Upcoming Metal Releases: 2/23/2014 – 3/1/2014

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Don’t call it a comeback. Wait, no, strike that. We, uh, just made some PR teams picnic-blanket antsy. Please resume calling it a comeback.

So, this is the week the surely-split and the believed-extinct will suddenly reappear like The Returned. And, that’s not something written on a sandwich board. (Yet.) It’s legit. Because, jeez, the evidence is right here: Both slates have the look of a crate-diggers’ Facebook group. Acheron, Blood Farmers, ADX, and Sparta. Huh, is this Upcoming Metal Releases or a Rate Your Music wishlist? Perhaps a better question: if you sacrifice the booklet to your favorite jewel-case Humpty, will you then be able to commune with the spirit world and drag a dormant outfit back into the land of the living? Did we say back? We meant comeback. Yep.

However, if you are into neither Cocoon nor the whole voodoo who do what you don’t dare do, there are still oodles of outfits born on this side of 2000 making an appearance below. Doom sloths in particular, start working on the smiling now so you’ll be displaying a full grin when you eventually read the names. Whhhhhhy? Well, the biggies of this comparative nursery both make booming doom: Kuolemanlaakso offer a poetic roar and The Wounded Kings keep their crown with ultra-hummable, wum-wum juns.

In Of Note, Battery spit thrash acid, Morfin produce endorphins in your death metal organ, and Sadism make the burst eardrums of others feel great. Plus, as we close out the month, don’t forget to keep paging down for a grab bag of goodies we flat out missed. Teaser: There are some huge names we regret. Speaking of regrets, who is that, rattling those chains? Gasp, Dickensian ghosts? Nope, seems to be another old banger re-entering the fray. Oh, wow, it’s… Ah, c’mon, who set their Enuff Z’nuff collection on fire?

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New metal releases for the week of 2/23/2014 – 3/1/2014. 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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Anticipated Releases:

Acheron – Kult Des Hasses | Listenable Records | Death metal
Blackened death with a thrash bite and wicked leads. First album for the old-school Satanists since reforming in 2010, eighth overall. Kyle, of “Kyle From Incantation Has a Mustache” fame, is on the skins.

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Blood Farmers – Headless Eyes | Self-released | Doom
Dave Depraved (The Disease Concept) and Eli Brown, two of the original members present on 1991’s Permanent Brain Damage demo, return to issue a sophomore record nearly 20 years after their eponymous debut. Horror-obsessed, Sabbathian slow n’ low featuring soaring vocals.

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Kuolemanlaakso – Tulijoutsen | Svart Records | Death/doom
Kotamäki (Swallow the Sun), a doom growler with lung power, stars in this Eino Leino-influenced project that dramatically dances among December souls. Stream a track here.

The Wounded Kings – Consolamentum | Candlelight Records | Doom
Fourth LP from the UK-based heavies. Lites fuses on hypnotic, Griffin-era Pentagram speaker exploders. Stream a track here and then go for a midnight stroll.

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Of Note:

Abated Mass of Flesh – Deathcrusher | Rottweiler Records | Death metal
Brutal death metal of the Christian persuasion. Slams pretty dang hard for their savior.

ADX – Ultimatum | Verycords | Speed metal
A Parisian heavy metal institution, ringing in their 32nd birthday with record number nine. The new stuff isn’t dissimilar from where Saxon took their recent rumble.

Alaskan – Despair, Erosion, Loss | Dwyer Records | Sludge, post-metal
These Ottawans demonstrate there can be plenty of catharsis still wrung from post-metal and deliver a sludge pummeling tempered by Envy. Fans of The Body or Oxbow, give it a go.

Aurora Borealis – Worldshapers | Xtreem Music | Blackened death metal
Long-running, interstellar raspers always ready to jump to hyperspace. Download the band’s previous discography for free here.

Bast – Spectres | Burning World Records | Sludge, doom
London three-piece harboring an addiction to loud noises. Reminiscent of a blacker, early Minsk.

Battery – Armed With Rage | Punishment 18 Records | Thrash
Not to be confused with the, at least, eight other Batterys (six of which are thrash, natch), this Danish iteration are a slash above thanks to razor-blade-sharp riffing. They ring a bell, they get their Dark Angel wings. Members of Disintegrated.

Cancerous Womb – Born Of A Cancerous Womb | Grindscene Records | Death/grind
Scottish corpse-renderers add a touch of patho-grind to their birth butchering.

Dark Forest – The Awakening | Cruz Del Sur Music | Power metal
Fist-pumping powah including a tinge of NWOBHM and Lizzy-ish leads.

Empire of the Moon – Πανσέληνος | Acherontas Promotions | Black metal
Greek second-wave trem-ers doing justice to older deities.

Esoteric Youth / Caïna – Split | Swarm of Nails/Church of Fuck | Sludge, black metal
This tape collects two of the UK’s culty kvlt-iest. Esoteric Youth batter earbuds with ‘core-infused blackened sludge, while the chameleon Caïna can switch gears from sashimi-raw black metal to post-rock. Date is in flux, but should be out sometime before March.

