While many are digesting 2016 tunes, it is time to move forward and see what is ahead for 2017. 2016 gave us several diversified lists proving it was a great year for music. Does 2017 have what it takes to top that? We’re already hearing about big releases like Mastodon, Suicide Silence, Overkill, Kreator and more, but here are twenty anticipated releases that we should (hopefully) expect to see this year!
20) Ghost Bath
After signing with Nuclear Blast at the beginning of last year, depressive black metal act Ghost Bath entered the studio during the fall to record the follow-up of their acclaimed Moonlover. The vocalist described the untitled album based on a quote from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick:
“To enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself. If you flatter yourself that you are all over comfortable, and have been so a long time, then you cannot be said to be comfortable any more. For this reason a sleeping apartment should never be furnished with a fire, which is one of the luxurious discomforts of the rich. For the height of this sort of deliciousness is to have nothing but the blanket between you and your snugness and the cold of the outer air. Then there you lie like the one warm spark in the heart of an arctic crystal.”
Mysterious clues have been placed on their facebook page, hinting a release date will soon be revealed.
19) Panopticon
Yesterday (5), Kentucky atmospheric black metallers Panopticon unveiled the new song “Sheep in Wolves’ Clothing” on Decibel. The release date for their upcoming sixth LP, The Scars of Man and the Once Nameless Wild via Bindrune/Nordvis hasn’t been revealed yet. However, this release will bring Panopticon out to the east coast for the first time at the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest in April.
18) Myrkur
Hailing from Denmark, the extraordinary one-woman project known as Myrkur is on her way to record her second studio album via Relapse Records. It will be a follow up to her 2015 album entitled M. When hinting at artists on their roster with new releases this year, Relapse named Myrkur was one of them. Secondly, she posted her own excitement as well.
17) Alestorm
During the holidays, pirate metallers Alestorm promised “something cool” would be revealed within the next few weeks. Sure enough, yesterday (5), Alestorm announced that they entered the studio to record their fifth full-length album, No Grave But the Sea for Napalm Records.
16) Eluveitie
Back in May 2016, folk metallers Eluveitie announced the departure of vocalist Anna Murphy, drummer Merlin Sutter, and guitarist Ivo Henzi. Many questioned their future, despite ensuring that they will carry on, embracing the new direction. Within the last few weeks, Eluveitie announced the lineup that includes a handful of new faces making founder, Chrigel Glanzmann the only original member. Eluveitie will soon enter the studio to finish Evocation II, the second chapter of their acoustic concept piece from 2009’s Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion.
