Upcoming Metal Releases: 8/30/26 – 9/5/26

Here are the new releases for August 30th to September 5th. Releases reflect proposed North American scheduling, if available.

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Upcoming Metal Releases: 8/30/26 – 9/5/26

Ancient Malice — Worm Tongue | Independent | Death Metal + Grindcore | Ireland (Dublin)

Worm Tongue arrives a year after Ancient Malice’s debut LP, retaining as much momentum and repugnancy as possible. It’s for crust, HM-2, and gore fanatics.

–Colin Dempsey

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Skuggor — The Expanse | Nordvis | Black Metal | Sweden

Plodding, skeletal, atmospheric black metal, punctuated with lo-fi synths; you already know who Skuggor sound like. The difference is that The Expanse adopts an epic perspective instead of a nihilistic one.

–Colin Dempsey

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Sleep — Hempispheres | Third Man | Stoner Metal | United States (San Jose, CA)

The hype for Sleep’s return album eight years after their previous return album, The Sciences, quickly morphed into a game of gossip and uncertain expectations. A hurrah was shot down when it was announced that co-creator Matt Pike was stepping away from the band and would not appear on the album. Questions about the quality bubble despite continued involvement from Al Cisneros (who also headed the supreme stoner metal group Om) and Bubba Dupree of hardcore act Void replacing Pike. Hempispheres‘ first two tracks are available: stoner metal attributes ignited with droning guitar, psychedelic melodies, sluggish pacing, and a focus on marijuana. A great stoner metal record is expected but without Pike’s power and aggression, this likely would’ve been best remembered without the iconic title attached.

–Aidan Sibley

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Pakosteň — Spevy smutných Lotrov | Šlinc Records | Black Metal + Punk | Czech Republic (Prague)

Czech metal band Pakosteň is an amalgamation of the villainous atmosphere of black metal and the sporadic energy of hardcore. An act where d-beats and blast beats catapult nefarious screams; where midnight riffs interrupt the furious pace without awkwardness. Where a corpse-painted face front flips off the stage into your raised arms. Where a mix of high-spun punk energy spits across razor-thin tremolo picking. Pakosteň are an eruption of frantic energy blasted through icy cave walls: it’s the coldest mosh pit you’ve ever encountered.

–Aidan Sibley

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Sigh — Goh-ka | Peaceville Records | Avant-garde Metal | Japan (Tokyo)

Goh-ka is the latest album from adventurous Japanese extremists, Sigh. Get ready for some light breezy listening as Goh-ka apparently has multiple meanings in the band’s native tongue. It’s alternately a fire that ravages sinners in addition to being the blaze that “burns down the world at the end of time.” The theme of destruction and decomposition plays out over the course of the record, which is inspired by “Kuso-zu,” a sequence of Buddhist visual arts that depict “the nine stages of the human body’s decomposition after death.” The conceptual darkness is concealed somewhat by the majestic, dare I write ‘upbeat,’ beauty emanating from “Unpuntenpu,” a genre-defying composition with unique instrumentation, knockout vocal hooks and a ferociously melodic guitar solo from Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt. Elsewhere, there are snatches of nightmare carnivalesque prog along with passages that sound like Sakevi from G.I.S.M. fronting Fates Warning or in the strangest parts: Faith No More. For all the purists out there, don’t worry–tracks like “Jigoku-Zoshi 1-Unkamusho” make good on the Celtic Frost and Voivod references. A lot of bands claim epicness. This one isn’t kidding.

–Dennis J. Seese

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Vanessa Funke — Aura | Liminal Dread Productions | Melodic Death Metal | Germany (Gevelsberg)

On her fifth album, Aura, Vanessa Funke brings melodic death metal together with electronic and ’80s influences. She wrote and performed nearly everything herself, showing her versatility as a musician. “Last Dawn” opens with a melodic guitar intro and a guest solo from Alicia Cordisco. “Fading Memory” is faster and heavier, combining melodic leads with Funke’s harsh vocals. “Coherence” and “Infinite Skies” address her experiences as a trans woman, bringing some of her most personal writing to the record. “Empty Heart” explores power-ballad territory with melancholic clean vocals. Her voice is just as varied as the music around it. Keyboards add depth to “Into the Night,” making its heavier riffs hit harder. Funke’s love of Insomnium is apparent in her guitar work. Her skill as a multi-instrumentalist is one of Aura’s strongest qualities, and the record’s infectious melodies make it easy to return to.

–Lily O’Delia

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Castle — Carrie Chains | Hammerheart Records | Heavy Metal + Doom Metal | United States (San Francisco, CA)

Castle’s seventh album, Carrie Chains, sits between traditional heavy metal and doom, with Liz Blackwell’s commanding vocals cutting through Mat Davis’ thick guitar riffs. “3 Knocks” opens with a darker, doom-heavy feel. “Carry Chains” has more momentum, with one of the album’s catchiest riffs leading into a guitar solo by Davis. The title track introduces the album’s central character and its theme of an underdog rising against the odds, a sentiment likely to resonate with anyone who has ever felt like an outsider. “Truckgrinder” starts out slower and heavier before gaining speed. On “Burn the Messenger,” Blackwell’s distinct voice rises over some of the album’s heaviest riffs. Her vocals are a highlight throughout, adding a melodic edge to the heavier, busier guitar work.

–Lily O’Delia

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Devil Master — Bloody Dreams | Relapse Records | Black Metal + Punk Rock + Crust Punk | United States (Philadelphia, PA)

Heed my advice: take a shower after listening to Bloody Dreams. Devil Master’s third record is as contagious as it is infected with some brain-altering ailment. At the bottom of its pyramid is a proto-black metal foundation that supports lateral faces composed of punk rock, psychedelic rock, and glam metal. That Mirai Kawashima of Sigh appears here should tell you that Bloody Dreams is batshit insane.

–Colin Dempsey

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