Upcoming Metal Releases

Upcoming Metal Releases: 6/21/20 -- 6/27/20

Upcoming Metal Releases

Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of June 21st to June 27th, 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.

Surprise Releases + Things We Missed

Stygian CrownStygian Crown | Cruz del Sur Records | Doom Metal | United States (California)

The band calls their style “Candlethrower,” a portmanteau of Candlemass and Bolt Thrower, but I hear more aggressive traditional heavy metal mixed into the core thrust of epic doom than anything. Still, the result is an exceptionally driving approach to the genre with a good amount of muscle beneath the grandeur.

— Ted Nubel

PanopticonLive Migration | Bindrune Recordings | Black Metal | United States (Minnesota)

I saw Panopticon’s mind-blowing performance at Migration Fest 2016; this 2018 iteration of the fest saw Panopticon nail it again. It was super awesome for project mastermind Austin Lunn to showcase his live sound like this — his albums are so intricate and pleasurable to listen to alone, but live, Panopticon’s music feels even more profound.

— Andrew Rothmund

Upcoming Releases

Bell Witch + Aerial RuinStygian Bough: Volume I | Profound Lore Records | Funeral Doom | United States (Washington)

Joint efforts like this usually end up being special, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, a joint effort involving Bell Witch is some world-shifting stuff. The inclusion of dark folk into funeral doom’s sombre and passionate proceedings feels natural and potent, offering a massive variety of texture to dress the themes in.

— Ted Nubel

DessideriumShadow Burn | Melodic Death Metal | United States (Arizona)

From Andrew Rothmund’s premiere of “Cosmic Limbs”:

There are moments on Shadow Burn so uplifting and revitalizing, downright poppy even, they radiate the warm light of cozy afternoons spent with a loved one. Memories are all we have, but music is far more permanent, and that’s the honest beauty of Shadow Burn: the essence of someone real and now gone has been concreted into the echoes of eternity. It’s not just about the loss, it’s about the life, and that’s really the bottom line of Shadow Burn. Most heavy metal albums throw life into the void; this heavy metal, though, somehow yanks it right back out.

ThætasShrines to Absurdity | Maggot Stomp | Technical + Brutal Death Metal | United States (New York)

We all have that friend (and perhaps you are that friend for many) who knows almost everything there is about the latest demos and the happenings in the death metal underground. A key resource for that metalhead archetype has been California based label Maggot Stomp who, in only a couple years, have quickly developed a distinct nose for upcoming death metal across the country. One new talent that Maggot Stomp is helping elevate above the mire is New York death metallers Thætas with their debut full length Shrines to Absurdity. The album serves as an excellent witness to the group’s ability to meld the technical and dissonant mastery of Gorguts with the brutality of local legends like Suffocation. If you’re in the mood for death metal that slams as hard as it warps spacetime, you can hardly do better than checking out Thætas.

— Joe Aprill

PyrrhonAbscess Time | Willowtip Records | Extreme Metal | United States (New York)

Total. Fucking. Madness.

— Andrew Rothmund

LanternDimensions | Dark Descent Records | Death Metal | Finland

I’ve been following Finnish death metallers Lantern since their almost decade-old debut Subterranean Effulgence EP. While I may never love one of their works more than that one, it’s been undeniable observing since then how Lantern has become even more distilled and potent in their assault. Their songwriting magic of hammer pummeling riffs combined with tundra cold melodies stays the same on third release Dimensions but isn’t without some general weirdness and playfulness thrown in, whether on the weepy eyed crooning jam of “Portraits” or ever twisting epic journey of closer, their longest song ever at over 14 minutes, “Monolith Abyssal Dimensions.” Lantern provides here a fine icy slab of death metal to chill on during the upcoming brutal summer heat.

— Joe Aprill

VoidCeremonyEntropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel | 20 Buck Spin | Blackened Death Metal | United States (California)

VoidCeremony’s debut is a perfect example of what I call “brain-scrambling death metal.” It scrambles your damn brains. This band finds music in complete and total blackened death chaos, and if that isn’t impressive, I have no clue what is.

— Andrew Rothmund

Neptunian MaximalismÉons | I, Voidhanger Records | Drone + Psychedelic | Belgium

From Sahar Alzilu’s upcoming full review of Éons:

With their gigantic debut, Neptunian Maximalism bring an opaque, demanding offering to the table that is by no means easily digestible. But for those looking for a stimulating, exceptionally crafted journey that reveals something new with each playthrough, Éons is mandatory listening.

Paysage d’HiverIm Wald | Kunsthall Produktionen | Black Metal | Switzerland

Im Wald comprises some of the absolute finest black metal ever summoned into human reality. I mean, you can’t listen to this album and not turn to ice. The constant chills Paysage d’Hiver delivers aids in this effect — this music is definitionally epic, not like “oh it’s so epic, man” but instead quite literally “look up the definition of epic in the dictionary and there you’ll find this album.” It’s so intense that its behemoth length becomes nothing but a sliver in the vivid scopes of life and death it conjures.

— Andrew Rothmund

(Bandcamp stream available starting Friday. In the meantime, check out Jon Rosenthal’s Entry Level column where he invited Wintherr to share albums instrumental to his growth as a musician. Also, don’t forget this incredible interview from a few years back.)

CreatureEx Cathedra | I, Voidhanger Records | Avant-Garde Black Metal | France

From Andrew Rothmund’s premiere of “Neo Habilis”:

It comes down to catchy songwriting that doesn’t rely on cheap hooks or the standard assortment of “things people generally like” — instead, Creature finds a sound that you had no clue you’d be into. Like the rest of the album, “Neo Habilis” can be a lot to absorb at once, and maybe that’s the only downside to Creature as a project. But, given enough saturation in this music, if you’re keen to do so, the mastery will become crystal clear in no time.

SerocsVore EP | Everlasting Spew Records | Death Metal | (International)

The pedigree here is already impressive: members of Chthe’ilist, Benighted, and Sutrah help comprise Serocs whose new Vore EP totally fucking rips. I love this kind of technical death metal that doesn’t sound so tech-deathy all the time — here, threads of old-school death metal conjoin with polished, modern touches to offer a balanced and dynamic listen that feels expansive instead of narrow. Also, riffs. Lots of riffs.

— Andrew Rothmund

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