Upcoming Metal Releases

Upcoming Metal Releases: 9/20/20 -- 9/26/20


Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of September 20th to September 26th, 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.

Send us your promos (streaming links preferred) to: [email protected]. Do not send us promo material via social media.


Surprise Releases + Things We Missed


Inner CirclesInner Circles | Independent | Alternative + Gothic Metal | Ireland

Initially appearing to be mostly gloomy and introspective, the band’s alternative-laced take on gothic metal packs in a surprising amount of quick-footed riffs, adding an energetic mystery to the EP. The vocals play a big part in the “alternative” part of the sound, dominating the mix when present and often driving major-tonality melodies — not everybody’s thing, of course, but it’s catchy and evocative as long as you’re in the mood.

— Ted Nubel


Upcoming Releases


Mountain TamerPsychosis Ritual | Heavy Psych Sounds | Sludge + Rock + Psychedelic | United States (California)

I don’t think the album art for this release is quite up to the task of expressing just how efficiently this album can liquify you and cram you down between your couch cushions. It’s not some fanciful, flower-laden 1970s worship piece — this is heavy psychedelic rock in possession of weapons-grade amplification on a bad trip. High-pitched shrieks, a rumbling core, and squealing, noisy guitars pass right through your ears and into your brain.

Want more? Keep an eye out for our full premiere tomorrow.

— Ted Nubel

The OceanPhanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic | Metal Blade Records | Post-Metal | Germany

From Andrew Rothmund’s interview with band founder Robin Staps (and premiere of the “Pleistocene” music video):

Above all else, The Ocean has never been unessential listening. Not only does each release command and demand reams of artistic merit — from music to lyrics to aesthetics to live performances, this band has never half-assed anything — but each album also gives itself to the almighty tenet of making a shitton of noise, the good kind, the very good kind, all pretense be damned.

And here we are now, in the midst of a year most trying and foul, at the cusp of The Ocean’s latest release called Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic. It follows 2018’s Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic and promises the heaviest The Ocean to date (and yes, there is even a blast beat part in the single that Staps mentions in the interview), but also the cleanest, most distilled, and resolutely most powerful.

BloodletterFuneral Hymns | Thrash Metal | United States (Illinois)
Bloodletter slices thrash metal just right on Funeral Hymns, telling scary stories with their vicious riffs while injecting nifty melodic moments and interesting guest features into the high-speed songs. I love the conceptual angle this album takes as well: a horror anthology crammed into lightning-fast thrashers.

— Ted Nubel

Vous AutresSel de Pierre | Season of Mist | Post-Metal + Industrial | France

Some of the most compelling hyper-abstract heavy music I’ve heard in a while — I found Vous Autres last year on Bandcamp and have been waiting for their latest ever since. Well, Sel de Pierre is here, and it delivers what I wanted and expected: extremely atmospheric post-metal with tons of blackened noise and industrial grit. Plus it grooves hard.

— Andrew Rothmund

Mos Generator + Di’Aul — Split | Argonauta Records | Doom Metal + Rock | United States (Washington) + Italy

From Ted Nubel’s premiere of “I Spoke to Death”:

Though heavy metal can’t fill the gaps in our social structures, it can fill the gap between your skull and your brain, clouding out externalities and setting up a comfortable buffer between you and the world. One of the most effective varieties is a certain kind of doomy rock: the kind that’s played with a reassuringly laconic swagger, fuzzy tones, and earth-shattering kick drums. Washington’s Mos Generator and Italian stoner lords Di’Aul have, despite geographical and viral barriers, teamed up to give us a double dosage of the stuff, strong enough to claw back thirty minutes of your day from whatever energy-draining reality waits at your doorstep.

Crystal SpidersMolt | Ripple Music | Doom Metal + Rock | United States (North Carolina)

Bass, drums, and vocals — does doom metal need anything else? Apparently not, as Crystal Spiders is able to provide huge riffs in a groovy package with just the core elements — the result sounds like stoner rock dropped through a pitch shifter, instrumentally, so it’s a good way to get your money’s worth out of your subwoofer while you’re lighting up.

— Ted Nubel

UadaDjinn | Eisenwald Records | Black Metal | United States (Oregon)

Not everyone is going to find the new Uada album really difficult to enjoy, but I do. It’s not that there’s a post-punk tinge (that’s actually the coolest thing), but that this particular formula or blend with black metal does not resolve into the dramatics and atmospherics that I’m used to from this band. I’ve seen them live and can attest that they are indeed great; however, this new angle might not be a winner on record.

— Andrew Rothmund

Desert LordSymbols | Under a Serpent Sun Records | Doom | Finland
Despite Finland being a significant distance from any deserts, there’s a definite claim to sovereignty here. Soulful vocals with a pinch of grit and the production’s live feel give the album a warm, intimate vibe that contrasts pleasingly with the expansive scope of their fuzzy rock landscape. You can very easily slip away into this music, riding the extended jams off into the sunset.

— Ted Nubel


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