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Weekly rundown February 06 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released January 31 – February 06
We’ve another week that’s on the verge of being overrun with violence and misery, but a few rays of riffy mood-boosters manage to balance it out.
Agenbite Misery – Remorse Of Conscience
Genre: Experimental black/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: This feels a bit like wandering into a mentally disturbed person’s dream. At times you’re just floating along, observing vaguely defined proceedings, and at times the subconscious takes notice of you and either sends out warnings in bursts of harshness or gives chase with hysterical anger. In the end, I find that too few of the slow buildups have a satisfying peak, and often deflate before realizing their full potential. But if you’re looking for a darkly offbeat dive into maddening, blackened death doom that both soothes and bites hard, then it will deliver.
Highlight: “Circe”
Ensanguinate – Death Saturnalia
Genre: Death/black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: This Slovenian band dropped a solid, hard hitting debut of a blackened death metal album back in 2022, and I liked it quite a bit. It wasn’t what you’d call genre bending, but delivered strongly on conviction and forcefulness. On this follow-up they’ve partially set the death metal chugs aside in favor of loading on black metal venom. It sounds sharper, more sinister, eschewing low end heft and riff crunch for reverb and cutting tremolo. It’s a welcome style exploration for the band instead of simply making more of the same, although, at least to me, not with quite as consistent a result this time around. It pulls a bit from speed metal and gothic as well, and doesn’t seem to quite make up its mind about being an atmosphere-leaning, oppressive fiend or a rowdy, unholy rebel, not ending up as super convincing as either. Still, they do a lot of things right, and those caring a bit less about album consistency will likely find a good deal to like.
Highlight: “Gloaming” and “Angel of a Thousand Poisons”
Epinikion – The Force Of Nature
Genre: Symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Dutch symphonic metal with a touch of melodeath-like folk flavor and heaviness. It doesn’t go overboard with neither the instrumental nor the vocal bombast, and doesn’t try to build a tower cake of layers in the production. It won’t blow your mind in terms of songwriting, but delivers both in terms of epic impact and dynamic melodic work, with solid performances and a good deal of pleasing riffs and solos to go with it.
Full House Brew Crew – Glasgow Grin
Genre: Groove metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: This deathcore-flirting heavy groove band is all about the beats. Harsh chugs and punishing rhythms are front and center, with actual groove taking more of a back seat role, although it’s certainly not missing altogether. It’s fairly nimble, aggressive and pretty catchy, but feels fairly hollow.
In Aeternum – …Of Death And Fire
Genre: Death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: How about a blackened death metal sound that lets in a slight breeze of melodeath, but without most of the actual melody? In Aeternum is a Swedish band here releasing their debut full-length of highly aggressive, fairly stark, snarly and unholy-sounding death metal, built on classic riff styles and with a good deal of wailing solo work. It exudes menacing energy, but also has a slightly off-putting fascination with dissonance, breaking off ripping riff lines with plunges into disharmony, killing the groove and messing up the flow. If you’re into this kind of intentional ugliness, then no harm no foul. But if you want to get some headbanging done, then you might find it slightly disturbing.
Highlight: “Bow To None”
Induction – Love Kills!
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Extremely well-produced, 80’s leaning power metal blending superb vocals with smooth, full instrumentation for a massive dose of epic fun. There’s hardly a shred of originality to be found, and the lyrics are inane, but the synth work in particular is sublime and it scores high on style and consistency.
Karnivool – In Verses
Genre: Progressive metal/rock
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Bursting with engaging, frail yet warmly supportive melody, carried on smooth, expertly controlled waves of winding rhythms, cushioning bass and impactful riffs, Karnivool returns with their first album in thirteen years. To those expecting soft melancholy first and intricate prog instrumentation and/or heaviness second, this should prove immensely rewarding. Personally I was hoping for a better balance between beauty and force, but much of the energy is burned off with the first three tracks, never really to return. Apart from this, it’s a sublime listening experience from start to finish.
Highlights: “Drone” and “Ghost”
Lomor – Sabouk Rouge
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Hailing from the French-owned island of Reunion, the remoteness of their origins doesn’t seem to have affected Lomor’s brand of thrash metal in any noteworthy way. This is all about the riffs, with a side of tastily rusty vocals. As tasty as the shredding might be, the spaces in between are lacking in substance, and the flow is impeded by less-than-smooth rhythm transitions. The anger and attitude is there though.
Mayhem – Liturgy Of Death
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: This sounds like the distinctly un-theatrical theatre of death and disgust. Mayhem bring a surprising amount of drama on their seventh full-length, with accompanying sense of depth and scale. But unlike many other contemporaries that take black metal in a more expansive direction, they don’t for a second cross into caricature, nor do they really branch off from the trunk of the subgenre. You get influxes of frigid melody, symphonic grandeur and occult atmosphere, with bursts of fury approaching blackened death metal, but this is much less experimentation or any sort of departure from the core sound than it is expressing the same idea armed with a meticulously outfitted toolkit. It feels refined, which might not be in line with the band’s origins, but nor does it in any way feel blunted or overly polished. This is evil first and foremost, and convincingly so.
Highlights: “Weep for Nothing” and “Propitious Death”
Mors Verum – Canvas
Genre: Progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Whether you want to call this a long EP or a short album, it offers more than enough twists and turns to leave a lasting impact. There is no straight path for the kind of death metal that Mors Verum plays. It scurries, pauses, charges and thrashes around in place and interestingly plays around, to great success, with both dissonance and melody. There is beauty, ugliness and engaging brutality in equal measure. It will poke at your brain with chaotic rhythms and instrumental wails just long enough to approach it being unbearable, and then quickly change it up for either controlled riffing or contemplative, sometimes almost meditative offshoots of relative calm. It doesn’t always feel fully purposeful, but showcases both excellent instrumental control and creativity.
Highlights: “Canvas” and “Your Apocalypse”
Night Of The Vampire – The Enchanting Winds Of The Dreamweaving Masquerade
Genre: Black/heavy metal/synthwave
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Black metal fans in particular seem to love niche stuff, and this is certainly that. The really cool part is when this kind of weirdness actually makes sense, in that the blending of elements is complementary, resulting in not only a unique sound but one that both matches the thematic concept and is engaging, entertaining, or at least transportive as a musical experience. In this, Night of the Vampire’s mix of black metal vocals, catchy hard rock/heavy metal biker bar riffs and gothic synth melodies and atmosphere works very well. Once your brain adjusts and you’re able to take it for what it is, all of it makes complete sense. I will say that there are parts and moods that feel repeated and stretched out unnecessarily, but I nonetheless applaud the investment into this very peculiar style.
Highlights: “Chasing Shadows in an Ocean of Time” and “Mother Moon of the Astral Dawn”
Paganizer – As Mankind Rots
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: It’s a new year and the Rogga Johansson train keeps chugging on. At this point in the rotation it’s time for old school Swedish, quasi-melodic death metal project Paganizer to deliver, and for already established fans of this kind of sound, meaning specifically those that can’t get enough of it, the Swedes do, indeed, deliver. It’s tight, crusty, well-produced and with just the right kind of death ‘n’ roll attitude. But other than being more corpse-garnished food for the ever-hungering morbid masses, I don’t know that there’s much purpose to this album. It sounds more or less exactly like dozens of its ilk, isn’t stupidly fun or exciting, and has a few less-than-impressive performances. I like it because it sounds more exactly the way I would hope it to, but objectively that’s not a massive feat to be rewarded.
Highlight: “Eon of Obscenity”
Phendrana – Cathexis
Genre: Progressive/atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: A four-track album with increasing runtimes, this is not for those seeking instant gratification, at least not in the black metal department. There’s a lot of folk-like, moody melody to before and in between, but luckily it’s a treat to listen to – serene and moving. When the harshness kicks in it’s direct and in line with the feel that’s been built up, although I’d say that the more dissonant prog twists and turns it gets into is unnecessarily off-putting. It gets into its stride about halfway through the album, which might be too late for some, but the following blend of anger and melancholy is one to be savored.
Highlight: “Sentience”
Sleeping Giant – The Beauty Of Obliteration
Genre: Stoner/sludge metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: A growling, fun-loving stoner doom project out of Iceland that’s much more forward-leaning into catchy grooves and driving rhythms than the bent-over, smoking orc on the album cover might lead you to expect. Every track on this fairly short album is entertaining in its own right, with approaches varying between slightly dragging stomps up to full on thrash gallops. There’s a bit of repetition to be found, and it’s not what I’d call inventive, but it’s a real good time with a punchy low end and great energy.
Highlight: “Slay the King of Hell”
Tailgunner – Midnight Blitz
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: So it only took the two and a half years leading up to their second album for Tailgunner to grow their sound big, mostly ditching their slightly scruffy NWONHM charm behind to soar beyond the turbulent storm clouds into the blue skies and start dropping ballads like big squishy bombs of cheese. Oh-oh, sounds like the start of a scathing review, right? Well, although I do feel like a good bit of character and fitting roughness has been lost, and even though a lot of these new tracks seem to insist that they should be sad for some reason, this is, at the end of the day, still very fun and entertaining heavy metal with lots of cool riffs and solos, power metal bombast and thrash efficiency. Job done, right? Yes and no. It takes a bit more absent-mindedness now to ignore the silly lyrics, but it’s definitely more varied, and delivers in terms of performances and theme.
Highlight: “Blood Sacrifice”
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 January 30 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released January 24 – January 30
Black, death and doom metal deliver the goods this week, taking various forms to welcome in a wide range of preferences.
Banisher – Metamorphosis
Genre: Technical/progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Semi-modern, speed- and groove-minded tech death out of Poland is what we’ve got here. It’s not trying to break any records in terms of brutality, heaviness or agility, instead going for an, at times, almost hard rock-reminiscent kind of light-footedness and a prog-like interest in structure and rhythm. Every now and then this results in something actually quite arresting, but it’s not quite consistently entertaining or interesting enough to leave a lating mark.
Circular Ruin – A Sermon In Tongues
Genre: Progressive black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Don’t expect anything deeply conceptual, but Swedish band Circular Ruin also don’t play strictly by the black metal rules on their debut full-length. Buddy-subgenres death, gothic and speed all come on temporary visits, with others stopping by as well. Parts of it bring a non-melodic and chilly Tribulation to mind. Overall there’s a slight over-reliance on tonal and technical tropes, and I don’t think that quite enough of the distance towards a true genre blend is travelled in order to achieve notable distinction. But it’s well performed and consistent in style, laying a strong foundation for further expansion of their sound.
Highlight: “The Altering Altar”
Invictus (JPN) – Nocturnal Visions
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: If you want to liven up classic, lurching, groaning, graveyard-grinding death metal without losing that feeling of merciless dread, then I can think of few better ingredients than thrash. Japanese band Invictus have added just the right amount to avoid speeding off and leaving the ominous-toned malevolence behind, while supplying murderous riff candy in spades. It’s a hungry beast that lures you in with nod-along grooves, then strikes from below and churns up the ground around you in bedrock-crushing jaws. It’s not exactly what I’d call a fun album, but it does appeal to that primitive appreciation for raw, chugging wickedness. Not hugely varied, but solid from start to finish.
