New Metal Releases: 6/26/2022-7/16/2022
Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the weeks of June 26th, 2022 to June 16th, 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.
Send us your promos (streaming links preferred) to: [email protected]. Do not send us promo material via social media.
New Releases
Wormrot — Hiss | Earache Records | Grindcore | Singapore
The Singapore grind titans return after six long years. At almost 33 minutes, this is a pretty hefty slice of grind to chew on, broken glass and all – and man, that last track.
–Ted Nubel
…
Municipal Waste — Electrified Brain | Nuclear Blast | Thrash Metal + Crossover | United States (Richmond, VA)
Municipal Waste keeps it mean and tight here, a testament to their mastery of crossover thrash. No inexplicably long albums two decades into their career here — just super-sharp riffs meant for live destruction.
–Ted Nubel
…
Inhuman Condition — Fearsick | Listenable Insanity Records | Death + Thrash Metal | United States (Florida)
From Kelley Simms’ interview:
Even taking the band name from the title of Massacre’s 1992 EP, Inhuman Condition created an album that embodies that band and that era’s classic vibe. On their second full-length album Fearsick, Inhuman Condition has stepped up its game to prove that their debut wasn’t a fluke.
…
Conjurer — Páthos | Nuclear Blast | Sludge + Doom + Post-Metal | United Kingdom
From Skot Thayer’s premiere:
Páthos moves like a massive serpent over uneven terrain- twisting, winding, contracting and expanding as it positions itself to best deliver its emotionally ruinous venom. Crushing in all the ways one expects. At moments so sonically oppressive as to elicit a grimace in the listener akin to smelling a finely aged cheese. These stinky cheese riffs stomping straightforwardly into the wave-crashed shore are balanced with intricacies that call to mind a sludgier Meshuggah (Mesludggah?). Added textural moments of vulnerable delicacy complement the weighted moments like line breaks in a poem.
…
Hulder — The Eternal Fanfare | 20 Buck Spin | Black Metal | United States (Washington)
Hulder makes their 20 Buck Spin debut with this neat mini LP, dialing things up a notch across the board – plus, a guest solo from Phil Tougas, which is always a good thing.
–Ted Nubel
…
Stygian Ruin — Stygia I: Slumrende i hjertets mørke | Independent | Black Metal + Dungeon Synth + Ambient | Norway
Black metal and ambient meet in a dreamy, neon-toned fantasyscape on this album, which was juuust metal enough to get Stygian Ruin finally onto Metal Archives.
–Ted Nubel
…
Ironhawk — Ritual of the Warpath | Dying Victims Productions | Heavy + Speed Metal + Punk | Australia
Imagine reverb-heavy speed metal…and then add more reverb. That’s Ironhawk, delivering pummeling anthems where each lightning-bolt riff echoes deep into your skull.
–Ted Nubel
…
Knife — Sounds of Sacrifice | Dying Victims Productions | Heavy + Speed + Black Metal | Germany
A sort of heavy metal tres leches, with three songs titled “Sacrifice” — the band’s own, then Venom and Bathory covers. I’ve always been partial to Venom’s version and the cheeky spelled-out chorus.
–Ted Nubel
…
Wizzo — Most Severe Crisis | Independent | Stoner + Doom Metal | United States (Chicago, IL)
Wizzo puts an interesting spin on sad, crunchy stoner rock, mixing big riffs with thoughtful lyrics absolutely drenched with reverb. Most Severe Crisis is fuzzy, tragic, and somewhat ethereal.
–Ted Nubel
…
Ironflame — Where Madness Dwells | High Roller Records | Heavy + Power Metal | United States
Sole full-time member/vocalist Andrew D’Cagna’s vocals are great here, carving out their own little niche with a combination of grit and power, but the instrumentals seem a little by-the-numbers by comparison. Still – easily worth a listen for any trad metal fans.
–Ted Nubel
…
Sacral Night — Le diadème d’argent | No Remorse Records | Heavy + Death Metal | France
While this is mostly the traditional heavy metal the album art hints at, with lots of soaring vocals and slick leads, there’s also a death metal undercurrent to it, where those same soaring vocals meet nasty riffs and double bass for pretty unique results.
–Ted Nubel
…
Ice Howl — Darkness from Beyond | Independent | Doom + Stoner + Heavy Metal | United States (Bloomington, IN)
If you dig the “power stoner” metal that Ice Howl plays, the Indiana-based group continues to be the only real purveyor. Influenced by power metal and modern metal/rock–notable, since many trad/doom groups categorically avoid this–Darkness From Beyond packs both righteous riffs and catchy song structures.
