Upcoming Metal: Week of May 11th
Cumbeast
Fairytales of Filth
Releases May 12th on Morbid Generation Records
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
Twenty years later, Cumbeast is still coming on strong with the release of their seventh album (tried so hard NOT to spell coming as cumming btw). From the disgusting, gurgling vocals on the album’s opener “Cummando”, bringing comparisons to acts like Vomit Remnants and Katalepsy. Throughout the album, it is a disgustingly heavy, slam-adjacent headbanger of a record. Songs like “Captain Cock”, “Troll Named Scrott” and “Abomination” give that stank-face inducing instinct when the breakdown goes slow, thick and nasty all at once. Showing this band still has it and can deliver a pure filthy and disgusting album two years into their career.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Bell of Mimir
Nocturne
Releases May 16th on Octopus Rising
Genre: Doom Metal
Bell of Mimir’s debut album had me psyched upon hearing the first single “Dark and Silent”. With moments of early-doom from the early 90’s, the funeral-dirge pacing is done to perfection in the production and atmosphere on the record. Korvenmaa’s vocals deliver that sorrowful, longing and anguishing delivery that encapsulates the music to the letter. “Spell of Doom” and “Nightfall” are my two favorite tracks off the album. Really hitting that downtrodden original sound from the roots of doom metal. Loved this record and I HIGHLY recommend for anyone who loves doom metal of any era, but especially from the 90’s era. Cannot wait to see what they do on their next record.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Blood Monolith
The Calling of Fire
Releases May 16th on Profound Lore Records
Genre: Deathgrind
From the opening of “Trepanation Worm”, Blood Monolith just go for the throat and don’t stop stabbing. With moments of grind, tech-death, and a hint of groove, the band just pushes the deathgrind creativity from the opening. “Prayer To Crom” gave me a hybrid of Cryptopsy/Pig Destroyer in its delivery and I LOVED that. This was a 27-minute barrage of straight up deathgrind. No mathcore-esque change ups, no movie samples/audio clips; just brutal, punishing, double bass heavy kicks to go along with the matching growls and I loved every second of it.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Clamfight
Clamfight
Releases May 16th independently
Genre: Stoner/Sludge Metal
Clamfight’s fourth album’s and opener “Oar” truly goes for the post-metal, sludgy and grimey sound over the song’s eleven-minute runtime. Bringing elements of post-metal behemoths Neurosis and Isis to mind as the layering and progression of the song intensifies and builds. Drummer and vocalist Andy Martin accompanies the melancholic, bleak and hopeless sound of the band’s music throughout the album. Sludgy, but groovy like with “Drinking Tooth” and “Dragonhead”, the album has everything a sludge fan would like if your first exposure to the genre was Mastodon. Diverse album, with elements of prog, sludge, post-metal and hardcore, it was a strong album from the band and worth a listen.
SCORE: 4.5 / 5
Eleventh Ray
Reviving Tehom
Releases May 16th on Dark Descent Records
Genre: Black/Doom/Thrash Metal
Reviving Tehom’s aura is straight-up first wave black metal. From the haunting and ominous Mercyful Fate tone of the album’s opener “Nightside of Damascus”, to the Venom-esque, chug heavy, speed metal sound on “Eyes”. With “unique” interlude-like pieces, which for me I was not a fan of, stop the record from getting a perfect score from me. But the band’s energy, drive and love for the roots of the sound they were aiming is done very well. Fitting along with the burgeoning rise of blackened thrash acts like Hellripper & Necropanther.
SCORE: 4 / 5
Helldrifter
Shell of Inexistence
Releases May 16th on Violent Creek Records
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Germany’s Helldrifter hits with the trademark Gothenburg sound out the gate with the song ”Martyrs of A Dying Age”. Kevin “Guenni” Ginnow and Ben Hilpert’s guitar playing is just riff after riff of melodic death metal goodness throughout the album. Many songs have that slow headbang, groove-tinge to it (“Suicide Strike” and “Cosmic Justice”), while others hit like a freight train right from the get-go (“Beyond The Grave” & “Deception”). Really dug this record a lot, and a true hidden gem in the melodic death metal genre right now.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Larcenia Roe
Extraction
Releases May 16th on Unique Leader Records
Genre: Deathcore
Larcenia Roe deliver a caveman-style slam/deathcore amalgamation with their debut on Unique Leader Records. Delivering everything I want in Slam with incomprehensible vocal brees and guttural lows, mixed with the pounding and unrelenting chugging breakdowns. Songs like “TEETH” and “Calcium Closet” (which features Alex Koehler of Ameonna) NAIL that disgustingly gross and heavy sound I want. With the band even acknowledging the humor of their sound by adding kazoo in the opening to “Lip Split”, before a instant stank-face inducing opening breakdown. If you just want a pure, brutal, sonic assault on your ears of pure chaos, THIS is that record.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Mares of Thrace
The Loss
Releases May 16th on Artoffact Records
Genre: Sludge/Post-Metal/Hardcore
From the opening moments of album opener “Anticipatory Grief”, the visceral scream of Thérèse Lanz adds that hostility and grit to the sludgy/hardcore hybrid sound of the band. Songs like “The Second Stage: Denial” have that sludgy, doomy heavy guitars that match the same doom and dread of Melvins, before switching to almost alternative sounding guitars and clean vocals, add that angst and anguish that Lanz matches in the delivery. Good record and could be a band to keep an eye on. I could picture them opening for acts like Alcest, Deafheaven or Dawn of Ouroboros.
SCORE: 4 / 5
Pridian
Venetian Dark
Releases May 16th through Century Media Records
Genre: Progressive Metalcore
Estonia’s Pridian release their second album Venetian Dark, four years after their 2021 debut The Rotten Unknown. With moments and vibes of the 2020’s “Octane-core” sound of acts like Architects and Wage War, the album does have some heavy songs like “Cyanide Dreams” and “Endless”. But overall, the record doesn’t offer anything to truly stand out from the pact of the countless acts of this style of metalcore and modern metal.
SCORE: 2 / 5