Highlights: “Lucid Dream Trauma” and “Frozen Tomb”
Kosuke Hashida – Moment Of Silence
Genre: Grindcore/death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Here’s a band that will not wait for you one single second. They rip away on their unstoppable killing spree from the very first second, and pull you – joints dislocating and feet flapping in the slipstream – along for the indiscriminate carnage. Kosuke Hashida is a deathgrind project out of Tokyo further supercharged with thrash and speed metal, resulting in a runtime of roughly 20 minutes spread out over 14 blistering tracks. I was fully onboard for last year’s “Outrage”, and on “Moment Of Silence” they’ve achieved a crisper production and tighter performances overall, with about the same balance of all-out rampage and high-tempo riff grooves. With the last one they narrowly escaped the feeling of repetition, managing a moderate variation in tempo and ferocity, but this time around I’d say they’ve tipped the scale, making for a few noticeably interchangeable sections throughout. That being said, the savagery has been upped considerably, which I hardly thought was possible, and the delivery is absolutely on point, meaning I can’t help but have a great fucking time from tip to tail.
Highlights: “Left in Pieces” and “Tokyo Calling”
Lone Wanderer – Exequiae
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: If nothing else will do but a solid overdose of gothic, funeral-procession grimness, then this is exactly the kind of stuff the doctor is likely to order. For a 1hr 12min+ album this flows surprisingly well, at least through the first two songs, and then it seems to lose its bearings slightly in the mist, and slows into even more of a lurch. Beautifully tragic melodies describe the ponderous journey all along, although some of the momentum bleeds off along the way. You’re accompanied by groan-growly vocals and lamenting riffs that are tastefully well defined through the production. A bit overindulgent, but well layered and quite absorbing.
Highlight: “Existence Nullified”
Malignant Aura – Where All Of Worth Comes To Wither
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Australia’s Malignant Aura know how to effectively employ ugliness in their death doom, and they hit the sweet spot balancing between the pitfalls of messy ear torture and disturbing theatricality on this their second full-length. This isn’t the kind of stuff that gets lost in winding tunnel systems for minutes on end, only occasionally rearing its head to let out a ragged roar from decomposing vocal chords. This thing thunders along with purpose, crashing through barriers and only occasionally slowing to chew the prey and random debris it’s scooped up in its monstrous maw. It’s got strong momentum, but enough patience to creep you out from time to time with stalking crawls and unnerving, wet gurgling. It might be a bit too preoccupied with mood and style to go anywhere revelatory, but it’s a savage beast of several talents that successfully expands beyond narrow genre confines to deliver both pulse-raising brutality as well as subterranean discomfort.
Highlight: “An Abhorrent Path to Providence” and “Beneath a Crown of Anguish”
Møl – Dreamcrush
Genre: Progressive black/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Call it blackgaze, call it blackened alt rock, call it progressive post-black metal, the fact that it’s not a simple task to label is absolutely part of the appeal. You’ve got snarling aggression and crackling, bitter riffs dancing rather than playing tug-of-war with indie- and garage rock rhythms and harmonious, clean, alt-tinged vocals, and heartening, vibrant electronica-boosted melodies swirling around moments of feet-shuffling bleakness. Those hoping for an equal balance of nihilistic heaviness and uplifting balminess might find themselves overstuffed with the latter, especially in the middle section of the album, but adjusting your expectations you’ll likely be able to to appreciate just how well these two extremes are woven together.
Highlights: “Young” and “Garland”
Orgg – Indomita
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: An Italian semi-melodic black metal band here releasing their third full-length, blending war-themed, lamenting solemnness with classic, hoarse-snarling, tremolo-fronted aggression. They’ve got some odd quirks in terms of rhythm transitions here and there, and not the best flow, but a cohesive temperament and convincing mood.
Sanctvs – De l’Abîme au Plérôme
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: This is the kind of sound you’d expect to herald the end of the world. It’s monumental without being too dense, and balances harsh clamor with bittersweet, sweeping shards of melody. The mood is fairly uniform throughout, but the feeling of scope and directness varies with the changing current of intensity. There are epic, truly arresting parts as there are sections of fairly typical blastbeats and tremolo, but it’s all performed very well regardless of perceived originality.
Highlight: “Rex Hominum”
Shine – Wrathcult
Genre: Black/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: A riff-focused blackened death project out of Poland that foregoes thematic depth for directness and energy-rich musicality, with elements of heavy- and thrash metal in the riff- and rhythm style. It sort of lands in between a lot of different chairs – not quite catchy enough to be super fun and not dark or brutal enough to deliver any sort of gut-punch. But with a clearer sense of direction I see this going promising places.
Skulld – Abyss Calls To Abyss
Genre: Death/thrash metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: It’s not often I go from track to track to track on an album wondering when the hell it’s gonna stop being unapologetically badass, only to find that it simply doesn’t. At least until the album actually ends. This is Italian band Skulld’s sophomore full-length, and it took me completely by surprise. The tone, mentality and beefiness is all death metal, but it’s mostly played like metallic hardcore and thrash at mid- to high tempos, alternating crunchy grooves with reckless stampedes and threatening tribal beats. The vocals roar, snarl and shout, and while it’s always aggressive, the mood shifts between in-your-face intimidation to ominous prowling to playful spite to bloodthirsty chases. It’s not super tightly performed, it’s not impeccably put together, but good goddamn hell it still slaps like a nuclear-powered revolving door.
Highlights: “Le Diable and the Snake” and “Mother Death”
Stabbing – Eon Of Obscenity
Genre: Brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: This isn’t the place to come to for “with the program”-reviews of brutal death metal, as much of the appeal of the hallmark tropes of the subgenre is mostly lost on me. The mechanical, clicky rhythms, the percussive riffs, the monotone vocal approach – it all becomes a bit too predictable for me, and I’m faced with all of these elements on this latest album by Texas band Stabbing. That being said, this delivers on many other fronts as well. The unnerving tech-ticks, the beastly guitar tone, the clear interest in delivering chugging punishment in a whole host of different forms and tempos. It feels massive, with obvious involvement from the people behind it, with enough highlights to keep even my interest throughout.
Highlights: “Eon of Obscenity” and “Inhuman Torture Chamber”
Tarlung – Axis Mundi
Genre: Doom/stoner/sludge metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Fuzz-crunchy, moderately muted, groovy, coarse-vocal goodness all the way. Austrian band Tarlund sounds like one of those stoner-doom bands that’s out on a steadily marching journey. “Axis Mundi” presents a back-to-basics, deliberate, unadorned kind of sound that lays bare a few imperfections, and boosts charm as a consequence. It’s not an altogether tame kind of experience, as dreamy, slow-flowing melodic and clean parts are contrasted by rumbling storm fronts of crashing heaviness. It never gets out of hand, but secures a sense of slight unpredictability and adventure that involves both revelation, relaxation, whimsy and danger.
Highlights: “Axis Mundi” and “The Valley of Nowhere”
Urne – Setting Fire To The Sky
Genre: Metalcore/sludge metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: I was quite favorably inclined towards Urne’s last album, 2023’s “A Feast On Sorrow”, with its characteristic blend of snarling sludge, acrobatic thrash and groovy metalcore, with a good bit of stark emotion thrown in there as well. Surprisingly, most of these qualities are missing on “Setting Fire To The Sky”. It’s now far friendlier, warmer, simpler. The rhythms are straightforward, the aggression has been dulled down and it’s much more uniform in style. It still carries emotion, but it’s softer, less urgent. Elements of Mastodon and Gojira have entered the formula. It sounds bigger, chunkier, better defined. And it’s far from bad. But it’s also far from daring.
Highlight: “Setting Fire To The Sky”
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 January 23 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released January 17 – January 23
A week dominated by thrash and metalcore, where we say goodbye to one of the titans of the metal world and are reassured by the talent of the still up-and-coming.
Asaru – V.O.I.D.
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Here we have some German black metal that, for once, isn’t atmospheric. In fact, most of this is right-to-the-point, aggressive and fiercely riffing unholiness knocking on the door of thrash, and even stealing a few glances at groove and melodeath. But these are mostly surface-level, instrumental influences. Mood-wise, it’s mean and bleak, also prone to slowing down into sections of melodic moroseness. Aside from some questionably produced clean vocals and a few awkward transitions and riff lines, the main thing holding this album back is not the technicality, energy output or stylistic choices, but the simple lack of ear-catchiness. It sounds really good for 10-15 minutes, and then the freshness wanes off a bit.
Barbarian – Reek Of God
Genre: Speed/black metal/punk
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Barbarian are a proudly blasphemous blackened speed outfit from Italy playing a distinctly rough-edged and punk-ed up variation of the subgenre. This isn’t the classic thin-sounding gallop-guitar race to the finish with some bright screeches along the way. It’s coarse, disorganized, and asking for a fight. Dry growls accompany brawling drum work and guitars that feel like a dog alternating between flying at the throat of everyone it sees and furiously tugging chunks off a single unfortunate. A lot of it is endearing, while some of it feels, at least to me, a bit sloppy. Look past the childish spoken-word album intro warning believers (who for some reason put on an album called “Reek of God”) of the offensive contents, and have some fun with this one.
Highlight: “Eighth Sacrament”
Cadavrul – Necrotic Savagery
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Chunky death metal out of Romania that’s the sonic equivalent of a highly genre-conscious zombie splatter film. Lively drum work propels chompy, grinding riffs into a proper meatgrinder of a pit-inducing frenzy, mostly favoring guitar solos over breakdowns. It’s a good deal of morbid fun, but lacks the urgency of a band like Werewolves, getting a bit too laid back at times and revealing a slightly lower affinity for slow-going death doom style chugging.
Crystal Lake – The Weight Of Sound
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: The seventh full-length from Japanese metalcore outfit Crystal Lake, with their previous one being 2020’s “The Voyages”. And with the aptly titled “The Weight of Sound” they’re returning with a bang. This is a technical onslaught of modern aggression closing in on deathcore heaviness and loading on the intensity, at least in the first quarter of the album. But just at the point where it starts getting a tad tiresome, they change things up and add in more clean sections and rhythm variations, without messing up the momentum. They manage to calm things down without completely exposing any sort of mushy, overly vulnerable underbelly to their sound, laying on emotion without diluting the urgency that they set out with. There are instances of over-simplified choruses and technical tropes, but nothing offensive, and overall they manage a superb balance between groove, peppy beats, vibrant melodies and riff-driven punishment.
Highlights: “Crossing Nails” and “The Weight of Sound”
Deathraiser – Forged In Hatred
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Back with their sophomore album after a mere 15 years, Brazilian band Deathraiser clearly aim to build on their foundation of furious, balls-to-the-wall thrash metal, leaving you with backswept hair (and/or beard) in the aftermath of this gale of aggression. That being said, this feels a tad more reigned in than 2011’s “Violent Aggression”, opting for a pinch more mid-tempo grooves and prioritizing ordered instrumental interplay and low-end heft over all out relentlessness. That said, it’s still plenty intense and focused, and aided by a far superior production it delivers its ravenous riffs, screaming solos and charging beats in satisfyingly impactful fashion. Not a revelation, but a stripped down hellion of a genre-true banger.
Highlight: “Everything Dies”
Furi Helium – No Altar Stands Eternal
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Spanish thrash tends to be a great heap of fun for fans of both the modern and old school iterations of the subgenre. Enthusiasm is almost always the key, and while this album doesn’t quite offer the same no-holds-barred riot that bands like Crisix put out, it’s still very much a feisty little miscreant exuding up-yours energy, just more prone to controlled, catchy groove and more strongly attempting memorable choruses and melody lines. It works to a degree, but also leaves pockets of somewhat repetitive and interchangeable riff lines. But they break it up with great bass acrobatics and cheeky gallops, and match the instrumental attitude with Alexi Laiho-like snarling vocals.
