A weekly feature focusing on select heavy music news, primarily involving new and upcoming releases with a list of ’em provided at the end. This also serves as a week in review, collecting all of the most recent content on Grizzly Butts in a brief additional list. Want to see what came out this week? Read the “Annihilate This Week” column every week. If I can’t hear it, I won’t cover it! If you have new releases, show announcements, or important heavy music news that’ll be relevant or interesting to folks send it to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com
THIS WEEK IN NEWS (5/08/21 – 5/14/21)
- Well shit, these guys are really going for it this time. Progressive/technical death metal outfit BURIAL IN THE SKY have announced the their upcoming third album, ‘The Consumed Self‘ will release this coming August 13th via Rising Nemesis Records. You might remember I’d enjoyed their 2018 second album ‘Creatio et Hominus’ when reviewing it. Their logo has gotten more gnarly and their sound even more progressive if the first single/music video “An Orphaned City” is any suggestion. Love that goddamned album art too. Check it out over on YouTube: [LINK]
- Spread Evil Productions have announced July 9th as the release date for Finnish black metal band MARRAS‘ second album, ‘Endtime Sermon‘. There is a church burning on the cover art, so I am already interested and from what I recall ‘Where Light Comes to Die’ was a solid album back in 2019. This first preview song “Shadows Upon the Sacred Land” is deranged, violent thoughts echoing through the mind. Certainly inspired by the bluster of the early 90’s and not in a cheap way, the vocalist is satisfyingly over the top for this piece. Check it out over on YouTube: [LINK]
- Armageddon Label have announced July 23rd will be the release date for Swedish hardcore punk quartet EXIL‘s debut album, ‘Warning‘. I’ve only heard one song and I already love this band. “11 tracks, 26 minutes of pure ferocious hardcore punk.” Fuck yeah. Members of DS-13, Axis of Despair, and Vileheads feature in the group and you’ll get their gig if you jump over to their latest song “Maniac” over on Bandcamp: [LINK]
- After a seven year span of quietude and preparation, visionary Norwegian death metal band DISKORD are back with ‘Degenerations‘, their third full-length is set for release this August 13th via Transcending Obscurity Records. Back when groups like Obliteration, Execration and such were starting to take off beyond the Norse underground this band represented an entirely different perspective but an equally fresh sound. Today their return is an event for folks patient enough to still be in the know. The Colin Marston aided render of these avant-garde death metal pieces hits the mark exactly right. Check out the two available preview songs over on Bandcamp: [LINK]
- Godz ov War Productions have announced the latest EP from Polish black metal artist ODRAZA, which also functions as a part of an exhibition entitled ‘Coexistence’ presented at Museum of Podgórze earlier this year. ‘Acedia‘ will be released on May 21st as a standard jewel case CD and LP. A trailer for the EP is available on YouTube: [LINK]
- Its been about ten years since the first SARCOFAGUS reissues from Svart back in 2012 so, for those of use who missed out back then good news, more vinyl reissues are coming. Nuclear War Now! Productions have announced they will release the seminal and technically first heavy metal band out of Finland’s second album, ‘Envoy of Death‘, this coming September 15th on vinyl LP. I was not familiar with this album and I’m not sure how I missed it over the years. So far I would compare their sound to early Witchfynde and Quartz. You can discover it for the first time too over on Bandcamp: [LINK]
- earMUSIC have announced May 28th as the release date for the rare occasion of a second solo album from JUSTIN SULLIVAN, best known for his work in New Model Army, which will be titled ‘Surrounded‘. Sullivan is one of my favorite songwriters even beyond those best-remembered 80’s and early 90’s breakthroughs and a follow-up (of sorts) to ‘Navigating by the Stars’ generates some interest on my part. Check out the first single “Amundsen” over on YouTube: [LINK]
- A band who leave absolute monoliths of pure death metal wherever they walk DRAWN AND QUARTERED have announced their latest album ‘Congregation Pestilence‘ is due to release July 2nd on vinyl, CD, and digital formats through the brutal caverne of Krucyator Productions. The first single “Rotting Abomination” is a flex of just how rotten and filth-hammering death metal can be, it puts all the kids in the gunk pool to shame. It is safe to call 2021 a good year for death metal now that this one has arrived, the argument is stacked. Check out “Rotting Abomination” over on YouTube: [LINK]
