Upcoming Metal Releases: 7/12/20 -- 7/18/20
Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of July 12th to July 18th, 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.
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Surprise Releases + Things We Missed
Battle Dagorath — Abyss Horizons | Avantgarde Music | Black Metal | United States (California)
From Jon Rosenthal’s premiere of “Phantasmal Eye of Dreams”:
Space is the final frontier, but Battle Dagorath looks even further, through the black hole and into nothingness. Though Black Sorcerer Battle’s music can be lumped in with the “cosmic black metal” style, Battle Dagorath’s music is darker and a more ethereal take on the subgenre, taking what is presented and making it his own.
Listen to “Phantasmal Eye of Dreams” here.
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NOMVDIC — Euphoria | Blackgaze + Deathcore | United States (Florida)
The intersection of blackgaze and deathcore isn’t exactly undiscovered, but it’s definitely underexplored — Tampa-based project NOMVDIC cross dreamy, chorus-driven atmospherics crossed with, well, heavy-as-fuck breadowns. You’d think the contrast would be too obvious or distracting, but Euphoria proves it definitely possible and actually quite entertaining. This album belts, but interest in at least one of these subgenres might be a prerequisite for most.
— Andrew Rothmund
Upcoming Releases
Mystras — Castles Conquered and Reclaimed | I, Voidhanger Records | Black Metal | Greece
From Andrew Rothmund’s premiere of “The Murder of Wat Tyler”:
The debut release Castles Conquered and Reclaimed tells stories not of kings and royalty but instead the common folks who were more often than not trampled under despotic leadership. In that way, it finds much more “harsh reality” to echo than the more spacefaring black metal with which Ayloss has made his name; likewise, the sound on Castles Conquered and Reclaimed requires much more volume to resolve, but when it’s cranked, the tunes bleed through the rawness with an especially beautiful and delicate touch. We’re greeted with the signature undulations that make Spectral Lore such a tantalizing listen — these songs feel effortlessly strung together and flow with particularly amazing aplomb — but now, with Mystras, it’s caked into a gritty concrete that, at times, can be a lot to digest.
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Khthoniik Cerviiks — Æequiizoiikum | Iron Bonehead Productions | Blackened Death Metal | Germany
From Jon Rosenthal’s premiere of “Odyssey 3000”:
Make no mistake, Khthoniik Cerviiks is a death metal band first and foremost, and the intensity found within their second album makes a strong case for that, but the mental acrobatics and cerebral movements found within songs like “Odyssey 3000” take them far beyond the definitions of mere death metal. This is far beyond the gore worship which the genre calls its roots and takes death metal into the 30th century. Embrace the strange, but only if it truly calls to you — like what Khthoniik Cerviiks has done.
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Ysengrin — Initiatio | I, Voidhanger Records | Hermetic Dark Metal (Black/Death/Doom Metal) | France
Alas, Ysengrin is dead. Long live Ysengrin. After 15 years of intriguing hermeticism, the brainchild of Guido Saint Roch is laid to rest with its strongest release to date (yes, even better than To Endotaton). Eerie, confounding, and hypnotic, Initiatio is the initiation of the end, the embracing of the void, and the acceptance of the inevitable. If this is your first Ysengrin album, make sure you look back to albums like the aforementioned To Endotaton or even the split with the mighty Stargazer for a wider frame of reference.
— Jon Rosenthal
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Blush Response — Void In | Megastructure | Techno | Germany
I’ve been digging techno lately, no joke, and I find most of it resonates well with metal’s spirit if not also its sheer intensity. Some techno gets a little repetitive for me, I’ll be honest, but Blush Response’s music involves so much going on atmospherically that it’s impossible to get, well, too saturated in the beat. But the beat hits hard, and keeps this album together despite how heady it is.
— Andrew Rothmund
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Zombi — 2020 | Relapse Records | Progressive Electronic + Space Rock | United States (Pennsylvania)
What would otherwise be an innacurious album title of 2020 for Zombi’s latest release, ending their longest gap between studio albums with a good five years gone past, is filled to the brim with powerful associations given how this year will be seen as the most turbulent in generations. Yet questions about philosophical intent in Zombi’s work will largely go unaddressed as the duo are known for their instrumentals, forging together imaginative synthesizer landscapes with bass heavy progressive rock. An added feature on some songs this time is Steve Moore’s inclusion of guitar and boy does he ever include some tasty riffs that add a rock-‘n’-rolling vibe that has never quite been present before. For anyone who enjoys Geddy Lee’s synth heavy Rush songs just as much as the work of Italian horror soundtrack maestros Goblin then Zombi’s latest will feel like a welcome comfort in these oh so sinister days.
— Joe Aprill
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Snøgg — Ritual of the Sun | Dark Ambient | Slovenia
This shit is totally wild, and I’ll leave the suspense linger until release because, well, it’s worth it. Stay tuned for a full review, too.
— Andrew Rothmund
(At the time of this post, no public streams/excerpts from Ritual of the Sun were available.)
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Xythlia — Immortality Through Quantum Suicide | I, Voidhanger Records | Genre | Country
Featuring songs like “Schrödinger’s Foreskin,” you can imagine… no, you can’t. You can’t imagine what this sounds like because it sounds like everything at once. It’s total chaos, and for some, that’s the goal. The super-striking album artwork really rounds out this impressive, if unlistenable, package.
— Andrew Rothmund
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