Reaching the height of summer doesn’t always mean that the metal wellspring dries up, as demonstrated by the meaty lineup we’re in for this week.
Deadguy – Near-Death Travel Services
Genre: Hardcore/metalcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
A vital return for this veteran band, sounding just as hungry and pissed off as is essential for a hardcore group to really hold their own and confidently broadcast their message with authenticity. As you might expect, this is metallic hardcore leaning slightly into math, and so it’s stark and punishing in a sort of under-exaggerated way. The instrumental sound is raw but full, and the vocals are perfectly rusty and weary, without that getting in the way of the energy behind them. I find my favorite tracks exclusively outside the singles. That might say more about me than the music, but I don’t really respond that strongly to their more conceptually minded approaches. However, when they go back to basics and sound their most primitive and angry, you are left in no doubt as to their continued relevancy.
Highlights: “Barn Burner” and “The Forever People”
Deciduous Forest – Fields of Yore
Genre: Atmospheric black/folk metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
As black (or at least dark) metal goes, this is rather pleasant-sounding. It’s refreshing to hear synth-led melody that doesn’t immediately scream Finnish folk, but still manages to send your mind soaring over misty, forested hills. It’s austere, but far from miserable, a bit repetitive rhythm wise, but well produced.
Fer de Lance – Fires On The Mountainside
Genre: Heavy/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Nailing the proper level of solemnity for an epic heavy metal sound can be crucial. Too much and it’s cheesy – too little and you’re achieving no immersion. Fer the Lance get it right on their sophomore LP. High-flying vocals with an above average conviction are paired with patient, doom-like tempos, laying the foundation for a journey to be savored at a fairly relaxed pace. It’s adventurous far more than it’s gloomy, but also not without heaviness, also including a bit of harsh vocal work and a few bitter, black metal-leaning tonal turns. It’s dramatic in its own, measured way, and achieves distinction through their clearly very carefully honed instrumental finish and overall production.
Highlight: “Ravens Fly (Dreams of Daidalos)”
Heaven Shall Burn – Heimat
Genre: Metalcore/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
One of the things I have always appreciated about Heaven Shall Burn is their obvious melodeath influence, and they’re not shying away from it on “Heimat”. Several of the heavier songs contain riffs that sound straight out of Gothenburg in the late 90s/early 2000s, and they’ve got the proper melodic passages to go with it. What is indeed missing, which bothers me less personally, is, truth be told, any hint at originality. The riffs and melodies sound mostly interchangeable with earlier work, and there is little complexity in the song structures. The lengthy runtime emphasizes this problem. That being said, there’s a good mix of heavy and more melodic tracks, and, to their credit, they successfully resist the temptation to go fully soft and accessible.
Inhuman Condition – Mind Trap
Genre: Death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Three albums in, and Inhuman Condition have proven not only their eagerness, but a highly impressive consistency of quality to go with it. In short, there’s not all that much more to say about it than that it’s rock solid Floridian death thrash. The surprise lies not in it being experimental, progressive or terribly distinct, but in that it manages to be so goddamn engaging despite its faithfulness to that original, Obituary-like style. The fact that it’s thematically morbid and sadistic is also entirely predictable. Much of the success must be credited to the rhythm work, which is about as dynamic as can be without getting distracting or messing up the flow. It also doesn’t hurt that the riff tone is awesomely vicious, the vocal style satisfyingly coarse, and the low end perfectly punchy.
Highlights: “Face for Later” and “Severely Lifeless”
King Potenaz – Arcane Desert Ritual Vol. 1
Genre: Doom/stoner metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Warm and atmospherically rich stoner doom out of Italy. It’s structured into four long tracks which you’re invited to get utterly lost in as you imagine floating through wondrous desert landscapes.
King Witch – III
Genre: Doom metal/hard rock
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
As female-vocal doom goes, this is vibrant and powerful, without leaning too hard into nostalgia. It’s groovy in a non-stoner, vital and catchy way that’s more reminiscent of hard rock than classic heavy metal. Its’ got traces of grunge and great crunchy heaviness paired with mildly epic, solo-prone melody, without it ever taking off and becoming too lofty. The production is punchy and modern, in stark contrast to the fuzzy, muddled style that such contemporaries as Castle Rat like to go for. In this respect, it might not be able to find a dedicated niche audience, and will perhaps fall a bit in between the mainstream and the underground. But its musical qualities – vocals, rhythms and melodies alike – deserve to be appreciated regardless of your finer points of preference.