Highlight: “Fall in Disgrace”
Karloff – Revered By Death
Genre: Black/sludge metal/punk
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Blackened punk is one of those subgenres that I feel get away with being quite understated, both in terms of production, instrumental complexity and even the level of perceived involvement in the performances, with little heed paid to overall refinement. Mood and attitude is more important. Karloff have both those things nailed down, and add on to it with sludgy coarseness and low-end heft. They don’t stick to one type of approach, but transition between rowdy riff romps and black-hooded, slow-burn bitterness, with a genuinely creepy and engrossing instrumental interlude with “On Weathered Altar” being one of the highlights of the experience. Not all of it leaves as much of a mark, but for those enjoying black ‘n’ roll-esque irreverence with strong personality and an actual bit of depth, this should hit the mark pretty well dead on.
Highlights: “Pessimistic Soaring” and “Regicide”
Megadeth – Megadeth
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: This is it, then. The last hurrah of the Dave Mustaine-fronted thrash legends. And in the best possible way, this self-titled, 17th album feels like a joining of present and path. With both their last two releases, I’ve been of the opinion that they’ve managed to encapsulate the very essence of metal music, and present it in a way that would both be the perfect introduction to those that have yet to “get” the more traditional, non-extreme subgenres, and providing inspiration to those that wish to see the classic bay-area style live on without simply reproducing the sound of the 80s. That continues on “Megadeth”, blending mature technical showmanship and glint-in-the-eye aggression with songwriting that considers theme and stylistic legacy as much as entertainment factor. There are very clear nods in select vocal attitudes, solos and melody lines to past glories, and for me at least this invokes a strong sense of nostalgia without reducing the whole thing into a retrospective, even with the “Ride The Lightning” cover at the end. Overall there are a few too many mid-tempo tracks for my liking, and the energy seems to dissipate a bit towards the end, so if you hoped they might end on a massive bang, you might be slightly disappointed. But you also get a great mix of hard-hitting and massively catchy riffage, brilliant solos and a good deal of light-hearted punk vibes balancing out more solemn atmosphere. It’s a great band calling it quits while they’re still an absolute highlight of their genre, and this feels like a fitting, if not resounding final statement.
Highlights: “Made To Kill” and “Tipping Point”
Meteora – Darkest Light
Genre: Symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Hungarian symphonic metal band Meteora combine mighty storm fronts of symphonic bombast with Finnish-style melodic aggression, adding thrashy riffs and harsh vocals to the usual semi-operatic ones. While there are elements of folk, they are not particularly pronounced compared to the moderate neoclassical influences and modern heavy metal and hard rock riffs and rhythms. It’s a heavyweight of an album at over 63 minutes runtime, and could have used a bit of trimming, but compared to many of its peers it’s refreshingly varied and unpredictable, offering a decent range of moods and good range of intensity, although with a few slightly iffy performances and vocal/instrumental harmonies.
Highlight: “Rebirth”
Sad Whisperings – The Hermit
Genre: Melodic death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: A meeting of groove-forward, semi-melodic death thrash and moody doom to mostly quite enjoyable effect. They employ a full low end, giving it mass and gravitas, and allowing the riffs to hit hard without taking any sort of overly aggressive or brutal approach. But the almost gothic-melodic, solemn slow sections sap energy as much as the up-tempo parts break with the sense of occasion, almost as if they’re not confident in any single approach being enough to win an audience over.
Textures – Genotype
Genre: Progressive metal/metalcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: This album effectively introduced me to Dutch band Textures, of which I’ve been completely oblivious up to this point. They describe themselves as a melodic, metalcore-based take on djent-styled extreme prog, and while I can agree that this is accurate as a rough framework for what they do, it’s also not enough to give a helpful impression of what’s in store for you on “Genotype”. Yes, they work themselves up to some semi-dissonant chugs, and the general vocal and riff style definitely fit loosely into a modern metalcore setup. But the technical fluidity and maturity in terms of songwriting and layering of elements is such that you quickly forget about genre conventions. Powerful vocals lead on across a deeply dynamic soundscape that takes you all the way from electronic rock to technical death metal in terms of intensity. It’s mainly melodic and effortlessly catchy, with gorgeous details to be found both in foreground and background. Perhaps not quite as daring as their talents could allow them to be, it’s still a forceful return after a 10-year release gap, offering something both accessible enough for the uninitiated and sufficiently complex for more seasoned prog aficionados.
Highlights: “Closer To The Unknown” and “At The Edge Of Winter”
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 January 16 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released January 10 – January 16
This week’s releases don’t hold back in the slightest, pouring on aggression, bombast or atmospheric mood, leaving no question about their intended style.
Carrion VAEl – Slay Utterly
Genre: Technical/melodic death metal/deathcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: As interpretations of sonic carnage go, this is an extravagant one. Very much in the vein of bands like Summoning the Lich, Carrion Vael play distinctly technical and symphonic-leaning modern melodeath with vocal and rhythmic styles that will appeal just as much, if not more, to fans of melodic deathcore. They employ a massive, relentless sound that seeks to stampede all over you repeatedly, but there are also thematic intros of contrasting musical styles employing acoustic instruments and clean vocals, allowing you to reset before the next onslaught. While not exactly boundary-pushing, the album is loaded with bangers, performed with awesome precision, strong melodic aptitude and a clear desire to build on the formula and mix related styles.
Highlight: “Bisection 47” and “Truth Or Consequences”
Death Cult – Death Cult
Genre: Sludge metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: A howling, barely controlled tumble down a pit of existential despair, where you’re repeatedly stomped on by massive manifestations of humanity’s collective woes. This is the debut full-length of French sludgecore band Death Cult, and it seems they’ve unleashed enough pent up anger to sustain a good handful of albums, all in one go. It’s dark, coarse, with massive, chugging riffs and a tone so heavy it sounds like it would crack apart a concrete floor. A few sections get slightly repetitive, and the slower sections drag a bit, but they also build pressure, raising expectations for the next release of crushing fury.
Highlight: “Feeling Of Death”
Edenbridge – Set The Dark On Fire
Genre: Symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: This newest album by Austrian Symphonic metal band Edenbridge is like being whisked along on a slightly detached adventure, overlooking fantastically impactful events from a vantage points up in the clouds. At its best it feels both rousing and emotionally invested, but there are also a few too many parts with clunky melodic transitions, well-worn lyrical concepts and utterly unengaging rhythms. There are ups and downs, enough to please fans, but not to convince the average listener.
Hyperion – Cybergenesis
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: A dose of classic heavy metal coming at your from Italy, reminding me of Saxon first and foremost. If you’re just looking for that shreddy, no-nonsense hit of uncomplicated nostalgia, this will do the trick. The first part of the album is lively and fairly vital, but unfortunately it doesn’t last, and they seem to turn on the cruise control from about the fourth track and out. Nothing actively bad, but fairly unremarkable.
Kreator – Krushers Of The World
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Your take on this album is going to depend greatly on what kind of Kreator you want to come leaping out of the speakers at you. If you just want thrash, thrash and more thrash, at the very least you need to skip past the first four tracks, because judging by the first half of the album you’d think that they’ve fully converted into a modern melodeath band, very much reminiscent of Arch Enemy. And all throughout “Krushers Of The World” you get strong influxes of heavy- and even power metal, pushing melody to the forefront, prioritizing catchy, straightforward rhythms and insisting on nod-along, anthemic choruses. Worry not, there are plenty of ripping riffs in store, but if that’s mainly what you’re hoping for, then you’re likely going to be left with too little for it to be worth your time. However, if you like the band playing around with their sound and providing an easy-to-like sense of occasion with unmistakable Kreator character, then this album is very much for you.
Highlight: “Deathscream”
Marianas Rest – The Bereaved
Genre: Atmospheric doom/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Bring on the grey weather feels. Marianas Rest is organizing a depressive-meditative retreat to the remote Finnish wilderness, having you trek along misty lakes, rocky mountainsides and whispering forests. Their style is folk-infused and expansively atmospheric melodeath played as doom. The song runtimes aren’t actually all that long, but they feel like they go on forever, and that’s mostly meant as a compliment. This is an escape, after all, sampling tragedy and melancholy as a way of opening up repressed pockets of your psyche. Overall, it is a tad monotone, but the balance of immersive melody, satisfying riffs, bitter aggression and rewarding buildups is exactly how you want it for this kind of style. If you have the patience for the sedate pace and don’t expect massive contrasts, I highly recommend letting this album carry you off into the muted expanse.
Highlights: “Rat in the Wall” and “Diamonds in the Rough”
Ov Sulfur – Endless
Genre: Symphonic/blackened deathcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: At its best this is a cathedral-sized gargoyle come to demonic life and laying waste to anything remotely pious in its immediate surroundings. Striding forth on massive roars and thundering riffs, with bitter-tinged melodies blaring into the black skies. But it also dips all the way into creed-level acoustic ballad territory to deliver some ear-wrenchingly on-the nose emotion, which breaks completely with the superficially unholy theme. And for large sections it’s so compulsively breakdown-prone that the progression grinds to a complete halt. For fans of the style it delivers more than enough oomph to get wild to, but it will most likely repel everyone else.
Total Annihilation – Mountains of Madness
Genre: Thrash/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: This is the perfect sound to accompany an album cover adorned by carnivorous mountaintops and a good ‘ol pile of skulls. From the very first few seconds you’re in no doubt that you’re in for an absolute ripper of a rough-edged thrash record adorning itself unabashedly with the morbid trappings of old school death metal. No distractions, no unwarranted experimentation, just a snarling, chasing-the-scent killing spree of racing drums and frantically clawing riffs. It’s a great mix of grooves and wildly thrashing gallops, constantly switching techniques to keep it interesting and going from menacing, mid-tempo pacing to maniacal whirlwind strikes. If the Kreator album dropping this week wasn’t to your taste, I highly recommend giving this a shot.
Highlights: “The Art Of Torture” and “Chokehold”
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 January 09 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released January 03 – January 09
The metal world is slowly awakening from its year-transitioning slumber, stretching some melodic muscles as well as coughing up some morbid phlegm.
Beyond The Black – Break The Silence
Genre: Symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: The stereotype-ist in me would tell me to expect far more bombast from a German symphonic metal band than is actually present on this newest offering by Beyond the Black. That’s not to say that the lyrics will leave you contemplating life’s great mysteries, the overall feel isn’t majorly uplifting or that the rhythms aren’t head-swayingly easy to follow. But, apart from some occasional, slightly off-putting electronic voice filtering, there’s not a ton of unnecessary fluff in the production. It’s almost lean, and even though it’s certainly not groundbreaking, it avoids the biggest clichés and actually manages a decent variation in tone and intensity, drawing more from pop and hard rock than their own genre’s tropes. The result is lively, optimistic and engaging.
Highlight: “Break The Silence”
Ectovoid – In Unreality’s Coffin
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: As you could’ve probably guessed from the album cover, this is coarse, unrelenting old school death metal with a blackened feel. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it terrifying – it doesn’t seem interested in utilizing atmosphere in any sort of nightmare-inducing way – but it’s certainly not the happy-go-lucky kind either. The vocals, the tone, the theme, it all comes from the light-devouring abyss. But you never really forget to appreciate the technicality of it – the merciless riffs, the rhythm transitions like sudden tidal shifts, and the way everything sharpens up and goes on the attack whenever a burst of intensity is called for. In the end, it doesn’t really stand out in any significant way, but its intended audience will likely find their appreciation for it increasing the longer they listen.
