Upcoming Metal Releases: 8/20/2023-8/26/2023
Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for August 20th through August 26th. 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
Incantation — Unholy Deification | Relapse Records | Death Metal | United States (Pennsylvania)
What really even needs to be said about the latest from Incantation? As always, their new album is hella strong and also somehow pushes the envelope of heaviness and brutality forward without compromising on their sound or putting out the same album over and over. While they may be predictably heavy and precise, the riffs and time changes are not predictable at all. The only gripe I have is that I can’t stop reading the title as “Unholy Defecation”—which would be a hilarious spoof record idea.
–Addison Herron-Wheeler
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Blut Aus Nord — Disharmonium – Nahab | Debemur Morti Productions | Avant-garde Black Metal | France
The mystique of Blut Aus Nord extends to more than their music as the French band take on new aspects with each release. Treading the very edges of the abyss, BaN (led by Vindsval), either veer towards horror or enlightenment and the second instalment of Disharmonium tends towards the former. Taking Lovecraft as the base and encompassing all that Blut Aus Nord have done before, Disharmonium – Nahab is a distressing and manic voyage into the greatest unknowns. Black metal horror and it’s most terrifying.
–Cheryl Carter
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Dethklok — Dethalbum IV | WaterTower Music | Melodic Death Metal | United States (Los Angeles, CA)
The Dethalbum–the original one–holds a pretty vital spot in my early heavy metal listening, so it’s tough to try and objectively compare Dethklok’s later work to that. I mean, yeah, Dethalbum IV is solid melodic death metal with a good mix of melody and riffing, but it’s tough to tear away from my nostalgic desire for something… simpler? Anyway, Dethklok is on tour starting next week and that should be pretty rad.
–Ted Nubel
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Celestial Sanctuary — Insatiable Thirst for Torment | Church Road Records | Death Metal | United Kingdom
Though it generally oozes along with a dense swampiness you might expect from a Floridian death metal band, Celestial Sanctuary’s sophomore album has a habit of lunging out of the murk to grab listeners by their throats. Generally speaking, there’s a lot of nastiness here–it’s an aggressive blend the English band has further honed since 2021’s Soul Diminished.
–Ted Nubel
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Knife — Heaven into Dust | Napalm Records | Blackened Speed Metal + Punk | Germany
The German black/speed/punk crew has made the leap to Napalm Records for their sophomore full-length, but expect more of the same sonically: high-speed metal that oozes recklessness. Fast, mean–can’t ask for much more.
–Ted Nubel
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Asphodelus — Sculpting from Time | Hammerheart Records | Doom + Death Metal | Finland
Dire melodies loom over Asphodelus’s death/doom metal like watchful specters; their sophomore album cultivates a wonderfully miserable and forlorn, yet majestic gloom.
–Ted Nubel
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Meurtrières — Ronde de nuit | Gates of Hell Records | Heavy Metal | France
Don’t know how to pronounce (or spell) this band’s name? Don’t worry about it; just buckle up for high-energy, captivating heavy metal. Meurtrières’ debut LP manages to exceed their first EP’s already high bar, combining soaring heavy metal with bloody grit.
–Ted Nubel
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Vision Master — Sceptre | Gates of Hell Records | Heavy Metal | United States
If you like your heavy metal gnarly, fast, and weird, Vision Master’s debut full-length arrives with a vengeance, fully suited for that niche. Reuben Storey (Christian Mistress, ex-Funerot) provides bass and drums while his ex-Funerot bandmate Dan Munro brings the riffs and vocals.
–Ted Nubel
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Moon Coven — Sun King | Ripple Music | Psychedelic Stoner + Doom Metal | Sweden
From Ted Nubel’s track premiere of “Behold the Serpent”:
Sure, the band laces burly riffs with psychedelic stoner mysticism, but beyond that, their upcoming album Sun King feels dizzyingly bright. It taps into a sunnier side of heavy metal while in no way sacrificing even a fraction of its fuzz-adorned decibels.
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Colony Drop — Brace for Impact | Nameless Grave | Thrash Metal + Crossover | United States (Seattle, WA)
I should mention here that ex-Invisible Oranges EIC Joseph Schafer does lead vocals for Colony Drop, and bassist Ari Rosenschein wrote for us like, a decade ago.
Now, I’ve never actually spoken to either of these folks, but people still send us promo emails addressed to Joseph, so you know, maybe there’s a conflict of interest there.
Colony Drop’s debut full-length does an interesting balancing act, taking thrash metal and crossover–arguably the least nerdy metal subgenres out there–and then writing songs about Gundam mechs. And honestly, I’m all for it – I much prefer this to crossover’s usual subject matter of “other people in the scene suck.”
Schafer’s charismatic vocals are a huge advantage for the band here, enthusiastically selling lines like “D-Beat Adventure” with a half-snarled, commanding shout, but it’s the thrash-centric riffs and clever twists of melody that make the album work start to finish.
We’ve got this one premiering in full later today, so stay tuned for that.
