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Weekly rundown October 10 – 2025
Reviews of metal albums released October 04 – October 10
A week of strong mood swings – from doomy seductiveness to riotous outrage to homicidal frenzy – it’s all worth paying attention to.
All Hell – Sunsetter
Genre: Black/thrash metal/black ‘n’ roll
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: A no-nonsense, riff-driven black metal project with elements of thrash, hardcore and rock ‘n’ roll. As “unholy” metal goes, this is mostly preoccupied with creating engaging music. You get blast beats and dry snarls, but the crisp drum work and agile energy are all about getting your head moving. Falling somewhere in between the reckless abandon of thrash and the simplicity of punk, it’s entertaining and to-the point, without turning too many heads.
Blindfolded And Led To The Woods – The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me
Genre: Technical/experimental death metal/deathcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: As has come to be expected from Blindfolded and Led to the Woods, this is a release with a lot to take in. Around random corners lurk shock-and-awe assaults of frantic, technical death metal, and moments of respite are filled with chant-y, staccato hardcore vocals, dissonant melodies and unpredictable rhythm approaches. The heavy parts take the form of barbarous death metal, chugging deathcore and abrasive metalcore, and they function as individual faces on a multi-headed beast, each one with a (at least partially) mind of its own, giving no warning of when it suddenly decides to cut in. It’s not as random an experience as I probably make it out to be – there is a method to the madness – but it’s not a style that lets you lean into one particular direction for very long. There’s awesome technical control, a good deal of groove, and it both rises into symphonic heights as well as dissolves into atmospheric mist. Above all, it’s punishingly heavy, and impressively dynamic.
Highlights: “Cafuné” and “The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me”
Boltcutter – Still Broke
Genre: Slam/brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Loaded beyond the brim with soundbites and ping-snares, this is slamming death metal that understands the assignment, though doesn’t much bother to shake up the formula. It’s tight, with a fittingly lean production, making for a direct, un-fluffed impact with plenty of playful attitude.
Dead Heat – Process Of Elimination
Genre: Thrash metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: This thing screams Power Trip, but not in a derivative way. What I mean is that it takes some of the best aspects of that band as examples for its own way of performing, which comes through in the unfiltered attitude and raw energy that very clearly fuels it. This 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. It doesn’t get repetitive or unimaginative, always pushing forward and, aside from a mid-experience interlude, never running out of steam. A pure banger with a killer instinct.
Highlight: “Hidebound” and ” By My Will”
Extortionist – Stare Into The Seething Wounds
Genre: Deathcore/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Extortionist make deathcore with a mind for other things than just breakdowns. The foremost of the split personalities are stompy hardcore and gritty grunge, but there are also fragments of Deftones-esque alternative, and a bit of Slipknot-y nu metal. In that regard their sound reminds me of a (much) less experimental version of Tallah. It’s got much of the same raw-throat, beat-heavy aggression, and alternates it with reluctant-melodic, grungy semi-clean parts that bring to mind the calmer side of Machine Head. Lots of stylistic elements to speak of, but it results in a very cohesive sound.
Highlight: “Cycle Of Sin”
Frayle – Heretics & Lullabies
Genre: Atmospheric doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: Frayle have really mastered their brand of stylized doom metal with this one. Saturated with abyssal synth, bulked up with crashing riffs and led by silky-smooth dark elven vocals, it feels (and looks) like toned down and doom-ed version of In This Moment – it just doesn’t quite sound like it. The album exists in a shadow-realm of insidious, ponderous melodies, luring you in with cushy pleasantness, only to trap you in its world of half-materialized horrors. It’s tonally exquisite and extremely well produced, although a bit stuck in the same exact mood throughout.
Highlights: “Boo” and “Souvenirs Of Your Betrayal”
Heartlay – The Alteration
Genre: Industrial/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Review: Like a reserved, industrial-gothic and (per today) heavier version of Lord of the Lost, this is black-clad, slightly sad, metalcore-catchy alternative metal that feels well-rounded and able to avoid the biggest clichés.
Katakomba – The Second Death
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Imposing Swedish death metal that comes roaring out of the gutter-drains, hungry for living flesh. It’s an old-school-leaning thing, but doesn’t get lost in style-adulation, bringing a dark edge, with traces of hardcore, lots of grim energy and plenty of-low-end firepower. It feels ferocious, with a hunting predator’s demeanor, always advancing, be it prowling or bounding along. There’s plenty of raw groove, and some really strong choruses, with a more than decent level of variation in rhythm, tempo and playfulness between songs.