Highlight: “Intrusive Illusions (Echoes from a Distant Plane”
For My Pain… – Buried Blue
Genre: Gothic metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: I’ve not picked up on this Finnish long-going gothic metal band before, so I can’t expertly compare to their previous material, but based on vibes I certainly see the appeal. It’s got that typical, moody, folk-derived melodic sensibility, heavy riffs and soaring solos pulling up as the morose vocals and doomy sections want to go nowhere but down. For me though, I find way too many inconsistencies in the production, mix and vocal performances, and far too little innovation in the writing.
Lionheart – Valley Of Death II
Genre: Metallic hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: I guess “Welcome to the West Coast” isn’t the only album to get a sequel series with roman numerals in Lionheart’s discography. This is heavy, extremely riff-forward hardcore with a certain kind of over-emphasized street attitude. Where their last album felt layered and fairly varied, with lasting grooves and well-fitting melodic moments, this is all breakdowns with start-stop riff sections and chest-high stomps. Tons of energy, yes, but I would say that less than half the songs on here tell the whole story.
Oraculum – Hybris Divina
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Chilean death metal that has absolutely no intention of playing nice. It’s raw, ragged, but not underproduced, with hoarse-raspy vocals and low-tempo sections that feel like supplication to malevolent divinity. There’s little new on here for a seasoned OSDM fan, but there’s a commitment to, and honesty about, their particular style that shine through on every track.
Push! – Plowing Ahead
Genre: Hardcore/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: This is a band that manages both restraint and unhinged anger, the former functioning as energy-building breaks to line up their next attack and accumulate interest before accelerating savagely into the next breakneck riff section, accompanied by a vocal performance to tear down any monument or instrument of opposition and oppression on its way. There’s thrash, groove and modern, djent-like crashes of dissonance as well. Nothing feels calculated or forced, making for a malleable style that lets each new expression of outrage feel fresh, like they’re adapting on the fly.
Highlight: “Beyond Exhaustion”
Redivider – Sounds Of Malice
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Crisp, chugging, semi-brutal death metal with Corpsegrinder-like vocals and a non-vehement attitude towards groove, this is the kind of stuff that’s able to both intimidate and entertain, depending on your disposition. It’s very much about delivering riff punishment in a variety of different tempos, leaning more towards classic styles than the modern, but certainly not skimping on the heft. It’s not the kind of thing where there’s a bunch of layers to uncover beneath the surface, but if it hits your sweet spot it’s a great bit of barbaric fun.
Highlight: “Fratricide”
The Ruins of Beverast – Tempelschlaf
Genre: Progressive doom/black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: I’ve had to mature a bit as a listener to really grasp the musical concept of The Ruins Of Beverast. Not that it’s fiendishly complicated or lacking structure, but to someone unused to this level of style melding in extreme music it can seem a bit schizophrenic. There’s what feels like slightly hesitant progressive black metal slithering in and out of oily, gothic-tinged death doom, and you never quite know exactly what you’re going to get ten seconds down the line. It can feel massive, ancient, mercurial, intangible and brutally direct, all during the course of a single song. And somehow the transitions between these different personalities just seem to work in the moment, given that you’ve had a bit of time to attune to it. “Tempelschlaf” might actually be a pretty good starting point for getting into the band, as it feels relatively even-tempered and offers prolonged sections of engaging riffs and rhythms or inviting melody to go with the multi-minded darkness. It doesn’t quite feel like the massive statement that related bands like Blut Aus Nord have been able to achieve lately, but it’s still masterfully crafted.
Highlights: “Alpha Fluids” and “Babel, You Scarlet Queen!”
Semper Acerbus – Following Omens
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: A melding of early and modern metalcore, with quite a few traits reminding me of early-to-mid career Trivium. It’s a mostly aggressive-melodic and groove-centric kind of sound, with only moderate interest in clean sections, which is a plus in my book. If you’re just looking for a big slice of the style without a ton of investment, this will work very well, but it lacks the standout tracks to take it beyond this stage.
Stranguliatorius – Flies Don’t Lie
Genre: Death metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: If you’ve been digging for that over-cured, crust-encased death metal to effectively purge any delicate sensitivities you might have contracted from your surroundings, then this stuff will most definitely do the job. Stranguliatorius is a Lithuanian deathgrind band that also like to incorporate a touch of morbid doom, and it works surprisingly well, considering the grindcore part tugs in the exact opposite direction. What you end up with though, is kind of the best of both worlds, with a mix of no-regard rampages all the way down to the 8-second title track, and also 4-5 minute behemoths that start out massively sinister and crawling out of the mortuary, before kicking some life into their limbs and building up some bloodlust for another bestial charge. I can hear several classic influences in their style, mostly from the death doom spectrum, but also traces of grind-era Carcass. I might have preferred a bit more crispness and even greater variation in riff- and vocal style, but consider me properly, appreciatively savaged.
Highlights: “They Who Don’t Sleep Will Not Wake Up” and “The Notes Of The Deceased”
Uuhai – Human Herds
Genre: Folk/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: The debut album of this Mongolian, throat singing heavy folk band. While the idea of mixing traditional Mongolian instruments with modern ones isn’t a new one, there’s still plenty of room for building niches within the style. Uuhai choose a two-fold path of traditional, riff-happy heavy metal and a far more epic and reverent approach involving strings, choruses and mighty drum blasts. While this leaves gaps in the album’s energetic drive, it prevents the band from falling into the category of folk bands where the traditional elements feel like a tacked-on afterthought. I believe that there’s still room to both broaden this conceptually and narrow it down a bit in terms of technical style, but it’s a strong start showcasing the band’s range.
Highlight: “Uuhai”
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 January 02 – 2026
Reviews of metal albums released December 27 – January 02
We made it into the new year, and the first wave of new metal music lands harder than you might expect.
Beyond the Structure – Born of Naught
Genre: Experimental/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: These guys care little for coherence, and tire quickly of any one approach, be it rhythm, melody, mood or even instrument (yes, it’s got sax). It reminds me a fair bit of Gojira in parts, as it has traces of the same kind of groove and technique, with roughly the same level of aggression. It’s too wavering in style to really land anything truly solid, but it’s an interesting trip that’s not overly disturbing to listen to.
Callisto 5 – Imaginary Explorer
Genre: Progressive thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: A peculiar meld of mid-tempo thrash and spacey prog rock, that either floats of writhes around in unexpected directions, prioritizing playfulness and exploration over genre-bound satisfaction. There’s a bit too many half-committed approaches after another for it to land anything coherent, and it could have benefitted from a good deal more technical ferocity, but as a concept and creative attempt, it’s pretty exciting.
Ellende – Zerfall
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: I jumped on the Ellende appreciation train with 2022’s “Ellenbogengesellschaft”, and remained sufficiently unfamiliar with their material to not catch the fact that 2024’s “Todbringerin” was a re-recording of 2016’s “Todbringer” until after I’d already written the review. No matter, it’s excellent regardless, and the same can happily be said about their latest, completely new full-length “Zerfall”. Sadness is still the prevailing emotion, but, as before, it’s not treated with the ugly vehemence and bitterness that would be typical among the scowling denizens of the black metal realm. Nor is it wrapped in fluffy layers of naïveté or shoved into your ears with heavy-handed earnestness. It’s like watching prolonged snippets of natural events that simply feel tragic to the human sensibility. The band experiments with musical styles, scaling up and down the sense of grandeur to suit the moment, but also to give each song distinction, and I do feel like I’ve been part of something comprehensive and significant at the end of it. It might feel a tad too tame and overly patient to some in parts, but to me this is very close to the perfect balance between beauty and emotional pain.
Highlights: “Reise” and “Wahrheit Teil II”
Erlking – Ends of the Earth
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Now for some nostalgia-inducing heavy metal sending your mind to a simpler and more uplifting time. Serving you rock ‘n’ roll rhythms, soaring hard rock solos and earworm choruses, this would fit right into the less technical corner of the NWOBHM. The band does a lot of things right to get your mind in the proper place, and there’s lot to like, but they have a little way to go in terms of memorable melodies and matching the vocal performances to them.
Lay Waste – Lay Waste
Genre: Grindcore/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: The goings on of the world doesn’t hold up just because we’ve barely entered the new year, so why should the music? This is ferocious protest-grindcore of the anti-fascist variant, which feels very earned given the state of things. It’s got some great, crunchy hardcore chugs, but these are mostly conserved for the parts where they are able to somewhat contain their fury. The rest of the time it’s pure mayhem.
Highlight: “NOTHING WAS DONE”
The Malum Process – Ignominious Feast of Decay
Genre: Brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Technically on-point modern brutal, slamming death metal that feels a bit like being receiving a high-frequency series of moderate shunts directly to the face. It hits hard and is performed well, but leans on to tropes and conventions for dear life.
Night Savage – Eternal Revenge
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Riff-o-licious 80’s-style heavy metal that manages to combine a small dash of sleaze with a shadow of doomy darkness. It’s very much exploring a time-stamped, very specific style, but doing so with a great sense of fun and not content to simply copy. The production is full and warm, yet allowing for crisp detail. The lyrics and melody lines are well written if not phenomenally original, with a good sense for the memorable, without resorting to ballads or getting overly anthemic. Nothing disappoints and the performances remain solid throughout.
Highlight: “Space Master”
Null Existence – Cryptic Monolith
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Melodic and mildly symphonic tech death that’s balancing on the border into deathcore. There’s plenty of good performances on display, and overall it feels alive and varied. It does, however, seem a bit too preoccupied with style and technique to establish any real theme or other distinction to speak of.
Upiór – Forefathers’ Eve (Redemption)
Genre: Symphonic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: A French symphonic death project that goes big on drama and technicality, with a strong sense of storytelling to go in between the bass drum barrages. It’s the kind that will envelop you with sound, awe you with its majesty and inspire vivid images of epic-tragic scenes. It can’t quite match the level of Fleshgod Apocalypse in terms of memorable songwriting, but will no doubt please the same kind of audience, as it delivers many of the same qualities. It’s precise, lofty yet dark and aggressive, and doesn’t lose focus of the task/story at hand despite a good number of instrumental interludes.
Highlight: “Forefather’s Eve (Part II)”
Wildhunt – Aletheia
Genre: Thrash/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: I feel like “epic thrash metal” can mean a few different things, but I think it’s very apt for Wildhunt’s stylie, in the same way that “epic doom” is a good description for what bands like Crypt Sermon dabble in. You feel like you’re being served up old wanderer’s tales, meant to both amaze, excite and, to a certain degree, intimidate. The riffing is sweet, so are the solos, although the instrument/vocal melodic interplay isn’t always on point.
Highlight: “The Holy Pale”
Woe – Legacies of Human Frailty
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: New York band Woe has mastered the ability to make “middle of the road” black metal with a clear signature of their own, that doesn’t try to crawl back under the bark of the original Norwegian subgenre tree. It brings in traces of atmosphere and melody, but remains relentlessly aggressive and fairly nihilistic. They show off a decently wide gamut of vocal- and guitar techniques, and successfully employ a dynamic rhythm approach with smooth transitions from section to section. Fresh ideas are mixed with dependable tricks, and they do a great job of highlighting and expanding strong melody- and riff lines as the backbones of the songs, without them getting repetitive.