- Screaming guitars, pentagram scepters and the apocalypse in the sky is our induction into the keen vintage of HEXORCIST‘s havenless death metal scald, their debut album ‘Evil Reaping Death‘ hammers and growls its way toward a July 26th release date crossing realms between Memento Mori an co-conspirators Unholy Prophecies and Godz ov War Productions. Memento Mori will release the CD version, Unholy Prophecies the vinyl version, and Godz ov War the cassette version; the CD and tape version will see release on July 26th. Vinyl version will follow when it is ready! Subterranean thrashing 80’s death metal classicism, as if purged directly from records like ‘Tribulated Bells’ and ‘Abominations of Desolation’ is of the highest order here and much to get hype over. Check out “Exulting the Adversary” if you have any doubt!: [LINK]
- London-based surrealistic death metal band QRIXKUOR are now prepared with their debut full-length album, ‘Poison Palinopsia‘. Set to be released by Invictus Productions in Europe and Dark Descent Records in the United States on July 9th this album presents itself in two 24 minute halves make it nigh perfect for the vinyl heavy thirst of today. Well, and it makes it hard to preview so for now we have a lot of delightfully verbose descriptions and an incredible cover painting to gawk at. Facebook is the best place for that: [LINK]
- I’d keyed into this New Zealand stoner/doom quartet for the sake of their graphic design and the promise of some John Carpenter odes within and PLANET OF THE DEAD actually pull it off here with “Escape From Smith’s Grove”, the first single from their second full-length, ‘Pilgrims‘, which is set for release this coming July 23rd. Heavy, growling sci-fi/horror doom with a big stoner metal swing. Check out the single over on Bandcamp: [LINK]
- Iron Bonehead Productions have announced September 10th as the release date for Australian black metal artist RUNESPELL‘s fourth album, ‘Verses in Regicide‘, on CD and vinyl LP. Nightwolf has developed this project to grandeur and distinction in just a few years, now expanding upon the most recent split and excellent ‘Voice of Opprobrium’ record with even finer detail and a solemn atmosphere. The tone of this first single “Structures of Collapse” is haunting yet inviting my ear in to hear its tragic, epic tale. Check it out over on SoundCloud: [LINK]
- Signal Rex make public their conspiracy with Bestial Burst with the announcement of August 27th as the release date for avant-black metal act MOON ORACLE‘s debut album, ‘Muse of the Nightside‘, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape. This preview song “Rite of Chthonic Mother” is one part Lugubrum and a healthy bone-scrape of Ride of Revenge-blazed carbonized bodies. Raw, crazed, kinda crooning in a central European kind of way. Vital psychic shock and disassociation to check out, it is short and up on YouTube: [LINK]
- Cryptic black-thrashing Londoners CRAVEN IDOL have been ready with their third full-length for a while now, having held back on it throughout 2020. ‘Forked Tongues‘ arrives on Dark Descent Records this coming July 23rd on CD, vinyl, cassette and digitally. The album apparently aims for a more “live” rawness in capturing the spirit of their shows and organic sound a bit better. No preview track just a fine Eliran Kantor painting which makes for a an incredible album cover. For now check out the details over on the band’s Facebook: [LINK]
- NOTABLE ALBUMS AT PRESS THIS WEEK FROM: Atrium, Belk, burial in the sky, craven idol, decoherence, Diabolizer, Diskord, drawn and quartered, Euthanized, Exil, Heavy Temple, Hinsides, Jarun, Klamm, Labyrinth Entrance, Marras, odraza, Odyrmos, Qrixkuor, The Absence, this Ending, Vulture Lord, Wicher and several more. Look for coverage in the near future. Don’t see your album listed? Send it to me: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com
SITE WEEK IN REVIEW (5/08/21 – 5/14/21)
- Annihilate This Week 5/08/21: “Bending your bow to breaking-point you captured priceless glory.”
- This year …From the Tomb becomes Annihilate This Week, still focusing on new releases from the week but now accumulating a New Releases list/discussion in addition to short reviews for around 5-10 new albums each week. It will now post every Saturday (or Sunday) to better fit my schedule.
- This week I chose to cover 11 New Releases from May 8th-14th. Favorites being Excarnated Entity, Old Skull, and Luna’s Call.
