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Weekly Rundown July 10 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released July 04 – July 10
It’s a week for fresh approaches, variety, strong debuts and second winds.
Apogean – Waste Where Life Begins
Genre: Technical death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: On their sophomore offering, Canadian band Apogean take a decisive step away from the slightly generic (but spacey and fun) technical style of their debut and move in the direction of riff-forward, groove-centric blackened death metal, not horribly unlike a band like Vredehammer. Clear elements of hardcore and proggy technicality remain though, so as you get further into the album you realize you’re not faced with quite as drastic a style change as first it might have seemed.
The main problem with this half-step into a new realm is that I’m left uncertain as to what the band actually wants to sound like, as I keep hearing traits clearly inspired by well-known bands of starkly different death metal subgenres. At one moment it’s symphonic deathcore, then a bit of Allegaeon, some Behemoth-style evil solemnity, Sylosis melodic verve and Soulfly thrash-tribal brutality. Apart from a bit of stylistic confusion though, it’s still a well-performed and entertaining album with strong individual tracks, for those who like their death metal treading the middle way between tech-y madness and abyssal blackness.
Highlight: “Daughter of the Oak”
Arise From Worms – A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction
Genre: Experimental/technical death metal/shred
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: If there wasn’t such a thing as death shred before this album came out, there sure is now. This project combines all-out aggression and technical brutality with a seemingly overpowering need to squeeze out wild, non-harmonizing guitar solos. It’s seriously jarring at first, and even as I find myself getting used to it throughout, it really doesn’t stop throwing you off, and suspect (and hope) it’s intentional. It’s got the same problem as most shred albums in that it’s got no real purpose other than to wow, but this one’s at least a good measure more memorable thanks to its whacky stylistic melding.
DevilDriver – Strike and Kill
Genre: Groove/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: On their 11th full-length since starting out in 2003, California’s DevilDriver have finished dealing with their demons (if that confuses you, check out their most recent discography) and are changing things up a bit. As the title suggests, they go straight for the throat on “Strike and Kill”, loading on the aggression, not forgetting their signature melodic catchiness, but prioritizing high-energy, beat-heavy directness.
Those that enjoy the melodeath-factor to their sound need not despair though, as it’s very much still present, just whipped into a higher rev range by the percussive assault of the riffs and drums. It’s tight and super groovy, although the song structuring and overall wealth of material doesn’t quite match the ferocious progression. I expected to be left wanting more, but at the end of the near 51-minute runtime I’m well stuffed and feeling like the band leaves me at the bottom of a downward slope of memorability. A revitalizing and fun record, if a bit overstuffed.
Highlight: “Dig Your Own Grave”
Dysgnostic – End Whispers
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Dissonant death metal has to hit a very certain spot for it to truly work for me, and I might as well admit from the very start that this sophomore release by Dysgnostic (previously Defilementory) doesn’t quite do that. To me it feels a bit hesitant and distracted, like it keeps pausing and changing direction out of sheer absent-mindedness. And when it strikes, it’s never quite the cataclysmic cacophony that I keep hoping for.
All that being said, this is a thoroughly sinister and hostile album that manages to be both unsettling and rousing. There’s a blackened feel to it, without it taking on any explicitly black metal traits. It’s oppressive and dark, but doesn’t drag you down into despair, and it never feels repetitive. If you’re into bands like Ulcerate, then you’re gonna get more of the same measured mind torture here.
Highlight: “Orphaned and Abandoned”
Iron Slaught – Metallic Torments
Genre: Heavy/speed metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Emerging from the castle crypts once more, after an eleven year absence, France’s Iron Slaught sound like they’ve been deep in study of the arcane arts of underground 80s metal. There’s never any doubt that this is a speed-style classic heavy metal album, but where you expect strict faithfulness to near-formulaic genre conventions, instead you get playfulness and variety, with elements of first-wave thrash, black and death metal.
While not “blackened”, “Metallic Torments” is also far from a bright and bubbly kind of sound. It leans into its medieval concept and doesn’t shy away from melodic sections, buildups and interludes, but the tone remains on the solemn and dark side. Vocalist “Iron” Jérémy offers up a baffling range of styles, each complementing the overall mood of the song and adding tons of character without at all feeling haphazard. The album is loaded with awesome solos and tasty riffs, and strikes an excellent balance between aggressive drive and epic scope.
Highlights: “Ghastly Obsession” and “Soldier of Fortune”
No Cure – It Is Going To Get Dark
Genre: Hardcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Prepare to have your brain reduced to paste through sonic blunt-but-spiked megaton-force trauma. On their first actual full-length (or at least first release to exceed 30 minutes of runtime), No Cure dishes out the punishment by several truckloads at a time combining hardcore and (mostly) non-melodic metalcore with bestial, thunderous death metal. The result feels like a semi-mechanical monstrosity that blindly consumes everything in its path with almighty chomps.
For the absolute most part, the album is surprisingly varied in terms of rhythms, and not overly reliant on the typical, percussive breakdowns, although they are very much present and used to great, if a bit repetitive and predictable effect. The vocals spit bile, and the riffs are just as meaty and murderous in tone as you could hope for. In the end, I find myself growing slightly numb to the incessant heaviness, but they finish off the album with enough groove and hooks that I’m still left hyped and seeing red.
Highlights: “Slowly Turning Blue” and “Ironclad”
Sojourner – Gateways
Genre: Atmospheric/melodic black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: I’ve listened to a bit of Sojourner in the past and definitely liked what I heard, but never really applied a critical mindset to their music, nor had it linger in my mind for very long. Now they’re back with another spiky-castle-adorned album and more epic-melodic bleakness, and I’m faced with the task of putting into words why I like it, but keep forgetting what each song sounded like only moments into the next one. Their balance of serenity vs brutality and clean vs harsh vocals is not to be faulted. Their progressions are slow, but build well. Yet the melodies sort of just don’t go anywhere, and sorely lack staying power. It’s a shame, because at any given moment, they’re doing quite a lot of things right.
Volubilis – Theasterion
Genre: Progressive/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Volubilis is a fresh, one-man progressive tech death project out of Quebec, and already from the get-go he’s pulling you deep into an intricate sci-fi concept. When you hear the words tech death and sci-fi, a very specific sound tends to come to mind, which involves frantic bursts of bleep-y notes and drums like an automatic typewriter on critical overload. This is very far from that. The tempos, while fast, are controlled and purposeful, allowing for memorable melody lines to shine through, and riff- and rhythm patterns to actually stick in your mind.
The song progressions are unpredictable and of varying tonality. You get moments of peppiness, wonder, alarm and stress, and for the absolute most part these feel like intriguing developments in the unfolding story. Every now and then I find myself a little jarred at the seeming randomness of a shifting approach, but it very rarely feels like these are thrown in there just for the sake of variation. The production is a bit weird, with a certain hollowness and lack of low end heft, but nothing so egregious that you don’t stop thinking about it after a while. There’s a wealth of innovative thinking going on here, and in a way that makes me think there is going to be more of the like, and even better, coming from this direction in the future.
Highlights: “Homo Cumulus” and “Unukhalai Supernova”
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?
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Weekly Rundown July 03 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released June 27 – July 03
Who would have thought that doom would step up and dominate the height of summer?
Dominum – Night Is Calling
Genre: Power/pop metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Once again starting the week with a big, bombastic album from the melodic-est and accessible-est corner of metaldom, this time featuring Germany’s DOMINUM, which as far as I’m concerned have exploded out of obscurity and onto the big stage. This is massively arena-oriented, rhythmic and pop-melodic power metal in the vein of such acts as Feuerschwanz (and a dozen others of their ilk), dressed up in horror-themed, circus-theatrical garb and makeup. Apart from a few superficial atmospheric elements, this is just as bright as anything of the genre, with a very slight freakshow twist to it. It’s quite entertaining in bits, but a good deal of over-serious songs, clichéd lyrics and a terrible “Thriller” cover weigh down the overall experience.
Metaladian – Deaditation
Genre: Progressive death/black metal
Subjective rating: 1/5
Objective rating: 1.5/5Review: Just including this one as a curiosity, not because I enjoy picking on obscure underground bands, but because if this stuff gets labeled as some great, pioneering work of genius later on, I’d like to be on record as one of the reviewers who panned it. In which case I would encourage anyone, and the band members in particular, to shove it in my face.
But my honest opinion of it here and now is that it’s nigh on unlistenable ear torture, taking the harshest elements of Meshuggah, stripping away all the driving rhythm elements and replacing it with a seemingly random, doom-styled progression, blackened atmosphere and a crap ton of ugly dissonance and feedback squeals. It would be kind of fascinating if it wasn’t both painful and boring to listen to at the same time. So… well done, I guess?
Moonspell – Far From God
Genre: Gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: This is one for those sweaty summer evenings, hiding from the sun and working up a buzz on “refreshments”. On their 13th full-length, Portugese band Moonspell strip down their sound to the shady essentials, going full-on Peter Steele seductive, abandoned-manor-dwelling, leather-clad goth. It’s not the sunglasses-donning retro-stunt that Tribulation pulled not long ago either, but something far more doom-oriented and straight-faced.
Luckily, the gloomy veterans manage to pull it off by relying on well-practiced commitment to the style. The songs set a mood early on, and then slowly build to slightly understated, but still satisfying highs of instrumental involvement. I’m not a huge fan of Fernando Ribeiro’s cleans, and he certainly doesn’t win me over this time around, but the more spoken-word and growly parts make up for it, and the conviction behind his performance can not be faulted. It’s one for the romantics, this one, with some memorable songwriting, perfectly honed mood and outstanding, melodic solos making up for a certain lack of overall energy and urgency.
Highlights: “Far From God” and “Reconquista”
Mortem – Mørketid
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: These days to be considered a bit of a Norwegian black metal supergroup, Mortem actually predates many of the projects that have since made its members famous (Arcturus, 1349, Thorns). The band was mostly inactive (at least in terms of releases) post 1990, before officially reforming in 2018, and “Mørketid” is their second full-length since then. It basically sounds like straight, old school black metal, but with a gothic-symphonic boost to it, and its frigid aggression harnessed by rhythmic control.
Just when you think the album has settled on the high-intensity, attack approach, it settles into doom-style spooky-morbid storytelling mode. The transitions in and out of these aren’t always quite as seamless, and while they’re clearly going for a certain degree of melodic memorability, it only feels like a half-commitment, which lands several of the songs falling short of their full potential. In the end it’s a satisfyingly dark and focused kind of album that comes up a bit short on lasting greatness.
Highlight: “The Mighty Odious”
Solace – Fading Failing Ruin
Genre: Stoner metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Solace is one of those long-going bands that have simply passed me by completely. And if this album is to be considered representative of their style of stoner metal, I don’t at all mind staying ignorant. There are two major reasons for this. The off-key vocal style, and the mind-numbing bloatedness of the thing. It’s just so frustratingly content to settle into repetitive, stagnant patterns, that I feel like slowly sinking into quicksand, and get increasingly desperate to escape.
But that’s me. For all of my personal reservations, the band clearly has a very distinct style, and have obviously put a lot of thought into the songwriting. There’s undeniably too much material on this 1hr 7min behemoth though, which might not bother fans, but will seriously test the patience of everyone else.
