Upcoming Metal Releases: 10/4/20 -- 10/10/20

Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of October 4th to October 10th, 2020. 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.

Surprise Releases + Things We Missed

Giant — Born Again Dead Again | Independent | Stoner Metal + Doom Metal | Australia

Bandcamp offers a lot of real estate to describe what your album is about, right underneath the tracklist. Some bands will put in snippets of reviews, maybe a bio, press blurb, or history of how the album came to be. Here’s how Giant uses that space:

“BIG RIFFS GET EM IN YA”

Well, what are you waiting for? Inject these doomed-up, smoked-out riffs right into your veins.

–Ted Nubel

Upcoming Releases

Inferi — Of Sunless Realms | The Artisan Era | Technical Death Metal | United States (Tennessee)
From Ivan Belcic’s EP premiere:

For a band who seem incapable of tying themselves down to the same groove for more than eight measures at a time, Inferi have written a remarkably fluid collection of songs that capitalizes on their recent full-lengths to reaffirm their status as one of the brightest names in progressive tech-death.

Check out the premiere for a full stream.

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Venom Prison — Primeval | Prosthetic Records | Death Metal + Hardcore | United Kingdom

Venom Prison, a totally kickass band, just got more kickass: this Primeval release comprises the Defy The Tyrant demo and The Primal Chaos EP, but also two new songs that the band has said hints toward where they might be going musically. The band’s extremely pissed-off blend of death and hardcore continues to shine like a beacon for really compelling art making its way up from the underground.

— Andrew Rothmund

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Yatra — All is Lost | Grimoire Records | Doom + Sludge Metal | United States (Maryland)

The second Yatra album of 2020, and it comes with a shift in sound — moving further towards noisy aggression rather than riding stoner metal grooves. That certainly fits the harsh vocals and energy of the band, especially in this rawer-sounding package, and the ripping solos and twisted riffs are still in full force.

— Ted Nubel

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Blue Öyster Cult — The Symbol Remains | Frontiers Records | Hard Rock | United States

It’s been just about twenty years since the last Blue Öyster Cult album, and, let’s be honest, more than that since there was one worth listening to (my love for 1988’s Imaginos, including the demo version, can never go understated however). And yet, The Symbol Remains is pretty damn good — lead single “That Was Me,” for instance, captures the inimitable magic of the band with its whimsical lyrics and cowbell use. Not going to lie — there’s some rough patches — but there’s also tracks that match up to their classics. The symbol does indeed remain, 50-ish years later.

P.S.: Note a) Albert Bouchard’s appearance, and b) the Spinal Tap nod in this video!

— Ted Nubel

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Ixion — L’Adieu aux Etoiles | Finisterian Dead End | Atmospheric Doom Metal | France

From Ted Nubel’s album premiere:

Like the soundtrack to an offworld funeral, the French death/doom duo Ixion‘s upcoming album L’Adieu aux Etoiles blends the mournful cadence and timbre of funeral doom with a sci-fi thrill, building suspense and atmosphere through starry synthesizers and looming pads. Heavy, oppressing, airy, and wondrous: it’s a paradox that can only exist beyond the speed of light.

See the album premiere for a full stream.

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Hellripper — The Affair of the Poisons | Peaceville Records | Black Metal + Speed Metal | Scotland

Hellripper will remind many of metalpunk heroes Midnight not only for the very prevalent Motörhead and Venom worship, but likewise being a band composed and run by a single individual, in this case James McBain of Scotland. Last year’s ep Black Arts & Alchemy, which contains one of the best chorus chants ever with “All Hail the Goat,” helped elevate the project to the attention of metal heavyweight label Peaceville who are now prepared to release Hellripper’s second full length The Affair of the Poisons.

What follows is certainly what one might expect for a rock and rolling black-thrash attack, but here further refined with touches of German thrash metal and currents of melodic ferocity via Sweden’s Nifelheim. The opening title track is a great primer for what’s to come as it shifts from a Candlemass mid-paced doom stomp into a whirlwind of speed metal riffs pummeling you in the face while melodic hooks demand you sing along, all conjured in tribute to the true-to-life madness of a 17th Century witchcraft trial that enveloped the court of France’s King Louis XIV. So what more is there to say, but prepare to bang your head to this young speed riffing goatlord of demonic lore.

— Joe Aprill

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Gargoyl — Gargoyl | Season of Mist | Prog/Grunge Metal | United States (Massachusetts)

Grungy prog metal? Yes, yes indeed. This is a combination you didn’t know you needed — the slippery time signatures here are hard to pin down, but it drives forward with a relentless zeal anchored in both progressive flashiness and gritty impact. Features Revocation guitarist and vocalist Dave Davidson.

— Ted Nubel

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Hexer — Realm of the Feathered Serpent | The Crawling Chaos Records | Black Metal + Doom Metal | Germany

Blackened doom that sits in a lesser-used niche between the genres: a space less focused on aggression that’s full of oddities, cool riffs, and unorthodox musical modes. There’s an amazing amount of headroom on this album, giving the screams copious amounts of space to echo out into while still keeping those esoteric guitar licks front and center. Even their desktop Bandcamp page layout is weird — always a good sign.

–Ted Nubel

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R.I.P. — Dead End | RidingEasy Records | Doom Metal | United States (Oregon)

R.I.P. bills themselves as “Street Doom,” and that’s probably the best descriptor I can give you. Roughshod, riff-packed, up-tempo heavy rock that still unquestionably dooms like a motherfucker. Every second of listening to this band is one of sheer joy, but also an invitation to start pounding forties in the nearest parking lot.

–Ted Nubel

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Warlung — Optical Delusions | Heavy Psych Sounds | Stoner Rock + Doom | United States (Texas)

From Ted Nubel’s premiere of the “The Scorpion in the Sand”:

Just like the ominous figures assembled on the album art hide swirling vortexes within their cloaks, Warlung’s upcoming full-length Optical Delusions is more fantastical than it initially seems. Gratuitously saturated guitar kicks off the track “The Scorpion in the Sand,” invigorating riff-rock in its most classic form, but prolonged exposure reveals a psychedelic core that jams even as it warps your mind.

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