Upcoming Metal Releases: 2/6/2022-2/12/2022
Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of February 6th 2022 to February 12th, 2022. 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
Voivod — Synchro Anarchy | Century Media Records | Progressive Metal | Canada
The Canadian metal legends reaffirm their position atop the progressive throne with their 15th studio album. They remain as challenging as ever, with one foot steeped in science fiction and the other in idiosyncrasy.
–Colin Dempsey
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Napalm Death — Resentment is Always Seismic – a final throw of Throes | Century Media Records | Grindcore + Death Metal | England
Napalm Death follow their excellent 2020 record Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism with a mini-album of cutthroat tracks alongside Bad Brains and SLAB! covers.
–Colin Dempsey
Note: No public stream available yet.
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Amorphis — Halo | Atomic Fire Records | Melodic Heavy Metal + Rock | Finland
Amorphis’ latest album is an extremely fine-tuned, progressive approach to metal that shows off over three decades of growth from the band.
–Ted Nubel
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Cult of Luna — The Long Road North | Metal Blade | Atmospheric Sludge + Post-Metal | Sweden
A stunning, cinematic album that elevates atmospheric sludge into a kind of art form—you can pretty easily recommend this to anyone remotely interested in metal and not go wrong.
–Ted Nubel
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Mortuary Drape — Wisdom – Vibration – Repent | Peaceville Records | Black + Death Metal | Italy
Mortuary Drape has remained weird throughout their entire career, keeping the music unpredictable and the bass delightfully prominent in their oddball mix of black, death, and heavy metal. This new EP is a shorter-form burst of that, and the Mercyful Fate cover is a welcome treat.
–Ted Nubel
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Karmanjaka — Gates Of Muspel | Independent | Black Metal | Sweden
Sometimes an album doesn’t reinvent so much as it reignites one’s passion. Karmanjaka’s third album has interesting twists and turns – like a guitar segment that nearly convinced me that I was hearing bagpipes – but it’s more notable as an example of peak melodic black metal.
–Colin Dempsey
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Inhuman Nature — Under The Boot | Church Road Records | Crossover Thrash | England
The EP is called nder the Boot, would you expect anything less than a curb-stomping soundtrack? Break a beer bottle over your head, punch a hole in your wall, maybe even write a nasty subtweet; Inhuman Nature exude the most depraved forms of violence.
–Colin Dempsey
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Theandric — Flight Among the Tombs | Independent | Heavy Metal | United States (Michigan)
If NWOBHM spent a night wooing doom metal with its operatic vocals and doom metal answered back with its lumbering pacing, then an organ stumbled over and asked if there was room for one more, the offspring would be Theandric’s new EP.
–Colin Dempsey
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Fostermother — The Ocean | Ripple Music | Doom Metal | United States (Texas)
Fostermother dive feet first into the psychedelic pool with effects that must’ve been recorded in a lava lamp. The spacey vocals don’t bite as hard as the doomy riffs, leaving the finished product airy and light.
–Colin Dempsey
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Wait — The End of Noise | The Artisan Era | Progressive Death Metal | United States (Baltimore, MD)
Beyond just having a fantastic, unintentionally hilarious cover, The End of Noise is a progressive death metal record that manages to combine modern metal’s aggressive guitar tones with clean vocals effectively—I generally am not at all into things you can describe with those words, but the quality of the vocal delivery and the creative interspersion of harsh vocals and the overall groove sell it.
–Ted Nubel
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Gloamus — Sullen Dusk over Ice Trodden Arteries | Independent | Black Metal | Canada
Black metal usually evokes barren snowscapes, but Gloamus’ is akin to sprinting through a blizzard so that you don’t freeze to death. They gallop without the time to soak in the frigid vistas.
–Colin Dempsey
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The Silent Wedding — Ego Path | Independent | Heavy + Power Metal | Greece
There’s a lot going on here: a mix of power metal, progressive metal, and straight-up heavy metal, all fused together via impressively evocative vocals and a pensive, yearning atmosphere.
–Ted Nubel
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Hangman’s Chair — A Loner | Nuclear Blast | Gothic + Doom Metal | France
Gothic angst meets grungy doom; the result is a sad and angry (sangry?) volume of atmospheric dirges.
–Ted Nubel
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Legendarium — Under the Spell of Destruction | Independent | Heavy Metal | Netherlands + Italy
Like most of the independent heavy metal offerings out there, Legendarium’s vocals are going to be one of those things you really dig or just can’t get by, and that’s fine. I think the sort of disaffected post-punk quality fits nicely with the dark and roomy production, giving Legendarium’s steely heavy metal an unusually somber appeal.
–Ted Nubel
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Death Panacea — A Pace December | Avantgarde Music | Atmospheric Black Metal | Italy
Whereas A Pale December’s debut album was heavily atmospheric in the mystical, nature-attuned way, their sophomore plummets into darker and more cynical atmospheres that take the band’s talents for crafting evocative riffs to new heights (or depths).
–Ted Nubel
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Withermoon — A Testament to Our Will | Adirondack Black Mass | Black Metal | United States (Santa Ana, CA)
Heavily inspired by second-wave black metal, Withermoon’s debut full-length revels in snarling mid-tempo riffs and shadowed guitar tones.
–Ted Nubel
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Greyhawk — Call of the Hawk | Fighter Records | Heavy + Power Metal | United States (Seattle, WA)
Adventurous heavy metal that deals in epic atmosphere and inspiring vocals, but braces it all with down-to-earth riffs. Lead single “Steelbound” shows both daring flights of fantasy and a steely rhythm core, notably taking out rhythm guitar in a solo section mid-song that lets the bass and drums carry the grove.
–Ted Nubel
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Whales Don’t Fly — The Golden Sea | Raging Planet Records | Thrash Metal + Progressive Metal | Portugal
Whales Don’t Fly recall early 2000s American metal bands who took thrash metal and mixed it with whatever else they enjoyed. In The Golden Sea‘s case, it’s progressive tendencies and hearty vocals.
–Colin Dempsey
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