TodoMal – Graveyard of Joy
Genre: Atmospheric doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Now for something truly fresh. Calling this doom is entirely correct, but also entirely insufficient. For that there is too much going on that breaks with expectations and genre conventions, even though it should absolutely appeal to the same kind of audience that will enjoy more conventional melodic doom variants. The scope, instrumental heaviness and riff style is all there, but is expanded on with unsubtle elements of mildly proggy indie- and space rock.
At times it sounds like The Killers or Muse at their slowest and most atmospheric, but with the reassuring mass of a rumbling low end behind it, and a much darker and despair-prone tendency to it. Perhaps most importantly, it’s melodically rich and engaging, without in any way overdoing the emotional investment. It’s not exactly gloomy, and stays well clear of the extreme and aggressive realms, with some song sections and interludes perhaps veering a bit too far off the task at hand. But it’s a smooth, varied and revelatory listening experience for anyone able to open their minds beyond a fixed slit.
Highlights: “Point of Coalescence” and “Humanised Gods”
Witchsorrow – The Devil And All His Works
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: If you prefer your doom to be lurking in church ruins and among derelict gravestones, this is the album you need to turn to this week. Witchsorrow play old school doom not too far from Candlemass, but with a sharper, black ‘n’ roll kind of streak to it. It’s either quite content to creep slowly forwards in the shadows or jump out and rock out on the mausoleum roof, and these two different personalities don’t ever really join together, but stay separated by individual tracks.
The riffs and vocals sound just as spooky-evil as you could hope for, and overall it’s a pleasingly uncomplicated affair that delivers on the promise of the concept. It’s a bit up and down in terms of energy, but the extremes don’t clash as much as they stand clearly apart and provide welcome variation.
Highlight: “Hades Chains”
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?
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Weekly Rundown June 26 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released June 20 – June 26
Fun, charm and cool coexist with anger and violence this week, allowing you to find your preferred corner to dip into, or wade on through it all.
Amberian Dawn – Temptation’s Gate
Genre: Symphonic power metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: No kidding, I was cracking my knuckles to take the literary equivalent of a… well, you know… all over this band and their new album based on their image alone. But then, as one tediously must when writing a music review, I hit “play”, and things improved very quickly. The first half of this album is actually bordering on innovative, which in this subgenre should be an eye(ear)-opener. You get symphonic loftiness, thrashy power metal, groovy hard rock, a bit of Children of Bodom-reminiscent neoclassical, synth-supported, solo-tastic flair, and a surprising tonal variation (again, considering the genre).
The musical creativity does take a back seat in the second half, but the vocal performance continues to be top notch all the way through, and very nearly has enough power and distinctiveness to carry the whole thing by itself, so big props to new singer Nicole Willerton. The melodies are solid all the way through, and they steer clear of the worst cheesiness, at least musically. They’re a band that relies on their experience to actually play around with their sound rather than keeping it safe and predictable, which should always be lauded.
Highlight: “Unchained”
Boneripper – Radiant In Ruin
Genre: Metallic hardcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: I reviewed this Dutch metallic hardcore band’s debut album back in 2024, and, honestly, not much has changed since then, which has both its good and bad sides. Good that we’re getting more thrashy, death metal-mentality hardcore to headbang to. Less good in that the band doesn’t feel like they’ve evolved even a little bit, and there are too many songs on here that feel fairly interchangeable. I dig the aggression of it, and will undoubtedly put it on my gym playlist. But I won’t go around thinking about it.
Highlight: “Truth To Enemy”
Druidess – Trip Meadow
Genre: Psychedelic doom/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: It’s exciting to hear a young band successfully taking a spin of their own on a tried and tested subgenre, and on their debut full-length album, no less. On “Trip Meadow” they ooze self-aware style, delving deep into trippiness and fuzz but also being selective, and not overdoing any one thing. Led by a strong, Riley Pinkerton (Castle Rat)-reminiscent vocal performance and partially foregoing the typical, muffling production makeup, the band has honed in on the unadulterated cool of their sound.
The riffs are crisp, the bass just wooly enough, and (at least some of) the melodies confidently transcend the doom sphere into traditional heavy metal and rock. It’s not exactly what I would call lively, but you get both uptempo tracks as well as slow crawls, and they coexist without any trouble, which is a testament to the band’s songwriting skills. Goes to show that you can breathe fresh life into this subgenre without going crazy experimental.
Highlight: “Knightingales” and “Descended from Giants”
Entropist – The Vision
Genre: Progressive death/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Here we’ve got a fresh extreme-leaning prog metal band out of Colorado, trying to carve out their niche in a landscape stuffed with mesmerizing technicality and endlessly complex songwriting. It feels like they’re pulling a little bit from everything, with percussive riffs out of metalcore and groove metal, heaviness, sharpness and melodic traits out of modern melodeath, then adding sprinkles of avant-garde atmosphere, dissonance and Meshuggah-style rhythms.
For me, the best songs are packed towards the end, where they manage to balance out their melodic/aggressive approach and stay interesting from beginning to end. A bit too many tracks take too long to get started, and overall there’s a notable amount of material that doesn’t really go anywhere satisfying, pushing the runtime up to an hour on the dot. But the best they’ve got to offer speak of a talent that can accomplish great things if pushed into a narrower focus.
Highlight: “Creation”
Forsmán – Brenndar Rústir & Fuðrandi Fjörur
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: There’s something otherworldly about Icelandic black metal that you just don’t seem to get anywhere else, and Forsmán carry on this tradition. Their debut full-length showcases a dense, full-bodied sound that’s bordering on, if not fully crossing into, blackened death metal, not unlike some of the newer Behemoth stuff. But it also retains the necessary chill and shrill to keep it bitter and sharp-edged.
Most of the tracks on this album work with melodic themes, riff patterns and/or atmospheric elements that manage to stand out, but to me they don’t all feel fully realized at the end of the songs. In the instances where they do though, you’re getting a very complete mix of rhythmic and vocal variation, distinctive lead guitar sections, challenging harmonies and effective drum and bass work, making up a sound that’s both immersive and energetic.
Highlight: “Barmafylltar fjöldragrafir” and “Andvana”
Masterplan – Metalmorphosis
Genre: Melodic black metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Review: Long-going German power metal supergroup Masterplan are back with another album after a nine year wait, and rather quickly it becomes abundantly clear that they’ve had no intentions of challenging themselves. The riffs, solos and lofty tone are all there, but the tempos are sluggish, the lyrics laughably clichéd and melodies instantly forgettable. If they’d been able to inject some actual energy into the thing, it might have improved significantly, but in its current form it simply feels tired and running on autopilot.
Monument Of Misanthropy – Washington State Charm
Genre: Death metal/deathcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: This band was one of my 2024 revelations, as their “Vile Postmortem Irrumatio” album easily outmatched the similarly themed and more prolific Aborted release that year. As that former album was “dedicated” to serial killer Ed Kemper, so this is centered around Ted Bundy. Once again, this is technically outstanding, brutal-style death metal that somehow manages to feel indulgent without really overdoing anything.
What’s changed since last time is that some of the outright heaviness and low end bulk has been sacrificed for the sake of agility and versatility, as they dip into deathcore and straight metalcore, both in terms of riff- and rhythm style and accessibility of song structures. It by no means sounds tame, but it doesn’t carry quite the same brute force as last time, and as the thundering morbidity washes over me, I simply don’t find myself caught on the attention-arresting meat hook quite as often. Still, it’s great to see the band not simply copying the formula, and fans of the more groove-centric and technical ends of the death metal realm might find that they prefer this iteration of their sound.
Highlight: “The 1974 PNW Spree” and “Neath Tacoma Asphalt”
Nargaroth – Apocalyptic Steel
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: If you think that album cover looks a bit off for a black metal band, then it’s working as intended, as this is no traditional release from this veteran, German one-man project. It’s a partial re-recording and mixing of material originally tracked back in 2014, and it carries traits of straight heavy metal, doom and death. At its best it sounds purposeful and well considered, but also include both tracks that fail to leave a mark and ones that stick out like redundant body parts. While it does have its strengths, it feel less like a complete album and more like a collection of covers.
Nunslaughter – Satanic Chaos Legions
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Long-running US death metallers Nunslaughter are back to shred and spit blasphemy, and considering they were established all the way back in 1987, you might be surprised to learn that this is only their sixth full-length. On it they get straight to the point, which is furious thrash style riffing, snarling vocals and… well… evil.
The problem is that, while it’s entertaining enough as no-frills, all-out-aggressive Jesus bashing, and there’s nothing strictly WRONG with the musical performances, I feel like I’ve heard this exact album, in very slightly different variations, dozens of times before. The shock factor is completely absent, and as a headbanger’s offering it’s too light on killer grooves. That being said, these do show up with regular intervals, and if you turn off the overly critical part of your brain, you can still have a pretty damn(ed) good time with it.
Highlight: “Christian Ruse”
Phantom – Not Midnight Yet
Genre: Speed/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: I tend to be hard on bands that don’t manage (or care) to match the album runtime with the style of music that they’re playing, so when I saw this new offering from Mexican speed thrashers Phantom breaking 56 minutes, I had my reservations. Now, after listening to it, while I still think that a bit of trimming would be in order, I find no reason to deny that it keeps entertaining greatly from beginning to end. If the fact that this is an album meant to have fun with wasn’t made obvious to you by the album art and song titles, it should become abundantly clear with the inclusion of the Tetris theme at the end of the second track, “Out Of The Mausoleum”.
Compared to last year’s “Tyrants of Wrath”, this is more concerned with complete, varied and memorable songwriting rather than all-out aggression. A fair bit of the Slayer-esque evil factor has been replaced with more melody-prone classic heavy metal, which allows for bigger tonal variation overall, and greater dynamics within each song. They even make a semi-attempt at a ballad, which (apart from the mildly off-key clean vocals) actually fit in decently. The Axl Rose-like falsetto on “Curse Your Name” however, I could have done without. It’s still plenty fast and ferocious though, leaning all the way into blackened, early-Venom savagery at times. It’s an album brimming with ideas, most of which I hope to see further utilized in the future.
Highlights: “Summoned To Kill” and “Sepulchral Majesty”
Speedslut – Cimbrian Rites
Genre: Speed metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: These Danes seem to have gotten everything right on their debut full-length. It’s fast as hell, with a lethal precision to match it. It’s brimming with solos and scorched shredding, and the vocals are perfectly rusty for the highly aggressive style. I recognize some early Motörhead attitude in there, and in terms of tone it dwells comfortably in the darkness without quite crossing into black metal.
In the same way that nailing the style is perhaps the band’s greatest achievement with the album, so is failing to make it their own their most notable shortcoming as I see it. It’s certainly not without character, but I find myself going “oh yeah, there’s that obligatory riff-gallop” and “of course the solo sounds exactly like that”. It leads to a certain feeling of repetition, which will be much less of a problem if you don’t listen often to this kind of stuff, or simply can’t get enough of it. That mild criticism aside though, it’s an album strutting with energy, that manages to sound both suitably coarse and well-defined at the same time.
Highlight: “Pestridden Stallions”
Verdun – Abyssal Womb
Genre: Sludge/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: If this week has left you feeling too cheerful, this is the antidote right here. I can vividly imagine this stuff being played in the catacombs under Paris, lit only by candles. What we’ve got here is French, moderately blackened doom, that draws hostility, a fitting amount of ugliness, but also a driving riff style from sludge.
