Upcoming Metal Releases: 4/5/20 -- 4/11/20
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Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of April 5th to April 11th, 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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Volcandra — Into the Azure | Black Metal | United States (Kentucky)
This came out way back in February (seems so long ago, right?), but I don’t give a shit, Into the Azure is the outright fucking jam. The album’s coherent black metal framework gives way to so many beautiful and proggy asides and diversions — all told, the thing gels together on the molecular level here. Tight, produced, and sufficiently technical, Volcandra, I think, are in the running for my year-end list already.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Upcoming Releases
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Brant Bjork — Brant Bjork | Heavy Psych Sounds Records | Desert Rock | United States (California)
I’m smoking myself out to Brant Bjork. But you don’t need weed to enjoy this album; let its serenity and gentle beauty and deep-down soul enrapture you no matter what state you’re in.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Calligram — The Eye is the First Circle | Prosthetic Records | Black Metal | United Kingdom
From Andrew Rothmund’s premiere of “Kenosis” and interview with drummer Ardo Cotones and guitarist Tim Desbos:
“Kenosis” wastes zero time and offers zero pretense — from its opening seconds to its thudding outro, the song lays waste to your ears and anything within earshot as well. Saturated blasts comprise the song’s backbone, but over its five-minute course, Calligram experiments with plenty of different tempos, demonstrating both the band’s agility and songwriting sense. Speaking of sense, The Eye is the First Circle coheres and gels well in the ears, despite how densely atmospheric and downright brutal the album remains throughout its runtime.
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Like Rats — Death Monolith | Hibernation Release | Blackened Death Metal | United States (Illinois)
Chicago act Like Rats have really grown on this latest release — with more full-fledged songwriting, a definitive upgrade in aggression and heaviness, and one hell of a mean attitude, Death Monolith proves its title. If “modern death metal” isn’t your thing, Like Rats might offer a bridge between rawer forms of death metal and that hyper-polished fuck-you-up shit we all love to dear death.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Myth of I — Myth of I | The Artisan Era | Progressive Death Metal | United States (Massachusetts)
Essentially flawless instrumental mastery. No vocals, but who needs them anyway. This is nerdy shit, but the right kind: it’s doesn’t fall flat on its face in a lame attempt to be heavy or extra metal. Myth of I is metal to the core, despite its forays into clean proggy interludes and the like. Really invigorating stuff.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Dool — Summerland | Prophecy Productions | Dark Rock | Netherlands
From Ted Nubel’s full review of Summerland:
Each song on Summerland focuses on nuanced melodies that interweave with vocals to develop a groove with an ambiance of mystery, often tinged by Middle Eastern flair that thickens the haze. It evokes an unusual yearning — an ode to shadowy, far-off lands promising danger — that further detaches the album from the mundane. The odd-timed “God Particle” stokes this desire, starting with a quiet, tambourine-driven introduction before adding in smoky guitars and bass that reinforces the lilting rhythm. That cadence never seems to fully resolve, apart from a solo passage or two, adding to the feeling of futile pursuit that plays against the sparkling, foreign wonder of the sounds that construct it.
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Fange — Pudeur | Throatruiner Records | Post-Death Metal | France
Throatruiner has a high hit-rate in my book for really gnarly, nasty underground shit from France. Fange is one of those entities, and Pudeur is hyperbolic abstraction on a death metal framework, then deconstructed into a billion unrecognizable fragments. It all hits your face with such claustrophobic intensity, but somehow, some way, it’s satisfying.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Barrens — Penumbra | Pelagic Records | Post-Rock | Sweden
This is a jamming instrumental trio that writes perfect “concentration” music. Trust me: put Penumbra on as work music, and you’ll glide through tasks like a hot knife. Or, maybe you’ll decompose right there in your chair, almost instantly, because this album (as muzakal as it is) hits the heartstrings hard too. I guess it works for both listening styles, absent and attentive.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Midwife — Forever | The Flenser | Heaven Metal | United States (Colorado)
Fall to your knees, let out a bellowing sigh, look up to the stars, and curse the fucking pointless universe with hot tears burning down the sides of your face — then you’ll feel what it’s like to listen to Forever.
— Andrew Rothmund
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