Fäulnis – Snuff || Hiroshima | Cold Dimensions | Black metal
Self-described as “Black Doom Punk Rock,” Fäulnis more often find themselves amidst black n’ roll rockers.

Folge Dem Wind – To Summon Twilight | Code666 Records | Black metal
Code666’s sneaky good year continues by discovering these French pagans sporting angular strums and an ear for dissonance. Note: Link points to an oldie.

Horizon Ablaze – Dødsverk | Code666 Records | Blackened death metal
Horizon Ablaze exists to appease those unsatisfied by bass-muting mixes. Here, Ole Bent Madsen’s plucking is on full display. Rough tracks suggest the gents have matured into a deathly 1349. Bloodlines: Blood Red Throne, Absu, Pantheon I, and Grotesque Hysterectomy.

Khepri – Ascension | Self-released | Prog metal
This solo venture is tagged as “oriental metal.” Nonetheless, he avoids the tropes of Nile-ists and Orphaned Land prospectors. Strangely alluring. A palette cleanser.

Lord Symphony – The Lord’s Wisdom | Burepublic Records | Power metal
Symphonic extravagance from Indonesia, citing “Javanese Epic Battle/War Story” as their lyrical theme.

Morfin – Inoculation | F.D.A. Rekotz | Death metal
These Cali dudes return you to the days of Leporacy and Cancer.

Mourning Dawn – Les Sacrifiés | Totalrust Music | Blackened death/doom
Ambitious double-disc release from these French crawlers. Splits the difference between the second wave and Swallow the Sun. Features guest vocals from members of Ahab, Ataraxie, and Temple of Baal.

Nocturnal – Storming Evil | High Roller Records | Blackened thrash
German nastiness sitting nearer the second part of their genre distinction.

Prematory – Corrupting Influence | Punishment 18 Records | Thrash
A thrash battering from Belgium. Despite the cover suggesting Lääz Rockit, this is closer to a fleeter, NYHC-influenced modern masher.

Ribspreader – Meathymns | Vic Records | Death metal
For the second week in a row, Brynjar Helgetun and Rogga Johansson hit the list, this time exhuming their OSDM-er from a Grave.

Sado Sathanas – Homos Harmartia | Naturmacht Productions | Black metal
The German sextet rains a whole DSBM-season worth of ‘molos. The contrast: they grow rather than wilting.

Sadism – The Ocularis Domination | Rawforce Productions | Death metal
One of Chile’s oldest death metal outfits drop their fifth after a 12 year gap. In Santiago, the left hand path continues to be the one most traveled. Counts a member from the equally as ancient Pentagram Chile.

Shattered Hope – Waters Of Lethe | Solitude Productions | Funeral doom
Greek tortoises with greater athleticism than you’d expect. Tops out at death/doom speed and has a handle on how to layer leads.

Sparta – Welcome to Hell | High Roller Records | NWOBHM
Formed 35 years ago, Sparta finally get a chance to put out an LP. Can’t speak to the actual release, though High Roller has a strong track record, so we’ll trust that it’s solid. In place of a new stream, here’s a pusher from Sparta’s first single.

Woland – Hyperion | Indie Recordings | Black metal
Granted, the black metal tag is looser than a XXL moomoo on Polina Edmunds. Chunky, near-death, yet undeniably cut from a black metal cape.

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Things We Missed:Aypheros, another under-the-radar Chilean killer, cooked ’90s death with locally grown black metal spices. The exact release date wasn’t clear, so here it lies.

Barbarian attacked early Celtic Frost with bloodthirsty grunts. Hoping for a tour package including Conan. This one, too.

Bong Breaker‘s two-man sloom rattled woofers ala Floor. Fluisteraars-related.

Cave State made us sad there’s not a reliable way to track DIY punk release dates. Tried and true Cali powerviolence.

Clover kept the old Hydra Head vibe alive.

Dead Instrument challenged Yacøpsæ to a fastcore sprint and kept up.

DeathgraVe, a Brainoil extension, blew all of their fuses with sludgy grind.

Devouring Star released this demo in December and it dodged everyone’s clicks. Off-kilter Finnish black metal that has Deathspell Omega‘s aura.

Eaten blasted Assück back to life.

Helms Alee grew into the best case scenario for noisy post-_____ and metalcore. They retained the bass-heavy majesty of prime Harkonen while spreading their tendrils elsewhere. He who controls the bass controls the universe.

Heron terrified anyone that saw their album cover. The ultra-atmospheric DSBM contained therein didn’t exactly quell those shivers, either.

Jute Gyte did the Jute Gyte thing, amassing microtones and off-set meters, then spying something fresh under the microscopic.

Neglektum‘s trio incited Mayhem. Like Aypheros, they hit Missed due to date confusion.

Orcultus, Neglektum’s Swedish countrymen and style twins, pressed a particularly hateful single.

Rainbows are Free jammed harder than Smuckers, giving stoner rock some boogie.

Shroud of Despondency went long with two discs. The first, blasphemous clattering. The second, a sedate folk set.

Torturerama got gory in OSDM autopsies.

Worsen thankfully didn’t live up to their name, thumping through bleak trems.

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