One of the things this album does most effectively is set a mood – one that you’re completely enveloped by for the duration. Once you’re in, you discover that there are hidden rooms to explore in the darkness, the characters of which leave you feeling different shades of intrigued, unsettled, or even emboldened. Compared to the meaty, forceful middle chunk of the album, it gets a little too sedate for my taste towards the end, but atmosphere-wise it keeps a firm, arresting grip on you till the last note.
Highlight: “He Who Killed the Devil”
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?
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Weekly Rundown June 19 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released June 13 – June 19
With a couple of notable exceptions, this is a sun-drowning storm cloud of a week, with black and doom metal taking firm charge.
Avarice – Perpetual Ruin
Genre: Death/thrash metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: This Danish bunch go for a kind of modernized, basement-brute, stomp-along version of death thrash. Meaning that it’s dominated by hardcore rhythms, and features metalcore/deathcore breakdowns (a few too many for my taste). It’s plenty shouty and chuggy, remaining hostile throughout but also showing off some classy, high-pitched thrash screams and speedy riffing. What lets them down a bit are sluggish tempos and some fairly repetitive song structures.
Belarus Beaver – Grind af den Brune Bäfver
Genre: Death metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: This is the kind of metal comedy I can get fully behind. I think it partly takes being able to appreciate the silly side of deathgrind in general, but devoting your band concept entirely (and creatively) to the vilification of beavers is just hilarious regardless. Belarus Beaver are not, in fact, from Belarus, but from Sweden, which becomes obvious from most of the lyrics and track titles anyway. Absolutely everything is beaver themed, and most of it carries horror references, which is just spot on.
The best part of the album is that it’s not just blazing, relentless guitars, drums and incomprehensible gurgle-shrieks for 33 minutes straight. There’s some actual thematic connection between the song titles and the kind of mood they exude. You get crusty, classic death metal, blackened spookiness and doomy, tongue-in-cheek gloom, with plenty of grindy fun of varying tempos in between. What I’m missing are those spine-tingling, hair-raising highlights of brutal groove. There are some in there, but most of the songs start off more or less as good as they ever get. Still, if you crave some actually well-produced, varied deathgrind, and don’t mind dreaming about maniacally vibrating beavers for a few nights (they’re in all of the song visualizers), then by all means, dig in.
Highlights: “Bävulen” and “Under a Beaver Moon”
Destructor – Tales of Glory
Genre: Thrash/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: If you like the idea of combining old school, speedy thrash with NWOBHM, both in concept and execution, then this stuff is made specifically for you. Destructor bring back all the charm of that early era of heavy metal, with the cheekiness of 80s thrash, and the cool thing is that they’re doing it having been founded in 1984 and continually active since 1999.
There’s nothing groundbreaking on “Tales of Glory”, but the spirit of the album certainly lives up to the title. It feels chest-beatingly adventurous, with plenty of epic solos and shreddy riffs to boost the energy level. A bit too much of it feels polishing old ideas for my taste, but the effort to please seems genuine.
Highlight: “Fall to Your Knees”
Einherjer – Lifeblood
Genre: Folk metal/black ‘n’ roll
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Apart from a temporary split-up that lasted from 2004 to 2008, Norway’s Einherjer have been going steadily since 1993, mixing black metal with rock ‘n’ roll swagger, Norse mythology themes and an epic-melodic flair. Lately they have been bleeding off some of the aggression in favor of more live-friendly, instantly recognizable, chest-beating material, and still succeeding in making it feel distinct and fairly original.
“Lifeblood” starts very much in this vein, with chant-able lyrics, rad riffing, and a tasty solo. Then it gradually settles down, becoming simpler and slower, “culminating” with the ballad-like “Dei Så Ser”, before somewhat ramping things up again just before the end. I wouldn’t mind it so much if the songwriting felt inspired and well thought out, but too many parts of it feel plain dull, with meandering rhythms and simple riffs that feel like filler. The spirit is still there, but the execution lacks heart and direction.
Gold Spire – Steps Into Shadow
Genre: Avant-garde death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: I feel like the whole sax-in-progressive-extreme-metal-thing got old real fast, at least for me. On this one though, it makes more sense, mostly because it’s an actual, key element to the music, and not a toss-in afterthought. It’s a relatively dark album, but feels orderly thanks to controlled drum work and mostly steady rhythms. It’s a kind of death doom that has formed a partnership with mildly experimental jazz, and at its best it works really well. Unfortunately, most of the songs feel like very close variations of the same idea, and so you’re not left with the impression of having traveled any noteworthy conceptual distance at the end.
Inherits The Void – The Silent Abscission
Genre: Melodic black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: I’m increasingly associating France with quality melodic black metal these days, and this latest release by Inherits the Void certainly helps that process along. This is their fourth full-length since forming in 2020, and this diligent release schedule seems to have allowed them to both mature and tastefully diversify their sound in record time.
On “The Silent Abscission” they strike an optimal balance between sharp cold and rumbling force, allowing the songs to feel both monumental and vicious at the same time. There’s a more-than-decent amount of melodic scope, with a sprinkle of synth and sax for added flavor, and they use all this to successfully expand upon the more traditional blast-beats-and-corpse-paint aggression that most of the tracks are grounded in. It’s not quite what I’d call unique just yet, but give them a couple of years and I’m sure they’ll keep making strides.
Highlight: “Wrath of the Endless Sea”
Loneshore – Nothing Left To Deconstruct
Genre: Melodic/progressive doom/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Looking for an album to sink into and settle down with for a bit? What’s that? You don’t want to fall asleep to it? It also needs to keep you engaged? Well, I can’t make any promises, but in theory this sophomore album by Brazilian melodic death doomers Loneshore ticks all these boxes. This is a smooth, elegantly layered kind of sound that flows steadily and builds from gentle trickles into roaring rapids.
If you’re looking for straight melodic death doom, you may be in for some disappointment, as the aggression wanes and burns off for extended sections, testing the patience of any listener primarily looking for force and/or intricate instrumentation. All of it sounds gorgeous, but there are a few unnecessarily repeating patterns, and some of the cleaner sections do stretch on for quite some time. Still, it doesn’t feel overindulgent. More like willing to let the concept spread its wings to their full extent.
Highlight: “Parhelion”
Lumen Ad Mortem – A Grave Ascent
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Australia isn’t typically a country I’d associate with frigid, snarly black metal, but what does that matter as long as it’s good? Lumen Ad Mortem have plenty of icicle-stabbing aggression in store, but tend towards an epic, solemn-melodic variant of the classic sound. I probably wouldn’t bat an eye if you’d have told me that this came out of Scandinavia. A bit too much of it feels like it’s following closely in the footsteps of long-established names, and some of the songs feel unnecessarily stretched out in the name of grandeur. But they really nail the tone and scope.
Mork – Monolitt
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Mork are back to once again prove that you can keep straight riff-and-tremolo black metal interesting if you just put your mind to it. This time around they drop even the minutest shred of pretentiousness, and, like an old skin, shed the layer of muted, misty low-fi-ness that has stuck to their latest albums for that “authentic” feel. “Monolitt” is crisp as glacial water, and immediately lashes out with riffs like wicked claws. Paired with proper chugging power and an appropriate amount of low-end rumble, the result is a ferocious, ultra-direct sound that’s purpose built to go on the attack, and carrying enough weight behind it to do some lasting damage.
Each track has a different feel to it, leaning into moderately contrasting elements of dissonance, gloom, melody or groove. There’s doom, black ‘n’ roll, a bit of thrash and heavy metal and a few proggy rhythm acrobatics, but these are all consigned to the nuances of the album’s overall flavor. They manage a great balance between epic, folk-tinged scope and energetic urgency, with little to no room for atmosphere or any sort of fluff. Those who enjoyed the vastness of 2023’s “Dypet” and/or the slightly experimental nature of 2024’s “Syv”, might find this a bit too straightforward and lacking the customary murkiness. But for me this is very close to the perfect blend of well-defined, raw hostility, awesome instrumental control, and subtly creative and mature songwriting that has the music explore and strike from a multitude of different angles along the same, unified trajectory of black metal excellence.
Highlights: “Torden” and “Ferdamann”
Saidan – Fangdriller: Scars Beneath Memory’s Wrist
Genre: Black/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: If this week’s Mork release is too traditional for you, then might I highly recommend this oddball stuff out of Nashville, Tennessee. They are basically the answer to what happens when you build a black metal project around the melodic style of peppy-adventurous, Japanese anime theme songs, but insist on keeping it melancholy and gothic. The result carries that classic emo sad-romantic character (both sonically and visually), and if that sounds like ear poison to you, you might as well skip this entirely.
For the more curious and/or adventurous, there’s some seriously solid songwriting in store, with excellent performances to go with it. The sound is icy cold, like half-frozen purple ink, and the soaring-on-broken-wings melody is countered by some truly ferocious aggression. For me, the whole horror theme feels pretty superfluous, and the contrasts in tone are a little jarring, but then I’m not really into the kind of culture and image that they’re pulling inspiration from. If you’re a fan of theatrical, tragic black metal in general, then you shouldn’t hesitate to dive into this.
Highlights: “Stained Glass Sin // Fang Driller” and “Ethereal Blood”
Lindsay Schoolcraft – Harrowing
Genre: Gothic/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: A short, moody and satisfyingly melodic, modern goth-alternative album from Canadian solo artist Lindsay Schoolcraft. It periodically hits with chugging force, builds to symphonic heights, and is effortlessly carried by a powerful vocal performance. It feels fresher than a lot of its peers that fail to break out of the pattern of repeating early 2000s greatness, and although the melodies don’t all feel quite as original, they are all very tonally consistent.
The variation on the album is quite good, and at 25 min 22 sec, it certainly doesn’t overstay its welcome. I’m missing that certain something for this particular sound to truly stand out, but it’s also much better than run-of-the-mill.
Highlight: “I Wait for You to Fall”
Scordatura – Led Into Oblivion
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: These Scots are serving up a full portion of classic-brutal death metal for the first time in six years, and from the level of ferocity let loose on here, it sounds like it it was high time to relieve some pressure. While the coarse vocals and ripping guitar tone draw from the morbid greatness of old, the level of technicality has a much more modern and moderately progressive feel to it. It’s not overdone, but certainly elevates what might otherwise have felt a little stale.
Parts of the album have a certain grindcore impatience to them, and the general energy level and precision have no problem keeping up. Some of the rhythm transitions can feel a little rushed and overly restless, and allowing for a few more sections of controlled, savage groove would likely have made this an even more satisfying listen. That aside, it’s very obvious that this is a band that refuses to settle for “good enough”, as each song explores a slightly different approach, be it in terms of tone, tempo or rhythmic variation. It’s all crushingly heavy, regardless.
Highlight: “Oppressed / Repressed”
Warning – Rituals Of Shame
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Review: This album has that certain feeling of inevitability, like its coming was long foretold, whispered in shadowy circles, and now, 20 years after Warning’s last release, its time has come. If you’ve been anticipating the return of these doom metal greats with baited breath, then I’m joyous to announce that it’s very likely everything you were hoping for. And if this is your first time with the band, I actually think it’s the perfect introduction.
