Upcoming Metal Releases: 4/13/2014 – 4/19/2014

…

Yeah, it’s Monday. If you’re reading this in your office cube, we feel for you. We do. That corporate serfdom gig ain’t simple. Hell, you, the commuter you swore you’d never be, confront many more horrors then your virtual friends realize. There’s the grind to pay off loans heaped upon a degree you now regard as reprehensible; the rat race which reads like the last few pages of Flowers for Algernon; and the inevitable umpteenth-stand-up-meeting realization that a portly middle manager who fell up has greater control over your day than you do. Those are terrible things no human should endure. And, this weekend, you won’t. Nope. Count on it. The good times will begin ticking as soon as your pop-quiz “pleeeeeeeease, we need you for the final push” mandatory overtime ceases this Friday, 11 PM. So, power through. Leading carrot: It will be alright, alright, alright shortly. Really, it will. Check your calendar.

No, not Sunday. C’mon, keep your third eye closed. Quit dreaming green, you’re still on the key logger. [IT: He means “clock.” Thanks.] Scope the day before: Saturday! Record Store Day!

No matter how you feel about whether the day actually aids the Mom ‘n’ Pop wax shops, can we at least agree Record Store Day is a grand celebration of our music nerdom in theory? Just saying: An entire day dedicated to deep crate dives? Hello, heaven. (“…and Hell! Ooo, first press!”) Sure, cynical counterpoint, the net has made life easier for everyone except the elders and owners, and maybe an enforced holiday is one big guilt trip to keep a tradition on life support. But, there’s something about pecking through a dollar bin that’s an entirely different rush than clicking JPGs, something about hearing the click-clack of cases or feeling the corner fuzz of used jackets years your senior. It scratches an itch of primal desires, something closer to the thrill of the hunt. Huh, the hunt! For a brief second, you feel a link to your ancestors. Then, your middle wiggles when quickly reaching towards a box set. Epiphany: You probably would’ve been on the wrong end of predation.

Anyway, citizens of our little subterranean nook on the music map certainly poured sweat to ensure their finest wares hit stores this Saturday. Why, look at the haul we have below. All shades and strengths are on display. Triptykon elicit an “OOO!” from heads old and new, while Enthroned entice with the tried and true. Of Note, too, is Fort-Knox-full of the right rock, emitting greater glitter than a petting zoo post King Midas’ attendance. Evidence: Old Wainds‘ Old Man Winter blast ‘n’ molo alone is enough to get you to a brick and mortar, right? If not, how about these additional non-listed limited slices:

Anathema – Untouchable pic disc.
At the Gates / Decapitated split 7″ of collected Slayer covers.
Botch – Unifying Themes Redux, repress.
Cancerous Growth – Cancer Causing Agents, discography repress.
Carcass / Cerebral Bore split 7″.
Cave In – Jupiter + Rarities, repress.
Jungle Rot – Kill On Command, first vinyl press.
Karma to Burn – Karma to Burn, first vinyl press.
Katatonia – Kocytean, comp of tough-to-acquire B-sides.
Khlyst – Chaos Is My Name, first vinyl press.
Motörhead – Aftershock pic disc.
Opeth – Watershed, repress.
Poison Idea / Pantera split 7″ featuring both bands’ take on “The Badge.”
Raw Power – Tired and Furious, repress.
Type O Negative – Slow, Deep and Hard, repress.

Plus plenty of other platters.

Got you salivating? You’re not alone. Whoa, though. Whoa. Remember, you’re at work. Better grab that napkin before you drool into the keyboaisdfjofodfjodod… [IT: We hate you.]

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

…

New metal releases for the week of 4/13/2014 – 4/19/2014. 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:

The Drip – A Presentation of Gruesome Poetics | Relapse Records | Grindcore
Washington’s walloping quartet re-solder core circuits to a grind CPU calculating in nasumFLOPS. Members are also in Mortal Remains.

Enthroned – Sovereigns | Agonia Records | Black metal
Long-running Belgium blarghers blast through their 10th release of unrelenting battering, broken up by relative respites of rousing frowning.