Highlight: “Atropos”
Morke – To Carry On
Genre: Avant-garde/melodic black metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Medieval-themed, and with a very specific, reverb-heavy and dreamy style, Morke stands on its own in the world of underground, atmospheric-melodic black metal. The un-harmonious-yet-serene, distracted-sounding melodies will not be for everyone (I simply can’t vibe with it), but it’s very likely not quite like anything you’ve ever heard before, and somehow matches very well with the bitter harshness that comes sweeping in every now and then.
Sanguisugabogg – Hideous Aftermath
Genre: Death/extreme metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Review: The Bogg is back, still downtuned, still brutally heavy and still outrageously grisly. But this is a step away from the style-faithful, grimy-brutal death metal that we got on 2023’s “Homicidal Ecstasy”. The ping-snare is there, but not quite as prominent. The chug-breakdowns are there, but not feeling quite as routine. It’s crisper, starker, more openly and sincerely hostile. It’s loaded with guest performances, and while they’re noticeable, it seems their contributions are very much in line with the vision for the album, because if you didn’t know about them, I doubt you’d be able to point it out on a blind listen. I’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 a much more a feeling of considered songwriting rather than impulsive, live-oriented chug-piling. It’s a bit of a surprise, and still very much the kind of abomination I think the fans will go nuts over.
Highlights: “Felony Abuse Of A Corpse” and “Abhorrent Contraception”
Terjiz de Horde – Our Breath Is Not Ours Alone
Genre: Black metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Harsh, strung-out, Dutch black metal with a hardcore. punk-oriented edge. It settles into driving blast beats for the majority of the runtime, using them as its main means of transportation and adding nuances in different moods of melody and levels of viciousness from the vocals and riffs.
Testament – Para Bellum
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: From the very get-go, it’s clear that thrash old-schoolers Testament aren’t content with coasting along on old tricks and dusty laurels. They slap you in the face with blackened viciousness and shades of grindcore savagery, throw you for a loop with a full-on ballad, pull you along on a heavy metal joyride, and in between you get varying levels of thrashy groove and aggression. They’ve had ideas, that for sure. The question is if they’ve kept a few too many in, to the detriment of coherency and flow. The middle part of the album feels a tad directionless, as if they felt that the ferociousness of the first third (excluding the ballad) was getting too predictable. Things pick back up and return to more familiar territory towards the end, landing you good and loaded with impressions, with the highlights for the absolute most part overshadowing the flaws.
Highlights: “Infanticide A.I.” and “Havana Syndrome”
Ültra Raptör – Fossilized
Genre: Heavy/speed metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Review: Cyber-dinosaur, speedy heavy metal out of Quebec, Canada, and it’s pretty much exactly what you’d hope for. Epic, light on its feet, with hard rock groove and plenty of retro charm. The limitations of the vocals and so-so melodic work are a bit of a bummer for me, taking me out of an otherwise very fun experience, but if you’re less sensitive to this then you’ll likely have a blast.
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 October 03 – 2025
We’ve got a divide this week, between those veering off the staked-out course to travel unknown waters, and those sticking to, and improving on, well-established turf.
Bloodred Hourglass – We Should Be Buried Like This
Genre: Metalcore/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5About as accessible as melodeath gets, this is superficial, metalcore-level heaviness on top of super-catchy, industrial-like beats, with plenty of synth-based melody as its centerpiece.
Breathe//Die – Gestalt
Genre: Death metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Heavy, abrasive, hardcore-rhythm punishment with crunchy death metal riffs and a strained vocal style that gives the impression of teetering on the edge of frantic rage. It’s a bit one-dimensional overall, but has a really satisfying drive.
Cruentus – End Without End
Genre: Death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A Swedish extreme metal projects mixing black metal sharpness and dark folk atmosphere with classic death metal roughness. It sounds like they’re on to something, especially in the mid-tempo sections where the mood tends towards doom, and they get to really explore what the music is supposed to be about.