Rituals of Shame is deeply sad, funeral-slow and not exactly what you would called varied in terms of nether tone, tempo or intensity. It’s led by a truly outstanding, achingly soulful vocal performance, somewhere between Eddie Vedder and REM’s Michael Stipe. What it does so well is communicate sorrow, regret, longing and other dark emotions without it feeling completely miserable (looking at you, My Dying Bride). It’s music that you want to stay with even though it hurts, because you get the feeling of being understood, of being guided by a steady hand, and that it will, in fact, pass. It’s a near-perfect representative of its subgenre, and the only noteworthy issue I had with it was a slight sense of stagnation towards the end. Which might honestly just be me lacking the required patience at the time.
Highlights: “Stations” and “Rituals of Shame”
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?
albums, Avarice, Belarus Beaver, black metal, death metal, Destructor, Einherjer, Gold Spire, grindcore, groove metal, Inherits the Void, Lindsay Schoolcraft, Loneshore, Lumen Ad Mortem, metal, metal albums out this week, mork, new metal releases, new releases, progressive metal, review, Saidan, Scordatura, thrash metal, Warning -
Weekly Rundown June 12 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released June 06 – June 12
Death metal strikes back with a vengeance and in several different forms, facing some competition but certainly dominating in terms of both consistent quality and volume.
Bloodhunter – Sons Of The Abandoned
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: This is basically a Spanish version of Angela Gossow-era Arch Enemy, so much so that it’s borderline plagiarism. It’s got the same kind of energy, riff tone, level of groove and snarly female harsh vocals. Its best tracks manage a great balance between virtuose, heavy metal-style melody and aggression, and make checking out the album worth it by themselves. Unfortunately, there’s an overload of fairly weak, messily written material surrounding the highlights, the band seems overly preoccupied with aesthetics, and the production (at least on streaming) is fairly underwhelming.
Fires In The Distance – Circadian Promise
Genre: Melodic death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Review: Fires in the Distance have managed to earn a spot as one of my absolute favorite bands, with 2023’s “Air Not Meant for Us” firmly cementing this position, being my top album of that year. Now they’re back with a new vocalist/guitarist, but still very much the dreamy-melodic approach to their atmospherically rich, Insomnium-style death doom. New to their repertoire are sparsely-used clean vocals, which, in the face of some immediate skepticism, suit their sound very well, and are executed with fitting emotional restraint.
My main issue actually turns out to be the harsh vocals. While the addition of black metal-style screeches and Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity)-style high pitched rasps is welcome, the lack of throaty, low growls is indeed felt. And while their previous albums were by no means “effective” in pacing, I find myself missing a measure of grandeur and force this time around, both in the heavy and more serene parts. The latter of which regularly take on a slightly simplified, gothic feel that make the dips in energy more profound. All that (mostly subjective) nitpicking aside though, this is a masterfully composed album that flows beautifully, and manages bigger contrasts than its predecessors. Its emotionally potent, somber melodies mesh effortlessly with the heaviness, and are at most times completely engrossing.
Highlights: “Of Radiance and Levitation” and “Agonal Dreaming”
Fleshcrawl – Epitome Of Carnage
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Time again for me to learn about a long-going German underground extreme metal band that I’ve never heard of before. Fleshcrawl got started under its current name all the way back in 1991, and had quite the release streak leading up to 2007. Since then they’ve had a comeback album in 2019, that hasn’t been followed up until now. For those also uninitiated, this is Entombed-school crunchy death metal, the like of which fellow countrymen Endseeker are more actively championing these days.
Fleshcrawl play a musty, no-frills iteration of the sound. Any vestiges of melody are scaled back and uniformly sinister, and the band seem almost unwilling to let loose the groove, although when they do, it hits like it should. The album is full of treats for fans of both the band and the subgenre in general, but isn’t free from filler, which pushes the runtime unnecessarily to a near 48-minute duration. Also, I’m pretty suspicious of that album cover. Still, a real heavyweight of an album that’s strictly focused on what it does best.
Highlight: “Blood Dominion”
Goetia – Mortuary Cult
Genre: Death metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: This is the untamed, unpolished, unmuffled roar of the underground right here. Goetia are a band from the US capital that play a furious, back-to-basics form of death metal powered by hardcore and grindcore spite and relentlessness. Being their debut full-length, they fire on all cylinders, and apart from the odd Sabbath-style, spooky-doom mood-setter-section, it’s a non-stop chase by the ravenous undead.
This has all the charging drum work, snarling vocals and shredding you would hope for, and more. The production makes it sound a bit like it’s all taking place inside a heavy canvas sack where the bottom’s about to fall out, but I’d almost be disappointed if it wasn’t a bit ragged. I think the whole is stronger than the individual standout moments, but it’s a heck of a statement for a debut.
Highlight: “Lanterns of the Dead”
Goreworm – Miasmic Solitude
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: This is one of those albums where the cover makes it hard to dislike even before you’ve listened to a single note (that is, unless you suffer from severe arachnophobia). What becomes immediately apparent as this monstrosity starts playing is that they’ve gone for a fairly lean production, favoring vocals and the higher pitched ends of the instrumental performances. This really highlights the precision of the band, the melodic nuances and the inventive rhythm gymnastics.
The unfortunate thing about said production is that it’s fairly uneven. At times the riffs and drums feel deeply buried in the murk, and much of the low end heft is lost, lessening the impact. Then, at later points, the punchiness returns and it feels like a proper beast again. It doesn’t have the smoothest flow, but makes up for it with distinctiveness. It’s a band that clearly want to leave a mark, and they’re certainly heading in the right direction.
Highlight: “The Enthralling Grave”
Khemmis – Khemmis
Genre: Heavy/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: On their fifth full-length album Khemmis go self titled. It feels like they’re reaching for a pinnacle, without seemingly having to try too hard. That’s not to say that the band is underachieving. Quite the opposite. But while they’re being quite inclusive in combining the different aspects of their sound, they’re not in need of stretching past the comfort zone. It all appears to be thoroughly “built in” at this point.
You get heavy metal, epic doom, and a touch of stoner, death and prog, all flowing together beautifully courtesy of the band’s confident songwriting and effortlessly brilliant performances. This is simply a joy to listen to. It goes solemn, triumphant, threatening and contemplative, and it all sounds like it naturally belongs as part of the story. At times they do sound a tad too comfortable, like they’re revisiting moments of previous glory, but it’s also hard to fault the band for “sounding like themselves”. This is a band more than good enough to be headlining festivals at this point, and this album thoroughly proves it.
Highlights: “Invocation of the Dreamer” and “Gilded Chambers”
Nuclear Tomb – Epoch Inhumane
Genre: Experimental thrash/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: This feels like the perspective of one of those early “Robocop” prototype abominations after it’s broken free and causing havoc out on the streets. What you get is a whacko strain of death thrash that you can’t for a single second hope to tell what to do. It’s gonna run it’s own race, be it backwards, down alleys, up fire escapes and crashing heedlessly through any wall or obstacle in its way. It’s a bit too directionless for my taste, but it’s also delightfully free-spirited and rebellious, with some excellent shredding stuffed in between the madness.
Highlight: “Lifeless Transformation”
Stitched Up Heart – Medusa
Genre: Alternative metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: If you’re missing some big and catchy ear candy this week, why not take a bite of this? I won’t pretend I know anything about Stitched Up Heart, but on their latest album they sound (a lot) like In This Moment, but with Spiritbox djent chugs, a bit of nu metal sound effects and plenty of Lady Gaga-like pop beats and melodies. Yes, it gets pretty generic at times, but none of it’s egregious. Most importantly, it’s got loads of energy, panache and punching power.
Stormkeep – The Nocturnes Of Iswylm
Genre: Melodic black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: It’s time to let out that 90s teenage fantasy nerd lusting at posters of pale skinned, tribal-tattooed, dagger-wielding goth girls. But you probably got that from the goofy album cover. The music on it, though, isn’t actually nearly as silly as I had expected. Epic and bombastically melodic, yes, but still cold and, at times, really aggressive black metal. It’s got some questionable clean singing/storytelling parts, but it adds variation, and feels like part of the vision. The fantasy black metal fanbase is a peculiar one, and I think the album’s a bit too uneven and purposefully dorky for anyone else, but there’s very clearly some talented musicianship going into it.
Highlight: “Carnal Tapestries of Nailtorn Flesh”
Tarja – Frisson Noir
Genre: Symphonic metal/rock
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Review: I’ve not listened much to the solo material of ex-Nightwish vocalist Tarja Turunen, but it doesn’t take long to recognize that this is a step up in heaviness from what she seems to have settled into. It’s a big, lofty album with lots of guest performances. Sadly, while there is a decent amount of solid playing on here, the songwriting simply isn’t up to snuff. Neither, at least to my ears, is Tarja’s voice. While there’s plenty of force, she sounds tonally rigid, and damn me if she isn’t even off key on several songs (which could definitely be blamed on the mixing). Compared to some of the best symphonic metal out there, many of the tracks are plain underwhelming, and creatively it’s got nothing on the stuff of solo-career peers like Charlotte Wessels.
Thorium – Suburban Rot
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Danish death metallers Thorium are back and once again trying something slightly new. I first discovered these gents with their 2022 release “Danmark”, and, while I was probably overly enthusiastic with the score, it was a great introduction to the band, packed as it was with meaty riffs and morbid grooves. 2024’s “The Bastard” offered a slightly different guitar tone (possibly influenced by guest composer Rogga Johansson), greater atmospheric depth and more varied songwriting.
“Suburban Rot” sees the bang going for a more muted, lurking approach. It’s not lacking in rumbling riff charges, but the overall tempo is down, to the point where some of the engagement factor is lost. They make up for it with some really strong highlight tracks, and overall they strike a good balance between straightforward, old school savagery and more exploratory, doomy shifts in rhythm approach.
Highlight: “MG42”
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?
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Weekly Rundown June 05 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released May 30 – June 05
It’s a hardcore vs black metal slug-it-out for the top spots this week, with us as the audience being the only obvious winners.
100 Demons – Embrace The Black Light
Genre: Metallic hardcore/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Calm down, crossover thrash fans. This is, in fact, mostly a hardcore record. But with riffs like that, who cares what you classify it as? This is dang heavy, gravel-vocal chug heaven, for non-stop, full-body headbanging. And yes, the boys from Connecticut can thrash pretty fucking good when they feel like it.
The rhythms have different levels of energy to them, but it’s lethal in every form. There’s powerviolence, thrash, melodeath-derived-old-school metalcore and groove metal to be found, all with the same, mean-spirited tone. It reminds me of Spiritworld at their absolute heaviest, only that it’s like this for the entire duration of the album. It’s not really attempting anything new, but if you’re looking for kickass in sonic form, it hardly gets any better than this.
Highlights: “Meat For The Beast” and “Night Parade Of 100 Demons”
August Burns Red – Season Of Surrender
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: This is a back-to-basics album from these metalcore mainstays. Rhythmic, lean, speedy riffing and acrobatic melodic leads à la early 2000s with consistently harsh vocals and a few breakdowns thrown in for good measure. At times it’s very As I Lay Dying, at times nearly Hatebreed, but it’s all pretty aggressive, with the expected emotional underpinnings.
If this sounds like just the ticket, then simply jump on board and ignore it. If you were hoping for something a little more varied and genre bending, that’s not what you’re getting this time around. It’s got a hardcore straightforwardness and simplicity to it, which ends up being both refreshing and a bit limiting.