Highlight: “Sea Of Lies” and “Swarming Flies”
Lord Belial – Unholy Trinity
Genre: Melodic black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
There’s nothing subtle about Swedish band Lord Belial’s brand of black metal, so if you’re the type that’s looking for atmospheric nuance or genuine, bitter misanthropy, this isn’t for you. It’s big, it’s aggressive and usually quite intense, with a strong penchant for semi-symphonic melody. I would not go so far as to call it technical, but the instrumental performances are front and center, with plenty of detail to be found both in the high and low frequencies. Noting at all surprises me on this album, but nothing really disappoints me either. Once you’re attuned to the sound you can enjoy it fully for what it is, both the gothic-epic and the snarling blasphemy.
Highlight: “Scornful Vengeance”
Noumenia – Echoes
Genre: Atmospheric metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A dark, atmosphere-rich metalcore (modern metal) band out of Italy that delivers big on catchiness and tonal consistency. The compositions are quite simple, and betrays a fairly limited vision, but it’s got quite decent dynamics and flow.
Putridity – Morbid Ataraxia
Genre: Brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Unflinching, merciless, gory, squealy death metal from these long-going ear defilers. The drums in particular never let up, pounding and clicking away like some infernal noise torture device. The guitars sound like they’re ripping through walls made of raw flesh, and the vocals are low and threatening without going completely over the top. For me its way, way, way too repetitive, with only a precious few instances of clear variation from the unstoppable assault. But fans will be able to appreciate it being impressively precise and wickedly savage at the same time.
Ready For Death – Pay With Your Face
Genre: Hardcore/thrash/industrial metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Combining the relative levity of punk with the ferocity of hardcore, the tempo of thrash and wrapping it in a layer of dystopian, industrial tone, theme and production, READY FOR DEATH stood out to me with their self titled 2022 release, and continue to do so with “PAY WITH YOUR FACE”. This one feels like they’ve honed in on their crossover thrash side, but the edge is still slightly muffled and noisy, and the attitude feels very down to earth and punk-like. It’s not a gut-punch of a sound, and it’s not the most even thing in terms of strong songwriting, but it feels raw and free-spirited, which is just right for this particular corner of the metal spectrum.
Highlight: “SEWAGE OF THE DIVINE”
Shadow Of Intent – Imperium Delirium
Genre: Deathcore/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5
It will come as little surprise to you that Shadow of Intent’s latest album sounds absolutely massive. But let’s go one step further and call it terrifyingly majestic, because it’s only appropriate. The melodic dimension of the band’s style has, at least in my opinion, always been their strongest suit, drawing on gothic melancholy, but able to deliver it in a darkly epic manner that perfectly complements the brutal technicality that goes with it. This has in no way changed on “Imperium Delirium”, and the balance they are able to strike between roaring deathcore pandemonium, death metal savagery, tech death instrumental flourishes and theatrical grandeur is right up there with the very best of their discography, as well as that of their peers. It’s almost a bit much at times, suggesting that greater contrasts in intensity might have made for an even more impactful and memorable experience, but at the same time I can’t really fault their style for lacking dynamism. It’s great, simple as that.
Highlights: “Feeding the Meatgrinder” and “Apocalypse Canvas”
Sodom – The Arsonist
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
To describe “Sodom’s “The Arsonist” with one word, I would call it confident. Everything from the production to the instrumental interplay to the vocal style and the runtime. At nearly 49 minutes, it’s not a short album, but the old timers have no trouble keeping you entertained. Therein lies the foremost strength of the album. It doesn’t exactly sound young, but also very far from tired or complacent. The slightly muffled finish isn’t for me, but the riff tone hits just right, there’s decent rhythm variation, and it’s got that bloodshot Slayer edge that separates it from the more fun-loving and antics-driven thrash metal. I definitely wouldn’t go so far as to call it original, but highly satisfying, especially for longtime fans.
Highlights: “Witchhunter” and “Sane Insanity”
Thanatorean – Ekstasis Of Subterranean Currents
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
This is Polish, abyssal black metal, but taking a fairly primitively styled, manageable shape. The feeling you’re left with is one of utter evil, heading for nothing but despair where you thought there might await you unholy rapture. The force with which it lands, paired with the gravelly vocal style, bring to mind blackened death metal, but the shivering, sinister tremolo is firmly old school black metal. It’s an album that both swipes right at you with a scythe as well as sneaks up on you in the shadows with a dagger. The rhythms are primal and engaging, and overall it’s surprisingly varied while remaining pleasingly consistent.
Highlight: “Thrice-Hexed”
Wanted – Cutting Edge
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
This is pure nostalgia. Wanted’s sound is straight out of the 80s, and there is precious little about it to suggest that it was just now released in 2025. It’s a bit too uneven to make a solid impression, but it’s got plenty of charm.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
The Metal Dispatch 