Upcoming Metal Releases: 3/28/2021 - 4/3/2021
Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of March 28th, 2021 to April 3rd, 2021. Releases 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.
Upcoming Releases
Wode — Burn in Many Mirrors | 20 Buck Spin | Black Metal | United Kingdom
Wode has been killing it ever since they released their debut album in 2016 and clearly they’re not stopping anytime soon. Wode’s new album Burn in Many Mirrors is a nearly-flawless blend of black, death, and progressive metal, as if early Opeth heard the metal of the future and immediately decided to jump the gun. It also helps that Burn in Many Mirrors sounds super clear to showcase all it has going on, though with just enough grime that you can’t quite shake that blackened feeling.
–Greg Kennelty
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Steel Bearing Hand — Slay In Hell | Carbonized Records | Death + Thrash Metal | United States (Texas)
Texas based death/thrash unit Steel Bearing Hand and their epic album Slay In Hell are the very definition of heavy. This sophomore effort is truly focused from the outset with ‘Command of the Infernal Exarch’ blasting down the door; Steel Bearing Hand does not knock. All 6 songs get to showcase the band’s blurring of the lines between death and thrash metal with each piece being integral to the collective whole, even in the fully fleshed out 12 and a half minute closer ‘Ensaunguined’. With recent and upcoming albums from Nekromantheon, Obsolete, and Fuego Eterno, thrash is alive and very well in 2021 and Slay In Hell makes an indelible mark on what is metal this year, snapping ample necks and blowing out eardrums with aplomb along the way.
–Tom Campagna
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Haunt — Beautiful Distraction | Church Recordings | Traditional Heavy Metal | United States
Haunt is one of those bands where consistency and speed of output is a blessing and a curse: if you like one Haunt album, you’ll probably like them all, but stumbling onto the project as a new listener and realizing there were three full-length albums in 2020 is a bit daunting, I have to imagine. This is solid traditional metal as always, and superfans of the band aren’t likely to be disappointed, but I’m not sure I’m mentally ready for another one yet.
–Ted Nubel
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Unflesh — Inhumation | Independent | Melodic Blackened Death Metal | United States
From Ted Nubel’s full-album premiere here:
Inhumation balances attributes that often exist at separate poles of the metal world: here, gloom is not the enemy of momentum, and brutality is not diluted by the presence of melody. Drawing on this foundation, it dramatically weaves between atmospheric and meat-grinding passages, capturing attention and dodging any possible staleness or repetition while shifting through death metal’s various forms.
–Ted Nubel
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The Mountain King — The Smell of Stars and Vomit 2 | Cursed Monk Records | Doom + Drone Metal | Germany
A 90+ minute doom/drone concept album about being lost in space and fusing with your spacesuit? Fuck yeah—I was instantly interested in this before I’d heard a second of it. As it turns out, it’s excellently weird—a psychedelic-tinged experiment that has solid, unusual vocals to back its daring concept up. It stays enough inside the realm of rock music to have some meat on its mighty bones, but there’s also a more ambient side to it. Don’t expect instant gratification, of course: 94 minutes is so long that it actually takes two CDs in physical form, and it means that you need to carve out a serious chunk of time to process this.
–Ted Nubel
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SpellForger — Upholders of Evil | Personal Records | Thrash + Black + Speed Metal | Indonesia
Exhumed straight from the crypts of early 1990s extreme metal, this take on thrash/black/speed is killer right off the bat. Sick guitar harmonies, an evil sense of melody, aggressive riffs, vocals drowned in reverb: all exactly as it was decades ago at the genesis of this wicked style.
–Ted Nubel
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Wiedergänger — Cult of Extinction | Independent | Atmospheric Black Metal | Germany
Artful black metal with deep, imposing vocals that skew towards demented rasps while discussing its cynically philosophical subject matter.
–Ted Nubel
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The Sun and the Mirror — Dissolution to Salt and Bone | Brucia Records | Drone + Doom Metal | United States
A harrowing journey through drone and doom that takes both to bleak extremes. Stay tuned for our full premiere of this tomorrow along with a fascinating Q&A!
–Ted Nubel
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Lebensnacht — The Realm Beyond | Naturmacht Productions | Black Metal | Germany
Ghostly synths, biting guitars, and aggrieved howls vie for your attention in this frosty, nostalgic slice of classic black metal.
–Ted Nubel
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Aphrodite — Orgasmic Glory | Independent | Speed Metal | Canada (Ottawa)
This is a good example of what I’ve heard referred to as “dungeon speed”: speed metal that sounds weirdly lo-fi, but somehow still sounds epic nonetheless. Hopefully, this will get a cassette release for full authenticity.
–Ted Nubel
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