Upcoming Metal Releases: 5/22/2022-5/28/2022
Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of May 22nd, 2022 to May 28th, 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
Mournful Congregation — The Exuviae of Gods – Part I | 20 Buck Spin | Funeral Doom Metal | Australia
Only for a funeral doom metal band could a 37 minute release still make sense as an EP — given that Mournful Congregation’s last full length was 80 minutes long, I suppose this is really pretty short!
Composed as part one of a two-part EP series, the EP contains a hefty dose of the slow, lamenting doom that the band pioneered, complete with a snare that hits like a dump truck and ornately composed guitar melodies made to induce extreme sadness.
–Ted Nubel
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Holocausto Canibal — Crueza Ferina | Selfmadegod Records | Brutal Death Metal + Grindcore | Portugal
Holocausto Canibal’s brutal grind is as uncomfortably visceral as their band name implies, and Crueza Ferina (“Ferocious Cross”) gives us a huge, howling serving of it, mish-mashing fun punky riffs with visages of absolute horror.
–Ted Nubel
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Thrall — Schisms | Brilliant Emperor Records | Black Metal | Australia
From Colin Williams’s track premiere of “Hollow”:
The album sees the four-piece seamlessly weld thrash, black and doom pieces to create a blackened killdozer. Boasting a recording lineup that features members of Gatecreeper, Noose Rot, Förfalla, and others, Thrall forgo atmosphere in favor of different shades of fear.
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Doldrum — The Knocking, or the Story of the Sound That Preceded Their Disappearance | Katafalque | Black Metal | United States (Denver, CO)
From Jon Rosenthal’s track premiere of “The Knocking”:
Following a path tread by the few, Doldrum’s homage to avant-black metal’s past is a distinct departure from worship. The Knocking… is even more proof that Doldrum are onto their own sound and specific vibe.
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Sacrifizer — Le Diamant de Lucifer | Osmose Productions | Speed Metal | France
Like your speed metal to sound like it’s half a millisecond from going completely off the rails and collapsing into clattering insanity? Check this one out.
–Ted Nubel
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Obscene — …from Dead Horizon to Dead Horizon | Blood Harvest Records | Death Metal | United States (Indianapolis, IN)
Obscene’s debut was some high quality death metal, and easily established the band as one of the Midwest’s most interesting upcoming death metal acts. Their follow-up record slaps in similar measure, delivering riff-packed death metal that’s really just fun – lively drums and a chaotic mix keeps things interesting and fresh as the band explores their dead and rotting subject matter.
–Ted Nubel
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Inner Decay — Enter the Void | Pest Records | Death Metal | United States (Chicago, IL)
With massive riffs that churn like cosmic machinery, Enter the Void drives forward uncaring of what stands in its way: while it’s not exactly melodic death metal, the band draws from that school of thought to flavor their violent onslaught.
–Ted Nubel
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Horehound — Collapse | Blackseed Records | Stoner + Doom Metal | United States (Pittsburgh, PA)
Adept at both snarling sludge aggression and finding the utmost depths of despair through pained doom metal, Horehound explores hypnotic darkness on their newest album Collapse. Combining emotional clean vocals with harsh growls and packing a hell of a bass tone, Collapse is a weighty portrait of anguish.
–Ted Nubel
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Haserot — Throne of Malice | Redefining Darkness Records | Death Metal | United States (Houston, TX)
From Ted Nubel’s track premiere of “Forging the Ossuary”:
On their debut EP Throne of Malice, the Texan death metallers draw from the genre’s early flexible brutality as well as its traditionally-inspired melodicism, adding supernatural grace to their cutthroat riffs that bear down grimly on listeners.
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Evil — Book of Evil | From The Vaults | Heavy Metal | Denmark
After a well-received EP in 1984, Denmark’s Evil fell off the map for the most part – their 2015 full-length debut Shoot the Messenger was, uh, not particularly well received, and was basically the solo work of original drummer Freddie Wolf. Wolf is also the only original member on this new album, but he brings with him a stable of talent, including two members of Iron Fire, to round out the lineup. The result is pretty solid traditional metal with a focus on malevolent aggression.
–Ted Nubel
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Black Lung — Dark Waves | Heavy Psych Sounds | Psychedelic Doom Metal + Rock | United States (Baltimore, MD)
Sinister forces slither behind the murky atmosphere that Black Lung creates on Dark Waves: there’s a palpable sense of dread and distress here which dovetails nicely with the sweet riffs. Feeling bad while feeling good–doesn’t get more doom than that.
–Ted Nubel
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Stygian Oath — Midnight Flames | Stormspell Records | Traditional Heavy Metal | Greece
Most traditional heavy metal bands in the business of naming influences usually list Judas Priest as maybe, I don’t know, their third or fourth influence–but Stygian Oath puts them first, and it’s probably not too difficult to figure out why after checking out a track or two. Moody, complex riffs and driving rhythms form a backdrop for soaring, passionate vocals here.
–Ted Nubel
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