Graves at Sea – This Place is Poison | Eolian Empire | Doom, sludge
This 12″ heralds the return of the crushing doomers from Davy Jones’. Includes a sea-sick Black Sabbath cover.

The Great Old Ones – Tekeli-Li | Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions | Black metal, post-metal
Chunky bludgeoning from Bordeaux. Their atmospheric tides are guided by the words of ol’ H.P.

Impaled Nazarene – Vigorous And Liberating Death | Osmose Productions | Black metal
For their 12th LP in a 24 year career, these Finnish vets frost frets courtesy of classic trems aplenty.

Impetuous Ritual – Unholy Congregation Of Hypocritical Ambivalence | Profound Lore Records | Death metal
These Aussies are night terrors incarnate, haunting the cavernous chapels of ancient evils. Second LP for the group sharing mates with Portal, Grave Upheaval, and Mongrel’s Cross.

Thantifaxath – Sacred Noise | Dark Descent Records | Black metal
First full-length for this anon-trio of Torontonians favoring the tidier timbres of the third-wave. Stream a track here.

Triptykon – Melana Chasmata | Century Media | Doom, thrash, dark metal
Tom G. Warrior (Hellhammer, Celtic Frost) and company utilize audiophile amp manna in service of this modern amalgam of previous career stops.

…

Of Note:

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell – Check ’em Before You Wreck ’em | Rise Above Records | Hard rock
Hastings-hailing power trio rocking as a proto-retro. Imagine Captain Beyond with early BÖC‘s bite.

Anubis Gate – Horizons | Nightmare Records | Progressive metal, power metal
Knotty prog sweetened by modern rock hooks. For fans of Fates Warning.

Astra – Broken Balance | Scarlet Records | Progressive metal
Not to be confused with ASTRA, San Diego’s premier purveyors of ’70s prog, this Italian iteration is a former Dream Theater Tribute Band Contest winner. They flex their chops, cutting high-tempo feats of catchy shredding.

Below – Across The Dark River | Metal Blade Records | Doom
Epicus doomicus sporting the type of powerful pipes inciting impromptu shower karaoke sessions.

Black Tar Prophet – Deafen | Domestic Genocide Records | Stoner metal/doom
Ludicrously distorted bass/drum duo deafening Nashville via a subsonic sludge rumble. Changes tempos frequently, so not solely drone-sloth stuff.

Bokluk – Taphonomy | Memento Mori | Death metal
OSDM belching mayhem, featuring a Create-a-Band “Gonzo” point category nearly maxed out. The debut LP for these Spaniards is to be released, like other Memento Mori inclusions, sometime this month. Listed here as fair warning.

Brainstorm – Firesoul | AFM Records | Power metal
Power metal trading fluff for pumped-up *claps* muscles. The Germans ring in their 25th year of operation with their 10th long player.

Brewed & Canned – Execute the Innocent | Blacksmith Records | Death metal
Austrian assault sating the hunger pains of Cannibal Corpse acolytes.

Cold Body Radiation – A Clear Path | Dusktone | Post-black metal
A heavily effected woosh made into a blackened bloody valentine. The solo vehicle of the mysterious Dutchman, M.

Cult Leader – Nothing For Us Here | Blacken My Day | Metalcore, sludge, crust
Ex-Gaza project of grinding core roars and wounding grooves.

Department of Correction / C.O.A.G. / Miserable Failure / Unsu / Infected Society / Total Fucking Destruction – Monsters! (Six of a Kind) | Kaotoxin Records | Grindcore, death/grind
Five French grinders ranging from fastcore to choppy, avant-chug. The CD version contains additional tracks from Philly’s Total Fucking Destruction.

Desecresy – Chasmic Transcendence | Xtreem Music | Death metal
Shaped in the image of past Finnish death deities, Desecresy spice up their decimation with death/doom-ian leads.

Funest – Desecrating Obscurity | Memento Mori | Death metal
Memento Mori strikes again with their second of three OSDM steamrollers available this month. Italy’s Funest inspire the first three letters of their name, buzzing as a perfect BBQ accompaniment.