Decayer – Memoirs Of Despair
Genre: Technical deathcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Decayer blends ferocity with symphonic loftiness on their newest album, meaning you get your obligatory, exceptionally hard-hitting breakdowns as well as a sense of monstrous scale. But in addition to the expected, gargantuan crashes, they also field an army of agile, furious fiends that both charge right at you and skip around to stab at your throat from unexpected angles. What I mean to say with that is that there’s a good deal of super-aggressive, speedy tech-riffing on progressive rhythms, and while some of it feels a bit forced and just for the show-off factor, it keeps the music feeling super-active, always on the move and never satisfied with the same approach for long. A few aspects of their sound does feel borrowed from what the big names are doing at the moment, but I feel like they’re on the cusp of really nailing their own identity with this one.
Highlight: “Opulence and Obsidian”
Dispossessed – Dêmocide
Genre: Doom/sludge/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Dark, cumbersome sludge that’s half a step away from death doom, it’s near-inconceivably heavy, like a city-sized worm bulldozing its way through the roots of mountains. Lacking variation and contrast, it does make 32 minutes feel fairly long, but its temperament is just the way you want it – ominously smoldering.
Dissona – Receptor
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5While you’re never in doubt about which subgenre of metal this belongs to, the band makes a commendable effort to instill personality into the music, and keeping it feeling vital by constantly tugging at the rhythmic, tonal and stylistic reigns. The sense of direction suffers a bit as a result, but It’s always going somewhere, and purposefully so. And the more you get to meet the different shades of its disposition, the less you care about the destination. It’s all about what comes around the next corner. It’s an album that is both frivolous and solemn, technical and atmospheric, vicious and gentle. All the while, it retains substance, suggesting that there always was a twisted vision for its final form, or at least the different flavors that would bloom out from its core identity.
Highlight: “Incisor”
Enragement – Extinguish All Existence
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Better hold on to something, it’s about to get hairy! Entrapment is a Finnish death metal band that plays a technical, modern-brutal and intensely fierce variant of the subgenre. I had nice things to say about their 2022 release “Atrocities”, and I’m delighted to be able to repeat the praise this time around. The production is crisper and more detailed, it’s even more ferocious than before, which is saying something, and it doesn’t get lost in technical showmanship. While not quite as convincingly malevolent as last time around, it makes up for it with sheer aggression, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake. Delivering massive riffs, a good variation of harsh vocal styles and just the right amount of precision vs. savagery, it’s a beast of a record that will most likely leave you spent and in need of a sonic time-out.
Highlights: “Natural Mass Asphyxiation” and “Harbingers of Degradation”
Gorotica – Daily Grind Of The Medieval Age
Genre: Grindcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5I have a soft spot for grindcore that knows how to have fun, and this thing is just riotously entertaining. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hyper aggressive and savagely heavy, but instead of starting each short track with the intention of simply causing damage in a slightly different, but equally punishing and straightforwardly chaotic way, these French(?)-Australian lads craft an 18-long series of flavorful, outstanding chapters in a mildly unhinged tale of cannibalism and medieval sadism, that’s about as serious as a Tarantino-film. While retaining the coarseness and relentlessness of deathgrind, the songs are structured like, or otherwise infused with, hardcore, punk, garage rock, melodeath and classic heavy metal. From acoustic, folk-instrument interludes to absolutely frantic outbursts of roaring fury, this is a massively enjoyable feast of tongue-in-cheek morbidity.
Highlight: “Connoisseurs Of Human Flesh” and “Nothing Left To Penetrate”
Hangatyr – Sumpf der Fäule
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Not to disparage the craftmanship, but this is pretty much what it says on the packaging – German atmospheric black metal. You get snarls and howls, plenty of blastbeats and icy, mournful melodies carried on winds from the desolate mountaintops.
Hooded Menace – Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration
Genre: Death/doom/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Now, I’m in no way a Hooded Menace expert, but it doesn’t take a deep familiarity with their discography to tell that this is a bit of a departure from well-established ways. Yes, it’s still old school death doom at its core, but a far cry from funeral-paced abyssal misery. The main differentiator is the appearance of a highly influential classic metal spirit that ups the tempo, groove, sense of adventure and occasion, and the use of guitar solos. It’s got that mildly synth-y 80s feel plastered all over it, with the horror feel of that era as part of the package, which suits the style very well, and it’s not overdone. Speaking of which, you get parts where they seem to be holding back in honor of their past almost as much as parts where they really let go, and embrace the galloping ride-to-battle bravado. The inclusion of a Duran Duran cover on a mere 7-track album underlines the offshoot thinking of the project, and while I’ve certainly heard far less tasteful flavor blends than this, I’ve also heard them less muddled.
