Upcoming Metal Releases: 10/17/2021-10/23/2021
Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of October 17th, 2021 to October 23th, 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
Dream Theater — A View from the Top of the World | InsideOut Music | Progressive Metal | United States
Dream Theater and Cradle of Filth releasing an album on the same day? Makes me weirdly nostalgic, which is weird solely because both of these major-label bands have been consistently cranking out albums throughout most of my life.
Anyway, yeah, this is pretty much what I’d expect from modern Dream Theater, progressive but also pretty catchy, perhaps not quite as daring as past releases—but note the 20 minute title track closing it off!
–Ted Nubel
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Cradle of Filth — Existence is Futile | Nuclear Blast | Extreme Gothic Metal | United Kingdom
Cradle of Filth, unnaturally consistent as always, is back with their—wait, I’m not going to count all these—er, latest album combining over-the-top Gothic flair with some great riffs and vocals that are kind of an acquired taste.
–Ted Nubel
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Worm — Foreverglade | 20 Buck Spin | Funeral Doom + Death | United States (Florida)
Foreverglade is a pungent take on funeral doom. Worm erect a reeking catacomb out of OSDM flirtations and black metal howls. The album promises to be a “scratch-and-sniff” affair.
–Colin Dempsey
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1914 — Where Fear and Weapons Meet | Napalm Records | Blackened Death Metal | Ukraine
Blackened death metal doesn’t usually sound this heroic, especially if it breaches as bleak of topics that 1914 analyze. However, their heroicism is morose. Historical anecdotes and war samplings crystallize 1914’s period piece.
–Colin Dempsey
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Green Lung — Black Harvest | Svart Records | Doom + Stoner Metal | United Kingdom (London, England)
Green Lung didn’t rise to stoner doom supremacy through tricks, guile, or jumping on an aesthetic bandwagon: no, they erupted as a premiere doom offering in 2019 on the sheer force of riffs alone. Black Harvest has many such show-stopping riffs to offer, though there’s also some goth/post-punk undertones in play here. It’s more atmospheric and definitely more diverse.
–Ted Nubel
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Blackwater Holylight — Silence/Motion | RidingEasy Records | Stoner + Doom Metal + Psychedelic Rock | United States (Portland, OR)
I feel like the possibilities of combining psychedelic rock (well, more than the Hawkwind/Pink Floyd 1970s subset of it that we normally just see) with doom metal have not been fully explored, but at least Blackwater Holylight is here to do that. On Silence/Motion, they combine a sort of progressive, indie-psych rock sound with fuzzed-out guitars and doomy aesthetic: heavy, especially in spirit, but also gentle and imaginative.
–Ted Nubel
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Apparition — Feel | Profound Lore Records | Death + Doom Metal | United States (Los Angeles, CA)
I could feel the brain cells draining from me within seconds of hitting play on this, and by the time I finished the opening track “Unequilibrium,” I was ready to believe that was actually a legitimate English word in the first place. It’s actually pretty clever death-doom, but it has a way of stitching riffs together with just enough pauses to pull apart your consciousness.
–Ted Nubel
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Hexenbrett — Intermezzo dei quattro coltelli nudi | Dying Victims Productions | Black + Heavy Metal | Austria
Hexenbrett continues to be one of the most rewardingly bizarre black metal bands out there, interspersing heavy metal and a healthy appreciate for the strange side of horror into their music. On this latest EP, they’ve even got a cover of the Misfits classic “Return of the Fly” to accentuate some feverish originals.
–Ted Nubel
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Knife — Knife | Dying Victims Productions | Black + Speed Metal + Punk | Germany
From Brandon Corsair’s track premiere of “Inside the Electric Church”:
Dirty black speedpunk is a particular favorite of mine when it’s done well, and cult German label Dying Victims Productions have a special ear for the stuff. Their latest offering is from German compatriots Knife, whose sharp-edged aesthetic (seriously, not a pun—just check out that handsome bladed logo!) matches well with a sense for heavy metal melody that helps them stand aside from waves of other bands that worship at the twin altars of Venom and Motörhead.
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Massacre — Resurgence | Nuclear Blast | Death Metal | United States (Tampa, FL)
I feel compelled to somewhat compare this to Inhuman Condition’s 2021 release Rat God, since that band was formed by ex-Massacre members in 2020 and almost offers an alternate-history take on what Massacre could sound like now. If you liked the classic incarnation of the band, I’d definitely recommend that release—as for Resurgence, I dig the Lovecraftian angle and the madcap tempos, but honestly it’s much more of a new angle for the band that may or may not be what you’re looking for.
–Ted Nubel
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Shadowland — The Necromancer’s Castle | No Remorse Records | Heavy Metal | United States (New York, NY)
Meaty, visceral heavy metal charged with dual-guitar prowess, interesting vocals, and simply unbeatable promo photos. It’s a pretty unbeatable approach, really—my only complaint is that they’ve included a song called “Easy Livin'” that’s not a cover of the Uriah Heep track, and I was absolutely sure they could have pulled that off stunningly.
–Ted Nubel
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Primeval Well — Talkin’ in Tongues with Mountain Spirits | Moonlight Cypress Archetypes | Black Metal + Folk | United States (Tennessee)
If you like your cowboy shit fully saddled up with chaps and a lasso then pony on up to Primeval Well. They encapsulate Southern Gothic, especially the Southern, moreso than most stylistically similar acts.
–Colin Dempsey
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Horns of Domination — Where Voices Leave No Echo | Sepulchral Voice Productions | Black Metal + Death Metal | Germany
If you want curvaceous death metal riffs, vocals as burnt as charcoal, and patient, convex song structures, then strap into Horns of Domination. If you don’t, allow Horns of Domination to convince you otherwise.
–Colin Dempsey
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The Sonic Overlords — Last Days of Babylon | M-Theory Audio | Heavy Metal | Sweden
The Sonic Overlords bring big 80s energy, when dual guitars swaggered and heartfelt, full-throated vocals clamored. It’s more arena-oriented than it is antagonistic, and that’s a good thing.
–Colin Dempsey
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In From the Cold — Isolation Blues | Independent | Sludge Metal + Stoner Metal | Serbia
In From the Cold’s courageous stoner metal riffs soundtrack streaky, hoarse vocals that speak to the isolation’s banality. That means they approach the subject matter through stark imagery of beer cans, porn videos, and weed.
–Colin Dempsey
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