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Upcoming Metal Releases 11/12/17-11/18/2017

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The rare “light” release week. A brief respite. Wow.

Here are the new metal releases for the week of November 12, 2017 – November 18, 2017. Release dates are formatted according to proposed North American scheduling, if available. Expect to see the bulk of these records on shelves or distros on Friday unless otherwise noted or if labels and artists get impatient. Blurbs and designations are based on whether or not I have a lot to say about it.

See something we missed? Goofs? Let us know in the comments. Plus, as always, feel free to post your own shopping lists. Happy digging.

As a little bit of a challenge, include your own opinion about anything you want to add. Make me want to listen to it!

Please note: this is a review column and is not speculative. Any announced albums without preview material will not be covered. Additionally, any surprise releases which are uploaded or released after this column is published will be excluded.

Since I wrote this, there have been surprise releases from: Ulver, Cryptae (death metal feat. Rene Aquarius of Dead Neanderthals), and probably more.

send Jon your promos at [email protected]. Do not bother him on social media.

ANTICIPATED RELEASES

Chaos Moon – Eschaton Mémoire | Fallen Empire Records/Blood Music | Atmospheric Black Metal | United States
I’ve actually been on a Chaos Moon album, so I guess conflict of interest sort of bars me from writing critically about this. I can say it’s good, though, right?

Aosoth – V: The Inside Scriptures | Agonia Records | Black Metal | France
Par for Aosoth’s course, their fifth chapter is black metal at its grotesque and horrifying. Fans of III – Violence and Variations and IV: An Arrow In Heart will find solace in the band’s continuation of their stylistically thick, harrowing sound.

Northless – Last Bastion of Cowardice | Gilead Media/Halo of Flies Records/Init Records/Hand of Death | Progressive Sludge/Doom Metal | United States
From my premiere of “Never Turn Your Back On The Dead”:

Last Bastion of Cowardice is a truly uncomfortable listen. Yes, the music is heavy and melodic in this beautifully confrontational way which follows their approach on the Cold Migration EP, but the personal element to this album is private, almost as if we aren’t supposed to hear it. When presented with such an inward look, especially when compared to misanthropic and suicidal posturing, even the most accessible side of music can be difficult. When paired with Northless’s progressive mixing of various kinds of metal and punk under their sludge guise, we are presented with emotive, confounding music. There is no light here, only failure and sadness.

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OF NOTE

Godflesh – Post Self | Avalanche Recordings | Industrial Metal | England
I have to admit, I’m not much for industrial metal. Other types of industrial music, fine, but, for the most part, bands like Godflesh have never really “done it” for me. I understand the importance of Justin Broadrick’s pre-Jesu career, but I feel largely disconnected from the sounds of pulsing, precise mechanigs.

Over the Voids – Over the Voids… | Nordvis | Black Metal | Poland
Michał Stępień, otherwise known from Owls Woods Graves, Medico Peste, and, of course, Mgła, eschews the sugary pomp of those more modern sounding affairs in favor of celebrating the frigidity of the mid-1990s. Over the Voids is haunting and icy, sounding much more Norwegian than the folky, keyboard-heavy approach which characterizes his brethren. Between you and me, I like this much, much more than Mgła.

Fister/CHRCHFister/CHRCH | Crown and Throne Ltd/Battleground Records | Sludge/Doom Metal | United States
A mournful doom split by two bands who aren’t afraid of song-length, though Fister has definitely gone longer. Hearkening back to their Gemini full-length, Fister balances emotive theatrics with pure, classic sludge/doom filth. CHRCH, on the other hand, play their cards as Asunder did before them: sepulchral, incredibly slow, and super…super sad.

OTHER RELEASES

Sacrilegious Rite – Summoning From Beyond | Dunkelheit Produktionen | Black/Death Metal | Germany
“Black/Death Metal” is generally a tag I approach with hesitance nowadays. I mean, with all the super “goaty” stuff, a guy has to be a little discerning and careful. Sacrilegious Rite definitely embodies the tenets of the tag rather than the modern Blasphemy worship which has saturated the market. Much like other Saarland-based extreme metal bands, Sacrilegious Rite utilizes big riffs, catchy melodies, and a uniquely mystifying atmosphere.

Jupiterian – Terraforming | Transcending Obscurity | Sludge/Death/Doom Metal | Brazil
I certainly praised these Brazilian doomsters for tastefully combining atmospheric sludge with Paradise Lost’s early, tragic death/doom before, but there hasn’t been much growth on this front. I was kind of hoping for a maturation, or even a more homogenized presentation, but maybe next time.

Cavalera Conspiracy – Psychosis | Napalm Records | Groove/Thrash/Death Metal | United States
I don’t think I personally know anyone who seriously follows Max Cavalera’s music at this point.

Nullingroots – Into the Grey | Prosthetic Records | Black Metal/Post-Rock | United States
One of the many occasions where a post-rock/black metal hybrid does nothing for me. Bands don’t seem to understand the pitfalls of constantly maxed-out texture. How are we supposed to follow the flow of the song? It’s all overload, too self-indulgent.