Upcoming Metal Releases 5/27/2018-6/2/2018

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Yeah, this is a really light release week. What do you want to do, fight about it? Shouldn’t you be grilling or something?

Here are the new metal releases for the weeks of May 27, 2018 – June 2, 2018. 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 the coming Fridays 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.

As a little bit of a challenge, include your own opinion about anything you want to add. Make me want to listen to it!

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 or released after this column is published will be excluded.

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ANTICIPATED RELEASES

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Spectral Wound – Infernal Majesty | Vendetta Records/Les Fleurs du Mal | Black Metal | Canada
From my premiere of “Woods From Which The Spirits Once So Loudly Howled”:

Infernal Decadence, the band’s second album, is a homing beacon for wayward souls trying to “find” black metal. As the genre’s spectrum grows outward, the central point has a tendency to become obscure, and this album brilliantly beams upward, steadfastly marking its home position. Spectral Wound isn’t groundbreaking, but that also isn’t the point for bands like this. Rather, Infernal Decadence ferociously fills the cracks which appeared during a lengthy, genre-wide dry spell; the idea of “black metal” itself becoming an arid desert surrounded by curated, verdant forests of adventure. This is a pure distillation of black metal: melodious, riff-centric, and vicious. Rediscover black metal’s center before finding its fringes.

Urarv – Argentum | Svart Records | Avant-Garde Metal | Norway
The bizarre minds behind last year’s Aurum delve deeper into strangeness and mental obscurity. Check back in an hour to hear the whole thing.

No stream yet.

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OF NOTE

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Gruesome – Twisted Prayers | Relapse Records | Death Metal | United States
Old school, but not in the now very boring “HM2” way. Having recently spent a lot of time with Leprosy, Gruesome very aptly fills at least a large portion of the shoes left in Chuck Schuldiner’s wake.

Soliloquium – Contemplations | Transcending Records | Death/Doom Metal | Sweden
From Ivan’s premiere of “Chains”:

Soliloquium nimbly guide the listener through a progression of moods that reveals the depth and sophistication of the band’s emotional intuition. As the song transitions past its initial plodding death march, the lead guitar takes on a somber and reflective countenance before the surging chorus commences. Here, an ascending melody conveys spirited triumph and resistance, its rising tones reflected in Nordström’s switch from the guttural depths to thinner shrieks and midrange howls.

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