- After two weeks of silence beyond our initial launch of our publishing imprint, record label, and distribution network — Spirit Coffin Publishing we have two new announcements:
- First, our sixth release: Belgium death/thrash metal band INCINERATE‘s second full-length ‘Back to Reality‘ will be released on limited edition cassette w/a bonus track in mid-July. If you love brutal thrash metal, death/thrash metal and thrash that brings anger and passion with riffs to back it up, these are your guys. [More Info: HERE]
- Also, we now have MOLTEN CHAINS‘ fan-fucking-tastic ‘Torment Enshrined‘ available to purchase on CD. You won’t find these many other places and you won’t find another band like this one! [More Info: HERE]
This week Grave Miasma is clearly the big event for most, myself included, but lets not overlook some of these accomplished outliers I’ve touched upon this week. Between Oriflamme, Djevel, and Vallendusk the ‘epic’ and melodic factored black metal fan had a bevy of interest. Between Halluxvalgus, Cadaveric Incubator, and Snet the old school death metal head had an evolutionary beast around every corner. Finally, if you are still in love with dark rock music be it modern (Throat) or ancient (Bretus, Book of Wyrms) this was a week to write home about, a fantastic showing from earnest and talented artists. I will have reviews for Vallendusk and Djevel readied shortly alongside two events I am completely absorbed within: The third edition release of Steve Sylvester’s Death SS focused biography The Necromancer of Rock, which I am reviewing, and occult black metal act Balmog‘s absolute black magick breakthrough ‘Eve’. Both have rattled my corporeal form with inspiration and hey, Ghastly is coming up next week, too. I am thriving in these works and appreciative to no end.
- THROAT – Smile Less (2021) | REVIEW
- ORIFLAMME – L’Égide Ardente (2021) | REVIEW
- SNĚŤ – Mokvání V Okovech (2021) | REVIEW
- CADAVERIC INCUBATOR – Nightmare Necropolis (2021) | REVIEW
- GRAVE MIASMA – Abyss of Wrathful Deities (2021) | REVIEW
- HALLUXVALGUS – Reflections of Distant Dreams (2021) | REVIEW
- BRETUS – Magharia (2021) | REVIEW
- BOOK OF WYRMS – Occult New Age (2021) | REVIEW
UPCOMING RELEASES (5/15/21 – 5/21/21)
NOTE: This is not a comprehensive list, some titles are already reviewed and/or covered and some have yet to enter the final queue for consideration and processing. An asterisk (*) indicates that a full review is drafted or in preparation. A pound (#) indicates a short review is warranted and in process. A plus (+) indicates that the album has already been reviewed. Click/Tap on RECORD LABEL name for preview, stream, or store.
- ANATOMIA – Corporeal Torment [May 20th, Me Saco Un Ojo/Dark Descent]*
- ESOCTRILIHUM – Dy’th Requiem For The Serpent Telepath [May 21st, I, Voidhanger Records]*
- THANATOMASS – Black Vitriol & Iron Fire [May 21st, Living Temple/LVX MorgenStern]*
- MAJESTIC DOWNFALL – Aorta [May 21st, Personal Records]*
- JESS AND THE ANCIENT ONES – Vertigo [May 21st, Svart Records]*
- ROBOTS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD – Mystic Goddess [May 21st, Small Stone] #
- SLITHERING DECAY – Aeons Untold [May 21st, Testimony Records]*
- SILVER TALON – Decadence and Decay [May 21st, M-Theory Audio]*
- ACAUSAL INTRUSION – Nulitas [May 21st, I, Voidhanger Records] #
- LORD OF PAGATHORN – Age of Curse [May 21st, Woodcut Records] #
- HAGEL – Veneration of the Black Light [May 21st, Personal Records] Premiere 5/19
- SABHANKRA – Death to Traitors [May 21st, Saturnal Records] #
- YAUTJA – The Lurch [May 21st, Relapse Records] #
- GRIDFAILURE ft. MAC GALLEHON – Dismemberment Cabaret [May 21st, Nefarious Industries] #
- PERVERSOR – Psicomoro [May 21st, Hell’s Headbangers]*
- BLESSINGS – Biskopskniven [May 21st, Pelagic Records] #
- ICE WAR – Sacred Land [May 18th, Fighter Records]
- VIDEO NASTY – Video Nasty [May 21st, Petrichor]
- DIGITAL NEGATIVE – Digital Negative [May 21st, Hostile 1 Tapes]
- END YOU – Aimless Dread [May 21st, Pax Aeternum]
- RES – Strife of Permanence [May 21, American Decline Records]
- MOTHMAN AND THE THUNDERBIRDS – Into the Hollow [May 21st, Self-Released]
- FINAL GASP – Baptism of Desire [May 18th, Helter Skelter/Regain Records] #
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