August 2022 Metal Release Tracker

 

 

I'm currently compiling metal and metal-adjacent music for Territory's Edge, my monthly recap column on New Fury Media.  After the last Friday of the month (August 26), I will select 5-8 albums or songs to discuss in detail.  My favorites as the month progresses are marked with 🐅 symbols.

August Release Tracker

Singles

In Flames - "The Great Deceiver" (Aug 1, melodic death metal)

Alter Bridge - "Silver Tongue" (Aug 2, alternative metal)

City of Caterpillar - "Decider" (Aug 2, hardcore)

Stray From the Path/Jesse Barnett - "Bread and Roses" (Aug 2, punk/hardcore)

Borders - "Suffer" (Aug 4, deathcore)

Fallujah - "Soulbreaker" (Aug 4, progressive metalcore/technical death metal) 🐅

I AM - "Surrender to the Blade" (Aug 4, death metal)

Xenobiotic - "Autophagia" (Aug 4, technical death metal) 🐅

Dragoncorpse - "Terror Eternal" (Aug 5, power metal/death metal)

For the Fallen Dreams - "Sulfate" (Aug 5, metalcore)

The Comfort - "Supernova" (Aug 5, post-hardcore/alt rock)

Outline in Color/Loveless - "Do Your Worst" (Aug 5, alternative rock/post-hardcore)

Slipknot - "Yen" (Aug 5, nu metal) 🐅

Time, the Valuator - "Ivy" (Aug 5, progressive rock/alternative metal)

What Lies Below - "Vitiate" (Aug 5, progressive metalcore)

Boundaries - "Heaven's Broken Heart" (Aug 11, metalcore)

Revocation/Trevor Strnad/Corpsegrinder - "Re-Crucified" (Aug 9, technical death metal)

Slaughter to Prevail - "1984" (Aug 9, deathcore)

Sylosis - "Heavy is the Crown" (Aug 9, melodic death metal)

Aviana/Marcus Vik - "Paradox" (Aug 10, metalcore/alternative metal)

Exmortus - "Oathbreaker" (Aug 10, death/thrash)

Miss May I - "Free Fall" (Aug 10, metalcore)

Weeping Wound - "fourthh.love" (Aug 10, atmospheric metalcore)

A Wake in Providence - "The Horror Ov the Old Gods" (Aug 11, deathcore)

Bloodbath - "Carved" (Aug 11, death metal)

Fit for a King - "End (The Other Side)" (Aug 11, metalcore)

156/Silence - "Say the Phrase" (Aug 12, metalcore) 

Bit Back - "Quantum of Solace" (Aug 12, hardcore)

Chelsea Grin - "Origin of Sin" (Aug 12, deathcore)

Phobophilic - "Survive in Obscurity" (Aug 12, death metal)

An Abstract Illusion - "In the Heavens Above, You Will Become a Monster" (Aug 15, death metal)

Oceano - "Mass Produced" (Aug 16, deathcore) 🐅

Irist - "Heal" (Aug 16, progressive metal)

Gaupa - "Diametrical Enchantress" (Aug 17, psychedelic rock/stoner doom)

Vermin Womb - "Denvoid" (Aug 17, grindcore/death metal)

Holy Fawn - "Void of Light" (Aug 18, blackgaze/post metal) 🐅

UnityTX - "Burnout" (Aug 18, rapcore)

AVOID - "Whatever" (Aug 19, punk/post-hardcore) 🐅

Oceans Ate Alaska - "Nova" (Aug 19, metalcore)

Starset/Breaking Benjamin - "Waiting on the Sky to Change" (Aug 19, alternative metal)

Vatic - "No Sleep" (Aug 19, metalcore)

Foreign Hands - "Chlorine Tears" (Aug 23, melodic metalcore) 🐅

Orbit Culture - "Vultures of North" (Aug 25, progressive death metal)

Dayseeker - "Without Me" (Aug 26, post-hardcore)

Within Destruction/Lil Lotus - "Dying World" (Aug 26, deathcore)

