New Metal Releases - May 22nd 2026

Scroll to the bottom of this article to listen to tracks from all of the new releases this week.

Here is the Cutting Edge Metal team’s roundup of this week’s essential new metal releases…

Dimmu Borgir – Grand Serpent Rising

Genre: Symphonic Black Metal

About: Formed in 1993 in Jessheim, Norway, Dimmu Borgir are one of the most recognizable forces in symphonic black metal, having spent over three decades blending orchestral grandeur with extreme metal ferocity. Grand Serpent Rising is their tenth studio album and their first since 2018's Eonian — an eight-year gap that makes it one of the most anticipated extreme metal releases in recent memory. Out via Nuclear Blast, the 13-track record marks the band's first use of Norwegian lyrics since Stormblåst MMV, with all music arranged by Shagrath and Silenoz — the only two remaining founding members. Thematically centered on renewal, liberation, and the shedding of the old, the album has been described by reviewers as a strong late-career statement that nods to every era of the band's legacy. Listen on Spotify.

Deliverance – The Voyager Golden Banquet

Genre: Avant-Garde Black Metal / Sludge

About: Parisian collective Deliverance was founded in 2013 and has built a reputation as one of the more adventurous acts in the French extreme metal underground, with previous albums Holocaust 26:1-46 (2020) and Neon Chaos in a Junk-Sick Dawn (2022) earning them slots at Hellfest and Motocultor. The Voyager Golden Banquet is their fourth studio album, released through acclaimed underground label Les Acteurs de l'Ombre, and represents a bold creative leap — grafting post-rock, psychedelia, progressive rock, and electronic elements onto their established black metal and sludge foundation. The result is a sprawling, cinematic listen that draws comparisons to Pink Floyd, Oranssi Pazuzu, and Cult of Luna. Listen on Spotify.

Akiavel – ScelestVs

Genre: Melodic Death Metal

About: Hailing from southern France and formed in 2018, Akiavel deal in modern, brutal melodic death metal driven by a ferocious female-fronted growl and influences drawn from Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, and Gojira. After three full-length albums — V (2020), Væ Victis (2021), and Veni Vidi Vici (2023) — released through Season of Mist, the band signed with Verycords in 2024. ScelestVs is a five-track EP featuring four new studio compositions and one live track, exploring dark urban legends centered around female protagonists. The band describes the release as narrative, intense, and cinematic — a new dimension to their sound. Listen on Spotify.

Machete Law – Liturgy of Violence

Genre: Thrash Metal / Crossover

About: Machete Law are a thrash/crossover band from Barcelona, Spain, formed in 2023, pulling influence from the likes of Cro-Mags, Demolition Hammer, Power Trip, and Vio-lence. Liturgy of Violence is an EP from the self-described DIY outfit, and includes the single "Gunfire Ritual," which features a guest appearance from Toshio Komori of Japanese thrash veterans FASTKILL. Lyrically, the band tackles inner struggle, political corruption, war, and social collapse. Independently released, the EP builds on the momentum of their earlier demo and a 2024 compilation appearance on Fistful of Thrash Vol. 3. Listen on Spotify.

And the unearthed and on rotation underground bands this week include: Necrobeast, Immortal Force, Anggrath, Complexant, and The Absolution Sequence

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