Upcoming Metal Releases: 4/17/2022-4/23/2022

Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of April 17th, 2022 to April 23rd, 2022, 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.

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Upcoming Releases

Tribulation — The Dhampir | Century Media Records | Gothic Metal | Sweden

This 18 minute track came as a bonus track on the Where the Gloom Becomes Sound deluxe vinyl edition, and now finds its way to the eager public.

–Ted Nubel

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Undeath — It’s Time… To Rise from the Grave | Prosthetic Records | Death Metal | United States (Rochester, NY)

From Kelley Simms’s interview with vocalist Alex Jones:

Formed in 2018, the filthy quintet has experienced a prolific writing and recording period in their fledgling career so far. From its frantic and filthy 2019 demo to its more mature debut full-length album Lesions of A Different Kind—not to mention another demo, split. and compilation in between—the band has grown exponentially with each release. On its ripping sophomore full-length album, It’s Time…To Rise From the Grave, Undeath has upped the ante and have created a real banger.

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Vanum — Legend | Profound Lore Records | Black Metal | United States (Santa Fe, NM + NYC)

Vanum’s previous album Ageless Fire was a highlight for me in 2019, and on Legend, the band doles out another jaw-dropping odyssey of melody-driven black metal that’s just as majestic and powerful as the dramatic album art suggests.

–Ted Nubel

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Amenra + Marissa Nadler + Cave In — Songs of Townes Van Zandt Vol III. | Neurot Recordings | Folk | International

Three high-profile artists join forces to create stirring renditions of Townes Van Zandt’s storied work — previous editions featured artists like Dorthia Cottrell, Steve Von Till, and Mike Scheidt, so look those up if this resonates with you.

–Ted Nubel

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Huntsmen — The Dying Pines | Prosthetic Records | Sludge + Doom + Post-Metal + Folk | United States (Chicago, IL)

The Dying Pines highlights Huntsmen’s growing inclinations towards American folk music and how they masterfully weave that into their doomy post-metal sound – note the acoustic folk title track and the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cover (“Carry On”). “Let the Buried Lie Forgotten” is a welcome new dose of Huntsmen’s core riffs-and-feelings approach, and finds itself in good company as part of this appetite-whetting EP.

Each of the band’s past two full-lengths has come with big changes and developments to their sound, and even on this EP, the band seems to be taking steps into new territory — but it also feels like the band taking a moment to appreciate how far they’ve come and delight in their sound a bit.

–Ted Nubel

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Desecresy — Unveil in the Abyss | Xtreem Music | Death Metal | Finland

Extremely anachronistic Finnish death metal with all the fixin’s: buried vocals, melodic tendencies, and some foul guitar tones.

–Ted Nubel

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Corpsessed — Succumb to Rot | Dark Descent Records | Death Metal | Finland

Intense and exacting – like a hydraulic press slowly bearing down on the skull, Corpsessed’s victory over your grey matter is inevitable. Let these riffs burrow in and stay there.

–Ted Nubel

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Caliban — Dystopia | Century Media Records | Metalcore | Germany

Dystopia is catchy, forceful, and shows no signs of losing the plot. Once a band gets this far down the road (the German metalcore group is just a bit over 20 years old) that becomes more and more impressive — especially so in a genre that has continued to change heavily over the years.

–Ted Nubel

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Reverorum Ib Malacht — Vacuum. The Mystery of Faith. We Proclaim Your Death Oh Lord, and Profess Your Resurrection, Until You Come Again. Förlåtelse och Levitation. | Independent | Black Metal + Dark Ambient | Sweden

Yep, that’s the album title. Reverorum ib Malacht seem to out-weird themselves yet again on their latest full-length, combining guttural and disturbing vocal delivery with a chaotic mix of electronica-tinged dark ambient and black metal.

–Ted Nubel

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Fer de Lance — The Hyperborean | Cruz del Sur Music | Epic Heavy + Doom Metal | United States (Chicago, IL)

Grand scope and epic feel takes on a war-torn edge on The Hyperborean, as huge riffs and powerful vocals drip with weary belligerence. Whereas epic doom tends to favor gleaming, polished production with vocals at the forefront, Fer de Lance exhibits a combined, chaotic sound that hisses and thuds with vocals evenly matching instrumentals — there’s a much more tangible sense of danger, I’d say.

