Upcoming Metal Releases

Upcoming Metal Releases: 3/19/2023-3/25/2023


Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the weeks of March 19th, 2023 to March 25th, 2023. 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

Call of PripyatElephant Foot | Independent | Sludge + Death + Doom Metal | United States (Philadelphia, PA)

My love for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is well-documented on Invisible Oranges, so of course I was intrigued by Call of Pripyat’s debut EP (who share their name with the third entry in the series — possibly the best entry point for new players!), which is an irradiated combination of sludge, death, and doom. I don’t think this project is themed off of the games, but the sonic nightmares that their debut EP offers apply just as easily to the real-life horror of Chernobyl as they do to fictional derivatives.

Elephant’s Foot is capable of fragile beauty, like in the beginning of its title track, but it just as handily transitions to crushing despair. It evokes the agonizing contrast that we’ve all seen in photos of Chernobyl: the juxtaposition between natural beauty and the almost impossibly cruel aftermath wrought by mankind’s folly. Heavy stuff–hence, heavy music.

–Ted Nubel

Upcoming Releases

Liturgy93696 | Thrill Jockey Records | Experimental Black Metal + Avant-garde Rock | United States (NYC)

Which Liturgy did you come here for: white papers and trap beats, or black metal and staccato digitalism? For perhaps the first time in the band’s output, 93969 feels like a summation of what came before, a maximalist climax to the training montage that began with 2015’s The Ark Work and ran through 2020’s chamber piece Origin of the Alimonies.

Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix’s exploration of the governance of heaven is aptly amplified by the choral contributions and atypical arrangements here. These elements frame and pace the album, Hunt-Hendrix using them to take you by the hand, giving you a sporting chance to navigate her theological subject matter, and creating space for her blasts of almost Genghis Tron-esque metal to burst into. Whatever you felt about an album like The Ark Work on its release, 93969 wouldn’t exist without it, and as such it’s a fascinating release both individually and viewed from the orbit of the story of Liturgy to date.

–Luke Jackson

Spirit PossessionOf The Sign… | Profound Lore Records | Black Metal | United States (Portland, OR)

Remember in 2023 when we all remembered that the secret ingredient of good black metal is not, in fact, saxophones, but rather a strong foundation in heavy metal songwriting? Spirit Possession do, and on their second album for Profound Lore Of the Sign… heavy metal furls itself around the band’s cavernous blackened instincts.

Avoiding the more typical structures of rote black metal or black n’ roll, these songs deviate and misdirect, taking adventurous routes to their conclusions, recalling at times Funereal Presence without the cowbell. Wrapped in a mix from Colin Marston that pushes the performances a few steps downwards into the tomb without submerging them entirely in darkness, the echo and fuzz disorients just enough that when the leads erupt they do so with blinding, volcanic intensity.

–Luke Jackson

Spectral Lore11 Days | Independent | Atmospheric Black Metal + Ambient | Greece

Half engulfing atmospheric black metal and half ambient tracks, Spectral Lore’s new EP takes its name from a perilous refugee route through the Mediterranean. It crafts a somewhat fantastical story around this concept, told through a hybrid musical approach that reflects the entirety of the voyage.

All digital proceeds + a percentage of physical will go to a charity which is to be announced.

–Ted Nubel

Acid KingBeyond Vision | Blues Funeral Recordings | Doom + Stoner Metal | United States (San Francisco, CA)

When stoner rock royalty descend from on high and deliver us another album, it’s a fuckin’ event. Acid King’s latest album is their first in eight years and a carefully crafted missive of fuzz-drenched good vibes. There’s an experience-honed magnetism in the pacing of the album: each droning build-up comes with groovy payoff, and though the record takes its time, not a second is wasted.

–Ted Nubel

ImmortalWar Against All | Nuclear Blast | Black Metal | Norway

Immortal–and that’s just Demonaz now, pretty much–is set to release their 10th studio album mid-week. However, there haven’t been any singles yet — this is what you might call a bad sign. Anyway, use your imagination for now, I guess, because I haven’t gotten any promo materials on this either.