Highlight: “Sonic Salvation”
Converge – Hum Of Hurt
Genre: Hardcore/mathcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Certainly wasn’t expecting Converge back so soon, let alone any band who’s already had a release drop in 2026. So I half-figured this would be some sort of conceptual companion to February’s “Love Is Not Enough”, but no. This appears to be entirely its own thing, and it even features a clear stylistic shift for the band. We’re into a distinctly hardcore-rooted sound, with the intricacy of its structures and rhythms turned up since last time, although still keeping the complexity to a moderate level.
The trademark, noisy harshness of the band persists, and at times takes on the bludgeoning feel of sludge. While, as a metalhead, I miss the metallic heaviness of the last album, this feels like more of a statement – a little more like music for the sake of the message, while somehow being more interesting musically at the same time. I tip my hat.
Highlights: “Hum of Hurt” and “Dream Debris”
Evanescence – Sanctuary
Genre: Alternative metal/rock
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: I’ll keep it brief, so as not to embarass myself, cause the sum total of what I know about Evanescence spans about exactly the 3min 55sec runtime of “Bring Me To Life”. But the early 2000s are (for some unfathomable reason) back, baby, and with them a big, gargoyle-festooned plinth just waiting for this band to claim their rightful spot on it. And so they do, although not giving precedence to neither the majestic flourish of billowing, black capes nor the angsty attitude of their genre-defining origins. But, perhaps most importantly, both of those things are still present, without it sounding like a re-run of past glory.
Highlight: “Rapture”
Evergrey – Architects Of A New Weave
Genre: Progressive/power metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: I’ve been pretty on board with Swedish veteran power proggers Evergrey’s last couple of releases, even though I very quickly get my fill of their style of epic melancholy. For those to which this is the main reason they gravitate towards the band, this album will likely be like a comforting cold breeze on a sweltering summer day. The problem with this album is that there’s really not all that much more to it. You get some nice, riff-driven energy up front, and then it’s Michael Bolton-style ballad-metal for pretty much the rest of the duration. Mix it up a little, guys.
Guilt Trip – Armour Of Angels
Genre: Hardcore/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Again, crossover-lovers, if you’ve got your hopes up seeing another hardcore/metal compo this week, I gotta disappoint you, as this is also, and quite firmly so, putting the emphasis on the former of the two genres. It’s a stompy as hell album with so many breakdowns that it becomes downright routine. That being said, the riffs rip pretty damn hard, and it leans fairly heavily into a Machine Head harsh groove and pinch harmonic style.
The album doesn’t blow me away with its ferocity, and the rhythm style becomes a bit too predictable and formulaic after a while. Also, an intermission on a hardcore record? Hmmm… But the energy is good throughout, there’s some great Alien Weaponry-style thrashing, and it finishes really strong and aggressive.
Highlight: “Resurrected”
Horn – Apokalyps 1618
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: 24 years and now 11 albums in, and this is the first I hear of Horn. Shows how well versed I am in German black metal. But this album proved to be quite the wake-up call. At first it seemed I was being presented with pure, second wave Norwegian grimness, but the sound quickly expands. First of all, the production is excellent, and even though the tone remains suitably melancholy, it also has black feathered wings with which to soar.
The songs on this album build beautifully, and certainly not always in the classic bottom-to-top order. It dips into atmospheric, doom-like lulls and charges on with riff-powered, mounted-reaper-assaults, before ascending to crashing peaks of near blackened death metal force. It allies itself with folk-leaning melody for that pagan feel, without this making it feel less dark in any way. That being said, this isn’t the bleakest, most evil stuff out there, and not all of it feels equally fresh, but it retains a strong identity, delivered with conviction and obvious proficiency.
Highlights: “Am Abgrund steht der Junker” and “Apokalyps 1618”
Nights Of Malice – Chaos Exordium
Genre: Deathcore/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: If you like a bit of Aborted and Summoning the Lich technical brutality and the melodic style of The Black Dahlia Murder, then these Jersey boys (pardon the pun) have you covered. This is deathcore-styled tech death that doesn’t go for the incessant breakdowns or groove-killing djent chugs. Instead you get the kind of explosively violent aggression that moves with the terrifying speed of an apex predator.
This is definitely the kind of extreme metal for the person who takes one look at the album cover and immediately want to see the movie, regardless of quality. This is brutal entertainment from start to finish. Not flippant, but also not boundary-pushing. Great stuff for that heavy gym session.
Highlight: “Ex-Mortis”
Pharmacist – Vertebrae After Vertebrae
Genre: Grindcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Miss Necroticism-era Carcass? No worries, as Japan’s one-man project Pharmacist is very much keeping that unhinged, fun-loving, constantly experimenting, autopsy-obsessed (no, not the band) spirit alive. On “Vertebrae After Vertebrae”, Pharmacist lean heavily into filthy death metal, which might have prompted the fairly muddled production. I think it’s a bit overdone, but still suits the menacing style.
The vocals consist of a wide range of snarls and growls, all well performed and just perfect for the monstrous sound. The riffs feel hungry and deliver a stupid amount of groove. If this doesn’t get you headbanging, you seriously need to check your pulse. Perhaps not quite as visceral as it could have been with more audible detail, but still an absolute beast of an album.
Highlight: “Endogenica” and “Vertebrae After Vertebrae”
Revolting – Supernatural Anthems
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: It’s Rogga time again! For those unaware, Rogga Johansson is the man behind probably half of all the old school death metal coming out of Sweden these days. Among the many, many projects he’s involved with are Paganizer, Ghoulhouse, Eye of Purgatory, Leper Colony, Ribspreader (I promise I’ll stop here in a second), Dead Sun and, of course, Revolting.
While I’ve yet to hear anything actively bad from the man, and every now and then he really strikes the bullseye, a fair amount of these releases feel a bit… recycled. It’s crunchy, morbid death metal with a solemn melodic streak not totally unlike (very) early Arch Enemy, and it does the job and scratches a certain itch. Most of the time it’s quite satisfyingly raw and brutal. But a bit too much of it feels repetitive, and I’m wondering if it’s actually less repetitive within the confines of the album itself than it is in regards to the rest of its creator’s discography.
Highlight: “Dungeon Overture”
Shroud – Pax Nocturna
Genre: Black/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Whoa, did this one come out of nowhere. Well, not nowhere exactly – it did come out of Montreal, Canada, but for a debut album from a band that formed in 2022, this is nothing short of phenomenal. To be fair, at least some of its members have been in the game for a good amount longer, but coming out of the gates swinging on a new project like this is still a great thing to see. Shroud play black metal with a high-revving thrash/speed engine, which is just what you want for spreading this kind of devilry all the faster.
Because of its mostly mellow, piano-featuring intro track and fairly flat production, the album starts off feeling a lot more understated than it should. You really need to crank your speakers to fully enjoy it. They certainly don’t skimp on the occultist, venomous black metal feel, but the thrashy riff rampages are absolutely the stars of the show. The fact that they build up to these dominant sections with a bit of hooded nihilism just makes them all the more satisfying once they get going. It’s on the ever so slightly long side for a blackened thrash album, and a crisper sound overall would have really elevated it, but I just find myself enjoying the hell out of track after track after track regardless.
Highlights: “Death Blows Over” and “The Eternal Void”
Üga Büga – Valley Of The Wolf
Genre: Stoner/sludge metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: An exciting young stoner/sludge band out of Virginia, USA, whose style revolves around a fantastical, comic-inspired concept. This mostly matters for the lyrics, but the music itself is also far from conventional. It swings from crashing riffs and throat-rending coarseness to floaty psychedelia and jazzy progressions.
Variation and imagination are the great strengths of this album, along with the performances themselves. It sounds really good throughout. The issue, at least intermittently, is that some of the tonal- and rhythm transitions can feel fairly abrupt and, at times, unmotivated. There’s more than enough cool stuff on here to warrant a higher rating, it’s just that the way it’s all put together is a bit messier than what really suits it. Still, it’s a lively, enjoyable and truly creative effort.
Highlight: “Valley of The Wolf”
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?
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Weekly Rundown May 29 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released May 23 – May 29
It’s a triumphant week for the progressive and avant-garde, with some of the most dependable names in the business dropping absolutely stellar work.
Crocell – Swarm Of Insects
Genre: Black/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Denmark’s not exactly a hotbed for black metal, but dig deep enough and you can evidently find some of that Nordic misanthropy simmering down by the bedrock. Crocell have been going since 2007 but never made a huge splash. This album seems to be part of a rejuvenated push from the band, now going full in on the (very) blackened death metal.
This is clearly for the listener who wants misery to come seeping out of their speakers. There’s absolutely an aggressive push on the album as well, but it feels mostly like a means of spreading the hopelessness more effectively. A bit too much of it comes off as fairly anonymous, but every now and then there are glimmers of infernal creativity and a bit of riffing goodness.
Highlight: “Wolfen Man”
Elder – Through Zero
Genre: Progressive/psychedelic rock/metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Review: Elder have become one of those “can do no wrong” bands, which makes reviewing their material a fairly predictable affair in terms of score, but no less a pleasure in the chance it provides to immerse yourself in their music. “Through Zero” is a ride into an alternate version of reality that you take safely strapped in and expertly guided the entire way, never once being at risked of getting shaken off by unexpected turbulence or even mildly inconvenienced by the odd pothole in the road. You arrive having been deeply immersed and undergone a therapeutic kneading of your mental processes.
Elders brand of psychedelic prog is not the one you go to for harshness or a riff-based pummeling, but it earns its “metal” classification by virtue of some decently heavy stoner-like riffs and powerful buildups of intensity. It just takes a while. The most dynamic tracks are also pushed to the fore of the album, making for a fairly protracted and mellow, near-15 minute finish to the experience. That being said, it never bottoms out or even stutters, always staying on the move and delivering new wonders around the next bend.
Highlights: “Capture/Release” and “Strata”
Erdve – Epigrama
Genre: Atmospheric sludge metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: This Lithuanian band builds on a djent-riffed hardcore foundation with sludgy coarseness, a good deal of melancholic atmosphere and an industrial-grade harsh production. I’m not sure exactly what to compare it to, but if the combination of elements listed above sounds appealing to you, then you’ll very likely have a good time.
Slamming, rhythmic heaviness is the star of the show, but the bitter-tinged melodies are what makes it stick in your mind. To me it doesn’t really move to much away from the stylistic sphere that it establishes with the first couple of tracks, and while it’s not exactly conventional, I also don’t really feel challenged in any particular way. It is, however, quite consistent and confidently performed.
Highlight: “Ydos”
Eternal Evil – Forever Feared
Genre: Thrash/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: If you like back-to-basics, shredding, aggressive heavy metal the likes of Vulture and Bewitcher, then this should be right up your alley. Swedish band Eternal Evil transport you back to the early days of thrash metal and infuses it with a playful, solo-tastic flair and a pinch of black metal evil.
Parts of this album reminds me of early Trivium, with the desire to round off aggression with melodic memorability and a bit of epic oomph. It also has some of the same early unevenness of said band. Most tracks have sections of seemingly effortless, characterful playfulness, but the way that they get to these sections isn’t always as smooth. A real diamond in the rough, this one.