–Ted Nubel
…
Telekinetic Yeti — Primordial | Tee Pee Records | Doom + Stoner Rock | United States
Both fiercely majestic and mind-expandingly psychedelic, Telekinetic Yeti doesn’t let getting super weird get in the way of rocking. There’s huge, absolutely titanic, riffs at play, but they’re always groovy. Case in point – “Stoned Ape Theory,” which spends half the song iterating on one riff and excels at it.
–Ted Nubel
…
Your Highness — The Ragbag Vol. 1 | Hoogheid Records | Sludge + Stoner Metal | Belgium
From Ted Nubel’s full album premiere:
While the upcoming second volume will dive into the band’s darker, dronier side, The RagBag Vol.1 taps into their pure rock energy. They deliver three songs full of an untamed sludgy furor with some melodic undercurrents — beneath the crushing riffs, tasty little licks and progressive hints lurk.
…
Abhorrency — Climax of Disgusting Impurities | Stygian Black Hand | War Metal + Death Metal | United States (Sacramento, CA)
From Jon Rosenthal’s track premiere of “Climax of Disgusting Impurities”:
Though still undeniably “war metal” (hammer blasts, huge drum fills, gross vocals, general sense of malice and wrongdoing), what’s nice about Abhorrency is that they 1) have discernible riffs, which is a huge plus, and 2) you can hear everything going on, which accentuates point number one.
…
Narakah — Nemesis Cloak | Independent | Grindcore + Death Metal | United States (Pittsburgh, PA)
From Colin Williams’s full album premiere:
This is the sound of a band having fun while venting a lifetime of pent-up frustration. The album’s opener is called “Leftover Hamburger.” Nemesis Cloak‘s cover art is, put simply, a butt. Yet it’s all strangely beguiling, even the butt. Narakah isn’t just cranking out rote grindcore for all these devil-may-care vibes, and even goofy asides such as Ghost Busters samples don’t overpower the fact that there’s a ton of genuine songcraft here.
…
Homeskin — Life’s Wishes to Tears | Independent | Avant-garde Black Metal | United States
Is Garry Brents a stoic black metaller performing screamo or a caterwauling skramz inhabitant playing black metal? He’s traversed that line so many times it’s hard to tell anymore, and his latest release with Homeskin doesn’t help make the distinction any clearer. On Life’s Wishes to Tears, blackened wails are interlaced with the instrumental freneticism of screamo to provide an experience that is otherworldly, but also thrillingly alive. It won’t cure your confusion, but it’ll help you forget about it for awhile.
–Brandon Nurick
…
Calderum — Mystical Fortress of Iberian Lands | Death Prayer Records | Black Metal | Spain
“Cold” black metal is fairly passé these days, but every now and then you’ll come across an artist who captures the magic of the second wave. Spanish solo act Calderum makes it seem effortless on his sophomore effort Mystical Fortress of Iberian Lands. Pitting stomping yet melodic riffs against a backdrop of majestic synths, it exudes an icy grandeur and sense of nostalgia few can muster these days.
–Brandon Nurick
…
Alburnum — Buitenlucht | Babylon Doom Cult Records | Atmospheric + Folk Black Metal | Netherlands
The onslaught of ferocious Dutch black metal continues, this time with a tasteful dash of accordion. Buitenlucht, the first full-length from Alburnum, is a raw yet somehow delicate record that dropped July 8th via via Babylon Doom Cult. The gentle touches of acoustic instruments including mandolin form a sonic counterpoint to the anguished vocals. The album’s title translates as “outside air,” and appropriately, the record is like a spell spent exploring a moldering cabin far from civilization—each of the four tracks carries with it a feel of melancholy, and even Alburnum’s blast beats have an almost whispered feel. To listen to Buitenlucht is to get lost in the woods and emerge somehow both aged and refreshed.
–Colin Williams
…
Mico — Zigurat | Total Dissonance Worship | Blackened Grindcore + Hardcore + Sludge Metal | Colombia
Colombia’s Mico have built an obsidian edifice on their new release Zigurat, which dropped on June 29 through Total Dissonance Worship. A less frenetic and hardcore-infused record than their previous full-length, Zigurat sees the Colombian duo rise to dizzying heights through a combination of disorienting riffage and reverb-drenched production that leaves even the record’s more “-core” tracks (e.g., “Insufrible Espanto”) feeling big and dystopian. At the risk of pissing off music critics everywhere, this is a record that could fairly be called “angular”—as angular as an Art Deco edifice rising over a sea of desolation. I might have to add Zigurat to my custom soundtrack for Fritz Lang’s Metropolis… this record truly feels like the soundtrack to an insane and nihilistic future.
–Colin Williams
…
The Atrophic — Coagulating Mirth | Independent | Melodic Death Metal | United States (Raleigh, NC)
From Colin Williams’s full album premiere:
On their inaugural EP, Coagulating Mirth, the Raleigh duo throw back to a simpler time of pummeling rhythms and neck-snapping riffs that steer clear of shiny, overdetermined production yet doesn’t feel stuck in the past. From the opening synths to the frantic polyphony that touches off second track “Misery’s Grip,” The Atrophic deliver on the promise of melodic death metal reborn.
