May 22 is not a wall-to-wall release Friday, but it has three records with clear lanes. Dimmu Borgir are the headline because Grand Serpent Rising is their first full-length since Eonian in 2018. Armored Saint give the week its traditional heavy metal backbone with Emotion Factory Reset. Nashville Pussy bring the hard-rock dirt with 10 Inches Of Pussy Season 1, their first new studio release in eight years.
That is enough shape for a useful Friday. If you want the full running calendar, keep Metal Mantra's release calendar close. If you only have time for the records most likely to matter this week, start here.
Dimmu Borgir, Grand Serpent Rising
Dimmu Borgir are the obvious first-spin pick. Grand Serpent Rising arrives May 22 through Nuclear Blast, and the band have framed it as a thirteen-track return that pulls from every era of their catalog. That matters because Dimmu Borgir are one of the few black metal-adjacent bands big enough to turn a new album into a wider metal event without leaving the extreme-metal lane completely.
The official setup is direct: Shagrath says the band outdid itself musically, while Silenoz connects the title to renewal, growth, knowledge, liberation, and the idea of shedding old skin. That is clean thematic ground for a band whose best work has always balanced grand presentation with actual bite. The lead single "Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel" already made the album feel less like a nostalgia play and more like a serious new chapter.
Metal Mantra covered the original Dimmu Borgir album announcement when Grand Serpent Rising first entered the pipeline. For May 22, the question is simple: does Dimmu Borgir still sound massive without sounding embalmed? This is the release most likely to answer that before lunch.
Pre-order/stream: Dimmu Borgir on Amazon
Armored Saint, Emotion Factory Reset
Armored Saint do not need to pretend they are a young band. Their value in 2026 is the opposite: they know exactly what they are built to do, and Emotion Factory Reset puts that reputation back on the table with a new eleven-song full-length through Metal Blade Records.
The track list is not padded with mystery. "Close to the Bone" opens it, "Hit a Moonshot" lands early, and the record carries the same working-band confidence that has kept Armored Saint separate from nostalgia-circuit heavy metal. John Bush's voice remains the key separator. A lot of veteran bands can still play the riffs. Fewer can still make the songs feel like they are being delivered by someone with something to say.
This is not the week's most extreme release. It is the one for listeners who still care about classic heavy metal with strong songwriting, grown-player discipline, and no forced modern costume. If Dimmu Borgir own the scale this week, Armored Saint own the craft lane.
Pre-order/stream: Armored Saint on Amazon
Nashville Pussy, 10 Inches Of Pussy Season 1
Nashville Pussy already had a full standalone Metal Mantra piece because the gap matters: 10 Inches Of Pussy Season 1 is the band's first new studio material in eight years. It is a four-song 10-inch EP, recorded fully analog, with Blaine Cartwright, Ruyter Suys, Bonnie Buitrago, and Dusty Watson keeping the whole thing in the band's usual danger zone between southern hard rock, punk drive, and bar-floor rock 'n' roll.
The useful part is that Nashville Pussy did not dress the comeback up like a reinvention. The song titles - "KSFM," "Jacking Off And Taking Names," "Gonna Do It Some More," and "Hard Road" - tell you exactly where this thing lives. Some bands return from long gaps with a press-cycle apology. Nashville Pussy are coming back with a short vinyl EP that sounds like it was made to be played loud and sold at a merch table.
Read the full Metal Mantra breakdown of Nashville Pussy's new EP. For this Friday, it is the fast, dirty counterweight to the bigger album names.
Pre-order/stream: Nashville Pussy on Amazon
Also Worth Scanning
Keops release Bitter Story for Humanity through SPV GmbH, which puts some melodic hard rock weight on the slate. Crimson Day have Dark Dimension listed through WormHoleDeath. Abandon Agony's Endbringer and Aeverius' Imminence fill out the heavier underground side, while Erik Gronwall's Bad Bones and Dan Byrne's This Is Where The Show Begins sit closer to the melodic hard rock lane.
There are also At The Gates reissues on the calendar for The Red In The Sky Is Ours, With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness, and Terminal Spirit Disease. Reissues are not the same as new blood, but those records still matter if you are tracking how melodic death metal became a language instead of a regional accident.
The Quick Read on May 22
Dimmu Borgir are the first stop. Grand Serpent Rising is the week's biggest metal release and the one with the clearest stakes. Armored Saint are the steady second pick if traditional heavy metal is your lane. Nashville Pussy are the shortest hit, but maybe the one most likely to sound best at irresponsible volume.
May 22 is not overloaded, and that helps. You do not need to pretend every line item is essential. Start with Dimmu Borgir, make room for Armored Saint, and keep Nashville Pussy close when the week needs something less polished. For more release-week coverage, use the Metal News archive and the new releases feed.
