Upcoming Metal Releases: 9/17/2023-9/30/2023
Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for September 17th through September 30th. 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 9/17-9/23
Cannibal Corpse — Chaos Horrific | Metal Blade Records | Death Metal | United States (Florida)
Like clockwork, Cannibal Corpse are back with another record. A band with this massive of a catalogue under their belt could easily come off as a relic or out of touch at this point in the game, but Cannibal Corpse never do. In fact, just like each of their offerings, their music is still heavy and crushing as hell but also nuanced, full of technicality, and in keeping with the latest death metal trends—most of which they pioneered in the first place.
–Addison Herron-Wheeler
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Noctomb — Noctomb | Independent | Sludge Metal + Black Metal | United States (North Carolina)
There’s an unpretentious air to Noctomb’s first album in nearly a decade. It’s as if they’re conjuring all their songs on the spot and serve no higher calling than to offer the dingiest metal possible. Their composite pieces–streaks of Southern sludge, black metal, and callbacks to Sabbath’s heaviest moments–coalesce in a trim, pragmatic package.
–Colin Dempsey
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Bekor Qilish — The Flesh of a New God | I, Voidhanger Records | Black Metal + Technical Death Metal | Italy
Returning a year after their debut album, Bekor Qilish offer another serving of genre-blending extreme metal. Their proverbial secret sauce is how they deconstruct their knotty compositions into legible fragments, so that instead of scratching your head wondering what it all means, you’re left in awe of how effortlessly Bekor Qilish congeal everything.
–Colin Dempsey
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Acausal Intrusion — Panpsychism | I, Voidhanger Records | Technical Death Metal + Black Metal | United States
Panpsychism is a textbook I, Voidhanger album; it’s challenging, grimy, and a tad cursed. Take note of Nythroth’s guitar work. He plays as if he’s avoiding attention, burying his riffs when possible, and turning it into a dragon you have to chase.
–Colin Dempsey
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Ôros Kaù — Thanatos | I, Voidhanger Records | Black Metal + Death Metal | Belgium
Ôros Kaù is another project from CZLT, the musician behind Neptunian Maximalism, though the two are entirely different. If you’re familiar with the latter, then Ôros Kaù plays like CZLT put all his ambitions (and he’s an extremely ambitious musician) into creating the heaviest album he can. It’s dense enough to suffocate you and the musical palette is overtly murky. As such, the best way to describe Thanatos is that it sounds like it’s holding a secret you’ll have to claw your way to figuring out.
–Colin Dempsey
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KEN mode — Void | Artoffact Records | Sludge Metal + Noise Rock | Canada
Stranger and more nuanced than ever, the new Ken Mode doesn’t disappoint. It is also a bit darker and heavier, making their alt rock-metal crossover even more convincing. A very solid offering and next step in their unfolding career.
–Addison Herron-Wheeler
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Aset — Astral Rape | Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions | Black Metal | International
Aset’s debut album Astral Rape earns its Bandcamp-designated “occult” tag. It’s witchy and paranormal rather than Satanic, an important distinction in black metal that means it’s more mysterious and moody instead of fighting its way out from underneath garbage-can production. That’s none too surprising, though, since the group supposedly shares members with Oranssi Pazuzu and Seth, among other bands.
–Colin Dempsey
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Ushangvagush — Pestmo’qon | Realm and Ritual | Raw Black Metal | United States (Massachusetts)
I’d recommend Pestmo’qon if you like black metal that pushes its limits without extending an olive branch to listeners. The album is composed of one gargantuan track split into two 23-minute parts for streaming’s sake. It’s also as raw as a slaughterhouse. What’s most impressive about the whole piece is how Ushangvagush maintains his energy throughout the journey.
–Colin Dempsey
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Hexvessel — Polar Veil | Svart Records | Black Metal + Folk + Psychedelic Rock | Finland
It’s not that Hexvessel sound like Ulver, but the latter is the first band that comes to mind upon hearing Polar Veil. Hexvessel employ snowy textures, vocal styles, and acoustic layers that recall Bergtatt, though only in spirit. What the two bands share is a similarly agnostic approach to black metal, with bandleader Kvohst telling us, “It’s all about how it’s done, and whether it’s done with heart.”
–Colin Dempsey
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Kal-El — Moon People | Independent | Doom + Stoner Metal | Norway
Two tracks of cosmically-charged doom metal with Kal-El’s signature flair: crushingly heavy and yet ever so catchy.
–Ted Nubel
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Suffer Yourself — Axis of Tortures | Aesthetic Death | Funeral Doom + Death Metal | Poland
From Ted Nubel’s full album premiere:
The album’s emotional peaks might reside in the doomier parts, where more parseable (though often amazingly deranged) vocals ask painfully sincere questions, but the sheer ignorance found elsewhere massively amplifies the record’s energy. To use a torture analogy, this album is one part The Pit and the Pendulum and one part some masked guy just going to town on a poor bastard’s kneecaps. The latter might not be literature-worthy, but you can’t argue with the results.
