Upcoming Metal Releases

Upcoming Metal Releases: 7/18/2021 - 7/24/2021


Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of July 18th, 2021 to July 24th, 2021. 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.


Upcoming Releases

Yngwie MalmsteemParabellum | Music Theories Recordings | Shred + Power Metal | Sweden

It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that Yngwie’s new album sounds like his other work, and, accordingly, if you’ve been on board so far you’ll probably dig this… but if not, probably a pass. I mean, yeah, he’s still a great guitar player, but I’m really not a fan of how the drums sound on this—if they weren’t a drum machine, the time and money spent hiring a real person instead was wasted.

–Ted Nubel

Flame, Dear FlameAegis | Eisenwald | Doom Metal | Germany

Though there’s certainly been a lot of mystical/occult-feeling doom bands over the years, and I can appreciate cynicism towards the variant, give this one a shot: top-notch vocals and an understanding of how to weld heaviness to a hazy, occult atmosphere set it far apart from the norm.

–Ted Nubel

MordredThe Dark Parade | M-Theory Audio | Thrash Metal | United States (San Francisco, CA)

Listen, if my thrash metal band returned after 25 years, I’d want them to sound like Mordred. They’re bouncy, dynamic, and flashy, all in a way that is in-line with thrash’s current lighter tone. Matt Winegar’s production helps Mordred fit in with modern thrash metal tastes.

–Colin Dempsey

LykhaeonOpprobium | Repose Records | Black Metal | Switzerland

Opprobrium renders Greek mythology in the cavernous and billowing shades of disaffected horror it deserves: as much as I appreciate the myriad of takes on the mythos in creative media, the source material is pretty clear on it all being extremely fucked up.

–Ted Nubel

AzokAzok | Independent | Black Metal | Spain

Much less concerned with aesthetics or atmosphere than smashing skulls in, this self-titled debut is an exercise in warlike black metal. Sometimes roughly-recorded black metal uses its production to mask the gory details, but here it’s simply rust and gristle on the blade to augment the pain.

–Ted Nubel

Archangel A.D.Casus Belli | Independent | Thrash Metal | United States

Clanky, mean thrash with a more sanctified side as well—though there’s scorching quick riffs and tight rhythmic beatdowns, melodic choruses and copious leads add more dimension to the sound.

–Ted Nubel

Stream the whole album over at Decibel Magazine.

Luminous VeilVespers for the Loom and Lain | BMC Productions | Black Metal | United States

Luminous Veil deliver a triumphant variation of atmospheric black metal. They achieve a celebratory tone through swelling synths and fervent drumming, but then there’s also a “let’s just toss in the kitchen sink” approach. It’s a big atmosphere, with an even larger array of programming, taken in a shimmering direction.

–Colin Dempsey

GhorotLoss of Light | Inverse Records | Blackened Doom Metal | United States

Ghorot uses an interesting pairing of depraved vocals and psychedelic doom riffs to create an air nestled in between hallucinatory and tormented. What makes them exemplary is the way they occasionally shift in that valley. They go from stressing doom’s churning pace to somewhere more feral without betraying either.

–Colin Dempsey

Laetitia in HolocaustI Fall with the Saints | Brucia Records | Black Metal | Italy

From Ted Nubel’s full album premiere:

Laetitia in Holocaust’s new EP I Fall with the Saints demonstrates a powerful, explosive form of black metal that takes advantage of its full sonic breadth to create intricate tales of classical despair. Like marble skillfully shaped into twisted grimaces, this brief offering is crafted to both delight and terrify.

Planet of the DeadPilgrims | Independent | Doom Metal + Stoner Rock | New Zealand

From Ted Nubel’s track premiere of “Directive IV”:

Elsewhere on Pilgrims, you’ll find elaborate melodies, stoner jams and traditional doom leanings, but “Directive IV” is strictly by-the-book, eliminating eardrums with maximum efficiency. Planet of the Dead isn’t just taking surface-level inspiration from their influences—rather, their heavy grooves have been shaped into reflections of the strange and wonderful things they love.

Temple of DreadHades Unleashed | Testimony Records | Death Metal | Germany

Whereas Lykhaeon, mentioned above, dissected Greek mythology via black metal, here we have a take on it in the form of full-on old-school death metal. Take those brains right out of your skulls, because they’re just going to get in the way of absorbing each spine-slicing riff in this classic brew of sawtoothed assaults and unhinged aggression.

–Ted Nubel

BorkrCopper | Pest Productions | Black Metal | China

Chinese black metal unearthed nearly a decade after its original recording, and it sounds like it’s spent that time buried under dirt. It’s lo-fi as hell, like it was recorded in a crypt, and it rarely strays from its mid-tempo pacing. But the minor modulations and slowly evolving riffs will lull you into a trance.

–Colin Dempsey

SjenovikDissolution of Innocence | Aphotic Sonance | Industrial + Folk + Black Metal | United States (Phoenix, AZ)

This is the soundtrack to squaring up with your mirrored reflection. There’s enough weight in the mixing here that Sjenovik could possibly punch you through soundwaves alone, with the industrial inclinations and James Johnson’s vocals adding two hefty tons of granite.

–Colin Dempsey

Cavern DeepCavern Deep | Independent | Doom Metal | Sweden

If ever there was a genre that could handle a concept album about an ill-fated exploration of a cave system, it’d be doom metal. Cavern Deep offers more than a generic fuzzed-out stoner take on this, though, instead providing a more traditional doom experience with melancholic vocals, varied textures, and an increasingly claustrophobic atmosphere.

–Ted Nubel