Upcoming Metal Releases

Upcoming Metal Releases: 11/7/2021-11/13/2021


Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of November 7th, 2021 to November 13th, 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

SijjinSumerian Promises | Sepulchral Voice Productions | Death + Thrash Metal | Germany (Berlin)

From Brandon Corsair’s track premiere of “Condemned by Primal Contact”:

Though the stated purpose of the band is to worship at a long-gone period of thrashing hell, Gericke’s voice as a musician is too strong to be constrained, and Sumerian Promises is a perfect intersection of the same approach that made Necros Christos so great with the dark, morbid flair of primitive death/thrash metal.

200 Stab WoundsSlave to the Scalpel | Maggot Stomp | Death Metal | United States (Ohio)

Look at that band logo, soak in that artwork, drink in that album name, then act as if you’d expect anything less than “drunk-on-power death metal.”

–Colin Dempsey

Dold Vorde Ens NavnMørkere | Prophecy Productions | Black Metal | Norway

Featuring members of Dødheimsgard, Ulver, Satyricon, Ved Buens Ende and Strid, this Norwegian black metal supergroup wields a noticeably modern and driving form of the genre–basically, if you’re wondering what Norwegian black metal sounds like with everyone firing on all cylinders, this’d be it.

–Ted Nubel

HyperdontiaHideous Entity | Me Saco un Ojo | Death Metal | International

Hot off their split with Mortiferum (who just released their own full-length last week), Hyperdontia return with their second full-length, offering a timeless slice of riff-oriented death metal with a sharp bite (hehe) and a layered appeal: evil harmonies, sick bass lines, killer drum fills—what more could we ask for?

–Ted Nubel

CreatureEloge de L’ombre | I, Voidhanger Records | Progressive Black Metal | France

Not going to lie—the cover art here played a large part in drawing my interest. Behind that neon-streaked oddity, though, lies an imaginative take on black metal that incorporates anachronistic synthesizer sounds and a sense for dramatic pacing into a punchy, gripping black metal offering.

–Ted Nubel

TowerShock to the System | Cruz del Sur Music | Heavy Metal | United States (New York)

Don’t trust anyone who could make it through a Tower track without smiling. This is peak traditional heavy metal that pulls as much from 70s hard rock as it teases speed metal.

–Colin Dempsey

AstrophobosCorpus | Triumvirate Records | Black Metal | Sweden (Stockholm)

From Colin Dempsey’s track premiere of “Utrotning”:

Astrophobos package everything you’d expect from black metal – ballistic blast beats, vicious tremolo picking, and necrosis-causing vocals – into a skin-tight melodic offering. Instead of orchestrating an instrumental maelstrom where every instrument clobbers each other, Astrophobos are synchronous with each other, shaping the ripping and tearing into a greater musical cohesion between the three band members. It’s still repugnant black metal, but the band’s interplay and melodic ear impart a groove that’s often forgotten in favor of inhumanity.

Curse of DenialThe Reckoning | Redefining Darkness Records | Death + Black Metal | United States (Cleveland, OH)

A swampy morass of Florida-esque death metal given a blackened, mystical aura: consisting of Cleveland scene veterans, the band’s multi-faceted approach to death-dealing is confident and battle-hardened.

–Ted Nubel

Obscura QalmaApotheosis | Rising Nemesis Records | Blackened Death Metal | Italy

This could probably be considered symphonic death metal as well, but the symphonic elements here aren’t aiming to be the dominant factor: they’re more of an equal partner with the riffs corkscrewing through one’s skull.

–Ted Nubel

BondedInto Blackness | Century Media Records | Thrash Metal | Germany

This Teutonic thrash outfit’s chuggy riffs might not seem too interesting in the first few seconds of listening, but as each song unfurls the band introduces a startling amount of complexity without losing the breakneck momentum the genre demands.

–Ted Nubel

Phantom DruidThe Downward Slope | Off the Record | Doom Metal + Stoner Rock | Netherlands

Phantom Druid’s EP is a lot like the albums that have come before it: singularly-focused worship of the classic doom formula perfected by Pentagram and others, combining a peculiarly enchanting vocal delivery with low-slung riffs. The Downward Slope does pick up the pace at points, though, and it represents a potent next step for the one-man band.

–Ted Nubel

Devil ElectricGodless | Kozmik Artifactz | Doom + Stoner Rock | Australia

Sleazy, smoky stoner rock with a heavy focus on nod-along rhythms, generally preferring bouncy riffs and moving things along over ponderous odysseys.

–Ted Nubel

Ars Magna UmbraeThrone Between Worlds | I, Voidhanger Records | Atmospheric Black Metal | Poland

Ars Magna Umbrae conjures the atmosphere of an estranged portal as a means to communicate with elder gods, meaning it’s as majestic as it is imposing. It’s thick black metal that diverges into bombastic solos for the sheer hell of it.

–Colin Dempsey

Black Soul HordeHorrors from the Void | Independent | Heavy + Power Metal | Greece (Athens)

Don’t let the Lovecraftian imagery and wiggly logo confuse you—Horrors from the Void is strident heavy/power metal full of boisterous riffs and epic song structures. Excellent vocals and lots of remarkable lead work help solidify this as a notably high-quality release in the field.

–Ted Nubel

Cave BastardWrath of the Bastard | Independent | Death Metal + Sludge Metal | United States (California)

Cave Bastard, to take a page from their own book, are freaks, but of the highest order. They verge on technical death metal at parts, only to toss in a raucous hardcore-indebted breakdown or scum up a track with sludge sediments. That being said, they play their tech death hand very well.

–Colin Dempsey

All Hail the YetiWithin the Hollow Earth | Independent | Metalcore | United States (California)

This is everything you could hope for from this metalcore flavor in 2021; an open-hearted embrace of all the chugging, breakdowns, clean choruses, and melodeath hand-me-downs, but with a Southern flair that gives it all a welcome facelift.

–Colin Dempsey

Cân BarddDevoured by the Oak | Northern Silence Productions | Atmospheric Black Metal + Folk Metal | Switzerland

The folk elements Cân Bardd integrate into Devoured by the Oak impart fantasy overtones. Folk, in this instance, recalling Celtic folk and Tolkein-heroes journeys rather than political unrest through timid strumming.

–Colin Dempsey