The year may be winding down, but there are still great new albums coming out, like the new Genocide Pact and Static Dress, both of which I reviewed for Notable Releases. For even more of this week's new heavy albums, head over to Invisible Oranges' Upcoming Metal Releases to read up on the new So Hideous, Rebreather, Unanimated, and more. This week also brought new singles from Cult of Luna, Boris, Portrayal of Guilt, Venom Prison, Kill Your Idols, Heriot, Comeback Kid (ft. Joe Duplantier of Gojira), Bitter Branches (mem Deadguy), Sum of R, Eight Bells, Backslider, Vatican, Cloakroom, Modern Life Is War, and more, and you can read on for those and other metal, hardcore, and -adjacent songs released this week...
CULT OF LUNA - "COLD BURN"
Swedish post-metal greats Cult of Luna have announced a new album, The Long Road North (pre-order on opaque white vinyl), and you can read more about the ten-plus minute lead single here.
--
BORIS - "DROWNING BY NUMBERS"
Boris have announced a new album, W (pre-order on limited "sea blue with black blob" vinyl), and shared lead single "Drowning By Numbers." Read more about it here.
--
PORTRAYAL OF GUILT - "CHAMBER OF MISERY PT. III"
Portrayal of Guilt already released two albums this year, and now here's yet another new song, "Chamber of Misery Pt. III," for the Decibel Flexi Series. The band's gnarly fusion of black/death metal and hardcore/screamo is in fine form on this one, which absolutely slays.
--
VENOM PRISON - "PAIN OF OIZYS"
UK death metal/metalcore band Venom Prison have shared the second single off Erebos (which you can pre-order on limited emerald green vinyl), and you can read more about it here.
--
KILL YOUR IDOLS - "SIMPLE, SHORT, & FAST"
Long Island/New York hardcore vets Kill Your Idols have released their first new song in 15 years, and you can read more about it here.
--
HERIOT - "NEAR VISION" / "ENTER THE FLESH"
UK experimental metalcore band Heriot put out one of the most promising singles of its kind earlier this year, and now they're back with another two-song rager, "Near Vision" / "Enter The Flesh," via Church Road Records. As on the last single, Heriot honor metalcore traditions while pushing the genre forward, and these songs absolutely shred.
--
COMEBACK KID - "CROSSED" (ft. JOE DUPLANTIER of GOJIRA)
As mentioned, melodic hardcore vets Comeback Kid will release their new album Heavy Steps in January via Nuclear Blast/New Damage. This new single finds them leaning into a more metallic side than usual, and they get help from Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier to do so.
--
BITTER BRANCHES - "SOLO TRIP"
Deadguy frontman Tim Singer's band Bitter Branches (which now also includes Dan Yemin of Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, and Paint It Black!) have announced their debut album (which you can pre-order on limited "red in white" vinyl), and you can read more about new single "Solo Trip" here.
--
--
SUM OF R - "HYMN FOR THE FORMLESS"
Today, Swiss post-metal act Sum of R announced that they'd play their upcoming album Lahbryce in full at Roadburn 2022, and they also shared a live session video for new single "Hymn For The Formless." Read more here.
--
EIGHT BELLS - "NADIR"
Portland, Oregon experimental doom band Eight Bells will release a new album, Legacy of Ruin, on February 25 via Prophecy Productions. New single "Nadir" is equal parts heavy, melodic, and atmospheric, and it's a very promising taste.
--
BACKSLIDER - "CORPSEFLOWER"
Philly grindcore/powerviolence/fastcore trio Backslider announced a new album, Psychic Rot, and you can read more about new single "Corpseflower" here.
--
VATICAN - "DECEMETA"
Savannah metalcore band Vatican have released their third new single since signing to UNFD, and you can read more about it here.
--
CLOAKROOM - "A FORCE AT PLAY"
Indiana shoegazers Cloakroom announced a new album and shared this song, which you can read more about here.
--
MODERN LIFE IS WAR - "SURVIVAL"
Melodic hardcore vets Modern Life Is War have announced the third volume of their ongoing Tribulation Worksongs singles series, and you can read more about new song "Survival" here.
--
40 WATT SUN - "UNTIL"
40 Watt Sun (the slowcore project of Warning leader Patrick Walker) have shared the second single off upcoming album Perfect Light, and it's nearly nine minutes of pure melancholy that reaches a pretty explosive climax.
--
ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF - "THE TRUTH, THE GLOW, THE FALL" (LIVE AT MONTREUX)
Anna von Hausswolff has announced Live at Montreux Jazz Festival, which was recorded in 2018 and comes out January 14 via Southern Lord. Anna's voice really soars in a live setting, as you can hear on this first single.
--
SIMULAKRA - "TERROR TACTICS" / "AS IT ROTS"
Delaware hardcore band Simulakra will release a new LP in early 2022 on DAZE, and they're prefacing it with this two-song single. If you like no-frills, whiplash-inducing hardcore with a metallic edge, don't sleep on this.
--
WORSHIP - "MERCY"
California sludge band Worship's new EP Many Masters comes out January 7, and here's another fired-up single from it.
--
LETTERBOMBS + PORTRËIT - SPLIT
Finland's Letterbombs and Germany's Portrëit both make raw, chaotic screamo, which makes them a perfect pair for this new split on Zegema Beach. In addition to their original material, Portrëit's half includes a great cover of Comadre's modern screamo classic "The Moon."
--
ZEAL & ARDOR - "GOLDEN LIAR"
Zeal & Ardor have shared another track from their self-titled third album, which arrives February 11. It's largely a soulful, Americana-tinged song, and it eventually explodes into something much heavier.
--
MALIGNANT ALTAR - "CEREMONIAL DECAPITATOR"
Houston death metallers Malignant Altar (who share members with Necrofier, Oceans of Slumber, and more) will follow their two demos with their first full-length album, Realms of Exquisite Morbidity, on December 10 via Dark Descent. New single "Ceremonial Decapitator" is a re-recorded version of a song from their first demo, and this new version sounds way bigger and tighter but just as evil. Listen and read an interview with the band at Invisible Oranges.
--
--
For even more new songs, browse the ‘New Songs’ archive. For new metal albums, browse ‘Upcoming Metal Releases’ on Invisible Oranges. And browse our ‘Metal’ category for even more heavy music news.
Browse the metal section of our online record store for new metal vinyl.