Knife”:

“In Ringworm’s chosen mode, consistency is a virtue, and this album rips in all the right ways. It’s a riff machine, furious, smart, punishingly heavy, catchy and, weirdly enough, a pretty good bit of fun. Snake Church offers the particular satisfaction of hearing something just done right, and that’s a rarer feeling than you might hope.”

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FOR THE ADVENTUROUS

Hollow Sunshine – Bible Sea | Iron Pier | Dream Pop/Slowcore/Electronic | United States
Ever since their impetus as a duo with New Light, Hollow Sunshine has been on the fast-track from “doomgaze” to “gloompop.” With the last vestiges of any thick distortion having fizzled out with last year’s Bring Gold, the Bible Sea is Hollow Sunshine fully “lifting the veil” and revealing to all of us that this was indeed their intent: they want to make pop music. The electronic influence which melts through the cracks as the EP progresses, when melded with the Galaxie 500-inspired slowcore atmospheres, shows Hollow Sunshine is more than well on their way to becoming Yo La Tengo v2.

Eerie – Eerie | Tee Pee Records | Blackened Hard Rock/Metal | United States
Weirdo, cryptid-obsessed Sisters of Mercy hard rock with overt proto-black metal elements. Featuring members of Alaric and Draugar (yeah, what an intersection), Eerie’s self-titled debut is the collaboration between Jaz Coleman and Andy LaRocque we deserved but sadly never got.

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FROM THE GRAVE

Panopticon – Revisions Of The Past | Bindrune Recordings/Nordvis | Atmospheric Black Metal | United States
So you’ve heard these albums, but not like this. Social Disservices and On the Subject of Mortality were A.Lundr’s first forays into introspective, personal exploration and are by far my favorites in his catalog, but they never really *sounded* as good as they could have been. Now remastered by Chicago-local studio wizard Spenser Morris (also of Vukari), Panopticon’s revisions unveil elements previously hidden due to unfitting studio work.

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OTHER RELEASES

Tomb Mold – The Bottomless Perdition | Blood Harvest | Death Metal | Canada
Gross, gross, gross death metal. Blood Harvest is putting it out, so you should know exactly what you’re getting into this time.

Sinsaenum – Echoes of the Tortured | earMUSIC | Black/Death Metal | International
Supergroups…ehhh. Members of Daath, Mayhem, and…Slipknot? Honestly, this sounds like a half-hearted attempt at covering Satyricon’s “K.I.N.G.”

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