Upcoming Metal Releases: 6/14/20 -- 6/20/20 (Plus Last Week)
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Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the weeks of June 7th to June 13th and June 14th to June 20th, 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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Gravesend — Preparations for Human Disposal | Stygian Black Hand | Black Metal + Grindcore + War Metal | United States (New York)
Harsh, harsh, harsh warlike metal from urban wastelands. I say warlike here because, while Gravesend does, in fact, fulfill the chaotic parameters of war metal, there is a clarity found within their riffing which sets them apart. Some might call this “lo-fi,” but I call it outrageous and crushing. This is meant to be a wall of noise (sort of) — fuck your concepts of fidelity and riff construction.
— Jon Rosenthal
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Almyrkvi + The Ruins of Beverast — Split | Ván Records | Black Metal | Iceland + Germany
This split pairs two of the best bands that this label currently has to offer: Almyrkvi and The Ruins of Beverast. The former continues its enveloping, space-tinged brand of Icelandic black metal, while the latter picks up on the quasi psychedelic, blackened doom approach explored on Exuvia. At a whopping 43 minutes, this feels closer to a full length album than what many other splits offer, and drops a lot of interesting hints at where the parties involved may be going from here with their sounds.
— Sahar Alzilu
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Last Week’s Releases
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I’m In A Coffin — Waste of Skin | Independent/Digital | Suicidal Black Metal | United States (Texas + Massachusetts)
Twelve years ago, I’m In A Coffin burst onto the then-waning “depressive black metal” scene with serious musical chops and an over-the-top character which made some think they were a little less than serious (make no mistake, I’m In A Coffin meant it). Now, after years of false-starts and promises of a follow-up, Waste of Skin shows a matured iteration of this suicidal black metal duo. All the years of anticipation certainly pay off — Waste of Skin is a powerful statement in over-the-top, shrieking, howling misery.
— Jon Rosenthal
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Ice Howl — Cadence of the Cursed | Heavy Metal | United States (Indiana)
From Ted Nubel’s premiere of “Light the Bonfire”:
“I’ve eagerly lapped up each Ice Howl release over the last few years — while every EP has pushed forward mastermind Jason Roach’s vision of power metal laced with the stopping power of the rest of heavy metal’s variants, the main draw for me has been the top-tier retro riffs they’re packed with.Cadence of the Cursed has these in spades, all mainline worthy, but as a whole there’s another appeal: the blazing passion behind this album is obvious, both for heavy metal and the subject matter, and every listen fuels your own kindling spark just a little bit more.”
— Ted Nubel
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Behold! The Arctopus — Hapeleptic Overtrove | Willlowtip Records | Experimental Death Metal | United States (New York)
From Langdon Hickman’s premiere of Hapeleptic Overtrove:
It’s always a delightful challenge to describe a new Behold the Arctopus record, especially one like Hapeleptic Overtrove. For those of us that like our heavy metal experimental and technical, this group traditionally represents one of the most extreme liminal edges that can be explored, creating music that’s as baffling as it is euphoric, as much of a deep cerebral brain scratch as it is jarringly avant-garde. At times they seem to lean closer to Ryoji Ikeda’s particularly timbral approach to experimental rhythmic techno than to, say, Judas Priest, often only feeling metal by the choice of tones for the instruments rather than anything even close to resembling a riff. But that is, ultimately, what makes them so endlessly compelling; they represent the R&D department of heavy metal and experimental/avant-garde work, producing legitimate challenges to your palette in an era where mere extremity no longer does the trick (not even old avant-garde tricks like 80+ minute songs).
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Ulthar — Providence | 20 Buck Spin | Death Metal + Black Metal | United States (California)
Providence is a granite slab of insanity, and I love it for that. I can barely last through this entire album (maybe it scrambles my brain in just the right way), but the accomplishment of doing so always pays off in dividends. Top-notch stuff, as many were expecting from this band.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Upcoming Releases
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Lamb of God — Lamb of God | Nuclear Blast | Metalcore | United States (Virigina)
The best Lamb of God album in recent times. Feels brand-new but also like the band has taken a stripped-down, back-to-basics approach to their furious blend. Catchy guitar riffs form the centerpiece once more, and Randy’s vocals are as gritty as ever. I was a huge Lamb of God fan back in the day, and Lamb of God is exciting me again about those times. I also had the pleasure of interviewing Randy Blythe earlier this year before the band absolutely devastated a tiny-cap venue (and right before coronavirus really fucked things up).