Highlights: “Pale Masquerade” and “Into Haunted Oblivion”
Ofermod – Drakosophia
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This thing must be like 90% blast beats. While being very riff- and drum-focused, the main draw of this band’s style is the darkly mythical feel that permeates every song on the album. For me there’s too much of a feeling of repetitiveness with how the songs feel and progress, but if you’re into cult-y fantasy black metal, then you’ll likely find this to be a solid, confident effort.
Orbit Culture – Death Above Life
Genre: Groove/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Orbit Culture continue to utilize their talent for successfully combining the catchiest elements of heavy groove, melodeath, deathcore and metalcore into moderately anthemic, wall-shaking, systematized shockwaves. Not too harsh, not too soft, they strike a near-perfect balance of uncomplicated, energizing modern extreme metal that’s not too extreme for beginners and not too cringeworthy for the thoroughly initiated. The cleans and choruses are, at least in my book, their foremost weakness, lacking in both dynamism and originality, and like before my overall impression comes from weighing the appeal of massive bangers against far more lackluster and generic efforts. In the end, the entertainment factor is far too great to ignore, and it scores massively on the most important areas of chugging grooves and headbang-ability, but with their single tracks being some of the least interesting, they’re approaching a point where they’re in danger of growing stale. But not yet.
Highlights: “Bloodhound” and “The Storm”
Ribspreader – As Gods Devour
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5One of them many, many projects that bears the Rogga Johansson signature, you know very well that you’re in for solid crunchy, murky, groovy old school Swedish death metal. Apart from being fairly poorly produced, this one absolutely has its moments, but not quite enough to dispel the slight feeling of fatigue.
Rotting Demise – The Unholy Veil Of Silence
Genre: Black/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Offering a mix of gothic-like blackness and driving death metal ruthlessness, Rotting Demise aims for those that are attracted to the catchier and more melodic side to blackened death metal. More technically minded and less conceptually fleshed out than Rotting Christ, it’s got traces of thrash, save for the playfulness.
Sothoris – Domus Omnium Mortuorum
Genre: Blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Polish blackened death metal that’s technically tight, working through lightly chaotic, unholy sections of blast beats and ritualistic harsh-chanting to get to ripping riffs and sharp solos. Nothing massively outstanding, but a good hit of scorched anger and blasphemy.
Vimic – Open Your Omen
Genre: Groove/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Sadly not to be finished in his lifetime, it is finally time for the debut album of Joey Jordison’s Vimic to see the light of day, Being the product of a tumultuous creation process and, now, being less about an actual, coherent starting point for the band and more of a service to fans, there’s no denying it’s a mixed bag. A bunch of ideas and stylistic inputs are represented on this 15-track, 64 minute chunkster of an album, and while the production is quite good, it could definitely do with a bit of editing. Forceful, enthusiastic, technical brilliance has to co-exist with unfocused, lackluster material that sometimes sounds like it’s by a different band altogether. But aside from the lack of a strong, guiding creative vision, there’s plenty to enjoy. Bursting with groove, alternative edge and moody, grunge-like melody, it’s hard not to think about what this could have formed the foundations for.
Highlight: “Parasite Persona”
Wode – Uncrossing The Keys
Genre: Black/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Wode are back with their fourth full-length, and, to a significantly higher degree than on 2021’s “Burn In Many Mirrors”, they’ve paired their jagged black metal core with a strong influx of classic heavy metal, in mildly experimental fashion. A good deal of the primal. hard-hitting savagery of earlier releases has been sacrificed in favor of a nimbler, leaner and more flexible sound. When supported by doomy groove and riff-happy cool, this really works, fully proving the potency of the style shift and the band’s versatility. But they also tend to get lost in meandering, wander-tempo aimlessness and contemplative, warm-toned melody that contrasts rather oddly with the sharp, mean-spiritedness of the dominant aggressive sections. Overall, it’s a bit uneven, but still a highly worthwhile listen for blackened heavy metal fans.
Highlight: “Under Lanternlight”
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 September 26 – 2025
A week for those who think that extreme metal needs as many notes and riffs as possible, and to preferably be saturated in melody.
Abraded – Ethereal Emanations From Cthonic Caries
Genre: Death metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is harsh, unyielding, merciless punishment, on the verge, I would say, of crossing into war metal. Some would probably say it’s already there. It’s deathgrind of the ferociously aggressive variant, like a frenzied gang of rabid, demon-possessed dogs let loose inside a packed mall. If it didn’t have perhaps the most annoying snare sound I think I’ve ever heard, I would give it a higher rating.
