Upcoming Metal Releases 4/9/2017 - 4/15/2017
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Big times – lost my day job and got promoted to Assistant Editor. You’ll be seeing a lot more of me ’round these parts.
Here are the new metal releases for the week of April 9, 2017 – April 15, 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.
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 after this is published will not be covered. This week:
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ANTICIPATED RELEASES
Weeping Sores – Weeping Sores | Dullest Records | Melodic Death/Doom Metal | United States
In an unexpected turn of events, Pyrrhon and Seputus frontman (and Invisible Oranges alumnus) Doug Moore quietly ventured into the world of melodic death/doom metal. For someone who has made a career out of constructing the most disgusting, disjointed death metal of the past decade, the more personal, at times heartbreaking approach found on Weeping Sores’s first public effort displays Moore in a multifacated light. Those who still listen to Mar de Grises’s The Tatterdemalion Express solely for the opening track will find a similar sort of suffocating, beautiful despondency here.
Pyriphlegethon – The Murky Black of Eternal Night | Iron Bonehead Productions | Black Metal | Netherlands
Gnaw Their Tongues et al madman Mories continues worshiping at the altar of Hellenic black metal. Check back later today for a full stream of the album.
Nightbringer – Terra Damnata | Season of Mist | Black Metal | United States
From my premiere of “Of the Key and Crossed Bones”:
“Building music based on the future release of tension is difficult. Yes, there is a movement of bands who utilize the idea of crescendo-as-song-form, but that is merely placed in a static vacuum. There needs to be momentum. Movement. The different phases of your body reacting to drowning in the air. Long-standing Colorado black metal outfit Nightbringer‘s maximalism-based sense of future fruition draws upon terror in micro-bursts, slowly burning, building and gaining speed before you find yourself gasping for the air you thought you were breathing all along.”
Funeralium – Of Throes and Blight | Funeral Doom Metal | Weird Truth Records/Caligari Records | Funeral Doom Metal | France
Funeral doom metal: either you love it or you hate it. Personally, when it is done right, I am hooked. Across their collection of lengthy (this is their second double-album) releases, Funeralium’s ultra sick doom, a title taken from their 2004 demo, is the sound of pure, sluggish desperation. Much like running a marathon, taking in Of Throes and Blight is an exhausting affair, but the four-track, near-ninety-four minute album acts as a sort of “quintessence” for funeral doom. Much like Evoken and Thergothon who preceded them, Funeralium’s music is extremely slow, but punctuated with these beautiful moments of heart-breaking clarity. Take the time to at least listen to this one all the way through once.
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OF NOTE
Craven Idol – The Shackles of Mammon | Dark Descent Records | Black/Thrash Metal | England
I guess my overall lack of thrash metal coverage should offer some insight as to how I feel about the genre, but that doesn’t mean I explicitly dislike it overall. Take Craven Idol as a solid example of thrash I do like: this is epic, at times resembling Bathory’s classic “viking” era (Hammerheart, not Nordland) but with a sharper, snide edge.
Imindain – The Enemy of Fetters and the Dweller in the Woods | Weird Truth Records | Black/Death/Doom Metal | England
People may know Dan Lowndes for his incredible studio work and, of course, his death metal band Cruciamentum, but I’ve always known him as “that guy from Imindain.” Much more “romantic” and sullen than the majority of his discography, the return (and demise) of Imindain after eight years of silence is potent but… different. Lowndes’s tenure in more putrid death metal has most definitely left a residue, transforming Imindain from morose and downtrodden to something more evil and ravenous.
Novembers Doom – Hamartia | The End Records | Death/Doom Metal | United States
To be fair, Novembers Doom has yet to write an album I dislike, but I also haven’t totally been in love with any of their material past The Pale Haunt Departure. That being said, I’m not disappointed in Hamartia, which is essentially a step back in that direction. Novembers Doom is always at their strongest when they, as morose as they may be, revel in near pop melodies and catchy rhythmic hooks.
Hexis – Tando Ashanti | Bloated Veins/Halo of Flies Records/Init Records | Black Metal/Hardcore | Denmark
For those who still think “hardcore” is a dirty word, and I am very glad to see such attitude has subsided, this is a great bridging point. Echoing the suffocating density of France’s Celeste, Hexis matches black metal’s dark pitch with the brawn of more modern “dark” hardcore. Become a mosh warrior in your own bedroom.
Jupiterian – Archaic: Process of Fossilization | Cold Art Industry | Sludge/Death/Doom Metal | Brazil
A loose, sluggish homage to the classic “Peaceville 3” school of romantic, melodic death/doom metal.
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FROM THE GRAVE
Vaiya – Remnant Light | Nordvis Produktionen | Ambient Black Metal | Australia
Known more for his work as Encircling Sea, Vaiya’s pastoral, long-form black metal ambiance is a calmer take on the genre, concentrating more on filling wide, open spaces
Oranssi Pazuzu – Muukalainen puhuu, Kosmonument, Farmakologinen | 20 Buck Spin/Svart Records | Psychedelic Black Metal | Finland
Last year, people fell in love with Värähtelijä – now’s your chance to dig back and follow Oranssi Pazuzu’s progression.
Gates of Ishtar – At Dusk And Forever, The Dawn Of Flames, A Bloodred Path | Century Media Records | Melodic Death Metal | Sweden
Gates of Ishtar were some top-tier melodic death metal in their heyday. Leading up to future (!!!) material, Century Media revisits their classic three albums which helped define the genre in the mid-90s.
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OTHER RELEASES
Dynfari – The Four Doors of the Mind | Code666 Records | Atmospheric Black Metal/Post-Rock | Iceland
Post-black metal (in the post-rock with blast beats sense) makes me sad, but a nice, folky element definitely garners points for these Icelanders.
Hexer – Cosmic Doom Ritual | Vendetta Records | Stoner/Doom Metal | Germany
Hexer is heavy, or at least their bass tone is heavy, as it is the only element which truly adds to their plod. I do wish more of these “heavy as a megalodon” doom metal bands had the guitar immensity to back up their bass’s low end, otherwise guitars are relegated to a delicate, fuzzy texture above the murk. Not ideal.
Naudiz – Wulfasa Kunja | Iron Bonehead Productions | Black Metal | Italy
Basic black metal, sure, but with a strong, wolfish, Germanic edge.
Akerbeltz – Satanic | BlackSeed Productions | Black Metal | Spain
Apparently their first album in seven years, the blasting Satanic sounds more like something you’d hear in 1998.
Tygers of Pan Tang – Never Give InEP | Mighty Music | NWOBHM | England
It’s NWOBHM, and Tygers of Pan Tang’s riffs have yet to feel the pains of time.
Shores of Null – Black Drapes for Tomorrow | Candlelight Records | Melodic Black/Doom Metal | Italy
I went into this expecting some sort of washy, slow black metal (most self-professed “black/doom metal” bands are way off), but I ended up with this nice little throwback to first-era Woods of Ypres.
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