Glassing - "Dire/Sulk" (Aug 26, sludge metal) 🐅

A Hope For Home - "Years of Silicon" (Aug 29, post metal) 🐅

Currents - "The Death We Seek" (Aug 31, metalcore)

Fit for an Autopsy - "Walk With Me in Hell" (Aug 31, Lamb of God cover)

Love is Noise/Jason Aalon Butler - "Movement" (Aug 31, alternative metal/post-hardcore) 🐅

Albums

Ether Coven - The Relationship Between the Hammer and the Nail (Aug 5, sludge metal)

In Hearts Wake - Green is the New Black (Aug 5, metalcore)

Psycroptic - Divine Council (Aug 5, technical death metal) 🐅

Soulfly - Totem (Aug 5, groove/thrash metal) 🐅

Dispar - Hopeless (demo) (Aug 6, blackgaze)

Fugitive - Maniac (Aug 8, hardcore/thrash)

Arch Enemy - Deceivers (Aug 12, melodic death metal) 🐅

Aronious - Irkalla (Aug 12, technical death metal) 🐅

Ascent of Autumn - Awakened (Aug 12, deathcore)

Contrition - Constancy (Aug 12, hardcore/metalcore)

In Disarray - Trauma (Aug 12, hardcore/metalcore)

Norma Jean - Deathrattle Sing For Me (Aug 12, metalcore/alternative metal) 

Of Virtue - Sinner (Aug 12, metalcore/alternative metal)

Seventh Storm - Maledictus (Aug 12, power metal)

Seyr - Flux (Aug 12, progressive metal)

The Halo Effect - Days of the Lost (Aug 12, melodic death metal)

The Omnific - Escapades (Deluxe Edition) (Aug 12, instrumental metal)

Unprocessed - Gold (Aug 12, progressive rock)

Revaira - Journey (Aug 18, progressive metalcore)

Abest - Molten Husk (Aug 19, sludge metal/hardcore)

Alpha Wolf and Holding Absence - The Lost & The Longing (Aug 19, metalcore)

Dawnwalker - House of Sand (Aug 19, progressive metal) 

I Prevail - True Power (Aug 19, alternative metal/nu metal) 

Orthodox - Learning To Dissolve (Aug 19, hardcore)

Russian Circles - Gnosis (Aug 19, instrumental progressive metal) 

Soilwork - Övergivenheten (Aug 19, melodic death metal)

Spirit Adrift - 20 Years Gone (Aug 19, doom/traditional heavy metal)

Spite - Dedication to Flesh (Aug 19, deathcore)

Auriferous Flame - The Great Mist Within (Aug 26, atmospheric black metal) 🐅

Becoming the Archetype - Children of the Great Extinction (Aug 26, melodic death metal/metalcore) 🐅

Blackbraid - Blackbraid I (Aug 26, black metal)

Cyborg Octopus - Between the Light and Air (Aug 26, progressive metal)

Dreadnought - The Endless (Aug 26, progressive metal/black metal) 

Eaten By Sharks - Eradication (Aug 26, technical death metal)

fallfiftyfeet - Lonely If You Go (Aug 26, mathcore)

Ghost in the Ruins - Return to Ash (Aug 26, metalcore) 

God of Nothing - Terrible Things (Aug 26, deathcore)

KRIMH - The Eternal Return (Aug 26, progressive death metal)

Machine Head - Of Kingdom and Crown (Aug 26, groove metal/thrash) 🐅

Obsidian Mind - Obsidian Mind (Aug 26, metalcore) 

Sigh - Shiki (Aug 26, experimental black metal)

thoughtcrimes - Altered Pasts (Aug 26, mathcore)

Westhand - Cyanide Culture (Aug 26, rapcore/metalcore)

Illuminate Me - Dying on a Hill That Nobody Remembers (Aug 28, metalcore)

 

 