After Earth – Dark Night Of The Soul
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5I had a great time with the band’s 2023 debut album “The Rarity Of Reason”, finding it to be a sweet-spot modernization of the early 2000s melodeath sound, blending modern and more traditional elements with some ultra catchy riffing and plenty of aggressive energy. Unfortunately, perhaps in an attempt to sound grander, this album is slower, with a more solemn feel, which highlights some fairly unimaginative riffs and rhythms, and lacking the melodic playfulness to make up for it.
Amorphis – Borderland
Genre: Melodic folk/death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Let me just preface this review by stating that I’m both a massive fan of melodeath in general, and a decently big fan of this band. For some reason I never took the time to properly listen to 2022’s “Halo”, so my last real reference point is 2018’s “Queen of Time”, which I loved. With all that being said, I’m struggling to find almost a single song on this album that elicits more of a reaction from me than “that’s nice, I guess”. And I insist it’s not entirely because this is a very, very soft and bright iteration of the band we’re getting on “Borderland”. I find most of the rhythms unengaging – many of them pop/rock-oriented and mid-tempo, and the melodies, while vivid, pretty and emotional, mostly remind me of stuff I’ve heard from them before. Some of the choruses are straight out of a mediocre symphonic metal album, and at that point you’ve lost me. Objectively, there’s not a lot the band is doing wrong, and for what it is, it does sound rather good, but apart from the mellow direction there’s very few surprises to be had. It’s like the embrace of an early, lightly breezy Finnish countryside summer morning.
Highlight: “Light And Shadow”
Cosmic Reaper – Bleed The Wicked, Drown The Damned
Genre: Doom/psychedelic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Here’s some dark, crushing psychedelia, which I feel like I haven’t been able to dig into for quite a little while. This is absolutely doom, with noticeable traces of stoner, but the way the tone of the riffs and solos flows and swirls around the bass, being pressed forward by the drums, feels a bit like a mind-warping spiral slowly descending into the deep. It’s crunchy and solidly heavy, with a vocal style that brings to mind a blank-eyed, joyless Ozzy. Which fits the vibe of the music perfectly well. It keeps up the quality throughout, even though you feel like you’ve heard the full range of the ambitions for the album a little before it concludes.
Highlight: “Hammer”
Darkness – The Death Squad Chronicles
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A speed-loving, classic German thrash album that bounds and gallops along, serving up plenty of tasty riffs on the way. It’s to-the point, suitably coarse and aggressive, and has some decent, if not mind-blowing solos. But at over 52 minutes, being far from the most varied of thrash experiences, it could definitely do with some track trimming .
Demiurgon – Miasmatic Deathless Chamber
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is technical death metal, but not “tech death”, if you know what I mean. It’s being driven by some very precise, violently forceful and rhythm-focused instrumentation, but it’s also very much about the savage, malevolent feel. It attacks you like some titanic, thousand-maws-and-claws predator, but not directed by a thousand different minds. It’s fairly mono-tracked in its destructive pattern, even as it brings a number of murderous limbs to the task at once. Not outstanding among its peers in any major way, it’s still a really well crafted and impressively hard-hitting effort that I’d love to see evolve into something slightly more distinct.
Highlight: “Aspiring to Omnipotence”
Dying Wish – Flesh Stays Together
Genre: Metalcore/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5If you don’t mind your metalcore wearing some barbed wire fighting gloves in the shape of crunchy, chugging riffs with a bit of deathcore/death metal heaviness and aggression (think Venom Prison), but still want a good share of clean choruses, melody and jump-around hardcore rhythms, then this is your kind of band, and absolutely your kind of album. While there are elements on here that I find formulaic, particularly the predictable, staccato breakdowns, and I think that Emma Boster still needs to work a bit on her harsh vocals to bring them further away from hoarse hissing and towards actual roars (her cleans are great), this is a concise, mature and hard hitting statement of a record.
Highlights: “Revenge In Carnage” and “Moments I Regret”
Hei’An – Kiss Our Ghosts Goodbye
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5To me this feels a bit like a mix between Haken and Leprous, just less caught up with instrumental acrobatics and with an alternative metal twist. It’s vibrant and young, but with a concise, stargazing tonality and great production. There’s a bit of pop and electronica and a cinematic scope, some of it reminding me of “A Thousand Suns”-era Linkin Park, but you also get metalcore-like aggression. In the end, it’s a little bit let down by its sometimes simplistic choruses and vocal lines, as they compete with expansive atmosphere, exciting melody lines and genre-fluid rhythmic twists and turns.
