We’re getting to the end of the school year and into summer around here. In terms of new music it seems like acts are hitting the road in droves and the interesting upcoming albums list is maybe dwindling a bit. But there are still some new albums queued up for release so I’ll have a look at some lead singles from upcoming albums. Not a ton this time but some compelling stuff.

Behemoth – Ov My Herculean Exile

Leading off with the Polish extreme metal stalwarts Behemoth, whose new album Opvs Contra Natvram arrives September 16. The provided video is pretty intense fare, though nothing unusual for Behemoth. It’s a bit of a mini horror movie.

The song is interesting but not particularly dynamic in terms of Behemoth. The group have been one of extreme metal’s bigger draws for several years now. In that time band leader Nergal has dealt with various controversies, including being charged with blasphemy by the Polish government multiple times. He has also muddied his own puddle a time or two, like when he invented a story about being thrown out of a gym for wearing a Darkthrone shirt for reasons unclear to anyone beyond him.

The new album is inspired by Nergal’s hatred of social media and “cancel culture,” a statement that hasn’t been playing well on social media. Will a pointed outlook and a less-than-stellar album see Behemoth’s time at top come to an end, or will the album proper offer up enough to keep the group afloat? Guess we’ll see this fall.

The Chats – 6L GTR

Australia’s punk sensations are back with a new album, Get Fucked, out August 19. The band has just wrapped up a US tour, getting out post-pandemic a few years after their 2017 viral smash hit Smoko took over the Internet.

The new song is really good and pretty much just what you’d expect from The Chats. I will certainly line up to get fucked this coming August.

Grave Digger – Hell Is My Purgatory

The venerable German institution is back with their 21^st (!) studio album Symbol Of Eternity, out August 26. The band sound in fine form here after all these years, not that anything has been stopping them anyway. Grave Digger often do theme-based albums and appear to be on a Knights Templar kick here. I’m sure the new record will be a fine addition to their stupidly huge discography.

Iconic – Fast As You Can

Hey everyone, it’s another Frontiers Records throw-together group. Michael Sweet is in this one, along with Tommy Aldridge and some other folks from around the rock universe. The music is fine but of course there is a fair bit of Frontiers fatigue these days. Will this project stand out from the mountain of others? Second Skin is out just around the corner on June 17.

Municipal Waste – High Speed Steel

It’s been quite some time now since Municipal Waste helped put thrash metal back on the map and they have returned for another round with Electrified Brain out on July 1. It’s business as usual for the group and sounds like another must-have record on release. Usually these retro metal waves come and go, but this thrash one has been around for eons now and shows no signs of going away.

Chat Pile – Slaughterhouse

No you’re not seeing double – Chat Pile is distinct from The Chats. This group is an Oklahoma-based noise rock outfit that put out a few EP’s and are now prepping their full-length debut album for release. God’s Country will be released July 29. It is dark, noisy and fucked up, which is often just how I like it. It sounds like the world looks right now, which isn’t good for the world but is great for Chat Pile.

Lorna Shore – Sun//Eater

The main event is here and is the first track from the most hotly-anticipated extreme metal release of 2022. Last year Lorna Shore took over the internet with their three-song EP And I Return To Nothingness on the strength of To The Hellfire, which wound up with my 2021 Song Of The Year Award. Now the deathcore collective has the unenviable task of following that up with a full-length. That comes in the form of Pain Remains, which will see release this October.

While To The Hellfire generated unseen amounts of hype, it also set a bar very, very high for whatever comes next. Sun//Eater delivers the symphonic, “blackened” deathcore that Lorna Shore showcased on last year’s EP. It’s a fine addition that showcases vocalist Will Ramos and the band’s dynamics without resting on the laurels of …Hellfire. Time will render verdict on the new record but the hype train for Lorna Shore is chugging along now with the full-length on the horizon.

That does it for this month’s edition of upcoming releases. Conspicuous by its absence is any new Megadeth material even though the new album has been ready “any day now” for like three years and is supposed to be out in July. It feels like Ben Stein’s iconic scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off where I’m standing in the front of class calling out “Mustaine? Mustaine?” over and over again when I type these. Maybe next month…