Highlight: “Fresh Chaos Greets the Dawn”
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 December 26 – 2025
Reviews of metal albums released December 20 – December 26
A late one just to wrap up 2025 and enter the new year wrapped up in a small bundle of gloom. Happy new year everyone!
Abysmal Grief – Taetra Philosophia
Genre: Doom/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Spooky! If you’re thinking of celebrating new year’s at the graveyard, then consider bringing this album with you. Who knows, you might end up summoning some undead company. This is Italian gothic doom metal band Abysmal Grief’s seventh full-length, and while there’s absolutely black lace theater all over this thing, it’s not like it’s not doing its job of creating that occult underground mood. My mind goes to black-and-white horror films and robed rituals of possession. The riff- and rhythm style can get a bit repetitive, but at its best it’s reminiscent of classic Black Sabbath and Ghost’s first album. There’s some sweet solos in here too, just in case you worried it was getting too serious.
Highlight: “Corpus Mortuum”
Consanguine – Worlds Hidden Behind Vision, Rituals Hidden Behind Dream (EP)
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Some noisy black metal to thoroughly purge any merriment that might have slithered in to clog up your neural pathways. This is noisy and fairly chaotic stuff that sort sounds like its its been wrung, to rid it of any unnecessary layers and leave it nice and stretched. It feels long and painful, which is no doubt the idea.
St. Unholyness – Through High Holy Haze
Genre: Stoner metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Review: You know the world’s collectively a little fed up with cribs, shepherds and angels when even the stoner metal is unholy. Technically, it plays as normal, with crunchy riffs, lazy rhythms and a muffled production. But the tone and lyrical content is less chilled out and more “let’s paint the living room black and light some candles”. The problem is that it doesn’t see quite content to stay there, as it constantly sneaks into the kitchen to take a puff. A little messy in its performances, not very confident in its style, but an interesting sound none the less.
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’s Top Albums of 2025
100: Frozen Land – Icemelter 
99: For The Pyres – At the Pyres of Sin 
98: Unleashed – Fire Upon Your Lands 
97: Dead Heat – Process Of Elimination 
96: Sanguisugabogg – Hideous Aftermath 
95: Sadist – Something To Pierce 
94: Skaphos – Cult Of Uzura 
93: Trold – I Skovens Rige 
92: Heruvim – Mercator 
91: Pupil Slicer – Fleshwork 
90: Martröð – Draumsýnir eldsins 
89: Vacuous – In His Blood 
88: Oromet – The Sinking Isle 
87: Wretched Path – Sea of Death 
86: Blood Monolith – The Calling Of Fire 
85: Inhuman Condition – Mind Trap 
84: Blood Abscission – II 
83: Hazzerd – The 3rd Dimension 
82: 16 – Guides For The Misguided 
81: Kamra – Unending Confluence 
80: Katatonia – Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State 
79: Bent Sea – The Dormant Ruin 
78: Last Retch – Abject Cruelty 
77: Poison The Preacher – Vs The World 
76: Howling Giant – Crucible & Ruin 
75: Outlaw – Opus Mortis 
74: Vittra – Intense Indifference 
73: Nite – Cult Of The Serpent Sun 
72: Tower – Let There Be Dark 
71: Der Weg Einer Freiheit – Innern 
70: In The Woods… – Otra 
69: A Flock Named Murder – Incendiary Sanctum 
68: Faetooth – Labyrinthine 
67: Warfield – With The Old Breed 
66: Nailed To Obscurity – Generation Of The Void 
65: Selvans – Saturnalia 
64: Doomsday – Never Known Peace 
63: Cryptosis – Celestial Death 
62: Ancient Death – Ego Dissolution 
61: Lik – Necro 
60: Conjurer – Unself 
59: Blindfolded And Led To The Woods – The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me 
58: Scorching Tomb – Ossuary 
57: SpiritWorld – Helldorado 
56: Fell Omen – Caelid Dog Summer 
55: Jade – Mysteries Of A Flowery Dream 
54: Century – Sign of the Storm 
53: …And Oceans – The Regeneration Itenerary 
52: Drouth – The Teeth Of Time 
51: Haggus – Destination Extinction 
50: Blackbriar – A Thousand Little Deaths 
49: Shadow Of Intent – Imperium Delirium 
48: Mantar – Post Apocalyptic Depression 
47: Teitanblood – From the Visceral Abyss 
46: Dessiderium – Keys To The Palace 
45: Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar 
44: King Parrot – A Young Person’s Guide To 
43: Mortal Scepter – Ethereal Dominance 
42: Gaahls Wyrd – Braiding The Stories 
41: Jinjer – Duél 
40: Sacrifice – Volume Six 
39: Morax – The Amulet 
38: Lamp Of Murmuur – The Dreaming Prince In Ecstasy 
37: Puteraeon – Mountains Of Madness 
36: Havukruunu – Tavastland 
35: Sarcator – Swarming Angels & Flies 
34: Wytch Hazel – V Lamentations 
33: Between The Buried And Me – The Blue Nowhere 
32: Despised Icon – Shadow Work 
31: Blackbraid – Blackbraid III 
30: Caustic Wound – Grinding Mechanism Of Torment 
29: Bleed From Within – Zenith 
28: Veilburner – Longing For Triumph, Reeking Of Tragedy 
27: Dormant Ordeal – Tooth And Nail 
26: Revocation – New Gods, New Masters 
25: Mors Principium Est – Darkness Invisible 
24: Aephanemer – Utopie 
23: Weft – The Splintered Oar 
22: Deftones – Private Music 
21: The Haunted – Songs Of Last Resort 
20: Employed To Serve – Fallen Star 
19: Abigail Williams – A Void Within Existence 
18: Qrixkuor – The Womb of the World 
17: Coroner – Dissonance Theory 
16: Cryptopsy – An Insatiable Violence 
15: Impureza – Alcázares 
14: Witherer – Shadow Without A Horizon 
13: The Great Old Ones – Kadath 
12: Scalp – Not Worthy Of Human Compassion 
11: Igorrr – Amen 
10: Allegaeon – The Ossuary Lens 
9: Castle Rat – The Bestiary 
8: Gorotica – Daily Grind Of The Medieval Age 
7: 1914 – Viribus Unitis 
6: Kalaveraztekah – Nikan Axkan 
5: An Abstract Illusion – The Sleeping City 
4: Creatvre – Toujours humain 
3: Whitechapel – Hymns In Dissonance 
2: Warbringer – Wrath And Ruin 
1: Scour – Gold
A list of my favorite 100 metal albums released in 2025
(Click the arrows to progress through the slideshow above, or scroll down the list below).
Compiling this list I more or less abandoned objectivity completely, and arranged the albums by level of impact, both immediate and lasting, on me personally. I love the fact that, no matter how many AOTY lists that get put out there, virtually no one will agree 100% with any other person’s picks, which speaks to the sheer size and complexity of the stylistic spectrum within metal music today.
In an attempt to sum the year up, I suppose what strikes me the most is just how many grindcore-style releases I really got behind. Also, just how few other people, particularly reviewers, seemed to do the same. Prog and straight death metal seem to have had a bit of a setback, but still have great success combining forces. Thrash is as strong as it’s been in a long time, and technical metal seems to have found a sweet spot where individual bands are able to achieve clear distinction, instead of all of them sounding like the product of the same dozen-limbed, frantically out of control, homicidal cyborg. Power-, symphonic- and other mostly melodic metal hasn’t made much of a splash, but melody has been allowed back into the extreme without diluting the ferocity, which I’m always a fan of.
Anyway, without further ado, agree with me or not, here are my top 100 albums of the year. Bear in mind that I haven’t had the time to listen to absolutely everything that dropped. So if you find that a major release is missing from the list, then that’s probably the reason. That, or I think everyone else is wrong, and the album is completely overrated. Feel free to speculate.
100: Frozen Land – Icemelter
Genre: Power metalBorrowing some heft from melodeath, riff elements from thrash and groove, with rhythms from straight heavy metal, and infusing it with a highly eager, instrument-forward, Finnish melodic sensibility, this is a power metal album that’s bursting with fun-factor and adventurous spirit.
99: For The Pyres – At The Pyres of Sin
Genre: Death metalNo, I can, in fact, not get enough of classic Swedish death metal. It’s a non-stop headbanging good time, overflowing with groove and all the brutal bells and whistles you would expect from this style.
98: Unleashed – Fire Upon Your Lands
Genre: Death metalIt’s not innovative at all, but feels confident in just the right kind of way. It’s as if the OSDM revival has shown them that it’s okay to rely on the old ways and embrace the sort of thinking that got them started in the first place.
97: Dead Heat – Process Of Elimination
Genre: Thrash metal/hardcoreThis is a thrash-forward variant of southern Californian crossover, carrying elements of Slayer and Anthrax, among others. It delivers mid-and high tempo serrated-edge riffing with deadly accuracy, and to equally murderous levels of effect, which is a feat in itself.
96: Sanguisugabogg – Hideous Aftermath
Genre: Death/extreme metalI’m gonna say it: It feels mature, if such a thing is possible with track titles like “Erotic Beheading”. There’s an industrial edge to a lot of it, even technical, giving much more a feeling of considered songwriting rather than impulsive, live-oriented chug-piling.
95: Sadist – Something To Pierce
Genre: Progressive death metalThis is one to jump on if you want your death metal to challenge you, but are tired of the surgical technicality of the modern stuff. Sadist plays it murky and whacky, and doesn’t go overboard with the complexity.
94: Skaphos – Cult Of Uzura
Genre: Blackened death metalIt dips into eldritch horror and ritualistic soullessness, but first and foremost it’s an utter assault of coarse riffs, canon-barrage drums and rusty, gurgled vocals.
93: Trold – I Skovens Rige
Genre: Folk metalThis gang of merry trolls understand perfectly how to play around and have fun within the style, while both keeping it simple enough to not have to philosophize over, and also keeping it alive and varied with some actual great musicianship.
92: Heruvim – Mercator
Genre: Death metalHere’s a Ukrainian debut old school death metal album that sounds like it’s traveled all the way from the late 80s and picked up traits from some of the more influential bands along the way.
91: Pupil Slicer – Fleshwork
Genre: MathcoreThis is not your average, fiendishly complicated, rubbing-alcohol-flavored piece of mathcore. It’s aggressive, for sure, and certainly not straightforward. But there are layers to the harshness, and the band deftly maneuvers between them in a way that is both satisfyingly unpredictable and which produces a rich level of variation.
90: Martröð – Draumsýnir eldsins
Genre: Black metalEnter a whirling confluence of the damned, like an infernal whirlpool in the dark, pulling at the edges of your sanity and challenging your sense of comfort at every turn.
89: Vacuous – In His Blood
Genre: Death metalThere’s a place you can go musically, that potentially works quite well for the dirtier and more fiendish spectrum of metal, where everything doesn’t have to fit together perfectly well, and this becomes part of the point. Vacuous exists in this slightly demented, slightly listener-hostile place.
88: Oromet – The Sinking Isle
Genre: Doom metalIf you’re looking for funeral doom with the same kind of all-enveloping, seemingly endless scope as Bell Witch, then this is likely to sate your hunger. It keeps rising, and rising, and rising, and pulls you along with it to unseen domains of the skies.
87: Wretched Path – Sea of Death
Genre: Death metalCompletely stuffed to the brim with skull crushing riffs, served out on easy-to-follow rhythms that sometimes take on a hardcore-like flavor. If it wasn’t for the awesome riff tone, roaring vocals and delicious solo work, I’d be tempted to call it one-dimensional, but it has all the right elements to make me a pure addict.
