Upcoming Metal Releases: 12/29/2013 – 1/4/2014
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Ladies and gentlemen, start your new best-ofs. Kidding! (OCD sufferers: We’re, uh, kidding about saying kidding. Oh boy, this is going to be a paradoxical knot…) We’re definitely in the market for something fresh, though. We feel the need to wipe the slate clean and start again. (Open minds/hearts are optional.) A toast, then: to new beginnings and more discerning time firewalls. With great pride, let us plate for you the first taste of 2014’s flesh. Just, you know, without an Anticipated Release section. Oh boy, squared.
However, let it be known, this isn’t a harbinger of the 365 days to come. The footfalls of faraway colossi should be wiggling your joints harder than Steph Curry‘s ankles in a bounce house. They’re coming. Dark Descent Records, we see you. Although, if the wish-lists don’t pan out this year, maybe we’ll see a span of small stunners filling in for preordained OMGs. Heck, in that light, this rundown isn’t a bad example. While it’s short on pulse-heightening names, the following able fill-ins will kick your ticker into gear when you hear them. One such specimen, El Drugstore, is a must-stash for the widdle-addicted who built their collection through Don Caballero liner note connections. On the other end of the spectrum, Jaldaboath‘s scatological nonsense earns a snort. Their Ewigkeit relation also enables us to link this, which is an unexpected treat only metal can truly deliver. Hopefully, we’ll have many more of those in store.
So, enjoy your upcoming calendar exorcism and get all of the numerically-troubling 2013s out of your system. IO will be mostly quiet until after we’ve recovered from New Year’s Eve, but we’ve got a lot to excavate when you get back.
Corrections: Depicting Abysm‘s Immersion, which we blurbed a bit ago, finally appears to be off the presses. If you hunted high and low, there’s a reason your search was previously thwarted. It should be good for the grabbing now.
See something we missed? Goofs? Let us know in the comments. Plus, as always, feel free to post your own shopping lists. Happy digging.
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New metal releases for the week of 12/29/2013 – 1/4/2014. 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 Tuesday unless otherwise noted. Blurbs and designations are based on available promotional material and perceived buzz.
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Of Note:
Altar of Betelgeuze
– Darkness Sustains the Silence | Memento Mori | Death/doom, stoner doom
Members of Decaying cause a stellar collision between The Rack and Man’s Ruin.
Calvaiire – Forceps | Throatruiner | Blackened metalcore
For those obsessed with Celeste’s bleak screams o’ desperation, Calvaiire pushes similar discordant core roars more Converge’s way.
Church of Disgust – Unworldly Summoning | Memento Mori | Death metal
These Texans tool around the death metal archaeological record for riffs that can withstand the years.
Domains – Sinister Ceremonies | The Sinister Flame | Blackened death metal
The tweak to this Spanish OSDM flail and wail is bringing the hybrid back to a more embryonic, ’80s state.
El Drugstore – The Plague Ship | Nefarious Records | Math rock, metalcore
Dynamic and dextrous instrumental jams in the vein of sludgy shred such as Keelhaul. Features ex-East of the Wall members.
Graveyard / Entrails – Entrails / Graveyard | War Anthem Records | Death metal
Two old-school buzzing bruisers trade bloody cuts. The exact date of this 7” is up in the air, though it should be available sometime this month. Stream previous material from each group here and here.
Grown Below – The Other Sight | Slow Burn Records | Post-metal, sludge
Long-stretches of pensive post-core characterize this chugger that wouldn’t upset fans falling within the Venn of The Ocean and Codeine.
Jaldaboath – The Further Adventures… | D.T.M. Productions | Folk metal
Medieval yuk-yuks from Ewigkeit’s Mr. Fog. Those familiar with Chaucer know the fart gags aren’t exactly anachronistic.
Legion of the Damned – Ravenous Plague | Napalm Records | Death/thrash
Previously known as Occult, these damned Dutchman crunch with thrash gnashers.
Nuclear Omnicide – Bringers of Disease | Violent Journey Records | Thrash
Retro-styled rage from Finns who forgo the “look at me!” tendencies of most rethrash for something that rings truer.
Nunslaughter / All These While – All These While / Nunslaughter | Basement Records | Death metal
Nunslaughter start their annual album deluge early courtesy of this Malaysian label.
Vahrzaw – Twin Suns & Wolves’ Tongues | Infinite Regress Records | Blackened death metal
This long-running Australian trio unifies older waves in one grubby tide-pool.
Vermillion-D Alice Syndrome – 非理法権天 | Self-released | Symphonic extreme metal
Part of an over-the-top Japanese strain of metal taking direct inspiration from Touhou, a video game genre. Iron Attack!, another Touhou band, is also releasing an album this week. Listed here as a curio.
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