Highlight: “What a Shame”
Korypheus – Gilgamesh
Genre: Progressive/groove metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Korypheus are a young prog metal band out of Ukraine, playing an aggressive-yet catchy, riff-focused variant of the genre, bringing in elements of modern groove and metalcore. It reminds me of Fractal Universe, perhaps with a splash of Jinjer thrown in there, and a bit less conceptual and atmosphere-minded. While it’s not quite at a point yet where it stands clearly out in its own crowd, it does a lot of things right while building on familiar elements. It’s eager to play around with instrumental flourishes and different rhythm approaches, while staying on target and constantly moving forward, with an appetite for solos and a good mix of vocal styles. Perhaps not quite as mature as some other stuff you’ll hear this week, but I was left both entertained and impressed.
Highlights: “Sleeper” and “Odysseus”
Last Retch – Abject Cruelty
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5It’s been a while since a straight death metal band has scored this high on my banging-riff-o-meter. What 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. Thanks to the tone and slightly more reigned-in drums it never really breaks character, and instead takes the best of the headbang-ability and groove from a death thrash sound and couples it with proper, cave-dwelling morbidity, It doesn’t score big on originality, but god damn is it a brutally good time.
Highlights: “Beasley Meth Merchants” and “Dissolved in Lye (Down to Rot)”
Mors Principium Est – Darkness Invisible
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5As a long-time fan, you’ll always find me thrilled at a new release from these Finns. Back with their first original album since 2020, It doesn’t take long to confirm that the band is on top form, certainly in terms of virtuoso technicality and their signature meld of vibrant, grandiose melody and ferocious riff-and-growl attack. It also doesn’t take all too long to conclude that, despite a few new flavors, it’s not what you’d call a daring effort. The familiarity factor is quite high, but, crucially, not to the point where it gets unengaging. Aside from a few tracks that do little but re-knead old glory, there are several genuinely fresh-sounding songs where different melodic and instrumental tonalities, tempos and levels of scope and aggression are utilized to great effect. I’d say that the gang is unquestionably at their best when going all-out fast and furious, but the extremes are more effectively highlighted with the use of contrasts, which is absolutely the case on this album. For 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.
Highlights: “Beyond the Horizon” and “Of Death”
Overt Enemy – Insurrection
Genre: Thrash/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Texas thrash metal that’s piled on some groove heft and hardcore attitude. The album brings to mind Incite and Kataklysm, but doesn’t go to the same level of heaviness, preferring to stay light on its feet and almost obsessively riff-focused. It’s not great on variation, and feels a bit stiff, but it’s got loads of energy.
Paradox – Mysterium
Genre: Thrash/power/speed metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Veteran Teutonic thrashers Paradox has one of the most inconsistent release patterns I think I’ve ever seen, but I suppose that comes with the territory of popping in and out of activity. This is their 10th full-length, and it’s also far from the most consistent thing you’ll hear this week. It tries speed, attitude, loftiness, groove and and a bit of prog, and only really succeeds at half of it. What works is cool, but the rest simply contributes to a bloated runtime.
PeelingFlesh – PF Radio 2
Genre: Brutal/slamming death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: ?/5This is less of a review and more of a declaration of capitulation in terms of my ability to review slamming, brutal death metal. I’ll freely admit, I simply don’t get it. Take away the clip-on spoken-word soundbites, and to me this literally sounds like the same couple of tracks on repeat, just cut to slightly different lengths. I don’t dislike it, and I get that the main purpose of this is to be played live, but… there must surely be more tricks in the slammin’ tool box than this. If you’re into this band, you might as well go ahead and ignore every word I have to say about it.
Rage – A New World Rising
Genre: Heavy/power metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A blazing fireworks display of a fun-focused, groovy-as-hell heavy metal album from these German veterans. The melodic vocal work is hilariously stunted, the choruses straight off the assembly line, and the lyrics hopelessly clichéd, but if none of that matters to you. it’ll light a fire in you.
