Upcoming Metal Releases: 3/29/20 -- 4/4/20
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Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of March 29th to February 4th, 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.
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Surprise Releases + Things We Missed
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Unreqvited + Asunojokei — Nocturne EP | Tear Water Records | Black Metal + Post-Metal | Canada + Japan
Two excellent black metal acts come together with one song each to generate this lovely EP. Both Unreqvited and Asunojokei purvey in that hyper-atmospheric, super-dreamy black metal, but neither succumb to oversaturating their music or overblowing the production. Here, both are again at top form.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Roman Ring — The Halogen | Genre | United States (Illinois)
What a motherfucking blast this album is. No-holds, no-shits-given tech-death with a foot in deathcore and another in prog. Recorded several years ago but just now seeing the light of day, The Halogen is a treat for anyone looking for technical, mind-bendy death metal that still knows how to throw it down.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Upcoming Releases
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Freeways — True Bearings | Temple of Mystery | Rock + Heavy Metal | Canada
Right on that so-slim edge of hard rock and old-school heavy metal exist bands like Freeways, borrowing what they need from either side but not subscribing to either. True Bearings, in this sense, feels totally free, unburdened by the brain’s usual motions of categorization and classification. All that is beside the point, anyway, when you’re in the car and have this album cranked to the goddamn fucking maximum. That’s when it hits hard: just you, the music, and the road ahead, wherever that may lead.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Testament — Titans of Creation | Nuclear Blast | Thrash | United States (California)
Testament asks for no introduction, coda, or conclusion, only that you thrash and thrash hard. Now on their 13th studio album, Titans of Creation represents the band’s undying spirit and unassailable brand. What’s exceptional about Testament, especially among “big thrash” peers, is that they haven’t rounded their edge at all. Even though the delivery and songwriting always displays enhanced maturity and cohesion, Testament understand the value of straightforward, beer-soaked good times too.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Night — Feeling it Everywhere EP | The Sign Records | Rock | Sweden
Swedish traditional metal has always loved the sounds and song structures of the 1970s, but on their latest EP, Night proves themselves masters of the decade — their metal-fascinated hard rock is sleeker than ever, trimmed down, and dressed to kill.
— Ted Nubel
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Live Burial — Unending Futility | Transcending Obscurity Records | Death Metal | United Kingdom
Rip-roaring, rancorous shit from the dimmest, most filth-ridden chasm imaginable. Unending Futility feels like it was set on fire and then shot into space. Live Burial’s blend of razor-honed atmospherics with underground chainsaw death metal results in a brain-melting package sans embellishment, and it’s a damn good time too.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Häxanu — Snare of All Salvation | Amor Fati Productions | Black Metal | United States
From Jon Rosenthal’s premiere of “Materia Prima”:
Snare of All Salvation balances itself on a razor’s edge, bringing duality into a monist reality: atmosphere is aggression, hostility is ambiance. Poole’s mastery of black metal precedes him, with his work in Chaos Moon, Ringarë, Gardsghastr, and more acting as part of a greater thesis on the genre, and Häxanu’s more vitriolic approach is yet another strong point made within Poole’s oeuvre. Compared to his other works, Häxanu presents itself as a more bellicose cousin to its creator’s other works — a faster, sharper manifestation of Poole’s creativity — and yet Snare of All Salvation still nestles itself comfortably within his greater discography.
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Errant — Errant EP | Manatee Rampage Records | Post-Metal + Black Metal | United States (Illinois)
Immortal Bird vocalist Rae Amitay’s new solo project Errant explores realms similar to, but untouched by, her other band’s viciously honed edge. Here, we see the artist exploring moodier, more expansive soundscapes in top-notch post-modern form, but without leaving out of course the hard-hitting jam that makes her such a great fit for Immortal Bird. Errant enjoys a wide range of fast and slow, soft and heavy, and rounds out as a well-composed arrangement of heavy and uncompromising noises.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Gnaw Their Tongues — I speak the truth, yet with every word uttered, thousands die | Consouling Sounds | Experimental Black Metal | Netherlands
From Jon Rosenthal’s interview with project mastermind Maurice de Jong:
Going off of things being “grimmer,” this new work is also much more abstract and noisier than other full length efforts under the Gnaw Their Tongues moniker. What led to this?
The previous album was already pretty abstract and contained very few riffs… or guitar for that matter. Every time I got a new Gnaw Their Tongues track idea, I thought to myself, “Hmmm, already did that on that track or on that album.” I think I have explored that sound enough. If people want that “old” Gnaw Their Tongues sound, there’s plenty of that stuff out there. I needed to challenge myself a bit, too. It’s almost like painting with abstract sounds and bits of music. I also feel kind of “there are no rules here,” which I also like very much. I have said it many times before: Gnaw Their Tongues is a very personal expression. I must confess, I struggled to finish this record. I feel I have said/expressed all I want with this project… been doing it for over 15 years! At the same time, I’m sure there will be something in the future that will make me want to make new Gnaw Their Tongues stuff. I also feel I have a waning interest in the music scene, in playing live or discovering new things. It feels less important than it used to be. I’m sure that will change, too.
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WVRM — Colony Collapse | Prosthetic Records | Death Metal | United States (South Carolina)
WVRM have written an unforgivably heavy album: Colony Collapse easily puts most deathcore to shame without even fully occupying that subgenre space. The strains of hardcore and grindcore flourish within WVRM’s latest work, imbuing the album with significant edge and counteracting the slam-fest feel that often pitfalls bands in this space. The result is a set of rip-your-head-off songs that, despite it all, enjoy significant nuance.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Loviatar — Lightless | Prosthetic Records | Post-Metal + Stoner Doom | Canada
Listening to Lightless and smoking weed. Feels good. Feels great, actually. Enough said, especially during anxious times.
— Andrew Rothmund
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From the Grave
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Audience of the End — ??? | Hardcore Punk | United States (Illinois)
A blast from the past. Coming Friday, now-defunt Chicago hardcore punk band Audience of the End (circa 2000 to 2001) will be releasing unreleased tunage recorded nearly two decades ago to lay waste to our ears now in 2020. Proceeds will be going to NYU Langone Health to support their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. No tracks or samplers are streaming yet, but the band’s Bandcamp page should be active by release. Trust us, it whips, it tears, and it slaps — it’s a rare unheard slice of gritty New Millennium life in Chicago.
— Andrew Rothmund
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