Upcoming Metal Releases: 3/16/2014 – 3/22/2014

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It’s Saint Patrick’s Day! On…on a Monday. Uh oh. There are going to be some cranky conference calls tomorrow.

But, hey, that’s amárach. What are you going to do today besides blast Cruachan? Well, one hopes you’ll indulge in a pint of right found below. To inspire the right atmosphere, we’ve redone the list to look like Cheers. No kidding! Your name is known, even you Paracoccidioidomicosisproctitissarcomucosis. So, come take a seat. Cruachan’s countrymen Dread Sovereign have, gloomily occupying a back booth . . . of DOOM (*thunderclap*) next to Coffinworm. Closer to the taps, Ringworm and Hark are going round for round on riff shots while Earth Crisis is xVERYxDISAPPOINTEDx IN THEM ALL. Sadly, it’s last call for Twilight as they’re about to call it a night. Yep, Thurston Moore is Ubering a designated flier. Crippled Black Phoenix should swoop in any second.

If you’re staying home, the Of Note marathon is filled with the fleet, sweet, and neat. Brutally Deceased have a bigger buzz than ’80s Miami set to vibrate; Near Death Condition complete your week’s cardio solely through stationary listening; and Vampire are looking to inspire pandemonium, asking any passerby to, “Forget the Irish. Kiss us, we’re Celtic. The . . . the Swiss one. False advertising? Stop slapping us!”

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New metal releases for the week of 3/16/2014 – 3/22/2014. 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.

Anticipated Releases:

Coffinworm – IV.I.VIII | Profound Lore Records | Doom, sludge
Sophomore release from these Indy slow ‘n’ lowers, transfusing their groove with death and black plasma.

Crippled Black Phoenix – White Light Generator | Cool Green Recordings | Rock, prog
Justin Greaves (Electric Wizard, Iron Monkey, Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine) and his multinational sextet return with their seventh album of haunting dirges. Something to play in the car for passengers suffering metal allergies.

Dread Sovereign – All Hell’s Martyrs | Ván Records | Doom
LP debut from this Irish trio counting members of Primordial amongst their ranks. Crawling, dissonant, and saturated with painful sorrow.

Earth Crisis – Salvation Of Innocents | Candlelight | Metalcore
Seminal straight-edge act chugging away the dust. Third album since reforming in 2007.

Hark – Crystalline | Season of Mist | Stoner metal, sludge
Former Taint and Whyteleaf members cast plenty of hooks into a river of riffs.

Ringworm – Hammer Of The Witch | Relapse Records | Hardcore, thrash, metalcore
One of the foundations of the Cleveland scene (Integrity, etc.) shakes off previous label shackles and is reborn on Relapse. Slayer’s speed set to maximum core output.

Twilight – III: Beneath Trident’s Tomb | Century Media Records | Black metal
Third, and final, from this US metal supergroup sporting an extensive CV. (Krieg, Leviathan, The Atlas Moth, Buried at Sea, Minsk, and Sonic Youth to name a few.) Samples suggest an industrial-influenced pounding.

Of Note:

Ageless Oblivion – Penthos | Siege of Amida Records | Death metal
UK quintet engineering the precise tech-death of Decapitated.

Brutally Deceased – Black Infernal Vortex | Doomentia Records | Death metal
Czech grinders (ex-Jig Ai, N.C.C., Ahumado Granujo) dig a deep Grave with their gunk-covered guitar tone. Out on the 21st.

Grim Legion – Unholy Resurrection | Horror Pain Gore Death Productions | Death metal
Bathed in a buzz, these New Jerseyites melt away winter by turning up the Floridian OSDM humidity.

Iron Savior – Rise of the Hero | AFM Records | Power metal
Triumphant, speed-inflected German powah similar to early Blind Guardian. Has links to Masterplan and Gamma Ray. Hankering for more? Stormwarrior’s Ironborn is a perfect pairing.

Last Sacrament – On the Possible Preserved Visual Consciousness in Blindsight | Self-released | Death metal
An experimental crunch, utilizing the microtonal range of custom guitars.

Menace – Impact Velocity | Seasons of Mist | Prog, rock
Mitch Harris (Napalm Death, Meathook Seed), indulges his prog/space rock side, orbiting celestial bodies of the symphonic and the poppy classification.

Near Death Condition – Evolving Towards Extinction | Unique Leader Records | Death metal
Swiss quartet obsessed by ludicrous speed and boo-scare synth stabs.

Nocturnal Breed – Napalm Nights | Agonia Records | Blackened thrash
Acidic Norwegian riffage with a rolling Satyricon sensibility.

The Oath – The Oath | Rise Above Records | Doom
German group pledging allegiance to ’70s Pentagram set with carats of NWO_HM.

Order Of Isaz – Seven Years Of Famine | Season of Mist | Gothic
These Swedes do Fields of Nephilim with a metallic pulse. Related to Tiamat and Necrophobic.

Rauhnacht – Urzeitgeist | Hammerheart Records | Black metal
Frosty in the old Enslaved sense, though this comes by way of Austria. EM mentioned lyrical themes include “Alpine mysticism.”

The Socks – The Socks | Small Stone Recordings | Hard rock
A quirky retro boogie from France.

The Sorcerer – A Graveyard of Fallen Dreams | Helldprod | Black metal
Brutish, blackened nastiness from this recently reformed Portuguese duo.

TAUUSK – Refuge | 148 | Drone
A swarm of feedback smudging the shadows. Not enough wum? Grab Los’s Arise//Beneath.

Tellusian – Collision | Pillowscars | Sludge
Dextrous core-infused walloping from ex-members of Crowpath.

Vampire – Vampire | Century Media Records | Death metal, thrash
A Swedish synthesis of ancient death metal and evergreen Celtic Frost.

Things We Missed:

BESTA blasted through a grind assault with the power of a pissed Snake Plissken.

Conquering Dystopia, Jeff Loomis’s new band, was a new spin on his trademark widdle.

Demon Head commandeered a doom time machine.

Funeral Presence buried blackened peers in reverb-y crypts.

Goatcraft banged out self-described “necroclassical” on the ivories.

Monument of Misanthropy set it all ablaze with sparks emanating from grinded tech-death. Has bloodlines to Necrophagist.

Negative Voice danced with December souls.

Riotgod infected the world via highly contagious stoner earworms.

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