–Ted Nubel

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Feral Light — Psychic Contortions | I, Voidhanger Records | Black Metal | United States (Minneapolis, MN)

Feral Light is extremely creative in how they devise their vicious black metal, tapping into crust for some extra rancor.

–Ted Nubel

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Mirror — The Day Bastard Leaders Die | Cruz del Sur Music | Heavy Metal | International

Is this some of the worst album art I’ve seen this year? Yes. Is Mirror’s new album some of the best, most original traditional metal you’re going to hear this year? Also yes.

–Ted Nubel

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Slomatics + Domkraft — Ascend/Descend | Majestic Mountain Records | Doom + Stoner + Sludge Metal | United Kingdom + Sweden

If ever there was an album that would have warranted an early 4/20 release, it’s this one – two sludge/doom legends teaming up for a trippy split that features some originals as well as each band covering each other. Get lost in a masterclass of hazy doom.

–Ted Nubel

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Clarent Blade — Return into Forever | Independent | Epic Heavy Metal | Greece

From the remarkably prolific and creative Ayloss (of Spectral Lore) comes an epic heavy metal release – definitely some rough edges here, but I appreciate the decidedly old-school approach that doesn’t hurry itself along or focus too much on tight song structures. There’s always room in my heart for excessive, spacious epic heavy metal.

–Ted Nubel

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Cultic — Of Fire and Sorcery | Eleventh Key | Death + Doom Metal + Dungeon Synth | United States (York, PA)

From Ted Nubel’s track premiere of “Beseech the Olden Throne”:

The band’s sophomore album Of Fire and Sorcery is effectively the result of leaving dungeon synth, black metal, heavy metal, and more to rot in a festering sub-basement for a solid thirty years or so […] a celebration of the strange, shadowy corners of heavy metal that have managed to remain unpolished and abhorrent throughout the years.

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Armory — Mercurion | Dying Victims Productions | Speed Metal | Sweden

From Brandon Corsair’s track premiere of “Wormhole Escape”:

The idea of space-focused metal with art to match inevitably draws to mind a bunch of esoteric technical bands: Voivod, Nocturnus, and Obliveon, among others from the classic scene, and more recently titans like Sacral Rage. Though Armory doesn’t necessarily sound like any of those, the legacy’s continuation is clear with their razor-sharp riffing and strange, infectious phrasing that’s all tied together by insanely catchy melodic vocal lines.

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Path of Might — Deep Chrome | Independent | Progressive Sludge Metal | United States (St. Louis, MO)

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

While retaining their knack for nasty riffs, on Deep Chrome the band overlay guitars with voluminous synths to create wider and roomier soundscapes to house these more aggressive moments and expand their palette. Like on the previous album Hallowed Gate Style, there’s also a tendency to indulge in flights of instrumental fancy, breaking away from a riff to try out some clever leads and looser jam-like passages that are, simply put, fun—a slick counterpart to some of the bigger ideas and pensive moods the album dwells on.

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Sentient Horror — Rites of Gore | Redefining Darkness Records | Death Metal | United States

From Ted Nubel’s track premiere of “Descend to Chaos”:

Ferocity in death metal is a virtue, but one that’s hard to boil down to a simple formula. Convincing the listener that what they’re hearing is a full-on, unhinged assault is a matter of flipping a buried, primal switch in the mind, not just dialing in the right tone or eschewing a metronome. Sentient Horror, however, have made the study of violent, flesh-rending death metal their sole goal over their career, and their upcoming third album Rites of Gore continues their belligerent trajectory.

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Mosaic — Heimatspuk | Eisenwald | Black Metal | Germany

From Jon Rosenthal’s full album premiere:

Unable to rehearse with the full band which performed on the last MOSAIC album, HEIMATSPUK is Secret Ambrosian Fire’s creative opposite. Using more straightforward songwriting, Valkenstijn used this as an opportunity to meditate more on the traditions, mysticism, and legends which fuel the MOSAIC project. As such–and this is true for every Valkenstijn project–HEIMATSPUK is deeply entrenched in its own concepts, pushing its intended straightforwardness more into more thematic territory.

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