Upcoming Metal Releases: 4/9/2023-4/15/2023

Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for April 9th through April 15th. 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

Metallica — 72 Seasons | Blackened Recordings | Heavy + Thrash Metal | United States (Los Angeles + San Francisco, CA)

Well, we’re definitely not cool enough to get an advance copy of this record, so I’m operating on the same knowledge as everyone else here, but 72 Seasons seems like a solid dose of modern Metallica: good riffs, campy vocals, way too long, and liable to be fodder for yet another decade of arguing over the production and Lars’ drumming.

I’ll leave the first debate to the oncoming hordes of angry RYM/Metal-Archives reviewers and YouTube experts, but on the latter note, Lars’ playing is pretty cleverly matched to the riffs here, prioritizing groove and making the guitars hit harder over flashy stuff. That’s nothing new, and ultimately it feels like a good match for Metallica’s ‘everyman’ approach to heavy metal.

–Ted Nubel

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Overkill — Scorched | Nuclear Blast | Thrash Metal | United States (New Jersey)

Album number 20, folks, and still easily worth a listen.
It’s stuffed with energetic, aggressive thrash metal that takes itself just seriously enough to deliver that aggression without trading away Overkill’s signature sense of chaos.

Also, if you’ve slept on the 30+ years of metal that separate Horrorscope from Scorched, Steve Lampiris’ recent feature on five crucial Overkill albums is an excellent primer.

–Ted Nubel

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Dødheimsgard — Black Medium Current | Peaceville Records | Avant-Garde Black Metal | Norway

The experimental Norwegian black metal band gears up their already highly unusual approach for this new record, which keeps some trademarks of the genre as well as exploring totally new ground. To learn more, I strongly recommend you check out our podcast interview with Vicotnik.

–Ted Nubel

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Jesus Piece — …So Unknown | Century Media Records | Metalcore + Sludge Metal | United States (Philadelphia, PA)

The sludgy metallic hardcore champions return with a follow up to 2018’s Only Self.What to expect? Intensely rhythmic hardcore delivered with punishing guitar tones and inimitable charisma. We’ve got an interview coming later this week with the band.

Sadly, the BV web shop had a sweet variant of this album, but it’s already sold out.

–Ted Nubel

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Sabaton — Stories from the Western Front | Nuclear Blast | Power Metal | Sweden

Sabaton has (wisely?) decided not to share any singles in advance of this new EP, which completes their ‘Echoes of the Great War’ trilogy. Now, I’m unclear as to why, after releasing two full-lengths dedicated to World War I in 2022, their next play was to release three more EPs dedicated to the same damn thing – they cite fan demand, but complying in such large volume feels more like a YouTube content creator move than something a worldwide-touring band should do.

Well, in the event that your only available venue for learning about historical conflicts happens to be through Swedish power metal, I guess Sabaton has you covered on World War I.

–Ted Nubel

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Witte Wieven — Dwaallicht | Babylon Doom Cult Records | Atmospheric Black Metal | Netherlands

After nine years, Witte Wieven’s debut full-length is finally at hand. Emphasizing contemplative melodies and subtle texture over pure riff-crafting, the album is a dark, yet vivid, journey that captures black metal’s innate magic.

–Ted Nubel

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VoidCeremony — Threads of Unknowing | 20 Buck Spin | Progressive Death + Black Metal | United States

Half progressive masterpiece, half brain-cell-reduction tool, Threads of Unknowing has a nasty, not-so-polished production that pairs mightily well with the adventurous mixture of black and death metal within. For fans of: riffs.

–Ted Nubel

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1782 — Clamor Luciferi | Heavy Psych Records | Stoner + Doom Metal | Italy

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

You won’t find 1782 reinventing doom metal on this album, but you will find a thrilling volume of Satan-hailing, tube-amp-wielding, riff-obsessed doom that very likely has no goddamn idea what an ‘amp modeling sim’ is and certainly has no interest in serving up ‘cinematic soundscapes’.

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All Hell — All Hail the Night | Terminus Hate City Records | Black + Thrash Metal + Punk | United States (Asheville, NC)

The Asheville black-thrashers return with a new EP (their first non-LP release in just about ten years) that highlights their specialty: crunchy, d-beat-packed rippers that effortlessly cut their way through the night. We’ll have more on this one later this week!

–Ted Nubel

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Blazon Rite — Wild Rites and Ancient Songs | Gates of Hell Records | Heavy Metal | United States (Philadelphia, PA)

If the ‘ and ‘ album title wasn’t enough to convince you that Blazon Rite is at the forefront of today’s heavy metal, lead single “Salvage What You Can of the Night” ought to do the trick. The Philadelphia heshers balance an elaborate, 1970s-fantasy-novel aesthetic with incredibly riff-heavy metal full of adventure and drama.

–Ted Nubel

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Askheimr — Askheimr | Independent | Melodic Black + Death Metal | Norway

A moody storm of guitar riffs and synthesizers create bleak, regretful scenes here-the tradeoff between pure riffs and keyboard parts makes for an interesting balance. Also, nothing captures black metal’s semi-absurd, but ultimately loveable, self-imposed despondency like having an interlude track titled “…”.

–Ted Nubel

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Deathgrave — It’s Only Midnight | Tankcrimes | Death Metal + Grindcore | United States

Bass-heavy and incredibly to-the-point, Deathgrave’s take on death/grind is efficient and disgusting: no small feat. Guitarist Greg Wilkinson slots an incredibly large arsenal of uncomfortable, modulating riffs into this sub-thirty-minute full-length.

–Ted Nubel

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Faerie Ring — Weary Traveler | King Volume Records | Doom + Stoner Metal | United States

Though the band name and album title might suggest dungeon synth, Weary Traveler hurts listeners into a fuzzy realm of dangerous fantasy and stoner-doom riffs. While that’s been done plenty before, Faerie Ring keep things smoky, obscure, and full of rock: it’s easy to imagine a fog-filled land of danger while listening, with enough red-hot guitar action to spur the imagination.

–Ted Nubel

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MMXX — The Next Wave | Candlelight Records | Melodic Doom + Death Metal | International (United States + Italy)

The melodic doom group enlists three guest musicians to round out this misty, pensive EP: Mick Moss of Antimatter + Sleeping Pulse and Mikko Kotamäki of Swallow the Sun for vocals, and Alicia Nurho lends violin to the final track.

–Ted Nubel

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Putrid Yell — Consuming Aberration | Pulverised Records | Death Metal | Chile

This guitar tone is out for blood. Or, at least, to gut your speakers. I’m a big fan of the shred-heavy guitar solos, too.

–Ted Nubel

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Moribund Mantras — …of Fathomless Depths | Argento Records | Doom Metal | Germany

An occult, brooding contemplation of existence. You can stream the whole thing early later today – check back at 10 CT!

–Ted Nubel

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Numerical Control Society — Moonshot | Independent | Doom + Stoner Metal | United States (Chicago, IL)

From Ted Nubel’s interview:

Though heavy, lumbering riffs are perfectly fine arranged with devastating simplicity, they also prove to be an excellent anchor in more unusual contexts, played in strange time signatures or unveiled at climactic junctions. This is the realm that Numerical Control Society explores, pursuing a progressive-minded form of instrumental heavy music with almost scientific zeal.

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