Territory's Edge - July 2022

Metallica made plenty of headlines this summer.  The surging popularity of their 1986 hit "Master of Puppets" - due to its inclusion in the show Stranger Things - marked a rare crossover moment, potentially introducing a vast array of listeners to heavy metal.  Another familiar name returning to the spotlight is Rage Against the Machine.  The rap rock legends, whose last album Renegades released in December 2000, embarked on their first tour in eleven years, which has proven to be a massive success. However, we had no shortage of metal and metal-adjacent bands releasing and announcing brand new music either.  Slipknot returned with a new single "The Dying Song (Time to Sing)" and a September album announcement. Lorna Shore continue to be huge in the deathcore scene, and also have a new song out and an album on the way. Holy Fawn, Erra, and Silent Planet similarly remain consistently top-tier bands with their new singles. Oceans Ate Alaska dropped a new song at the beginning of the month and confirmed a new album at the end. Highlights among the smaller bands we had to talk about this month include Hated delving into the evils of abuse on "Dr4gged",  Philippine technical death metal Emperium hailing the horned ones on "Majestic Goat", and modern deathcore band The Archaic Epidemic from Fairfax, Virginia making a strong showing with "Lords of Misery".  South Florida band Leveled live up to their name on their EP One World Comes Back Around, and Atlanta's In Somni are a promising new band with two explosive songs.

 

 

Silent Planet - ":Signal:"

 

Ten years after their first EP Come Wind, Come Weather, Silent Planet now maintains a dedicated, supportive fan community and substantive respect within progressive metalcore circles. From the beginning, frontman Garrett Russell has shown why he is a top-tier lyricist and songwriter. His lyrics have discussed many topics including the generational and historical trauma experienced by Native Americans ("Native Blood"),  the horrors of war and impact of PTSD on combat veterans ("Panic Room") and his own battle with mental illness ("Terminal"). However, the band's new single, ":Signal:", continues to keep listeners guessing. This song ventures into mathcore territory, with an eerie, mysterious visual to match. Above all, ":Signal:" is crushingly heavy, displaying an unpredictable chaos akin to Loathe at their heaviest. Buster Odeholm of Humanity's Last Breath mixed this track, contributing to its dark and heavy atmosphere. Distant clean vocals in the waning seconds finish the song on an enticing note. Silent Planet's music has a profound depth, spirituality and sincerity, and this new song provides the first taste of something massive.  

Wake - Thought Form Descent

 

While this band from Calgary, Alberta started out playing grindcore, their sound has gradually shifted with each album. Now on their sixth full-length, Wake's current blackened death metal style is characterized by densely layered, highly technical compositions. Thought Form Descent is full of intriguing, melodic guitar riffs that will hook just about any fan of extreme metal. The profiency of the band's two guitarists, Arjun Gill and Rob LaChance, keep each track engaging throughout. The melodic death metal riffage on single "Swallow the Light" is a prime example of the guitar work carrying the song. Additionally, the two instrumental tracks "Pareidolia" and "The Translation of Deaths" add a valuable diversity. Both of these short breaks balance out the intensity of the other six songs. "Observer to Master" makes good use of blast beats and a guitar solo from Kevin Hufnagel of Gorguts. "Bleeding Eyes of the Watcher" incorporates a Mastodon-sounding guitar line and a seamless atmospheric transition into the closer "The Translation of Deaths". Thought Form Descent is themed around a science fiction story contained to the album. According to vocalist Kyle Ball, the narrative follows a character who enters a paranormal realm during a near death experience, then tries to recreate that plane of existence again through means of altered states, meditation, and lucid dreams. Musically, Wake cite inspiration from classic metal bands like Slayer, Iron Maiden, and Celtic Frost, as well as genres like post punk, doom, and black metal. However, the band makes it a point to not let any particular influence overtake the others. The eight-minute sonic cacophony of "Venerate (The Undoing of All)" encapsulates this mindset perfectly, a track as nuanced as it is chaotic. Wake have created a masterful extreme metal record here.  

