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Upcoming Metal Releases 7/22/2018-7/28/2018

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Here are the new metal releases for the weeks of July 15, 2018 – July 21, 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.

send Jon your promos at [email protected]. Do not bother him on social media.

ANTICIPATED RELEASES

Inexorum – Lore of the Lakes | Gilead Media | Melodic Black Metal | United States
From my premiere of “Let Pain Be Your Guide”:

Melodic black metal has a new hero. The specific performance style (sub-sub-genre — you know what I’m getting at) found on Inexorum‘s debut Lore of the Lakes almost comes off as an anachronism. Upon first listen, comparisons to Swedish bands on the legendary No Fashion Records come to mind before, well, any of his current labelmates on Gilead Media. It’s a special kind of solitude, but this fits with project mastermind Carl Skildum’s (currently a live member of Obsequiae and formerly of early 1990s metalcore luminaries Threadbare) location. Much like the sun-glinted snow and endless pine forests which gave birth to the romantic end of melodic black metal, Skildum’s own Minnesotan isolation is a reflection of Sweden’s nature-influenced melodic bent, but on a deeper, personal level.

Thou – Rhea Sylvia | Deathwish | Sludge/Doom Metal/Grunge | United States
I’m not sure if I’ve ever made it abundantly clear on here before or not, but I am an incredible sucker for grunge. Alice in Chains, Mad Season… give me all of it. Hearing Thou meld their explosive sludge with the downtrodden nod of grunge speaks to me on this incredibly deep level. I may have only heard one song, but, even as a fan of the band’s since 2007, I can say this will likely end up a personal favorite among Thou’s endless body of work.

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OF NOTE

Drawn and Quartered – The One Who Lurks | Krucyator Productions | Death Metal | United States
For those who prefer their death metal gross and horrifying, but still fully emerged from the cavern. Drawn and Quartered have been at it for… a long time, before any trends or demystifying modernity. On their first album in six years, The One Who Lurks demonstrates a band on their own path, a slinking, heavy horror hell-bent on evoking nightmares sans the glut of manufactured atmosphere.

Imber Luminis – Contrasts | Naturmacht Productions | Atmospheric Doom Metal | Belgium
As is par for multi-instrumentalist and producer Déhà Lipani’s course, the incredibly atmospheric Imber Luminis is built from unconquerable sadness. Brick by brick, Lipani wails and soars through his despondence, manifesting as a nostalgic, sunny haze.

FOR THE ADVENTUROUS

Axis of Despair – Contempt For Man | Southern Lord | Grindcore | Sweden
You had me at “Members of Nasum.” Listen to this if you like grindcore. If you don’t know who Nasum was, go listen to Nasum. RIP Mieszko.

OTHER RELEASES

Decline of the I – Escape | Agonia Records | Post-Black Metal | France
At this point, I immensely hesitate whenever I see “post-black metal.” As many of you know due to former ramblings, I still expect Ved Buens Ende more than Lantlos when that tag rears its head, leading to some strange, Pavlovian reaction (cringing instead of drooling, though). In Decline of the I’s favor, and maybe it’s due to the band’s pedigree in the Malkhebre circle of strangeness, I hear a lot more of the “weird, avant-garde” aspects which defined that weird turn-of-the-century era. This is real “post-black metal,” y’all, and a pretty decent modern example of it.

Become an Invisible Oranges patron .

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