Update: Single is out! Sadly, this album is actually releasing later in May. Turns out 3/22 was just the single release date! That does make more sense. Remind me not to trust Metal Archives.

–Ted Nubel

XysmaNo Place Like Alone | Svart Records | Stoner + Garage Rock | Finland

Xysma’s history is an odd one. They arguably founded Finnish grindcore, then moved on to stoner rock and pop before ceasing operations in 1998. I don’t necessarily begrudge that shift in vision–plenty of bands totally change their sound and still kick ass–but there’s no arguing it’s an unusual trajectory.

Now the band is back, and with almost the same lineup as their last record (though guitarist Toni Christian Stranius sadly passed in 2006), plus a keyboardist. Continuity like that after so long is pretty impressive, and although No Place Like Alone is, uh, still not grindcore, it’s pretty rad. Classic rock and its evolutions and permutations color this record heavily, with huge tinges of progressive weirdness that run somewhere between later-era Pink Floyd and Blue Öyster Cult.

–Ted Nubel

Ne ObliviscarisExul | Season of Mist | Extreme Progressive Metal | Australia

I mean… the violin is cool.

–Ted Nubel

MorkDypet | Peaceville Records | Black Metal | Norway

From Colin Dempsey’s interview:

[Dypet is] the grooviest and most melodic record Eriksen has released thus far, leaning on an atmosphere built from bones. He marries the sound with a modern mindset of personal cultivation. He’s unafraid of examining the style for what it is and its place in 2023, though it’s mostly as a personal exercise turned lifestyle.

GatekeeperFrom Western Shores | Cruz del Sur Music | Epic Heavy Metal | Canada

From Brandon Corsair’s interview:

Combined with that laudable and inspirational improvement, it’s impossible to see their new album From Western Shores as anything but a juggernaut: pounding riffs, soaring melodies, and a killer new singer that’s stepped up amazingly to fill the shoes of his much more famous predecessor JP Abboud (Borrowed Time, Traveler) all merge together to make a sound that’s familiar but no less exciting for it. This is not a band that falls into the traps of their genre or their influences, and a pleasant variety of songwriting (an underrated approach in this modern age of rigid genres!) keeps the album fresh throughout each new song.

Dawn Ray’dTo Know the Light | Prosthetic Records | Black Metal | United Kingdom

From Colin Dempsey’s interview:

The new record’s direction was founded upon looking at how one can progress in black metal while keeping its core intact. In short, there’s only so many ways you can innovate upon yourself through tremolo riffing. Much like building a community with others, it requires looking outwards and expanding.

That’s the approach Dawn Ray’d took on To Know the Light. They leaned more on protest songs and Barr’s violin, bisecting their black metal with rebellious acoustic anthems.

Blind OathBlind Oath | Horton Records | Heavy Metal | United States (Tulsa, OK)

Blind Oath has managed the unusual feat of landing a guest spot from Tim Baker (Cirith Ungol) on this record – you can check that out right now on “The Flame.” And yeah, that’s pretty cool, but it’s definitely worth sticking around for the rest of the record. The band draws inspiration from the never-commercially-popular form of heavy metal that was crashing around the United States’ underground in the 1980s and continues to thrive through dive bars: energetically paced, rooted in hard rock, and slightly dangerous.

–Ted Nubel

AngerotThe Profound Recreant | Redefining Darkness Records | Death Metal | United States (South Dakota)

From Ted Nubel’s track premiere of “Horns ov Moses”:

It might honestly be unnecessary to explicitly mention that Angerot mix their Swedish-inspired death metal with a healthy dose of blackened vitriol–the “ov” preposition, as featured in [the song titles], is almost solely associated with bands that dabble in these unholy arts. As expert practitioners, be assured Angerot have earned the right to turn their ‘f’s into ‘v’s. Their upcoming album The Profound Recreant is some malicious, unnatural stuff […]

AphoticAbyssgazer | Sentient Ruin | Atmospheric Death + Doom Metal | Italy

“The band’s name is stylized as APHΩTIC.” I dig the commitment. Hailing from Italy comes a band you probably do not know since they decided to skip the whole demo thing and go to three singles and then a full length this year. For all intents and purposes, Abyssgazer is the grand entrance to a band the coming of cosmic doom.I do not know if Lovecratian entities have an established soundtrack but I think the sound of Azathoth would be something like atmospheric death / doom.

