Upcoming Metal Releases: 11/1/2015 - 11/7/2015

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Did y’all enjoy your extra hour of sleep? I probably spent mine drinking. Oops!

Here’s a bunch of stuff which comes out in the first week of November. Did I miss anything? Did I get something wrong? Is there something coming up? Do you have a conflicting opinion? Do you want to talk to me like I’m a person? Are you also excited that Brodequin is back together? How many King Diamond/Mercyful Fate songs did you listen to last week?* Leave a comment!

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ANTICIPATED RELEASES

Vastum – Hole Below | 20 Buck Spin | Death Metal | United States
Vastum is the closest we’ll ever get to a new Bolt Thrower album. Dig in with a spoon. Maybe share it with your mom.

Slave Cylinder – Cultus | Independent/Digital | Sludge/Drone/Doom Metal | United States
I love surprises. Slave Cylinder’s bandcamp page popped up in my Facebook feed accompanied with someone remarking “What the fuck? This guy’s from Rockford?!” (for context, we Illinoisans view Rockford as…an interesting part of the state). Slave Cylinder’s debut EP, Cultus is an absolute steamroller of a release, crawling slowly with a shining, metallic certainty of one’s head mimicking the cap of a tube of toothpaste upon being squeezed. Approach with caution (and use headphones).

Cross Vault – The All-Consuming | Northern Silence Productions | Doom Metal | Germany
If you are anything like me, you prefer your doom metal to be 1) big and 2) sad. Cross Vault has both of those in spades.

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OF NOTE

Horn – Feldpost | Northern Silence Productions | Black Metal | Germany
One of the coolest folk-tinged black metal bands on the market returns with a new album. As if sole member Nerrath’s creativity wasn’t already apparent (see Cross Vault above – yes, it’s the same guy), Horn’s special brand of rhythmically aggressive, melodic black metal melancholy is in a class all its own. This one might even stand up against the mighty Naturkraft.

Austaras – Prisoner of Sunlight | Independent/Digital | Atmospheric/Progressive Metal | United States
Local progressive metal band Austaras has been slowly working on Prisoner of Sunlight for some time. Compared to the clumsy, jagged Under the Abysmal Light EP, Austaras has really found their stride with their debut full-length. Nods to the progressive metal and rock classics can be found in J Becker and S Hill’s alternating, complex leads and tasteful use of the canonic synthesized organ, but drummer A Hansen’s aggressive, heavy-handed drumming is a solid reminder of Austaras’s progressive black metal roots. The album’s only real shortcoming lies within Becker’s clean voice. Though always on key and presented with clarity, there is no force behind it, almost as if the nicely composed melodies are being breathed into a microphone and then cranking the volume in post-production.

Morbid Saint – Destruction System | Weird Face Productions | Thrash Metal | United States
So this technically isn’t a new release. The legendary home-dubbed tape version of Destruction System made the rounds twenty-three years ago, but Morbid Saint’s fabled second album never saw an official release until now. Wisconsin thrash is eternal.

Nhor – Momenta Quintae Essentiae | Lupus Lounge | Atmospheric Folk/Black Metal | United Kingdom
I’ve only really heard a teaser track from this one because Prophecy Productions must not believe in doing heavy PR in the United States or something (really, guys?), but Nhor’s previous works have been a lovely fusion of longform folk and ambient with the occasional ethereal black metal climax. As far as I can tell, this Momenta… concentrates even more on the folk side of things. Should be nice.

Extreme Noise Terror – Extreme Noise Terror | Willowtip Records | Hardcore Punk/Death Metal/Grindcore | United Kingdom
The English Chaos returns (on Willowtip Records?). Surgeon General’s Warning: Do not listen to while pregnant or nursing.

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FOR THE ADVENTUROUS

that means things which aren’t metal

Zelienople – Show Us The Fire | Immune Recordings | Slowcore/Space Rock/Folk Rock | United States
Zelienople is probably my favorite local act. Their slight, drifting sound, based around loose songwriting and tasteful improvisation, hangs like a slight fog over a streetlamp. Having spent the past decade or so crafting their own unique sound, drawing from the late 80s/early 90s British space rock sound, slowcore, krautrock, folk music, and East Asian percussion, Zelienople lets these sounds marinate and marry into a single, harmonious blur. Another excellent effort.

Nucleus Torn – Neon Light Eternal | Prophecy Productions | Avant-Garde Classical/Folk Rock
The always ambitious Nucleus Torn will definitely turn heads with their latest full-length. Though initially a metal band with a strong penchant for modern classical music composition, this Swiss band has spent the past decade fully shedding any slight metallic or even rock resemblance, leaving behind a singular, wholly progressive sound. According to the band’s PR, this will be their farewell album.

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OTHER RELEASES

Manticore/Ritual Slaughter – Depraved Sacraments | Tridroid Records/Bleak Bone Mortualia | Black/Death Metal | United States
WAR METAL WAR METAL WAR METAL WAR METAL GOAT GOAT GOAT GOAT GOAT.

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*Note: if it is zero, do not entry.