— Andrew Rothmund
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Kall — Brand | Prophecy Productions | Black Metal + Rock | Sweden
When Lifelover broke up after the tragic passing of primary songwriter B., a void was left in their strange corner of the music world. No longer would there be that same sort of sardonic, psychotic fusion of black metal, post-punk, and rock music. Does Kall, the spiritual continuation of Lifelover, fill its shoes? Sort of — Kim Carlsson does a great job of maintaining the sort of depressed, desperate character which defines his overall musical output (see: Hypothermia, Kyla, Life is Pain, et cetera), but Kall misses the point when it comes to being “Lifelover Mk. II” — I miss the B.’s sarcasm and strange psychoses most of all. Is it bad? No way, it’s great, but it certainly is no Lifelover.
— Jon Rosenthal
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Nexion — Seven Oracles | Avantgarde Music | Black Metal | Iceland
Fiery icy shit from the land of fire and ice. Despite all the dissonance and clangy chaos, eerie and devilish melodies emerge from the noise to carry you forward into, well, the gaping maw of death.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Hail Spirit Noir — Eden In Reverse | Agonia Records | Avant-Garde + Post-Black Metal + Psychedelic Rock | Greece
There was a time when “post-black metal” meant the brave new face of the avant-garde in black metal — something before the weird portmanteau of post-rock and black metal. Hail Spirit Noir is the embodiment of that daring to be creative and reinvent the tired face of black metal. Psychedelic, bizarre, and always moving, Eden In Reverse turns the genre on its head for all to see.
— Jon Rosenthal
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Aversio Humanitatis — Behold the Silent Dwellers | Debemur Morti Productions | Black Metal | Spain
I loved the density and outright speed of Aversio Humanitatis’ prior album Longing for the Untold, and it looks like I’m pleased again with Behold the SIlent Dwellers. In fact, the band’s black metal onslaught is even thicker and punchier than before, which I think is the main selling point here. The album belts its way through its runtime with a mighty sense of fury, and rarely lets up for a break.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Vile Creature — Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm! | Prosthetic Records | Black Metal + Post-Metal | Canada
Thick, viscous, blackened — Vile Creature is, musically, a lot of things, but that’s only a part of the puzzle. The two-piece’s signature mix of sludge and drone is driven by a wildly powerful creative spark that leads to plenty of surprises ( the title track features a choir, for one) and effectively transmits the emotions backing this fine-tuned aural carnage.
— Ted Nubel
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Eye of Nix — Ligeia | Prophecy Productions | Atmospheric Sludge + Doom + Black Metal | United States (Washington)
It’s still a thrill to stumble upon an enjoyable band that’s contemporary but not exactly brand new either, which is exactly what occurred for me upon hearing the lead single off Seattle band Eye of Nix’s third album, Ligeia. The album has an oceanic fury behind its mix of Neurosis like sludge with black metal (particularly of the Icelandic variety), lulling in the listener with hypnotically tense calm that at any moment gives way to a raging maelstrom. Such themes pop up across the lyrics and song titles as the album title itself originates from one of the Sirens of Greek myth, beautiful human-bird like creatures that lured sailors to their doom with their singing. All of which is perfectly embodied in the double threat of front-woman Joy Von Spain’s guitar work and vocals. The latter of her talents can not be praised enough with her ability to command both demonic bellows and majestically sublime singing. I eagerly await someday to witness in the flesh this band’s siren call, though hopefully replacing heads bashed on jagged shores for headbanging in front of a stage.
— Joseph Aprill
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Pale Divine — Consequence of Time | Cruz del Sur Music | Heavy Metal | United States (Pennsylvania)
25 years into their career, Pale Divine is still finding ways to keep their riff-driven doom fresh. Their latest full-length, which sees ex-Beelzefuzz guitarist Dana Ortt adding additional wizardry and vocals to the group, is as tight and riffy as one expects from Pale Divine — every guitar melody is a delight, and the mix of crunch and full-throated roar in the tones hits just right. It’s wildly different than basically anybody else out there, somehow, with a healthy dose of straight-up weirdness and an obsession with twisty, intricate riffing. If you haven’t heard this band before, this is an excellent way to get introduced — but if you’re already aware, there’s some surprises brewing here.
— Ted Nubel
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Dearth — To Crown All Befoulment | Sentient Ruin | Black Metal + Death Metal | United States (California)
From Andrew Rothmund’s premiere of “Writing in Cellophane Cages”:
Imagine blackened death metal so caustic it could degrease your driveway. That’s what California outfit Dearth is aiming for: the complete and total strippage of every unwanted molecule from your brain. The band has an upcoming full-length called To Crown All Befoulment that weaves and wonders through the annals of total death like murky moonshine coursing through your veins. It leaves you warm and fuzzy at first, with groove-laden surges between bone-crunching dirges; after its runtime is complete, though, you’re left vacuumed and completely drained. This is the sort of metal for a new age, one of still-somehow digestible chaos.
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