86: Blood Monolith – The Calling Of Fire
Genre: Death metal/grindcoreThis feels like the full force of the primal savagery behind all death metal unleashed, and further boosted by the ferocity of grindcore. But beneath the storm-whipped, turbulent surface grinds a steady wheel, steering the onslaught in a controlled direction.
85: Inhuman Condition – Mind Trap
Genre: Death/thrash metalThe surprise lies not in it being experimental, progressive or terribly distinct, but in that it manages to be so goddamn engaging despite its faithfulness to that original, Obituary-like style.
84: Blood Abscission – I I
Genre: Atmospheric black metalThis is a synthetic-melodic, highly atmospheric black metal project. Very importantly, it doesn’t get lost in its distant wanderings, staying on course and getting both exultant and in an uproar at times.
83: Hazzerd – The 3rd Dimension
Genre: Thrash metalThrash! Unfiltered, unmodified, unpretentious, on-point thrash that takes its mission just the perfect degree seriously. Not markedly old school nor modern, it perfectly blends speed, groove, sharp precision and impatient attitude into a pure, timeless thrash extravaganza.
82: -(16)- – Guides For The Misguided
Genre: Sludge metalThis is still a coarse, roaring, bone-rattling sound with a threatening tone, but damn are you getting your fill of groove on this one. Many of the riffs are Metallica-level catchy and the lead guitar gets into some seriously tantalizing escapades.
81: Kamra – Unending Confluence
Genre: Atmospheric black/death metalIt’s a monumental, barely controlled series of half-dissonant, darkly atmospheric waves of unholy cacophony. And, worryingly, it makes more and more sense the longer you listen to it.
80: Katatonia – Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State
Genre: Progressive/gothic metalThis album feels like the natural continuation of 2023’s “Sky Void of Stars”, which doesn’t speak all that much to the band’s powers of innovation, but as styles go, it’s a very good one to keep exploring.
79: Bent Sea – The Dormant Ruin
Genre: GrindcoreIt’s a lively one for sure, particularly in the drum department, and given that it’s 20 tracks long, it’s a huge plus that they’ve managed a high level of variation, even incorporating a couple of atmospheric interludes.
78: Last Retch – Abject Cruelty
Genre: Death metalWhat is otherwise a perfectly murky, malevolent, mid-tempo affair with dry-gurgling vocals, almost sinking into doom on a few occasions, will on most of its tracks set off on a riff rampage that, at times, feels almost comically eager.
77: Poison The Preacher – Vs The World
Genre: Thrash metal/hardcoreThey serve up plenty of is that Power Trip-style, old school death metal-derived raspy brutality, and coupled with the fired-up, no-way-but-forward mentality of eager, short-form thrash, it sets off like a Mad Max-styled monster truck.
76: Howling Giant – Crucible & Ruin
Genre: Stoner/psychedelic metalThis is a gorgeous sounding album that will have you delighting in the classic, tasteful instrumentation as well as the enveloping atmosphere. There is a mild prog-ness to the rhythms, but nothing distracting or overly complicated.
75: Outlaw – Opus Mortis
Genre: Melodic black metalThis is black metal that dares to dream, and even though these dreams drip with melancholy, it’s not the venomous nor overly nihilistic kind we so often get from Northern Europe.
74: Vittra – Intense Indifference
Genre: Melodic death/thrash metalIn my opinion, there are few things as badass as good death thrash. And, as evidenced by this fun-loving Swedish bunch, it certainly doesn’t have to take itself all that seriously in order to achieve said bad-assery.
73: Nite – Cult Of The Serpent Sun
Genre: Heavy/black metalIt’s still devilishly catchy in as tasteful a way as can be managed, and seems to absolutely revel in that spine-tingingly cool lead guitar work, reminiscent of the very best you get from Tribulation and Ghost.
72: Tower – Let There Be Dark
Genre: Heavy metalWhat might be the most impressive part of the album is that the band manages to craft slow, ballad-like tunes that are, if anything, even more captivating than the high-energy, galloping, solo-tastic tracks.
71: Der Weg Einer Freiheit – Innern
Genre: Atmospheric black metalIt can be harsh and aggressive, and peaks with plenty of force, but it’s not an overwhelmingly negative minded thing. There’s wonder and constructive thought mixed in with the bleakness, making for a fuller spectrum of tonality than you might expect.
70: In The Woods… – Otra
Genre: Progressive black/doom metalIt sounds bleak and mature, but never one-dimensional, and it never gets stuck in neither misery, misanthropy or contemplation for very long at a time. It feels confidently relaxed, flexing beauty, catchiness and depth like it’s second nature.
69: A Flock Named Murder – Incendiary Sanctum
Genre: Progressive black/doom/death metalIt transitions organically into different iterations of itself like the weather on a particularly tempestuous day, and you get the feeling that it’s an elemental force that decides the fates of many.
68: Faetooth – Labyrinthine
Genre: Atmospheric doom metalThis is a very well-balanced experience, where the transitions between mellow and coarse feel otherworldly smooth, allowing you to properly immerse your mind into a world of blissful gloom without fear of getting jarred when the intensity builds.
67: Warfield – With The Old Breed
Genre: Thrash metalImmediately establishing a malicious tone and a headstrong, impatient approach to song progression, the guys deliver on this promise on track after track.
66: Nailed To Obscurity – Generation Of The Void
Genre: Melodic/progressive death/doom metalStepping comfortably into Katatonia-levels of accessibility and leaning fully into Opeth- and Leprous-like progressive-mindedness, this is a many-faceted sound that doesn’t end up over-complicated.
65: Selvans – Saturnalia
Genre: Avant-garde black/heavy metalWelcome to the theatre of the damned. It will spook you, move you, amuse you and bewitch you, and you will likely not come out the other end with your soul still in your possession.
64: Doomsday – Never Known Peace
Genre: Thrash metal/hardcoreThey successfully add an epic dimension to the sound with the guitar-led melodies and solos, and the fuck-it-all attitude shining through every seam makes it difficult not to like.
63: Cryptosis – Celestial Death
Genre: Progressive thrash/extreme metalIt’s the kind of progressive approach that isn’t exhausting in its complexity, rather being preoccupied with moving the style in different directions away from the core, precisely so that you can’t accurately label it, and instead accept it as something genuinely unique.
62: Ancient Death – Ego Dissolution
Genre: Progressive death metalIt’s not extreme in its unconventionality, but does most things in its own way, like it’s mutated from a very recognizable shape into something more complex, while retaining most of its original aspects.
61: Lik – Necro
Genre: Death metalEverything is stylistically spot on, from the hoarse, throat-rending vocals to the over-crunched guitars to the Sabbath-style-evil tone and the very moderately folk-derived melodies.
60: Conjurer – Unself
Genre: Progressive sludge/doom metalThere is frail melody to juxtapose the crashing harshness, and they craft the transitions between the two in a way that make them seem like two sides of the same coin rather than two clashing personalities, although the contrast is just as strong as you’d hope for.
59: Blindfolded And Led To The Woods – The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me
Genre: Technical/experimental death metal/deathcoreThere’s awesome technical control, a good deal of groove, and it both rises into symphonic heights as well as dissolves into atmospheric mist.
58: Scorching Tomb – Ossuary
Genre: Death metalThis thing was designed to detach your skull from the spinal cord by way of excessively forceful headbanging. What you’re in for is crisp, bloodthirsty death metal in the vein of Cannibal Corpse, but with a massive focus on meaty grooves.
57: Spiritworld – Helldorado
Genre: Hardcore/thrash metalAs you listen to Spiritworld’s brand of metallic hardcore, you might think to yourself, how hard can it be to make direct, catchy riffs like this? But then the saying goes – if it was easy, everyone would do it.
56: Fell Omen – Caelid Dog Summer
Genre: Black/heavy metal/punkThis is (naturally) a single individual in a suit of armor, clearly having the time of his life playing cellar-dungeon-darkness-meets-biker-tomfoolery punky, speedy black metal. There’s nothing sinister about this, but the harshness plays a critical part as contrast to the silliness.
55: Jade – Mysteries Of A Flowery Dream
Genre: Atmospheric/melodic death metalLike a storm sweeping over the peaks of a mountain range, the sonic turbulence resounding across the valleys below, this atmospheric death metal album rolls over you, forcing you to lean into it to keep your footing.
54: Century – Sign of the Storm
Genre: Heavy metalRegardless of the fantasy-leaning, gloomy themes, and sometimes full-on doom choruses, the playing always, always takes you back to riff- and solo heaven, which feels inexplicably reassuring, like a car accelerating in perfect accord with the decreasing g-forces as it comes out of a tight bend.
53: …And Oceans – The Regeneration Itinerary
Genre: Symphonic/avant-garde black metalYou take in the first couple of minutes of a song and think you know exactly where this is headed, and then they change it up with a bit of synthwave, or an atmospheric break, only to continue in a new, interesting direction.
52: Drouth – The Teeth Of Time
Genre: Black/death metalIt has an adventurous and daring spirit to it, like the feeling you get from great epic doom and conceptually solid prog metal, and without borrowing any of the technical tropes.
51: Haggus – Destination Extinction
Genre: Grindcore/hardcoreThere are a few by-the-numbers tracks (and even these hold a high standard) and then there’s a generous handful of true entertainers, rocking your world with style shifts, endearing attitude and/or sick riffs.
50: Blackbriar – A Thousand Little Deaths
Genre: Symphonic/gothic metalI guess I’m a goth now, ’cause this stuff just instantly struck a chord with me. Not being familiar with the band, I went in with customary low expectations considering the genre, but had pretty much all of my prejudices swept away and drowned like scattered castaways in a stormy ocean.
49: Shadow Of Intent – Imperium Delirium
Genre: Deathcore/technical death metalThe balance they strike between roaring deathcore pandemonium, death metal savagery, tech death instrumental flourishes and theatrical grandeur is right up there with the very best of their discography, as well as that of their peers.
48: Mantar – Post Apocalyptic Depression
Genre: Blackened punk/sludge metalThe energy on here is bottomless and highly infectious. The blackened edge is still there, but steered more in the direction of black ‘n’ roll, which is absolutely the correct choice for this sound.
47: Teitanblood – From the Visceral Abyss
Genre: Black/death/war metalListen attentively, and you will find that it breathes, builds, rises and hunches like a terrible beast, the appearance of which you can only gleam as a black contour. If you think that the vast majority of dark extreme metal is too safe, then this is for you.
46: Dessiderium – Keys To The Palace
Genre: Progressive/melodic death metalDessiderium still play melodic, effortlessly complex extreme/death prog that explores its soundscape, sometimes like a curious little critter and sometimes like a frenzied predator.
45: Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar
Genre: Experimental/avant-garde black metalIt’s the sound of a particular brand of madness, or at least a very interesting interpretation of this madness made sonic manifest. It is art, and it is inspired, well-crafted and on-brand art at that.
44: King Parrot – A Young Person’s Guide To
Genre: Grindcore/hardcoreThis album feels like chugging gasoline and promptly pissing it onto a fire. It’s strutting with barbed wire bravado and reckless abandon, but instead of going in the murky, ultra-heavy direction of death metal, it pulls from hardcore and punk, making it agile and spiteful.
43: Mortal Scepter – Ethereal Dominance
Genre: Blackened thrash metalThere’s an air of prestige, and a tendency of wanting to flesh things out beyond the dagger-storm of riffs and hyperactive drums. There’s darkness, but in that cosmic, uncaring universe sort of way rather than demonic, and it’s not without a sense of adventure.
