Abysmal Dawn

13 New Metal and Hardcore Songs Out This Week

In this very busy week for metal and hardcore (and other adjacent stuff), I can’t recommend the new Higher Power enough (read my review), and I’m also pretty into Crowbar frontman Kirk Windstein’s solo debut (which you can read more about in Notable Releases). But wait, there’s more. Like Defiled, Thy Catafalque, Worm, T.O.M.B., Mortiis, Nero di Marte, Midnight, Acid Mammoth, and Bohren & Der Club of Gore, all of which you can read about in Invisible Oranges’ Upcoming Metal Releases. IO also interviewed Midnight.

This week also brought new singles from Eye Flys, Abysmal Dawn, White Stones (mem Opeth), Lychgate, Omega Infinity, Insect Ark, Typecaste, Choice To Make, and more. Keep scrolling for all the heavy jams we posted this week…

EYE FLYS – “TUBBA LARD”

Eye Flys — the band of Full of Hell guitarist Spencer Hazard, Backslider bassist Jake Smith (on guitar and vocals), former Backslider drummer Patrick Forrest, and Triac’s Kevin Bernsten on bass — debuted last year with the ripping Context EP, and now they have announced their debut album. It’s called Tub of Lard, and it’s due March 20 via Thrill Jockey. The first single is the sorta-title track “Tubba Lard,” and it’s a killer mix of sludge and hardcore that picks up where the EP left off and continues to push Eye Flys’ sound forward.

ABYSMAL DAWN – “HEDONISTIC”

LA death metallers Abysmal Dawn are releasing their first album in six years, Phylogenesis, on April 17 via Season of Mist. The first single is the intense, chaotic “Hedonistic.”

WHITE STONES (mem OPETH) – “WORMS”

White Stones, a new band led by Opeth bassist Martin Mendez, are releasing their debut album Kuarahy on March 13 via Nuclear Blast, and the first single is “Worms,” a pretty out-there track that’s part death metal, part avant-prog, and part riffy grooves.

LYCHGATE – “PROGENY OF THE SINGULARITY”

UK avant-black metallers Lychgate are releasing their new album Also Sprach Futura on March 13 via Debemur Morti Productions, and you can hear the dark, freakish lead single over at Metal Hammer.

OMEGA INFIINTY – “MARS”

Omega Infinity is the new project of Xenoyr (Ne Obliviscaris) and Tentakel P. (Todtgelichter), and they’ll release their debut album Solar Spectre on March 27 via Season of Mist. First single “Mars” is sevenn minutes of furious black metal, with an unexpectedly spacey interlude in the mix too.

INSECT ARK – “PHILAE”

Dark Brooklyn band Insect Ark — whose current lineup is band leader (and Swans collaborator) Dana Schechter and former SubRosa drummer Andy Patterson — have shared a second single off their upcoming Colin Marston-engineered album The Vanishing (due 2/28 via Profound Lore): the doomy, nearly-eight-minute “Philae.” Dana says, “The song ‘Philae’ traces the epic narrative of a robotic voyager on its journey to a comet near Jupiter. The travel, alongside its host the Rosetta Spacecraft, took over ten years. Philae crashed, was pulled by the comet’s gravity, and for over a year was sitting lost in the shadow of a cliff.”

Insect Ark are also playing a double release show with Gnaw (who are releasing their Barking Orders EP on January 31) at Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus on February 26 (tickets).

LOCAL H – “TURN THE BOW”

’90s-era alt-rockers Local H are true lifers, as they’ll remind you with their first new album in five years, LIFERS, due April 10 via AntiFragile Music. It was recorded by the legendary Steve Albini and it features appearances by fellow ’90s alt-rocker Juliana Hatfield and ’90s alt-rock lover John McCauley of Deer Tick. You can read more about the album and lead single “Turn the Bow” here.

CHOICE TO MAKE – “JUNE”

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre hardcore band Choice To Make (mem One Step Closer, Worn, Strength for a Reason) have offered up a second taste of their upcoming Vicious Existence EP (due 2/14 via Flatspot Records), and it starts out as a high-speed ripper before ending up as something slower and more metallic.

TYPECASTE – “TRAVERSE”

Long Island/Boston hardcore/metalcore band Typecaste, who are opening the upcoming Sanction/SeeYouSpaceCowboy tour, will release their new EP Between Life on February 14 via Flatspot Records, and first single “Traverse” finds the band delivering a dual-vocal attack over thick, chugging, heavy-as-brick riffs.

GLEAN – 2020 DEMO

San Diego’s Glean dropped this new five-song demo on the trusty New Morality Zine label (Life’s Question, Rule Them All, etc), and it’s got a hardcore-goes-Dinosaur Jr thing going on that fans of Floral Green era Title Fight or other newer bands like Anxious probably wanna check out.

TO LANGUISH – SOWN

Late last fall, Swedish screamo duo To Languish self-released their debut album Sown, which features guest appearances by members of Petrol Girls, Drei Affen, and Kodos. Today, it was digitally reissued by Middle-Man Records who are also giving it a vinyl release in the US. If you haven’t heard it yet, it’s a real gem, as musically adventurous as it is lyrically powerful (with songs that tackle LGBT issues, sexism, and other meaningful topics). Check it out:

HILARY WOODS – “TONGUES OF WILD BOAR”

Hilary Woods will follow her 2018 debut album Colt with her sophomore LP, Birthmarks, on March 13 via Sacred Bones. She made this album with veteran noise musician Lasse Marhaug, and the two of them used field recordings, synths, cello, saxophone, and more to achieve the album’s nightmarish sounds, as you can hear on the eerie yet breathtaking lead single “Tongues of Wild Boar.” If you’re unfamiliar with Hilary Woods, fans of artists like Chelsea Wolfe, Emma Ruth Rundle, and Marissa Nadler should take note. She’s playing Roadburn this year too.

HEXVESSEL – “DEMIAN”

Finland’s very accurately self-proclaimed “psychedelic forest folk rock” band Hexvessel will release their new album Kindred on March 20 via Svart Records, and the first single is “Demian.” This band has always had a way of tapping directly into ’60s folk and psych rock and making it sound fresh and inventive, and this song is no different.

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.