Highlight: “Eyes Of Wrath”
Funebrarum – Beckoning The Void Of Eternal Silence
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: How about some malignant old school death metal that’s just dug itself out of the mulch after many years of decomposing hibernation? New Jersey’s Funebrarum haven’t released a full-length since 2009, and the last of anything we got from them was an EP back in 2016. Now the beast has reared its hideous head and is ready to chase you at mid-tempo through the dead gloom of the snow-covered forest on the album cover.
While there’s a surprising amount of faster paced riffing and soloing going on, the dominant feeling is that of wading through a thick layer of thick low-end rumble. The production is quite muted, which suits the feeling of abyssal dread, but robs it of much of the visceral quality it might have had. But if you’re on board with the slightly lumbering style, then you have an album full of brutal highlights to look forward to.
Highlights: “Anhela Odor Mortuoruom (The Adepts)” and “Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence”
Galvanist – The Silence Between Stars
Genre: Death/doom metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: If you’re of the opinion that your average nightmarish death doom is in desperate need of more harshness and rhythmic drive, then you are in sync with Montana’s Galvanist. They whip up what would otherwise be a lurching, light-shy behemoth of a creeping terror and send it rampaging with randomly malevolent intent. They also expand on this recipe with plenty of unnerving atmosphere, mildly experimental song progressions and an arresting influx of surprisingly uplifting melody.
Personally I find this to be too much of a clash of styles, with the hardcore rhythms and raw-howling vocals pulling me in a jarringly contrasting direction to the rest. As an experiment though, this is well executed and inarguably boundary-pushing.
Highlight: “Dreich”
Hecate Enthroned – The Corpse Of A Titan, A Lament Long Buried
Genre: Symphonic black/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Veteran UK band Hecate Enthroned are back with their first full-length in 7 years, and their seventh overall since starting out in 1995. Given the title of the album, you’d expect a full-on plunge into epic, dark fantasy, and in that you’d be absolutely correct. This is a comprehensive album steeped in atmosphere, and unlike the style of fellow countrymen Cradle of Filth it feels like it’s meant to be taken pretty seriously.
Overall this is a fairly aggressive album, with moments of death metal force, symphonic intensity and thoroughly harsh vocals, which do tend to get locked in to the same style and register for fairly long stretches of time. It’s quite indulgent in terms of interludes and buildups, but if you agree that this is a necessary part of constructing the grandeur of this kind of sound then I think you’ll welcome it all. At its best it’s all-enveloping and hair-raisingly powerful.
Highlight: “A Gallery of Rotting Portraits”
Monolord – Neverending
Genre: Stoner/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Monolord I’d say is one of the go-to bands in metal for consistency. If you know what you like and want more of it, these Swedes are sure to deliver. The formula for their brand of stoner-riff doom metal can be said to be as old as the metal genre itself, with Sabbath being one of the obvious influences and points of comparison. Slow, bluesy groove is the name of the game, and “Neverending” is nothing if not a refinement of this recipe.
As you would hope from a Swedish, old-school-leaning band, the riffs have a real tasty crunch to them. To me they are the star of the show, and I finding myself wanting more of them. I’m not a huge fan of the production, suitably muddled as it might be. The vocals are more then characterful enough that I want them brought forward in the mix, and I’m missing texture. It feels like an album for the purists, and it does what it does solidly. With this obvious songwriting talent though, I find myself hoping for a bit of playfulness that never really arrives.
Highlight: “You Bastard”
The Scalar Process – Agnomysticism
Genre: Technical/progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: It’s not an unproven feat to be able to marry technical, vibrantly melodic complexity with spacey, atmospheric introspection, as exemplified by the likes of Fallujah and Fractal Universe, but it is still very much a feat to be able to do it well. If you’re a fan of the aforementioned bands, might I highly recommend you check out the sophomore full-length French progressive tech-deathers The Scalar Process.
While there’s plenty of mow-you-down precision aggression going on, it doesn’t end up sounding too clinical, and it shares the space fairly equally with more patient, marvel-at-the-wonder-of-the-universe cosmic exploration. While they’re absolutely proficient riffers and shredders, I find myself leaning towards the writing of the melodic sections, and so the tech assaults tend to feel more like a distracting nuisance than fully earned peaks of intensity at times. But there are also plenty of moments where the balance is struck really well.
Highlight: “A Breathing Moment”
Serpent Lord – The Once Forgotten Ways Of Old
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Serpent Lord is very much the resurrection of a forest demon first brought into the world in the early 2000s, now returned with a debut full length and a well-matured set of pagan maledictions to be cast upon the world. “The Once Forgotten Ways Of Old” definitely carries that feel of being carried on icy winds emanating from a ritual carried out among neolithic ruins.
The music is unmistakably a kind of atmospheric black metal at its core, that’s not really allowed to drift off or take much of a rest underway. There’s melody, great scope, backing vocals, traditional instruments and the like, but not really to the point where it crosses into folk. It feels focused, yet epic – grave, but far from rooted to the spot. I’m missing some truly standout moments, but it’s a solid foundation on which to build. Let’s hope it doesn’t take another 20 years.
Highlight: “A Pagan’s Spell”
Devin Townsend – The Moth
Genre: Progressive/symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Review: Heading into a new Devin Townsend album with any sort of clear expectations, certainly regarding style, is a perilous endeavor. Half the time the man seems to live to take our collective breath away, and the other half he appears to be either daydreaming out loud or actively trolling us. This is a big one though, apparently ten years in the making, and you can tell by more ways than just the daunting number of tracks. This is, for most of its substantial runtime, a truly symphonic, fully orchestrated album, and feels operatic in scope. There are still metal elements, and they are very much recognizably Devin in tone and force of impact, but they are not the “point” of the album.
This is an indulgent passion project that in many ways sums up what Devin is about as a songwriter. It defies you to try to define it – to demand that it should be heavier, faster and more concise. Everything is sort of scaled up and exaggerated. If you love it, you will happily devour it all, like an avid LOTR fan that insists that the ending of Return of the King is perfectly reasonably long if you consider it as the closing of a single, 13-hour movie. It’s an album you have to be prepared to let take you wherever it wants, and trust that it will reward your open-mindedness by pulling out all the bells and whistles, serenades and farts included.
Highlight: “The Big Snit” and “Orion”
Trelldom – …by the word…
Genre: Avant-garde black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Wow, if you ever wondered whether black metal still has the ability to pull you out of your comfort zone and conjure shapes in the darkness yet unseen, then trust in this album to confirm this for you. Newly reactivated, Gaahl-fronted Trelldom know how to put the weird back into the subgenre, without sacrificing the projection of actual dark conviction or feeling of partaking in something ill-advised.
“…by the word…” feels like a descent into self-conscious madness, as if embracing a kind of reality distortion as a way of communicating. This is far darker than “Gaahls WYRD”. Not a ton more technically aggressive, but certainly more oppressive. It’s like experiencing the perception of a deranged wraith, only to finally snap out of it and realize that you’ve unwittingly taken part in committing terrible atrocities.
Highlights: “Folding the Mind” and “I Speak Forgotten Voices”
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?
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Weekly Rundown May 22 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released May 16 – May 22
A week for both unhinged aggression and conceptual exploration, predictability and surprises, mostly in its best forms.
Armored Saint – Emotion Factory Reset
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Time to go old school. Think Saxon and the like from the 70s with a bit of the 80s hair metal swagger and hard rock simplicity, and you’re there. Unfortunately, it’s also quite obvious that this is not, in fact, from 40 years ago, but that the musicians behind it has aged by that much. There’s plenty of charm, but it doesn’t quite make up for the flat-falling melodies, tired lyrics and fairly rigid rhythm- and vocal performance.
Highlights: “The Monochrome Blade” and “Cold Heavens”
As The Sun Falls – Songs From The Veil
Genre: Melodic death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Been too long since you got a fresh hit of Insomnium? I’d be surprised if this didn’t do it for you. As The Sun Falls (I mean, it’s all in the name, isn’t it?) make melancholic, atmospheric melodeath that sounds like it’s emanating from the deepest, darkest, most remote forests of Finnish winter. Thanks to a coldly vivid, mildly uplifting quality to the melodies, this doesn’t really feel depressing, nor come close to the bitterness of black metal.
As is typical with Finnish epic extreme metal, it’s not what you would call lean, but while it sounds nice and rich, it also doesn’t pack too elements into its production. Acoustics and background vocals are reserved for the calmer sections, and the guitars and drums mostly get to drive the rest. It’s not particularly characterful, and could benefit from a few more outstanding moments, but it certainly doesn’t feel derivative. From what I’ve heard it’s a step up for the band, that sees them balancing heaviness and thoughtfulness just as well as the very best in this corner of the subgenre.
Highlight: “As Night Devours”
Blindead 23 – Deuterium
Genre: Progressive extreme metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Newly reformed from the remnants of Blindead, which existed from 2003-2022, this new iteration of the band features an impressive lineup that draws its experience from such acts as Behemoth, Katatonia, Vltimas and more. And the talent behind the performances is quite obvious on “debut” album Deuterium. I’d describe it as a mix between the rhythmic smoothness and melodic cleans of Leprous with the driving, harsh brutality of Cult Of Luna at their heaviest.
While there’s absolutely a starkness to the sound, I wouldn’t describe it as harsh, instead going quite meaty and punchy when the intensity builds, more like death metal than black metal in that regard. Led by highly competent and expressive vocals, the progress of the album flows on mostly steady and patient currents, although with a few unexpected detours along the way. It requires focus, but rewards it by unlocking a whole host of different layers and deep immersion. A bit over-stuffed with atmosphere, but really well produced and mature-feeling in every way.
Highlights: “Deuterium” and “Immersion II”.
Dimmu Borgir – Grand Serpent Rising
Genre: Symphonic black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: We’re not exactly spoiled with Dimmu Borgir releases, so when a new one marches out of the mist, it’s always a bit of an occasion. As far as expectations go, it’s not the kind of black metal you think to take too seriously. Big, bombastic drama and catchy riffs, yes. Actual, sinister, unholy conviction? Perhaps not so much. In this regard, it seems the band have taken a few steps to slightly shift their image.
“Grand Serpent Rising” is a mountainous mass of an album, both in a good and bad way. It’s melodically quite intricate, and feels very mature and concise in its symphonic scale and tone. But it also feels a bit like moving through soup-thick fog with how densely it’s layered, with the instruments often fading into the background. Standout melodies and riffs get buried, making for an overall experience that’s a bit poor on highlights. That being said, it’s darkly majestic in an un-flippant way that I really didn’t expect, and feels aggressive and epic in a Keep of Kalessin kind of way that’s a welcome change of pace. I’ll understand people who find it a bit forgettable, but give it time to really sink in and I think you’ll appreciate just how much nuance there is.Highlights: “Ascent” and “Slik Minnes en Alkymist”
Makkmat – Syke Fantasier
Genre: Grindcore/punk
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Makkmat (worm food) is a ferociously aggressive, grindcore-driven punk band from my original home town of Bergen, Norway, which allows me the insider’s privilege of extra-layer amusement at some of their lyrics and song titles. So yes, I’m a bit biased, but if you’re a fan of the ragged-edge and extremely in-your-face end of the metal spectrum then there is plenty of objective reason that you should have a blast with “Syke Fantasier” (sick fantasies).
