Upcoming Metal Releases

Upcoming Metal Releases: 4/24/2022-4/30/2022


Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of April 24th, 2022 to April 30th, 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

Negative PlaneThe Pact | Invictus Productions | Black Metal | United States

11 years have passed since the last Negative Plane album—11 years in which nobody else has ever really came close to capturing their mystical and demented style of black metal. Rejoice—the wait is over.

–Ted Nubel

Devil MasterEcstasies of Never Ending Night | Relapse Records | Black Metal + Punk | United States (Philadelphia, PA)

Devil Master’s wild and chaotic mix of punk and black metal has an atmosphere like nothing else out there. I don’t know how they come up with the insane leads that adorn it, but the magical—or magickal, really—quality they give the record makes it feel leaps and bounds more authentically Satanic than most other things out there.

–Ted Nubel

Satan’s HostThis Legacy Will Never Die | Moribund Records | Blackened Heavy + Power Metal | United States (Denver, CO)

While I don’t necessarily agree with the claims the promo materials make about Satan’s Host being the most influential American metal band of all time, they are the primary option for anyone looking for evil power metal and have built a fantastic body of work after reforming prior to the turn of the century. Harry Conklin’s vocals are in top form here and the rest of the band delivers some supremely tasty heavy metal to back him.

–Ted Nubel

Celestial SeasonMysterium I | Burning World Records | Doom + Death Metal | Netherlands

From Jon Rosenthal’s track premiere of “Black Water Mirrors”:

Mysterium I is, to my delight, a further continuation of that classic 1990s gloomy doom sound. Featuring a heavier approach, especially in its chorus, lead single and Mysterium I opener “Black Water Mirrors,” which was initially released as a flexi by Decibel Magazine, balances death/doom’s immensity with a tender touch and emotional core. It’s like their stoner period never even happened at all.

The SpiritOf Clarity and Galactic Structures | AOP Records | Black + Death Metal | Germany

This previously appeared in an earlier UMR – my mistake! Anyway, the last month has only convinced me more of how sick this record is. Hit it.

The Spirit’s melodic black/death metal is oddly nostalgic, and I think a lot of that comes down to just how good it is, wielding catchy riffs and parseable harsh vocals while still holding on to its grim, cosmic horror foundation.

–Ted Nubel

InannaVoid of Unending Depths | Memento Mori | Death Metal | Chile

Inanna crawl out of death metal’s cavernous underbelly with their titanic new album. Their music treads hallowed ground with a focus on atmosphere and arrangements more than outright assault.

–Colin Dempsey

SuppressionThe Sorrow of Soul Through Flesh | Unspeakable Axe Records | Death Metal | Chile

Grizzly old-school death metal that pulls from the technical strain of thrash metal. Colin Martson’s mastering brings the rhythm section to the front of the mix with an oh-so-satisfying bass spotlight.

–Colin Dempsey

Spill Your GutsThe Wrath It Takes | Trepanation Recordings | Hardcore Punk + Black Metal | China (Shanghai)

You can hear producer Scott Middleton’s (of Cancer Bats fame) influence on the new Spill Your Guts album as the group treads a fine path between abrasiveness and glee. There’s a bounciness that makes The Wrath It Takes more fun than its subject matter suggests.

–Colin Dempsey

Lament CityscapeA Darker Discharge | Independent | Industrial Metal | United States (Portland, Oregon)

Lament Cityscape play from the belly of a burning machine. The distant production embellishes a sense of disconnectedness between the vocals, drums, and the grinding guitars. It’s not so much punishing as it is enveloping.

–Colin Dempsey

PyritheMonuments to Impermanence | Gilead Media | Experimental Metal | United States (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Pyrithe is not for those who need structure in their music. Their intimate recording sessions gave rise to instinctual pieces (the band themselves hesitate to call them songs) that operate on intuition rather than pre-determined means to an end. Monuments to Impermanence is loose and evocative as if Pyrithe is evolving in real-time as the album plays.

–Colin Dempsey

Insulter…To the Last! | Witches Brew | Black + Thrash + Death Metal | Germany

Insulter takes a bombastic, melodic approach to their mad-scientist mix of extreme metal, which spans thrash, death, and black metal. Really digging the riffs on this one.

–Ted Nubel

MidasMidas | No Remorse Records | Heavy Metal + Hard Rock | United States (Detroit, MI)

Like most albums with a Flying V serving as most of the album art do, this rocks: heavy metal with Thin Lizzy-esque harmonies and vocals with just enough grit.

–Ted Nubel

VulcanoStone Orange | Emanzipation Productions | Black + Thrash + Death Metal | Brazil

Vulcano has had a rather long career and plenty of changeups in lineup to go with it—but Stone Orange is a classic slice of that proto-black/death/thrash assault, rough edges and all. Of course, we’d prefer it if this purported orange was also… transparent.

–Ted Nubel

GrafvitnirTunes of Sitra Ahra | Carnal Records | Black Metal | Sweden

From Ted Nubel’s track premiere of “Whisperer of Strange Tales”:

Like a finely detailed mace or an ornate torture device, Grafvitnir’s upcoming album Tunes of Sitra Ahra is a work of malevolent beauty. The Swedish band’s black metal features elaborate structures and a densely layered sound laced with ever-present melody, but it seethes with urgent malice all the same. Aggressive and labyrinthine riffs drive these songs forward and almost entirely sidestep any atmospheric elements. Frankly, ambience is not part of the equation: this is all-riffs-all-the-time black metal.

HarmoniaqThe Forest of Torment | Independent | Death Metal | Canada

Harmoniaq straddle between tight-as-a-noose death metal passages and looser, almost belligerent spells on their debut EP.

–Colin Dempsey