Here are all the new releases for January 19th through January 25th. Releases reflect proposed North American scheduling, if available. Expect to see most of these albums on shelves or distros on Fridays.
See something we missed or have any thoughts? Let us know in the comments. Plus, as always, feel free to post your own shopping lists. Happy digging.
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New Releases 1/19 – 1/25
Harakiri for the Sky — Scorched Earth | AOP Records | Post-Black Metal | Austria (Vienna)
Scorched Earth reconstitutes the messy stew that is blackgaze into its composite pieces and gives them each adequate space to breathe. Gravely black metal, post-hardcore, and post-rock arrive unencumbered and react caustically. That alchemy gives Harakiri for the Sky’s fifth studio record its identity, which, in a few words, is hypersensitive and dynamic. That being said, the album’s largest success is its clarity. It’s unwilling to hide behind blackgaze’s perennial smog, resulting in a particularly sharp final product.
–Colin Dempsey
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Scitalis — Maledictum | Vendetta Records | Black Metal | Sweden (Umeå)
Most of what Scitalis offers on their sophomore LP is mechanically solid black metal. They are respectful of their elders and incorporate much of what you’d expect from a group with strong affection for the Norwegian second-wave scene. However, they enter another playing field when the vocals arrive. These vocals are dry and pained, akin to an exsanguination sufferer moments before their death. They’re the first set of pipes (within as conventional a framework as Malediction) that’ve made me turn my head in a long time.
–Colin Dempsey
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Concrete Icon — Voracious Streams | Memento Mori | Death Metal | Finland (Turku)
[Editor’s note: This will hit digital platforms in February 2025 via Redefining Darkness.] On their third album, Concrete Icon offers old-school death metal with heavy Floridian citations, mixed with a preference for lukewarm tempos and punctuated riffing that pull from the Swedish school of thought.
–Colin Dempsey
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Tormentor Tyrant — Excessive Escalation of Cruelty | Everlasting Spew Records | Death Metal | Finland (Helsinki)
One of the other Finnish death metal albums released this week (Disrupted dropped a d-beat inspired piece as well. There must not be much happening this week in Finland.), Excessive Escalation of Cruelty is dyed in the wool death metal. It plays like a reaction to the old school death metal revival and sneers its nose at groups that harken back to the genre’s glory days but do not harvest the danger and anger present back then. Hell, even the cover’s allusions to Altars of Madness are merely skin deep because Tormentor Tyrant play with much more vinegar and sweat than Morbid Angel.
–Colin Dempsey
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Unreqvited — A Pathway to the Moon | Prophecy Productions | Post-Rock + Blackgaze | Canada (Ottawa, Ontario)
The other notable blackgaze album of the week is A Pathway to the Moon and it’s best considered as a contrast to Scorched Earth. It delves into the genre’s prettiness with starry-eyed digital orchestration and miles-wide post-rock structures. It’s also the first Unreqvited album to primarily feature clean vocals, though they’re reminiscent of Devin Townsend’s wherein they are bathed in reverb and overdubs. It won’t whet the appetites of those waiting for the next Disquiet, but it brings Unreqvited more in-line with modern metal production and trends.
–Colin Dempsey
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Century — Sign of the Storm | Dying Victims Productions | Heavy Metal | Sweden
Century returns with more classic heavy metal that delivers powerful melodic hooks and solidly locks in an atmosphere straight out of the 1980s.
–Ted Nubel
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Avatarium — Between You, God, the Devil and the Dead | AFM Records | Doom Metal + Rock | Sweden
Avatarium’s new album showcases their versatility in blending classic rock and heavier, doom-tinged hard rock, with their commanding vocal performances unifying everything and spellbinding listeners. Certainly not the heaviest album you’ll hear this week, but perhaps one of the most striking.
–Ted Nubel
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