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Upcoming Metal Releases 9/3/2018-10/6/2018

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Here are the new metal releases for the weeks of September 30 – October 6, 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.

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

ANTICIPATED RELEASES

One Tail, One Head – Worlds Open, Worlds Collide | Terratur Possessions | Black Metal | Norway
This is black metal. Pure, unadulterated, riff-fueled mania. With demos dating back to the cult Fossbrenna Creations label (now ten years ago, what?!), One Tail, One Head has taken the long route to their debut full-length, and the element of time really shows here. There is no modern atmospheric glut, no senseless experimenting. One Tail, One Head has no desire to be anything other than the purest of the pure when it comes to black metal. Breathe it deep.

Ultha – The Inextricable Wandering | Century Media Records | Atmospheric Black Metal | Germany
From Andrew’s premiere of “Cyanide Lips”:

Personal background is important to understanding Ultha’s take on black metal. While not strictly conventional, the band relies on complex swaths of blast beats, meandering song structures and chords, and a plethora of tempo changes. The mood is permanently dark, basking in the shadows of a blackened sun, carried forth on the hollow howls of frontman and guitarist Ralph Schmidt. This is to say that The Inextricable Wandering is a lot to take in at once; however, if viewed as a journey, or an expression of a journey past, it comes sharper into focus.

High on Fire – Electric Messiah | eOne | Stoner/Sludge/Doom Metal/Riffs | United States
There have been photos of Matt Pike wearing shirts lately. It’s unthinkable, but don’t let a thin layer of cotton convince you that the man has “gone soft.” Much like with the rest of High on Fire’s discography, Electric Messiah is an unholy collection of crazed, endless riffwork — as heavy as it is memorable.

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OF NOTE

Lucifericon – Al-Khem-Me | Invictus Productions | Death Metal | Netherlands
Much like Langdon, I’m listening to death metal. More on that soon.

A Storm Of Light – Anthroscene | Translation Loss Records | Post-Metal | United States
A Storm of Light was always one of the lesser post-metal bands. Like, sure, Josh Graham was cool as the visual member of Neurosis, and, yes, nothing by A Storm of Light is bad. Five years after their last album, there really isn’t anything different here. An atmospheric mix of metal, gothic undertones, and abstract pop. These are all elements which could lead to something cool, but… A Storm of Light swings and just barely misses.

Slaegt – The Wheel | Ván Records | Black/Heavy Metal | Denmark
Venturer beware, here be riffs. Slaegt makes no qualms with essentially being a heavy metal band at this point, and the joyous darkness found within The Wheel is just catchy enough, just blackened enough, to be something really special.

FOR THE ADVENTUROUS

Author & Punisher – Beastland | Relapse Records | Industrial | United States
So, first off, I think Author and Punisher is more of a band to see live. Tristan Shone’s crazy, 100% handmade metal machinery is just so damn cool to watch, it ultimately makes the experience something immersive and fully enjoyable on a visual and aural level. Just listening to Author and Punisher, though, doesn’t really offer the intensity of watching a man battle hundreds of pounds of electric steel. It’s cool and has a special sort of digital intensity (this is, after all, 100% electronic), but, as someone who never really got into industrial music, Author and Punisher is a hand which reaches to bridge the gap between industrial music and metal from the industrial side (as opposed to Godflesh reaching to industrial music from metal) and doesn’t quite reach me. This is something which is more interesting than it is enjoyable, at least for me.

OTHER RELEASES

Windhand – Eternal Return | Relapse Records | Stoner/Doom Metal | United States
People seemed to disagree with my general apathy toward Windhand’s lukewarm stoner/doom metal. Vocalist Dorthia Cottrell is definitely not short of talent, but Windhand still does nothing to reinvent the wheel. I could just listen to… any other stoner/doom band and get the larger totality of this album. Someone needs to at least partially reinvent the wheel.

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