Upcoming Metal Releases

Upcoming Metal Releases: 11/29/2020 - 12/5/2020


Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of November 29th to December 5th, 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.


Things We Missed + Surprise Releases

Wizards of HazardsEnd of Time | Inverse Records | Doom Metal | Finland
If anything, the dubious grammar in the band’s name is a foreshadowing of the classic doom they offer — weird, charming, and (okay, this part’s not in the name) stuffed with riffs. For fans of Witchfinder General, Pentagram, Reverend Bizarre, and all the riff-packed lands in between, yield to the timeless power of heavy metal.

–Ted Nubel


Upcoming Releases

Gama BombSea Savage | Prosthetic Records | Thrash Metal | Ireland

Gama Bomb’s humor-meets-thrash approach has always been a little over the top for me and it’s never landed that well alongside their high-speed instrumentals. If you’ve liked their previous releases, though, Sea Savage is definitely going to be up your alley.

–Ted Nubel

DepravityGrand Malevolence | Transcending Obscurity Records | Technical Death Metal | Australia

Depravity is no slacker on the “technical” end of the technical death metal they employ, weaving together absurdly intricate guitar and drum patterns into a single malicious outcome. For a study in two extremes of death metal, listen to this, and then check out Undergang below — maximize your mental whiplash and minimize your consciousness.

— Ted Nubel

SoilworkA Whisp of the Atlantic | Nuclear Blast | Metalcore + Melodic Groove Metal | Sweden

So, first off: Soilwork has never really been bad. They just went super poppy, and the melodeath world shrugged their shoulders. Well, this time, Speed Strid and Company shrug back with a sixteen-minute core-inflicted melodic death metal song. Yes, really. Is it their “A Diamond For Disease”? Certainly not, but it isn’t bad.

–Jon Rosenthal

Green DruidAt the Maw of Ruin | Earache Records | Stoner + Doom Metal | United States (Denver)

Big fuzzy tones, lots of bass and lots of attitude — I’ve always slept on this band, but if you’re looking for top-shelf riffs with an enormous doomy atmosphere, here you go. I’m a fan of the harsh/clean vocal balance here, which shifts as the album’s aggression waxes and wanes.

–Ted Nubel

UndergangAldrig i livet | Dark Descent Records + Me Saco Un Ojo | Death Metal | Denmark

Fuckin’ death metal of the gnarliest and most toilet-flushing degree. Undergang is absolutely disgusting, but carries their own weight with a smattering of heavy, equally as depraved riffs. These Danes know how to evoke the sounds of a lack of intestinal fortitude and in the best way possible. Don’t fuck up.

–Jon Rosenthal

RespireBlack Line | Church Road Records | Blackgaze + Post-Hardcore | Canada (Toronto)

High-end blackgaze that departs just enough from that style to really showcase how talented this band is at writing heavy emotion, undistilled.

— Andrew Rothmund

HyrgalFin De Règne | Les Acteurs de L’Ombre Productions | Black Metal | France

This type of black metal really gets my fires going — ripping, bleak, and largely abstract, it’s much more about atmosphere here than anything else. But, lo and behold, there are riffs, and great ones at that.

–Andrew Rothmund

Possessed SteelAedris | Independent | Epic Heavy Metal | Canada (Toronto)

Epic metal that’s fiercely devoted to the concept, going so far as to sell tote bags with maps of the fantasy realm the album takes place in. I’m reminded favorably of Slough Feg, actually, as the riffs are a tad unusual and blended against a variety of vocal styles.

–Ted Nubel

PopulaceBread and Roses | Independent | Grindcore | United States (Minnesota)

Raw and angry grind that veers, I think, a little bit towards blackened territory — but the record blasts away fast enough that attempting to extract genre subtleties is sort of pointless in the grand scheme of things. Just yield to the maelstrom and get mad: ten songs, nine minutes, no mercy.

–Ted Nubel

Opium WarlordsNembutal | Svart Records | Drone + Doom + Avant-Garde | Finland

Opium Warlords is not, and never has been, a project that aims to “return” to mastermind Sami Albert ”Witchfinder” Hynninen’s work in Reverend Bizarre, the band he might be most known for, but Nembutal is absolutely going to find purchase with diehard fans of that group, as several of the tracks are plodding doom monstrosities up there with Reverend Bizarre’s lengthy riffers. Still, that sensibility is balanced with ambient and drone textures both creepy and beautiful: the weirdness starts at the album art and song titles and seeps down into every second of this wondrous creation.

–Ted Nubel

HypervolumeConceive | Independent | Stoner Rock + Doom + Thrash + Experimental | United States (Chicago)

You won’t usually find stoner rock hand-in-hand with thrash metal, sludge, and a host of other styles like this, but for Hypervolume, Conceive is probably on the safe side if anything — stemming from a one-man-with-drum-machine foundation and more recently growing into a two-piece act, the band’s focus has always been on experimentation and a lack of concern for boundaries. Luxurious stoner rock tones mesh with roared vocals and aggressive drumming to form the basic building blocks of the sound, but that varies — heavily — song to song.

–Ted Nubel

Walking CorpseThe Fear Takes Hold | Horror Pain Gore Death Productions | Death Metal + Grind | Sweden

Groovier — and spookier — than your average death/grind: it revels in jangly atonality at times, but then slams back into downright evil shit.

–Ted Nubel

HadalDecember | Planet K Records | Melodic Doom/Death Metal | Italy

From Ted Nubel’s track premiere of “December”:

I sometimes bounce right off of melodic doom like this, especially if it feels pretentious or overdone. But “December,” starting off the album, achieves an imposing presence without being pompous or ostentatious and drew me in — frankly, it’s some of the best doom metal I’ve heard this year. Simply put, it’s despair most stately, with markedly somber vocals and austere guitars creating a visage of cold nights to come.


Support Invisible Oranges on Patreon and check out our merch.