–Jonathan Carbon

GabestokMed Freden Kommer Hadet | Strange Aeons Records | Black Metal | Denmark

If I love anything it’s Danish punk inspired black metal which is a part of an underground scene. The Korpsånd circle has given many offerings over the years including a fantastic 2018 compilation as well as blossoming careers of bands like Fanebærer, Seiðr, and of course Gabestok. Med freden kommer hadet follows the proverbial breakout release of Én gang rådden, altid rådden in 2021 and continues to craft the vibe of hallucinogenic black metal in a basement party.

–Jonathan Carbon

GrislyTomb King | VIC Records | Death Metal | Sweden

Though Grisly started out as a Rogga Johannson (y’know, the guy in just about 75 Swedish death metal bands) project, I’m not certain he’s involved with this new record–perhaps he served more like a startup incubator for the band and this is a “first flight out of the nest” moment.

In any case, it’s a blast. There’s some death’n’roll tendencies here that ought to go over well with anyone who liked Wolverine Blues: fragments of southern groove, whiskey-tinged guitar tones, the usual culprits.

Is it pure death metal? Maybe not, but it’s very fun.

–Ted Nubel

HellcrashDemonic Assassinatiön | Dying Victims Productions | Black + Speed Metal | Italy

Sophomore album from the Italian blackened (hyper)speed metal trio, whose two songwriting directives continue to be “faster = better” and “MOAR RIFFS.” Given the band’s name, the album title (complete with heavy metal umlaut!), the song titles (“Satan’s Crypt,” “Serpent Skullfuck”), the comically batshit album cover, the band members’ names (Skullcrusher, Hellraiser, Nightkiller), and the gleefully profane lyricism (“Naked by the throne of Lucifer / Chained to Hell, she spreads her legs / Blood is spilling from the headless neck / When she dies is when I cum inside”), Hellcrash remains a band creating lizard-brain fun with tongues firmly pressed into cheeks.

–Steve Lampiris

FirmamentWe Don’t Rise We Just Fall | Dying Victims Productions | Heavy Metal + Hard Rock | Germany

Moody trad-metal debut record from the German quintet. Bellowing and howling vocals are laid over a sturdy rhythm section, while catchy riffs and leads are tossed out like playing cards using a sublimely searing guitar tone. The lyrics offer a succinct summary of the album’s appeal: “Guitars guide my grief / And I have to melt.”

–Steve Lampiris

Maze of SothothExtirpated Light | Everlasting Spew Records | Technical Death Metal | Italy

The guitar tones on this record are weird: listen to the chuggy bits in “Scorn of Flesh,” for example: the absurdly precise, skin-flaying guitar creates noises that sound like it’s melting the fretboard (or, alternatively, like a windshield wiper trying to get unstuck from ice). The former might be what’s going on: Extirpated Light is a whirlwind of dazzling technicality harnessed in the name of inhuman brutality.

–Ted Nubel

Vile Apparition + Constant Torment + Goredawn + Congealed Putrescence + HorrifierCave of Death – Vol. 1 | Brutal Cave Productions | Death Metal | International

I’m guessing that as soon as you saw this was a five-band death metal split, you already made up your mind on whether or not to listen to it. Now, it is Monday, and your brain cells may be needed for certain tasks, but fuck it. Dive into this gross mess of riffs and gore.

–Ted Nubel

Ritual Cairn + GraalRitual Cairn + Graal | Balor’s Eye Productions | Black + Doom Metal + Raw Black Metal | United States + Canada

Two flavors of underground extreme metal collide on this split: Graal, whose punk-flavored raw black metal has a rebellious psychedelic streak to it that borders on absolute lunacy, and Ritual Cairn, who flips the usual black/doom script and somehow makes their black metal sound… doomier. The overall production of the split is another nice contrast: Graal’s half is up-front and sharp, while Ritual Cairn recedes into caves of darkened reverb.

–Ted Nubel