Most of the time they pour on ripsaw riffs and charging drums with shrieking vocals on top, keeping track lengths to a minimum (averaging just over 1 minute), and all of a sudden you’ve got a bit of death metal, hardcore, crust, and of course a few, obligatory samples. The stuff in between the standout tracks does blend together a bit if you’re not paying strict attention, but blink and the album takes a new, sharp turn in an attempt to snap your inattentive neck. It’s a sandpaper face slap of an experience that’s far from too chaotic to have fun with.
Highlight: “Shahed-136” and “Arna Verdenskrieg”
Membrance – Resa Marciana
Genre: Death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Sometimes you just gotta love a band that say “yes please” to pretty much all the classic, aggressive metal subgenres and proceed to splice it all together with great enthusiasm. On this latest release by Italian band Membrance you get death, black, thrash and heavy metal with a good bit of rock ‘n’ roll jump-around-ness and plenty of shred-y melody.
Now for the kicker: Is it actually well written and put together with purpose? Not really. It’s a bit of a mishmash with some fairly heavy handed rhythm work, and there’s little sense of an overarching idea for the album. It’s fun though, and plenty energetic. Try it, and see if it doesn’t put a big smile on your face.
Highlight: “Sentensa da resa”
Noituma – Yhdeksän sairautta
Genre: Folk/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Yes, despite what that album cover might lead you to believe, this is actually full-on Finnish folk metal that’s somewhat of a clash of traditional solemnness and punk rowdiness. You get hoarse-throated, belted-out vocals, classic doom riffs with a bit of black metal darkness to the tone, lots of energy but also plenty of melodic beauty from the violin and fun texture from the jaw harp.
This is not an impeccably put together album, nor expertly produced, nor well-matured in terms of concept. But it more than makes up for it with raw enthusiasm and well-balanced conflux of stylistic elements. It’s a bit like a proto-Finntroll if they decided to go the pagan route rather than the antic-y goblin-ear one.
Highlight: “Kynnen ja kulmahampaan laki”
Psyclops – Bound to Burn: Melody of the Martyr
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: If you think this is gonna be the type of conceptual, story-driven prog that treats tracks like chapters in a tale and absolutely blows up the runtime with spoken-word segments and wild, unending instrumental tangents, then you are right on at least one count. Yes, this is storytelling in musical form, but at less than 33 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome in the least. And sure, if you’re allergic to musical theater-reminiscent vocal delivery and a thematically driven flow, then it might not be your cup of tea. But you’ll be missing out on some great music.
The variation on the album is expertly managed, and ranges from chugging harshness to meditative pools of laid back, atmospheric melody. The vocals are wildly competent and display a wide spectrum of styles. It’s not the heaviest or most intense, but feels incredibly well-considered, with organic, reassuring pacing that’s devoid of tropes and never makes a single misstep. Will it win over a lot of people outside the prog sphere? Probably not. And that’s okay.
Highlights: “Consequences III: Swallowed Skies, Sea of Eyes (Pg. 12)” and “Indomitable I: Depths of Dissent (Pg. 26)
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?
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Weekly Rundown May 15 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released May 09 – May 15
A slightly low-profile week allowing some low-flying radar evaders to grab a bit of attention.
Acid Reign – Daze Of The Week
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: I wouldn’t worry too much if you’ve been sleeping on England’s Acid Reign, ’cause they’re one of those bands that have been sleeping on themselves for most of their career. After releasing two full-lengths at the end of the 80s, they called it quits in ’91 before reuniting in 2015. A new album didn’t manifest until 2019, and then a lot of lineup changes brings us here, with vocalist “H” as the only remaining original member.
So what do they sound like? It’s thrash that’s knocking on the door of melodic hardcore. Especially considering the vocal style I’m reminded of early, punky Rage Against. They manage to sound young and hungry for most of the album, delving into frantic high speed and mid-tempo grooves. The main issue is that, especially with the choruses, they’ve a few too many turns into fairly uninteresting and repetitive riff patterns. Most of the songs start out really well, but don’t always hold up. Still, they’ve got enough character to their sound that I really want to hear them crack on and punch it into the next gear, which I think they’re capable of.Highlight: “The Who of You”
Arroganz – Death Doom Punks
Genre: Death metal/punk
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: I mean, the album title kind of says it all, but I suppose I can offer a few more words. Arroganz are a German death metal band that play fast and loose with the rhythms, and unlike others of their ilk that are teetering on the edge of the blackened and doomy, they’ve got a fairly under-loaded production. This makes them light on their feet, despite the obvious, Asphyx-like harshness.
At the same time, this isn’t some tunnel-vision, hardcore-derived gang vocals-touting kind of thing. They take unexpected routes and do things to their grimy death metal base style that might catch you off guard if you’re unprepared. It’s a bit low on groove and pure heaviness, and doesn’t quite land with as much rebellious, up-yours attitude as I might have hoped for. But it’s damn refreshing to get the traditional morbidity served up in such an unconventional way, while still dedicating a significant amount of space to pure riff nastiness.Highlight: “Die For Nothing”
Atavistia – Old Gods Awaken
Genre: Folk/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Imagine a mashup of Finland’s Mors Principium Est and Finntroll, except it’s not Ensiferum and it’s not actually Finnish, although you’d be easily forgiven for assuming so. Atavistia are now on their fourth original full-length and going full-on pagan warrior on violent adventures. In contrast to 2023’s “Cosmic Warfare”, which was my introduction to them, the symphonic grandeur has been scaled back and the fun factor tuned up.
“Old Gods Awaken” is just as shred-y and dazzlingly melodic as you’d hope for, without ever really stepping into power metal. The balance between magical playfulness and aggression is handled just as well as you’d hope for, sending your mind straight to the glory days of the previously mentioned bands. Embracing this vibe though, while whole-hearted and producing plenty of satisfaction, leaves very little room for personality. It’s a great, tankard-whirling time that puts the band’s innovative powers on pause for the time being.
Highlight: “Mystic Tavern”
Defect Designer – Depressants
Genre: Experimental/avant-garde death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: If you think you might be able to appreciate death metal as an experimental jazz experience, then there’s hope for you and this album getting along. I came across Defect Designer back in 2024 with their album “Chitin”, which I found to be a refreshingly weird kind of dissonant death metal that did itself a huge favor by not taking itself too seriously. This attitude is even more pronounced on “Depressants”, as the album makes huge stylistic jumps and stays very structurally loose throughout the entirety of its 56+ minute runtime.
There are a few instances of blackened hostility, but also groove, prog rock, epic melody, alternative moodiness and other variations that make it seem like there are in fact three or four very different bands performing. Coherency is almost non-existent, and only about halfway through do I feel like they come to a vague consensus regarding the general direction they should be heading. Still, there’s a lot of cool moments on here, and none of it follows any sort of prog tropes or gives completely up on listenability.
Highlight: “Carte Blanche”.
Desiccation – Legatum Mortuorum
Genre: Doom/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Do you ever get to places, physical or mental, that feel unsettling and alien in a way that makes you doubt you were ever really meant to get there, but something about it is so arresting that you can’t get yourself to leave? That’s what it feels like to me, being sucked into the soundscape of Desiccation’s sophomore full-length. It’s like wandering vast, stark, echoing halls of harsh light and deep shadow, and the immensity of it takes on a life of its own.
Speaking more plainly, this is blackened doom metal with a soft, round production that allows for an almost tangible presence of atmosphere. There’s sharp aggression and heavy riffs, but also melancholy melody that swells and abates gradually as a river level rises and falls. Not every song takes you to equally rewarding places, but at its best it’s both deeply immersive and more directly engaging with its steadfast rhythms and standout solos.
Highlights: “Lamentations Beyond the Veil”
Gozu – Gozu VI
Genre: Stoner rock/metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: I’m so happy that there are bands out there like Gozu to prove that stoner rock is more than just half-humorous southern grooves set to rock ‘n’ roll rhythms. Unlike last week’s Restless Spirit, this stands more firmly on the hard rock side, but knows how to bring the heaviness when a bit of headbanging is called for. While not a conceptual-feeling album, it’s also not straightforward. It visits doom, heavy metal, sludge, alternative and progressive hard rock, but also never letting its groovy motor choke.
Personally I find myself losing focus a couple of times as they let the energy wane, and not all of their hooks and melodies are quite strong enough to quickly pull me back in. But If you’re looking for semi-heavy crunch with strong writing, that dares to lean outside the box now and then, then look no further.Highlights: “Corinthian Leatherface” and “Corvette Summer”
Lorn – Searing Blood
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: With this Italian black metal project you get both jarring dissonance, progressive structural shifts and atmospheric melody that is both ethereal in feel and electronic in execution. These different sides to the music don’t clash as mush as they are allotted their separate spaces, which makes the experience a bit jumbled.
Tonally and technically, this is very clearly stark black metal, but it’s reaching for depths of expression that the aforementioned elements help it reach. On an album level it’s perhaps not joined together in the most elegant or cohesive way, but if you don’t mind the shifts in personality this is absolutely a characterful offering that suggests a very interesting direction for the band.
Highlight: “Gallows”
Periphery – A Pale White Dot
Genre: Progressive djent/metalcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: I wouldn’t normally use “djent” as a subgenre term, but given the title of the band’s last album, I feel (once again) strangely compelled. On their latest non-numbered release, Periphery take a partial break from progressive complexity in order to better flex their stylistic range. The album encompasses everything from straight pop to symphonic deathcore, and for the most part the guys can’t help themselves but throw in a few dissonant chugs here and there and massively crank up the aggression to go with them.
So what this album does well is variation, and calling it unoriginal would be unfair. But at the same time, for significant parts of the album, it feels like the band taking a bit of a breather, not underperforming, but far from pushing their songwriting capabilities. And that’s okay. It’s not gonna win prog album of the year, but it plays around with expectations while delivering plenty of technical excellence and strong melody.Highlight: “Malevolent”
Pro-Pain – Stone Cold Anger
Genre: Hardcore/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: If you’re craving some good old-fashioned coarse-groove hardcore, then you’ll be delighted at the return of NY’s Pro-Pain. This thing delivers exactly what it says on the tin from the very first second, and apart from a a small influx of melody it doesn’t veer from the path. I’m not gonna hold it too hard against it, but rhythm wise it’s pretty damn dull, and conceptually there are absolutely no surprises. It makes up for it with punk attitude and chunky riffs, and if that’s enough for you then by all means dig in and have your fill.
Tyrannus – Mournhold
Genre: Black/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: It’s such a great feeling when a band you have no real expectations for proceed to bitch slap your blasé face, take you by the ear and pull you into a fresh musical landscape the like of which you didn’t realize how much you were ready to embrace. On the surface, this Scottish gang might strike you as straight-up blackened thrash metal with a bit of death metal monstrosity latched on, and not much else. But keep listening and they’ll keep showing new sides to themselves. There’s a whole underbelly of gothic-ish melody with a bit of a spacey feel to it, and it expands their style beyond the expected speed riff bad-assery.
But even as they build on their core sound, they never forget about the thrashing, bitter-tinged, rebellious energy that’s actually driving the music. Again and again they reach new highs of energetic, solo-tastic coolness reminiscent of Hellripper and Midnight, and it’s done with a highly convincing level of enthusiasm. Some of the slower, doom-leaning sections don’t quite hit as hard, but I think that with a bit more maturity we will see them nail these as well.Highlights: “Seize the Stars” and “Reignfall”
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?
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Weekly Rundown May 08 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released May 02 – May 08
This week doesn’t hold back for a single second, throwing both surprises, affirmations and unexpected changes your way.