42: Gaahls Wyrd – Braiding The Stories
Genre: Avant-garde black metalIt feels like a small universe of its own, where we travel down a spiraling, non-linear timeline, the progression being felt as both near-stationary floating, and stark sprints of riled-up panic.
41: Jinjer – Duél
Genre: Progressive/groove metalThe balance between the harshly mechanical, startlingly aggressive, jaw-droppingly dexterous and brilliantly melodic is so pleasingly struck on here that I find my enthusiasm steadily growing as well as regularly peaking throughout the duration.
40: Sacrifice – Volume Six
Genre: Thrash metalIt’s the first by these Canadian thrash metal greats in 16 years, but there’s certainly no cobwebs to be found on here. It’s got an aggressive, blackened edge, and radiates confident, energetic malice, in a “let’s show ’em how it’s done” kind of way.
39: Morax – The Amulet
Genre: Heavy/doom metal“Occult” heavy metal, when done tastefully, can embody pretty much everything of what metal is about outside of the “extreme” sphere. The Norwegian one-man project that is Morax does exactly this.
38: Lamp Of Murmuur – The Dreaming Prince In Ecstasy
Genre: Black/gothic metalThe symphonic, gothic and prog elements that were present last time around have now been boosted, making for a more melodic and stylistically varied sound. Slightly less sharp and aggressive, but still dramatic.
37: Puteraeon – Mountains Of Madness
Genre: Death metalThis is a Lovecraft-themed, fairly cold-toned, modestly melodic, Swedish old school death metal album that boasts a beefy production, playful rhythms and a constantly threatening tinge.
36: Havukruunu – Tavastland
Genre: Black/heavy metalIt seems to come from a place of genuine musical inspiration and appreciation, and the mood goes where it’s needed in order to tell the story. Whether that be a hailstorm of sharp aggression or solo-happy, ride-across-the-hills, high-spirit stuff.
35: Sarcator – Swarming Angels & Flies
Genre: Thrash/black metalSometimes you get the sense that a metal subgenre was created awaiting the day when a band comes along and discovers a way to maximize its inherent potential. I certainly get that sense with Sarcator and blackened thrash metal.
34: Wytch Hazel – V: Lamentations
Genre: Heavy metalFrom the exquisite vocal quality to the warm embrace of the production, eager rhythms and tastefully understated but-ever-present riffs, it doesn’t break stylistic stride for a single second of its 45 minute, 9 second runtime.
33: Between The Buried And Me – The Blue Nowhere
Genre: Progressive metalI get slightly different iteration of the band with every song, and a new surprise at almost every turn. It’s got heaviness, aggression, dazzling instrumentality, excellent interplay, impactful melody and a good dose of catchiness.
32: Despised Icon – Shadow Work
Genre: Deathcore“Shadow Work” is an instant ambush assault of charging drums and demolishing guitars, rounded off with gut-punch grooves and a touch of bitter-sweet melody.
31: Blackbraid – Blackbraid III
Genre: Atmospheric folk/black metalThe album feels loaded with emotion, not in any sort of tender or overly earnest way, but the highly expressive screams and melodies on here are loaded with passion.
30: Caustic Wound – Grinding Mechanism Of Torment
Genre: Death metal/grindcoreWhile it’s a savage, dirt-covered, rotting monstrosity to the core, it’s not completely inaccessible. The riffs are meaty, the squeals are sharp, the bass is very much present and menacing, and the vocals sound like they’re hacking up innards piece by shredded piece.
29: Bleed From Within – Zenith
Genre: Metalcore/groove metalEven though there are a few tracks on here that are more miss than hit, the ones that pierce the bullseye are all radiant, vital examples of how to make youthful, melodic extreme metal that bridges the gap between light and dark.
28: Veilburner – Longing For Triumph, Reeking Of Tragedy
Genre: Progressive death/black metalInstead of a forbidden, underground ritual, we’re now in the devil’s laboratory/workshop, where all sorts of abominations are born, altered and grafted to each other and all manner of impractical objects.
27: Dormant Ordeal – Tooth And Nail
Genre: Death/black metalDespite its jaw-clenched aggression, it’s impressively controlled and highly precise, without feeling like it’s being held on a leash. The melodies give it depth and reach, without deflating the force or disrupting the progression.
26: Revocation – New Gods, New Masters
Genre: Technical death/thrash metalA lot of it sounds like a kind of complex task-solving, and I must conclude that it’s not as overwhelmingly pleasing as its predecessor. But it’s not far off, and it’s more layered, allowing you to appreciate different facets of it on each new listen.
25: Mors Principium Est – Darkness Invisible
Genre: Melodic death metalFor people like me, who desire both more of what I’ve loved previously and attempts at branching out and evolving, this is like a personalized gift basket.
24: Aephanemer – Utopie
Genre: Symphonic/melodic death metalIt’s the lofty yet playful neoclassical style that the shred monsters of the 80s championed, and bands like Chrildren of Bodom took into the realm of extreme metal, now revived with aggressive melodeath fervor and a flair of prog death complexity.
23: Weft – The Splintered Oar
Genre: Atmospheric/avant-garde black metalSteeped in achingly beautiful melody and folk-y Americana, it sweeps you off to solemn, desolate, yet breathtaking places. It builds to majestic, roaring highs of anger, but restrains the harshness to a point where its role is that of the snow-capped peak of the mountain,
22: Deftones – Private Music
Genre: Alternative/progressive metalYou get hard-hitting grooves and hardcore aggression, and it’s juxtaposed with dreamy, contemplative atmosphere, rhythm- and melody tangents, a tone that travels between deeply psychedelic and fluffy calm, and mood that goes from ecstatic elation to sadness and anxiety.
21: The Haunted – Songs Of Last Resort
Genre: Melodic death/thrash metalThey go heavy on the thrash and groove, but always with the throat-ripping vocals and a ravenous aggression fueling the momentum. The start of the album is insanely strong, and it keeps up the quality all the way through.
20: Employed To Serve – Fallen Star
Genre: Metalcore/groove metal“Fallen Star” vibrates with vigor, exploding with forceful performances and radiating positive, creative energy. A brilliant lighthouse of a release that will likely bridge the gap between the mainstream and the extreme for many.
19: Abigail Williams – A Void Within Existence
Genre: Atmospheric black metalAn album I never ended up reviewing, but certainly couldn’t leave out of this list. The gravity of it is mercilessly arresting, and it’s as masterfully dynamic as it is scrupulous in its tonal and stylistic range.
18: Qrixkuor – The Womb of the World
Genre: Atmospheric death/black metalIt feeds on your fear and causes light itself to wither and die. An orchestra of beautiful malevolence plays in the background, while the vocals hiss like serpentine demons and the guitars thrash and writhe in blind rage and agony.
17: Coroner – Dissonance Theory
Genre: Progressive thrash metalIt’s truly fascinating to get all this deadly riffage, Testament-like groove and Kreator-like snarling vocal work deftly navigating their way through a complex, yet organic and surprisingly melodic system of ebb-and-flow energy, and subtly layered moods.
16: Cryptopsy – An Insatiable Violence
Genre: Technical death metalIt’s got some of the most spine-tinglingly crushing riffs I’ve heard all year, and manages to inject austere, darkly majestic melody without it diluting the malevolence.
15: Impureza – Alcázares
Genre: Folk/death metalThe transitions between castanets and acoustic guitar and murderous chugs with predatorial vocals include both complete shifts and stylistic blends, and somehow work incredibly well regardless. A thing I didn’t realize how much I needed in my life.
14: Witherer – Shadow Without A Horizon
Genre: Blackened death/doom metalIt feels like being buried alive and hearing the earth move around your coffin like a great beast tossing and turning in its sleep, while other buried souls scream their lungs out in agony and despair all around you.
13: The Great Old Ones – Kadath
Genre: Atmospheric black metalIt is a full, rich soundscape of tragic melody and powerful natural forces that feels as steady and intentional as it is unpredictable.
12: Scalp – Not Worthy Of Human Compassion
Genre: Grindcore/death metalScalp’s third full-length feels like being subjected to a spiked, hyperactive garbage compactor infused with the rage born of the world’s collective unfairness. Again, and again, and again the album delivers cataclysmic bangers, punching up with barbed-wire-bound fists.
11: Igorrr – Amen
Genre: Experimental extreme metal“Amen” sounds like the most coherent album I’ve listened to of Igorrr’s to date, and that’s not saying it feels in any way tamed, or even housetrained. The flow writhes and glitches along in typical, spasmic fashion, and, long story short, it’s a great fucking time.
10: Allegaeon – The Ossuary Lens
Genre: Technical/melodic death metalIt’s always moving forward, in leaps and bounds, scurrying along complex tunnel networks, prowling the shadows and taking jet-fueled flight. Melodically, it’s as vibrant as it is focused, which is a hard thing to pull off.
9: Castle Rat – The Bestiary
Genre: Doom/heavy metalWhat Castle Rat does so well within the fantasy doom genre is that they don’t make music ABOUT an imaginary realm, describing it in the role of storytellers, or poke half-ironic, half-loving fun at the concept from a meta standpoint. Their music IS the fantasy realm.
8: Gorotica – Daily Grind Of The Medieval Age
Genre: Grindcore/death metalIt’s hyper aggressive and savagely heavy, but instead of sticking with the intention of simply causing damage, they’ve crafted a series of flavorful, outstanding chapters in a mildly unhinged tale of cannibalism and medieval sadism, that’s about as serious as a Tarantino-film.
7: 1914 – Viribus Unitis
Genre: Black/death/doom metalIt’s extremely well balanced, and spins a dynamic tale that takes us through the entirety of the war, and chances are good you’ll come out the other end feeling things you might not have expected from a blackened death metal project.
6: Kalaveraztekah – Nikan Axkan
Genre: Progressive/melodic death metalThis is progressive death metal that’s absolutely dripping with Mesoamerican instrumental folk elements. It makes for a saturated and highly distinct sound not quite like anything else I’ve ever heard. It hits damn hard, is highly varied, and just oozes potential.
5: An Abstract Illusion – The Sleeping City
Genre: Progressive/atmospheric death metalIt’s got amazing melodic depth, feels completely organic, and builds beautifully. It’s impressively heavy as well as hypnotically atmospheric, with the kind of pull that has you “waking up”, as if from a trance at the end of it.
4: Creatvre – Toujours humain
Genre: Progressive/avant-garde extreme metalTalk about outdoing yourself. “Toujours Humain” is alive, and running a whole bunch of different operations simultaneously, continuously evolving as its incomprehensible mind processes new information and reacts to it in ways both benign and hostile.
3: Whitechapel – Hymns In Dissonance
Genre: DeathcoreThis stuff will shake your brain into a paste of submissive appreciation that they’ll knead into a ball and throw repeatedly into a wall. There’s tons of groove, and an impressive range of tempos, vocal styles and riff tones. Did I mention it’s unbelievably goddamn heavy?
2: Warbringer – Wrath And Ruin
Genre: Thrash metalThis might be the most focused, best produced thrash metal release that I have ever heard. Pause for effect. And that isn’t even nearly the best part of it…
1: Scour – Gold
Genre: Black metal/grindcoreThe achievement of this album can be compared to the effort of mounting a chainsaw as a bayonet to a rotary cannon and somehow employing it as a precision weapon. The combination of frigid-toned, razor-edge ferocity and raw brutality on here might be the best I’ve ever heard. To me, this is everything that extreme metal is about and more.