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Upcoming Releases 9/24-9/30
Wolves in the Throne Room — City of Ancestral Knowledge | Relapse Records | Black Metal | United States (Washington)
The latest from Wolves in the Throne Room finds the band settling in even more to their signature sound, while adding in more elements of the syphonic and nods to the more epic side of the melodic. Those who are excited to welcome back cooler weather will appreciate the chilling vibes of the album, and longtime fans of the band won’t be disappointed.
–Addison Herron-Wheeler
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KK’s Priest — The Sinner Rides Again | Napalm Records | Heavy Metal | United Kingdom
K.K. Downing’s second album with his version of Judas Priest again sounds like exactly that. His songwriting is still solid and there’s enough energy to power an RV during a camping trip, so it’s a solid listen if you need to hear more of Priest’s heavy metal formula.
–Colin Dempsey
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Harm’s Way — Common Suffering | Metal Blade Records | Metalcore | United States (Illinois)
On their first since 2018’s Posthuman Harm’s Way step deeper into the realms of atmospheric alternative metal (peep “Undertow,” featuring King Woman, for reference) and industrial metal. It’s altogether a more balanced record that, despite its ventures into new terrains, retains the white-knuckle energy that catapulted them into the annals of meme history.
–Colin Dempsey
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Nganga — Phthisis | Independent | Black Metal | United States (North Carolina)
There’s a peculiar black metal strain that possesses many attributes–antisocial, vitriolic, off-kilter, and ugly–that I can’t say no to. Nganga’s Phthisis is very much part of that strain, drawing from experimental US bands rather than second-wave Norwegian acts. It’s short, familiar, and (above everything else) powerful.
–Colin Dempsey
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Woe — Legacies of Frailty | Vendetta Records | Black Metal | United States (New York)
Woe return after six years with their beefiest album yet. Written over the course of the pandemic, Legacies of Frailty reflects Chris Grigg’s lack of faith in humanity, and the newfound hearty sound palette implies he’s quite worried about our eventual self-immolation.
–Colin Dempsey
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Disguised Malignance — Entering the Gateways | Prosthetic Records | Death Metal | Finland
A good rule of thumb is that if a death metal album has a cover that resembles a vortex, it’s going to rip ass and reek of nostalgia. Disguised Malignance aren’t shy about their old-school death metal ambitions, and their debut album lives up to the expectations its cover implies.
–Colin Dempsey
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Ruin Lust — Dissimulant | 20 Buck Spin | War Metal | United States (New York)
War metal from one of the best labels at the moment should be enough to excite you, but in case you need more encouragement to listen, Dissimulant is definitely angrier than what’s considered healthy. You may as well check it out to hear Ruin Lust push the envelope for acceptable blood pressure levels.
–Colin Dempsey
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Rat King — Psychotic Reality | Satanik Royalty Records | Death Metal + Grindcore | United States (Washington)
Rat King’s newest album represents the sublime combination of aggressive tendencies and laser-focused intent. Rather than overloading the auditory faculties, the group adopts a measured approach, as if every note has a defined role. As such, Psychotic Reality sounds more considered than deathgrind should, but I’m not complaining.
–Colin Dempsey
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Filth is Eternal — Find Out | MNRK Heavy | Hardcore Punk | United States (Washington)
Since their journey began under previous moniker Fucked and Bound, frontperson Lis Di Angelo has been on a journey of self discovery. Thus, in addition to the tough guy hardcore vibe of the title, it has a second, more introspective meaning as well. That dichotomy between hard as nails hardcore and self exploration is critical to the band’s formula for success, and this is their best record yet.
–Addison Herron-Wheeler
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Besra — Transitions | Suicide Records | Post-Metal + Sludge Metal | Finland
From Colin Dempsey’s track premiere of “Prison Without Locks”:
Finnish post-metal group Besra are bleeding hearts in a genre of crushing tones. Their focus lies in their lyrics and vocals, pushing the expected distortion to the background and taking their time with delicate build-ups. It’s a reversal of the usual post-metal style that emphasizes the emotive effects of large soundscapes, and Besra’s newest track “Prison Without Locks” brandishes the approach.
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Moonlight Sorcery — Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle | Avantgarde Music | Melodic Black Metal | Finland
Energetic and driving, Moonlight Sorcery leans heavily into the ‘melodic’ side of power metal, combining orchestral pads and wild solos into something glorious.
–Ted Nubel
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Rocky’s Pride and Joy — All the Colours of Darkness | Electric Valley Records | Doom + Stoner Metal | Australia
Channeling late-90s fuzz-obsessed, riff-worshipping doom metal, All the Colours of Darkness doesn’t really do anything new, but that was never the point. The riffs have always been here, and this Australian doom trio simply pay them the respect they deserve–with ominous low-fidelity heaviness.
–Ted Nubel
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Rorcal — Silence | Hummus Records | Sludge + Doom + Post-Hardcore | Switzerland
From Ted Nubel’s track premiere of “Childhood is a Knife in the Throat”:
Rorcal combines blackened, sludgy doom and noisy drone into a towering, darkened vortex. In other words, it’s loud. It’s also consistently abrasive and a record that’s largely uninterested in straightforward song structures–one whirlwind leads to another with just the occasional nail-biting pause.
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