Darkthrone – Pre-Historic Metal
Genre: Heavy/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: You can’t really accuse Darkthrone of not evolving their sound, because even as they seem to be mining the same primitive black metal ore as they did thirty years ago, the way they refine it is never quite the same. On the surface it might seem like we’re getting more of the same doomy, eccentric-occult proto-black metal as on 2022’s “Astral Fortress” and 2024’s “It Beckons Us All”, but just like those two were quite different in execution, so is this.
At its core it’s crunchy, riff-driven, mid-to-low tempo old school heavy metal, but with that unmistakable nihilistic tone to it. The production is suitably low-fi, but managing a more-than-decent low end heft this time around. It allows for a bit of punchy groove, while retaining the “secretly recorded in an abandoned warehouse basement” feel. It’s not quite the focused riff worship that I had hoped for given the name, and will divide the listener base on the perception of its stylistic charm, but has the band realizing what’s clearly been a very distinct vision for the album.Highlight: “They Found One Of My Graves”
Draconian – In Somnolent Ruin
Genre: Doom/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: You can forget about cheering up for the next hour if you decide to undertake this sonic journey. On their eighth full-length, Swedish long-going band Draconian fully embrace the doom side of their sound. This is very much in the vein of My Dying Bride, only perhaps a bit less miserable, a tad more “big” and epic, and a reserve of aggressive heaviness that actually borders death doom. Dark emotions are described with melancholy, gothic beauty, very much as you would expect from a band that dress like elves at a Victorian funeral.
Shocking absolutely no one, it’s an album that likes to take its time, and for the most part it’s a sublime thing to listen to, with excellent fullness, clarity and melodic impact. But if you’ve listened a bit to this kind of stuff before, you’re gonna end up finding a lot of similarities to comparable bands. And it does drag a fair bit at times, not helped by the addition of a 2,5 minute interlude, on an album that’s already packed with atmosphere. However, the different moods and levels of intensity are blended together masterfully, making for a near-impeccable listening flow.
Highlights: “The Monochrome Blade” and “Cold Heavens”
Eradikated – Wiring Of Violence
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Swedish thrashers Eradikated pour on all the traditional ingredients on their sophomore full-length. Versatile rhythms, banger-friendly chug sections, ripping solos and political commentary. If you’re looking for youthful energy mixed with technical precision and true genre adoration, look no further for a great time. If you apply a more critical mindset though, you’ll probably find it a bit lacking in ferocity and originality. I’d love to see them take this pleasing basis and run wild with it, discovering a more distinct voice of their own.
Highlight: “British Petroleum”
A Forest Of Stars – Stack Overflow In Corpse Pile Interface
Genre: Avant-garde black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Review: If you’ve never come across this British vaguely-black-metal band before, then best prepare yourself for an experience unlike anything else. This is violin-accompanied, lightly surrealist, dark contemporary art theater in sonic form. At once manic and composed, you’re presented with a rhythmically stable, beautifully melodic sound that flows steadily and shifts organically, with a half-spoken, highly dramatized vocal performance that radiates unhinged conviction.
As a black metal album, it’s far from the heaviest or most aggressive. Expectations of classic, technical genre traits must be abandoned. But the misanthropic mood is certainly there, and at times you’re taken aback by the unsettling force of it, not too different from that achieved by Blut Aus Nord. It doesn’t always manage the big, majestic turns as well as the smaller, understated ones, and overall I’m missing a bit of hair-raising grandeur, which I’m sure it could accommodate. But take it for what it is, and it will transport you far, far off the overtrodden center path and into the rarely imagined.
Highlights: “Street Level Vertigo” and “Roots Circle Usurpers”.
Frozen Soul – No Place Of Warmth
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: For an album called “No Place Of Warmth”, by a band called “Frozen Soul”, this is a decidedly toasty-sounding collection of death metal. In contrast to 2023’s “Glacial Domination” the Texans have stuffed in as much low-end boom as can possibly fit, to the point where, if you’re listening through particularly bass-accentuating headphones or speakers, it might get downright distracting. This is the band consciously charting a middle way between the old and new school of death metal, with both rusty, rotting morbidity and modern slam and breakdowns.
Fortunately, it does not come off as a calculated affair, and despite the typical “new band growing fast” antics of piling on guest performers, the album is saved from the whiff of poserdom by simply being damn cool. It clocks in at just over an ideal 35 minutes runtime, and has tracks as short as 53 seconds that go just as heavy as the rest, if not more. It’s also genuinely, straightforwardly and pleasingly brutal in that caveman manner that will excuse it pretty much anything. So unless you’re allergic to anything sounding post 90s, you’ll likely dig it.
Highlights: “Invoke War” and “Eyes of Despair”
IATT – Etheric Realms Of The Night
Genre: Progressive extreme metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: 2022’s “Magnum Opus” made some waves in the prog metal community, and rightly so. But now, four years later, can the band top their self-declared masterpiece? IATT is an indulgent kind of band, hovering around the spheres of black- and death metal and going, seemingly, wherever strikes them at any given moment. This is not the kind of album where you can expect an even flow. Mood, tone and instrumental approach can shift at a moment’s notice, and only a vague sense of direction is left as a guide.
This doesn’t fall into the category of “unhinged” prog, but it’s certainly exploratory to the degree that you feel like they’re making it up as they go. For my taste it’s too broken up, feeling fragmented rather than complex. But if you’re happy to let your prog take you through a labyrinth of unexpected impressions, then this will likely be just the kind of challenge that will tickle your brain in all the right spots.Highlights: “Somniphobia” and “Walk Amongst”
Ingested – Denigration
Genre: Brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Full disclosure – my introduction to Ingested was their 2022 album “Ashes Lie Still”, and I absolutely loved it. Turns out, I loved it for pretty much all the things that the band figured “Denigration” could do without. This is a full-on return to their slamming origins, shedding pretty much any notion of melody, groove and technical complexity. Does that make it more focused? Absolutely. Does it also make them sound exactly like three dozen other, unimaginative bands in the same niche? Unfortunately, yes. It’s heavy as fuck, but not in any way that leaves a lasting impact.
Jungle Rot – Cruel Face Of War
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Alright, if for at least a single release this week you’re hoping for the reassurance of genre faithfulness and relative predictability, then Jungle Rot are your guys. Active since 1992 and now on their 12th full-length album, the band are in no hurry to reinvent the formula. Like with the war machine that’s become the album’s actual cruel face, the intention here is grim, dependable, no-prisoners destruction.
The album feels rigid, with a clear set of objectives in mind. The thrashy, Sodom-reminiscent savagery is present, but not in the driving seat. It feels well-practiced at this point, and more than a few tracks land with a fairly by-the-numbers impact. The urgency is indeed lacking. At the same time it oozes malevolent groove, and the bad-assery of its abundant mid-tempo riffs cannot be denied.Highlight: “Apocalyptic Dawn”
Lyrre – Nothing Is Promised
Genre: Folk metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Strongly featuring the hurdy-gurdy will earn you a “medieval” trait in most people’s book, and that is certainly not to the detriment of Polish band Lyrre. Founded by ex-Eluveitie player Michalina Malisz, the band opts for an epic but fairly grounded sound, bringing to mind the perspective of a low-flying bird sweeping across misty forest landscapes.
It’s a strongly melodic kind of folk metal, but quite understated in comparison to some of the more symphonic or rowdy projects out there. At times it’s probably a bit too laid back, coasting on lazy rhythms and the effortless beauty of the vocals. But it’s also not overstated or tacky in any way, so feels a lot more genuine than most of its peers.
Highlight: “Still Human”
Panopticon – Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Minnesota’s Panopticon is back with another mammoth undertaking of atmospheric black metal that sounds like it’s been crafted solely by elements found in the arctic wilderness. “Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet” (the haunted heart) joins typical folk elements like the use of violin, rousing rhythms and vibrant melodies with the obligatory cold harshness of the subgenre, giving you both the sun-bathed clearings and shadowy forest depths of northern winter.
This is just as mystical and multifaceted as you would hope it to be. It’s not looking to challenge you with abrupt rhythm changes or huge shifts in mood, and yet it feels like it travels a vast distance, braving bitter elements as well as basking in the full marvel of a living nature. It’s long, yes, but only very rarely does it feel dragged out, and offers so much more than the typical examples of the subgenre.
Highlights: “The Great Silence, Extinct” and “A Culture of Wilderness”
Restless Spirit – Restless Spirit
Genre: Stoner/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Let’s be real, the stoner/doom niche isn’t exactly one of the more innovative spheres of the metal realm. Throw on a wooly mammoth theme, crank the fuzz and set off at a lazy pace across imagined, warm-toned moonlit desert dunes while projecting psychedelic imagery, and you’ve pretty much nailed it. But the cool part of dealing with such obvious stereotypes is that defying them in only a few key areas will clearly set you apart. For Restless Spirit that means breaking through the smoke haze and delivering their groove with clarity and persistent energy.
On their fourth, self-titled release, we find them loaded with heavy metal adventurousness and melodic potency, while retaining classic doom heaviness and stoner cool, with a killer vocal performance. Effortlessly circumventing tropes, you still get an excellent balance of dynamic, even mildly complex rhythms, and straightforwardly engaging riffs. While not revolutionary in any way, it’s going all in on what makes the band both exciting and reliable.
Highlights: “The Burning Need” and “Desolation’s Wake”
Voidthrone – Dreaming Rat
Genre: Experimental black/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: If you ever wondered what it would feel like to have a rat burrow its way into your brain, this might be as close as you can get to the sonic equivalent. Voidthrone is one of those bands that aim for the opposite of listener friendliness, which often results in some nightmarish form of death doom. This, however, doesn’t have anything near that kind of patience. What you get is a form of completely insane blackened death metal that would no doubt somehow manage to eat its way out of its padded cell.
There’s a raw fury to the album that’s only held back by its own, easily distracted form of madness, that has it shifting pace at a moment’s notice and jumping between dissonance, unnerving atmosphere and punishing riff assaults. On top is a vocal performance straight out of Satan’s mental ward, that moves between brutal-style gurgles, banshee shrieks, maniacal cackling and several other steps in between effortlessly. Boy have you got to be in the mood for this one, but if you are, then it might very well blow your mind.
Highlight: “I-I. Bergen” and “I-III. First Blood”
Yoth Iria – Gone With The Devil
Genre: Melodic black/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Greek melodic black metal band Yoth Iria are back and looking to make a statement. That statement being “WE WANT TO GET NOTICED!”. “Gone With The Devil” marks a significant turn from their cold, aggressive and menacingly atmospheric past into something far more (yes, I’m gonna say it) accessible. Don’t get me wrong, the vocals are still (fairly) snarly, and the guitars are still distorted, but the weight of extremity has all but evaporated. Add to that a worrying amount of filler-grade material and a full-on fantasy video game cover, and thing’s aren’t looking good.
But hold on. At its best the songwriting really is premium, and so are the performances. Yes, the danger has gone, but it’s still a darkly rousing, engrossing experience saturated with strong melody and a fair bit of heavy metal charm. I still think they can do far better in this slightly tamed-down version of themselves, but for all the new fans they are guaranteed to make, there is little doubt that they are fully able to improve.
Highlight: “The Blind Eye of Antichrist”
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?
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The Metal Dispatch 