What’s your AOTY? Voice your eclectic preferences in the comments below.
-(16)-, …and oceans, 1914, A Flock Named Murder, Abigail Williams, Aephanemer, Allegaeon, an abstract illusion, Ancient Death, Bent Sea, Between the Buried and Me, blackbraid, Blackbriar, bleed from within, blindfolded and led to the woods, Blood Abscission, Blood Monolith, castle rat, Caustic Wound, Century, conjurer, Coroner, Creatvre, Cryptopsy, Cryptosis, Dead Heat, Deftones, Der Weg Einer Freiheit, Despised Icon, Dessiderium, doomsday, Dormant Ordeal, Drouth, Employed to Serve, Faetooth, Fell Omen, For The Pyres, Frozen Land, Gaahls Wyrd, Gorotica, Haggus, Havukruunu, Hazzerd, Heruvim, Howling Giant, Igorrr, imperial triumphant, Impureza, in the woods…, inhuman condition, Jade, Jinjer, Kalaveraztekah, Kamra, katatonia, King Parrot, lamp of murmuur, Last Retch, Lik, mantar, Martröð, Morax, Mors Principium Est, Mortal Scepter, Nailed to Obscurity, nite, Oromet, outlaw, Poison the Preacher, pupil slicer, Puteraeon, Qrixkuor, revocation, Sacrifice, Sadist, sanguisugabogg, sarcator, Scalp, Scorching Tomb, Scour, Selvans, Shadow of Intent, Skaphos, spiritworld, Teitanblood, The Great Old Ones, The Haunted, Tower, Trold, Unleashed, Vacuous, veilburner, Vittra, Warbringer, Warfield, Weft, Whitechapel, Witherer, Wretched Path, wytch hazel -
Weekly rundown December 19 – 2025
Reviews of metal albums released December 13 – December 19
For the last weekly rundown I expect you’ll be paying half attention to this year, we’ve got a meagre handful of true gems that deserves to be played on repeat into the new year.
Dead Sun – This Life Is A Grave
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Review: Being one of Rogga Johanssons numerous projects, you can be sure that you’re getting some form of Swedish death metal that’s fairly loyal to the original recipe, and a certain base level quality is all but guaranteed. Unfortunately, there’s not all that much else to say about this melodeath album. It’s melancholy in a doomy fashion and as riff focused as you’d hope, but once you’ve listened to the first two tracks, you’ve sort of heard all of it.
Funeral Vomit – Upheaval Of Necromancy
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: A gurgly, old-school-brutal heap of mid-paced, festering fun. Is it perfectly produced? No. Is it innovative or particularly interesting? Nope. Does it get better the more you listen to it? Yup! Like a mutated, scabby beast emerging from its cave of hibernation, it takes a little time to shake off the grogginess, but once alert and mentally centered, its appetite becomes apparent.
Highlight: “Altars of Doom”
Lychgate – Precipice
Genre: Avant-garde black/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Back after seven years with their fourth full-length, Lychgate wants to make sure you have the chance to get properly unsettled before sinking into the fluffy, warm comfort of Christmas. Listening to this album feels like being dropped into a darkened museum of bones randomly arranged into a host of abominable shapes, that all come alive around you and start to interact in confused and violent ways. The black metal side to the music is prominent, but not in a trope-y way that makes you go “oh, this is just that-and-that Norwegian band fused together”. But certainly in a way that makes you think of tormented spirits and affronts to all things pious. And the doom side provides that feeling of “dusty, haunted manor with family portraits telling a tale of worsening mental instability”. It’s a bleakly vivid sort of sound that pulls you in and leaves you wondering just where the hell your consciousness went for 47 minutes and 47 seconds.
Highlights: “”Renunciation” and “Terror Silence”
Pythonic – Decomposition (EP)
Genre: Groove/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Review: Some Canadian pissed-off groove metal, screaming spittle at you in rhythmic fashion. There’s not quite enough on offer besides crunchy riffs and pummeling drums to really elevate it into something outstanding, but the aggression is there.
Starscourge – Conqueror Of The Stars – Betwixt Sundered Seraphim, The Lands Between Bleed
Genre: Death/black/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: A Swedish and Singaporean duo playing epic, blackened death metal inspired to a certain extent (I’m not a player, so I can’s say exactly how much) by Elden Ring. They don’t hold back, showcasing a bunch of different influences, and getting properly nerdy with the lyrics and spoken-word parts. To me, it’s unfortunately too badly produced and messily composed to get any lasting enjoyment from. Also, far too much AI in the band’s various cover art.
Taedifer – Indivinus
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: How about a sizable dose of old school Swedish-style death metal? You know I’m in. This stuff sounds like it’s caked with centuries old dirt and flaking off pieces of crispy clothing and skin as it rises out of a gargantuan tomb to trample and terrorize the surrounding villages. It’s menacing, unrelenting and in a bit of a mood, as it elbows aside insignificant concerns of melody or cerebral depth. It feels grounded in stylistic confidence and finishes off just as strong as it starts, with a couple of well-chosen guest performances.
Highlight: “Hateseed”
Weft – The Splintered Oar
Genre: Atmospheric/avant-garde black metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Review: If you’re (for some reason) looking for only one last, freshly released album to listen to in 2025, let it be this one. I thought my highlights list for the year would be good and set by now, but “The Splintered Oar” will definitely make it on there. What Texan band Weft (masterminded by Panopticon violinist Charlie Anderson) have made here is an atmospheric black metal album steeped deeply in achingly beautiful melody and folk-y Americana taking you by the hand and sweeping you off to solemn, desolate, yet breathtakingly striking places. It builds to majestic, roaring highs of anger, offering more than enough heaviness to place it in the extreme metal category, but restraining the harshness to a point where its role is that of the snow-capped peak of the mountain, rather than covering the entire soundscape in jagged ice. It’s deeply soulful, featuring masterful violin work, a wide range of vocal style, and just enough layers to make you feel properly enveloped.
Highlights: “A Dream of Oaks” and “The Hull”
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 December 12 – 2025
Reviews of metal albums released December 06 – December 12
The darkest month of the year receives a suitable injection of black and gothic metal, with an aftertaste of harsh, modern chugging to go with it.
Abbie Falls – Life is just a temporary plan
Genre: Metalcore/nu metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: One of my first thoughts diving into this latest release from Czech band Abbie Falls was that a lot of it reminds me of Bleed From Within. It’s got a lot of the same groove, technical melodic playing, and the same level of fury, with even more frantic energy. Where it diverges is in its unabashed leanings into modern metalcore, deathcore and nu metal conventions, like the predictable breakdowns, djent-guitars and sudden shifts to turntable hip-hop rhythms. There’s also a decent amount of electronica-based industrial in here as well, and it all adds up to a fairly varied and almost desperately expressive kind of sound, like the band is clawing for your attention at every turn. The good part of that is that they’re very obviously trying very hard, and got the instrumental chops to back it up. A tad too conventional in parts, but highly entertaining.
Highlights: “Black Void” and “Purge”
Dawn Of A Dark Age – Ver Sacrum
Genre: Atmospheric black/folk metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: A melding of traditional acoustic instruments and heavy metal-level aggressive black metal into long, chant-y, slightly ritualistic feeling songs that feel a lot like epic doom. Everything is well performed, and the music moves through many rewarding phases both beautiful, sad and bitter, but in the end there’s a bit too much repetition going on to really get excited.
Kaosophia – Funeral Of The Gods
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: A Ukrainian black metal duo that, despite a few influxes of soulful, guitar-based melody and rainy-day-atmosphere, is a staunchly gritted-teeth, infernal-rumble double bass drum, raspy-vocal dark and deeply bitter kind of thing with several similarities to typically mid-to-low-paced, Eastern European blackened death metal. Most of it sounds really good, but most of it is a bit too straightforward to leave a real mark.
Lord Of The Lost – Opvs Noir Vol. 2
Genre: Gothic/industrial metal/rock
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: The German goth sensations are back with the second part to their “Opvs Noir” album released earlier this year. They’re still very much leaning into the bombastic catchiness that saw them to the Eurovision final, and even have one of the co-finalists from that year joining them on a song. There are other guests as well, and to me these collabs make for the best tracks on the album. Outside of these, there are very, very few surprises.
Highlight: “What Have We Become?”
Lust Of Decay – Entombed In Sewage
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Some strong ear defilement coming your way in the form of semi-brutal, gory death metal with harsh, hammering rhythms, gurgling vocals and slamming riffs. There’s a modicum of groove in there, but it’s never really allowed to dominate. This is about punishment and shoveling rotting filth.
Martröð – Draumsýnir eldsins
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Enter a whirling confluence of the damned, like an infernal whirlpool in the dark, pulling at the edges of your sanity and challenging your sense of comfort at every turn. This Icelandic/American project plays a saturated form of black metal, pouring on layers of atmosphere and disharmonic melody over rushing drums, subtle, dissonant symphonic backing elements and growling vocals somehow sounding both wet and hoarse at the same time. It’s a kind of sound that sucks you in and leaves you too petrified to turn away, as it becomes your whole reality. There are only four tracks on the album, but each play different parts in the experience, as they explore new areas of the nightmarish underworld.
Highlight: “Sköpunin” and “Dauðinn”
Orbis de Ignis – Ancestral Strides
Genre: Doom/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: This album combines a lot of what I love about the sadder side of Amorphis (much thanks to the vocal style) and Norwegian classic doom band Sahg. What this is in essence is melancholy doom in the vein of My Dying Bride, but taken in a distinctly Finnish melodic direction and added a few mild progressive touches. The guitars get to soar into overcast skies on dark daydream tangents, and the tone glides between sullen gothic introspection and trickles of hope. Not all of the melody lines work quite as well, but the ones that do have the potential to stick in your mind a long time. This has a lot of promise, and I’m looking forward to hearing more.
Highlight: “Golden Snake”
Pincer+ – Who Are You When No One’s Around
Genre: Hardcore/metalcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: A crushing, heavily metallic hardcore album out of Australia that’s got great momentum, groovy-yet-abrasive chugs and, of course, ground-splitting breakdowns. It insistently grabs a hold of your attention and keeps shaking you to the beat of the music to ensure that you’re involved all the way through the sub-22 minute runtime. There are a few, shoegaze-y melodic moments, but mostly this is about slamming your feet into the ground to the musical equivalent of breaking apart a concrete floor with sledgehammers.
Highlight: “Concrete Lullaby”
Sun Of The Suns – Entanglement
Genre: Progressive groove/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Fronting their sound with the rumbling chug-grooves of the likes of Orbit Culture, Sun of the Suns is an Italian semi-progressive groove- and technical death metal band. It’s a modern style, but not embracing trendy tropes either, instead opting for brutal aggression mixed with classic melodic depth. There are not quite enough songs that really stand out, but there’s nothing weak either, so if you’re looking for some well-executed heavy riffs with a bit of space in between to get lost in, then this is for you.
Highlight: “On The Last Day Of Earth”
Windswept – The Devil’s Vertep
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: A black metal project by Drudkh’s Roman Sayenko, this is back-to-basics evil stuff with marching rhythms and stripped-down winter gale melodies. It sounds raw and suitably primitive, but with some depth to it, and a few well-chosen folk elements. The vocal style is a bit too phlegm-y for my taste, and overall there aren’t a ton of distinguishing features, but it’s to-the-point and confident in its unholy brand.
Highlight: “The Potion”
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
The Metal Dispatch 