Scarcity - Aveilut

 

At first glance, classical sensibilities within an experimental black/drone metal record may seem unusual. Scarcity, a two-person project from Brooklyn, New York, proves that this influence can translate well even without the use of traditional classical instrumentation. Instrumentalist Brendon Randall-Myers is both a guitarist and composer who has written for classical music performers and symphonies. He is joined by vocalist Doug Moore from the New York technical death metal band Pyrrhon, who in addition to his unearthly low growls is a skilled writer and former monthly metal columnist. Aveilut, titled after a Hebrew term for mourning, centers around processing loss and the inevitability of death. It is a challenging yet cathartic listen. Randall-Myers specifically wrote the album about the deaths of two people close to him, and the bleak tone of the music conjures up images of staring into the void. Reflecting both a personal and universal meaning, Aveilut is a harrowing, yet spacious, drone/dark ambient 45 minute album.  Split into 5 tracks numbered I-V, it is meant to be listened to as one composition.  

Krisiun - Mortem Solis

 

The success of Sepultura in the '90s helped open up the door for more Brazilian metal bands to break through to a worldwide audience. One of those bands was Krisiun.  Their brutal third album, Conquerors of Armageddon, was unleashed in March 2000, marking their first major release on Century Media. Krisiun is composed of three brothers, and they're still going strong eleven albums into their career. Therefore, it's fitting that on August 7, they're playing alongside the Cavalera brothers Max and Igor, on the tour celebrating 25 years of Sepultura's Roots. Krisiun has maintained an old-school death metal ethos throughout their career, occasionally embracing a progressive edge as on 2012's The Great Execution. Krisiun's latest album provides a good introduction to any newcomers to the long-running trio. Bridging the gap between early and modern death metal, the band stays true to their sound without coming across as stale or out of ideas. Mortem Solis is characterized by thrashy tempos and death metal vocals, but they switch it up enough to keep the whole album engaging. Track 4, "Necronomics" slows to a measured groove metal pace. The instrumental "Dawn Sun Carnage" which leads into the cavernous "Temple of Abattoir" is another highlight.  

Conjurer - Páthos

 

While this young British death/doom metal act gained some previous attention from the underground scene with the EP I, their sludgy debut full-length, Mire, earned them a strong following among some well-known metal musicians, particularly Trivium's Matt Heafy. On Mire, Conjurer mixed in some post-metal dynamics with tracks like "Hollow" and "Thankless", and their second album develops in this direction further. The highlight of Páthos is "All You Can Remember", a somber, dynamic post-metal track written in memoriam of guitarist Dan Nightingale's grandmother. Similar to "Constance" by Spiritbox, the lyrics explore the the grief of having a loved one battle dementia. A guest female vocalist, Alice Zawadski, provides a spoken word section before the cathartic climax. The sludgy "Basilisk" is the most stylistically similar to Mire and provides a contrast between the band's past and present. Frontman Brady Deeprose's low roar is comparable to Aaron Turner of the bands Isis and Sumac. Similarly, the music is reminiscent of a heavier Oceanic with undercurrents of death and sludge metal swirling through the tides. Let Páthos pull you in to its murky depths.

Oceans of Slumber - Starlight and Ash

 

Oceans of Slumber are unafraid of change. The band's initial gothic metal/progressive doom metal sound drew comparisons to Opeth with a female lead vocalist, while maintaining a sound of their own. Heavy yet soulful tracks like "The Adorned Fathomless Creation" displayed a similar sense of duality. Given how Opeth has dramatically reinvented their sound while still finding success, the description is even more apt today. Yes, Oceans of Slumber took a left turn, softening their sound - to their advantage. The group fully captures the southern gothic sound by honing in on a sultry, humid atmosphere. In fact, the only minor flaw here is some imbalance in the production, as the guitars are buried in the mix compared to the drums during the heavier moments. Frontwoman Cammie Gilbert's vocals are the undisputed focus of the album, and her commanding presence is the reason the stylistic shift succeeds. "Salvation" displays her gospel influences both sonically and lyrically. While Starlight and Ash is more of a rock album than a metal one, there's still some elements of metal present. "Red Forest Roads" is a good example, building from a somber ballad to a fast climax with furious drumming. "Just a Day" starts off similar to an Evanescence piano ballad but finishes out on heavy, with the final minute of fuzzed out distorted guitar.