–Ted Nubel
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Transgressor — Beyond Oblivion | Me Saco un Ojo | Death Metal | Japan
Transgressor has been around since 1989, yet this Tokyo four-piece seems to operate like cicadas, emerging only every 10 to 15 years to create a great deal of noise and then disappear again. On their latest release, EP Beyond Oblivion, Transgressor show off 40 years of chops—few bands are bold enough to open a record with a guitar solo, but Transgressor do just that on “Death Heaven.” Much of the record marches at a doomier tempo, but closer “Vision of Carcass” brings things back to full speed. In case Transgressor disappears again until the 2030s, Beyond Oblivion is worth checking out in full to see what these veterans of Japanese death metal have to offer.
–Colin Williams
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Lepra — Devil’s Blood in Her Tongue | Vita Detestabilis | Black Metal + Goth Rock | United States (Maine)
Black metal AND goth rock? In this economy? At least Lepra are saving on guitars—this Portland, Maine act marries black metal production, necrotic vocals and pummeling drums with doomy clean vocals, spooky synth and even flute. Following an EP and a single, Lepra’s first full-length, Devil’s Blood in Her Tongue, sees this all-femme three-piece expand on their previous ideas to create an illuminated manuscript out of ’90s black metal arcana and the fun morbidity of the 1970s. That they create such rich textures without a single passage of tremolo-picked guitar makes this record that much more intriguing.
–Colin Williams
No preview tracks available yet.
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Atoll — Human Extract | Unique Leader | Brutal Death Metal | United States (Arizona)
Fourth full-length from the Phoenix-based, gore-and-alien-obsessed slam band. There’s nothing special about Atoll’s brand of brutal death metal, but that doesn’t in any way impede their ability to drill into your skull—including a particularly gnarly bass tone and gurgling-pig vocals as gruesome as the album art—which is to say: Human Abstract functions best as workout music.
–Steve Lampiris
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Monasteries — Ominous | Seek and Strike | Deathcore | United Kingdom
Djenty, dizzying deathcore from the Manchester, UK quintet whose singular goal seems to be stitching together the heaviest possible slamz and shockingly pretty melodies. It mostly works, despite some of the seams showing. Monasteries don’t appear to mind sounding trendy—indeed, Ominous suggests they’re leaning into it—and they’re better for it.
–Steve Lampiris
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Exmortus — Necrophony | Nuclear Blast | Death Metal + Thrash Metal | United States (California)
I don’t like classifying music as a guilty pleasure. As a popular meme explains, “I don’t feel guilty about pleasure; I’m not Catholic.” But I know it’s not metal-cool-kid-club-approved to like more epic, symphonic, fantasy inspired stuff. But I do, and it’s a lot of fun to get lost in music about Wizards and dragons from time to time. However, I lean towards music in that genre that still has soul and heart and is still dark and heavy as hell. Exmortus capture that very vibe on their new record, which is even heavier and thrashier than their usual stuff. Check this out, and give a guilty pleasure a chance.
–Addison Herron-Wheeler
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Hypomanic Daydream — Image | Fiadh Prod | Avant-garde Death Metal + Heavy Metal | United States (Illinois)
It’s not that Image is the strangest album of the week, it’s that describing it while doing it justice is tricky. Imagine death metal with a slew of flabby riffs and melodies straight from hair metal being played on synths and MIDI instruments in a studio located in the uncanny valley, and you’re almost there.
–Colin Dempsey
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Graveripper — Seasons Dreaming Death | Wise Blood Records | Black Metal + Thrash Metal | United States (Indiana)
Here’s the ideal blackened thrash – merciless, biting, and as lean as a marathon runner. Graveripper’s riffs descend from Teutonic thrash and first-wave black metal, so even though Seasons Dreaming Death is uniform, there are small variances that keep each track intriguing.
–Colin Dempsey
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Grand Cadaver — Deities Of Deathlike Sleep | Majestic Mountain Records | Death Metal | Sweden
There’s no better selling point for Deities Of Deathlike Sleep than the simple truth – it’s a collection of tracks featuring Dark Tranquility and Katatonia members mining the HM-2 for all its worth.
–Colin Dempsey
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Till the Dirt — Outside the Spiral | Nuclear Blast | Technical Death Metal | United States
Kelly Shaefer’s newest project unsurprisingly carries some of Atheist’s tendencies – which hold up marvelously three decades later – but they’re supported by overt grunge influences. Till the Dirt then carves out a space for themselves, using Atheist’s framework to support a less technical but nonetheless eclectic vision.
–Colin Dempsey
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Shepherds Reign — Ala Mai | Golden Robot Records | Polynesian Metal | New Zealand
Though Shepherds Reign take plenty of tips from groove metal, these influences are driven through their Polynesian heritage. They may not be as musically trailblazing as they appear, oftentimes sounding more like well-constructed metal rather than a revolutionary new take, but Ala Mai is invigorating enough to justify diving into.
–Colin Dempsey
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