…
Idol Throne — The Sibylline Age | Stormspell Records | Thrash + Power Metal | Indiana
Idol Throne’s debut full-length is an unbelievably invigorating riff-fest that packs one electrifying melody after another, with strong vocals and a sense for unusual rhythms breathing extra life into the record.
–Ted Nubel
…
Antigama — Whiteout | Selfmadegod Records | Death Metal + Grindcore | Poland
Fun fact, thanks to Metal Archives – Antigama actually wrote two songs that show up on the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack (under the name “Inferno Corps”). I have many issues with that game, but the music choices were top notch. Anyway, Antiggama’s new record Whiteout is a seething package of angry death-grind annihilation–no cut content here. Check out a suitably grimy music video from the album below.
–Ted Nubel
…
Behold! The Monolith — From the Fathomless Deep | Ripple Music | Stoner + Sludge Metal | United States (Los Angeles, CA)
Behold! The Monolith, erratic punctuation aside, takes a stately and perhaps lawful evil approach to stoner sludge. Every note of every riff is a siren call to a deep evil; the band uses pentatonic riffs and fuzzy tones to draw listeners under the surface towards some ancient evil.
–Ted Nubel
…
Mantar — Pain Is Forever and This Is the End | Metal Blade Records | Sludge + Black Metal | Germany
Music this pissed off and discontent doesn’t usually sound this goddamn massive as well.
–Ted Nubel
…
Nuclear Tomb — Offer Your Life | Independent | Black + Death Metal | United States (Baltimore, MA)
A black/death/thrash throwback to a point in time when those genres weren’t all that different — messy, loud, and evil.
–Ted Nubel
…
Flesia — Essenz I | Independent | Black Metal | Germany
From Ted Nubel’s full album premiere:
[A] frills-free approach generates heavier and more bombastic songs – with an extremity venturing into death metal territory at times, guitar and bass combine into an excoriating, unstoppable wall. Delightfully visceral vocals and crisp drums then lend this undulating mass a semblance of structure and direction.
…
Maul — Seraphic Punishment | Redefining Darkness Records | Death Metal | United States (Fargo, ND)
From Ted Nubel’s track premiere of “Seraphic Punishment”:
From its flesh-tenderizing snare to the muscular riffs that comprise it, Maul’s upcoming album Seraphic Punishment is, in a word, meaty. Thick, guttural, and loaded with nasty hooks, this is death metal not just to sink your teeth into — it’s death metal to savagely tear into and leave bloody-mouthed.
…
Molder — Engrossed in Decay | Prosthetic Records | Death Metal | United States
From Ted Nubel’s track premiere of “Engrossed in Decay”:
The Joliet-based band’s sophomore release delivers tales of necrotic debauchery with gleeful abandon and positively reeks of filth.
…
Xenoglyph — Spiritfraud | Translation Loss | Avant-garde Black Metal | United States
From Colin Williams’s track premiere of “Spiritfraud”:
On their new LP Spiritfraud, the mysterious black metallers have crafted a Byzantine monstrosity. While much of black metal is fixated on some distant Nordic past warped by unhealthy nostalgia, Xenoglyph traces a meandering path from the recent past to the doomed future. Buoyed by currents of psychedelic synthesizers and propelled by eerie and unsettling black metal riffage, Spiritfraud is an exploration of humans’ inability to get out of our own way.
…
Prometheus — Aornos | I, Voidhanger Records | Black + Death Metal | Greece
Prometheus fuse black and death metal into a terrifyingly singular concept here, crafting poignant extreme metal that seems almost celestial in origin.
–Ted Nubel
…
Witnesses — Holy Water | Independent | Melodic Doom Metal + Ambient | United States (New York + Washington, D.C.)
Melodic, funereal doom metal that explores horror subject material in an unusual way. Ghostly vocals float on top of ominous riffs, slowly laying out dirges that conceptually focuses on two characters from Bram Stoker’s Dracula — while obviously the work as a whole hasn’t been overlooked, diving into specific characters is an interesting choice.
–Ted Nubel
…
Hissing — Hypervirulence Architecture | Profound Lore Records | Black + Death Metal | United States (Seattle, WA)
From Colin Williams’ review:
Hypervirulence Architecture is a charnel house of dissonant chords pounded together with nails of noise. While this is hardly an album for fans of mainstream metal, its details are beguiling and rewarding for those willing to sit in discomfort with the band for 35 harrowing minutes. Hypervirulence Architecture isn’t just bewildering, however—if you’re a musical masochist, it’s a genuinely fun listen.
…