Ghoul – Hang Ten | Tankcrimes Records | Death/thrash
Gore all-stars surf in for an EP of horrific, beach blanket thrash n’ slash. Available on 4/19 for Record Store Day.

King Dead – King Dead | Self-released | Doom, sludge
Steadily building doom in the manner of a 1930s dust cloud. If old Ramesses possessed a predilection for Ennio Morridrone, perhaps. Available on 4/19.

Krieg – Isolation / Transmission | Init Records | Black metal
USBM stalwarts present a Record Store Day treat on this limited-to-666 slab of seven inches.

Krowos / Mystica Nox / Mors Spei – Under the Veil of Death | Black Orgon Records | Black metal
An Italian triumvirate of airy, bleak blarghing.

Limb – Limb | New Heavy Sounds | Stoner metal, sludge
A London-located stomp powered by a heart beating molasses-thick, NOLA plasma.

Morbo – Addiction to Musickal Dissection | Memento Mori | Death metal
A soulside journey zapped back in time to death metal’s days of primordial goop.

Mos Generator – Electric Mountain Majesty | Listenable Records | Hard rock
’70s-styled boogie that will attract Monster Magnet adherents.

Old Wainds – Nordraum | Negative Existence | Black metal
Russian grimness, ravishing in their evocation of second-wave standouts while finding their own unique screech.

Pact – The Infernal Hierarchies, Penetrating the Threshold of Night | Moribund Records | Black metal
Pennsylvanian three-piece conscripted by Satan and trained to maul ala Marduk.

Pestifer – Reaching The Void | Great Dane Records | Death metal
Proggy death spotlighting their nimble bassist.

Stoneburner – Life Drawing | Neurot Recordings | Sludge, post-metal
Portland quartet of lurching louts caked in crust. Shambles similarly to a sludgy Bloodlet. Has bloodlines to Atriarch and Buried at Sea.

Wormreich – Wormcult Revelations | Moribund Records | Black metal
Second-wave from the Southern United States. A studious ode to the frostbitten rasp, warmed up due to the humidity.

…

Things We Missed:

Aronious left nary a string not shredded nor an irregular rhythm not blasted.

Dopelord pulled a Wizard cab via the THC-dusted troika of stoner themes. (“Their main inspirations are: old movies, 70s music and magical herbs.”)

Grey Widow sustained a drone so nice, we may have listed them twice. If you can still hear, you didn’t hear it the first time.

Horrid‘s moniker wasn’t a mark of death metal quality, rather an indicator of the feeling rising up from one’s guts.

Hotel Wrecking City Traders opened a bazaar of instrumental hip-shakers in the key of Torche.

Keep On Rotting kept tech death fresh with a quirky Czech-ness.

King Bong‘s name belied their ambitions. The Italian tokers exhaled a nine movement suite of Sabbathian slow n’ low.

Merkabah got free – Beverly Hillbillies voice: free jazz that is – on their bracing set of Helmet marches matched with brass sired by Yusef Lateef or Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

Nadja, usually known for being longer than an Oscars written by a strung-out Bruce Vilanch, pressed this 7” of nervy noise. Falls somewhere between Sonic Youth and Big Black, if mixed in an airplane hanger.

Letters From The Colony affixed a stamp upon their tjech and sent it on to Thordendal.

Let Them Hang looped a noose around the neck of sanitized death n’ roll and pulled the lever.

Satyress asked you if you remembered the baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeighties version of Pentagram.

Seventh Circle swirled inside a blackened blizzard while trudging through the snow like a tough guy.

Sunnata took to the Rhodes and knocked over the stone brute with a mighty groove.

Verberis sneaked one by us on the can’t-miss Iron Bonehead. The Easter egg? Charred death metal devotionals.

Wizard Union buried itself six feet deep in downer rock doom.

Zu flew into an avant-riff rage.

ГРУНТ upset peaceful pacemakers with their noise rock buzz.

Стены Льда chilled Pelican’s epic intentions in a glacial block of keyboard chords.

…