Revocation – New Gods, New Masters
Genre: Technical death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Following up 2022’s “Netherheaven” was always going to be tough, but then pretty much everything Revocation does sounds like they’ve set themselves some sort of high-bar, intricate challenge. On first listen of “New Gods, New Masters”, my overall impression was that they’ve overdone it, losing sight of the importance of flow, sense of direction and listenability in favor of instrumental and structural showmanship. Indeed, a lot of what goes on sounds like a kind of complex task-solving, and I must conclude that it’s not as consistent or overwhelmingly pleasing as its predecessor. But it’s not far off, and in some ways it’s more interesting – more layered, allowing you to appreciate different facets of it on each new listen. And when the groove aligns with the technical fury, it’s a beast like no other. While not mind-blowingly amazing, I still find it to be excellent, even considering this band’s sky-high standards.
Highlights: “Cronenberged” and “Dystopian Vermin”
Sundrowned – Higanbana
Genre: Atmospheric sludge metal/blackgaze
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A gentle, atmospheric sludge/blackgaze album out of Norway that sails along on soul-nourishing, wistful melodies. The harsh vocals feel a tad forced at times, in that they whisk the surface of an otherwise pristine, harmonic pond, but work much better when the intensity builds.
Vintersorg – Vattenkrafternas Spel
Genre: Folk metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5After eight years, the blackened folk project that is Vintersorg re-emerges from the deep of the Swedish forests to deliver an hourlong insight into their world of pagan nature tales. Particularly given the distinct vocals of Andreas Hedlund, this is not a sound you easily mistake for anything else. It sets off on often peculiar rhythms and sudden transitions, and strikes an odd balance between primitive black metal riffs and epic, patiently trotting melodies complemented by mostly clean vocals that love to really draaaaag its words out. It doesn’t quite vibe with me, but it works on most levels for what it is, and fans will almost definitely enjoy it.
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 September 19 – 2025
We’re doomed! This week is all about the gloom, be it fuzzy and fantastical or hooded and malignant. With a couple of jokers here and there to shake things up.
Airborn – Lizard Secrets Part Three – Utopia
Genre: Heavy/power metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5It’s always good to be able to expand my awareness across the metal spectrum, not just of what’s the latest up-and-comers, but of the long-going, hard working troopers that have so far flown under my radar. Airborn (not to be confused with Australia’s Airbourne) are an Italian power metal band that’s been going since 1995. Their latest release definitely harkens back to bygone eras, but doesn’t feel like it’s coasting on past glories, and does surprisingly well in terms of tropes and clichés. What I will say is that it’s overly mellow, lacking the enthusiasm and vigor to go with the positive tone and fun, cyberpunk concept.
Ancient Thrones – Melancholia
Genre: Progressive/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A fairly fresh prog death band that, despite the inclination for technical-minded performances, does not conform to the clean, razor-sharp and ultra-detailed sound that typically goes with it. This is slightly rough, with coarse vocals and a tone that dips to blackened depths at times. The album is a bit unevenly structured, not super well produced and not avoiding as many tropes as I would have liked. But it’s got a few stand-out songs, a good melody/brutality balance, and overall I find it a highly promising concept.
Castle Rat – The Bestiary
Genre: Doom/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5If I was to try and sum up what 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. Yes, it is described by distinctly doom- and heavy metal means, but the way the instrumentation and vocals are allowed to shape the dramatic progression, ebbs and flows of energy, scope and feel of this sonic world, it feels just as natural as if it was an orchestra performing the score of an epic, and sometimes, at least to me, even more vivid. The band’s proficiency at this was already proven with last year’s “Into The Realm”, but this time around the vision is bolder, richer and more unpredictable. The songs feel like chapters in a saga, each spinning their own little tale as part of a comprehensive tapestry. I could wish for even greater dramatic highs and more aggressive turns, but as a step in expanding their sound this is nothing short of excellent.
Highlights: “WIZARD” and “SIREN”
Chaoseum – Life 4 Sale
Genre: Nu metal/metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5This is Korn meets In Flames at their most accessible, meets metalcore, and the result is obviously very, very catchy. While the sound is not the most distinct, they avoid the biggest clichés, and deliver a good mix of punchy aggression and entertaining melody. Unfortunately, the middle album is a bit of a downer, but it picks back up.
Evilcult – Triumph Of Evil
Genre: Blackened speed metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Charm-offensive speed metal of the corpse-paint-and-candles variant, charging at you from out of Brazil. You get a bit of that NWOBHM epic flair, and a couple of mid-tempo tracks that flirts with some atmosphere, but other than that it’s speed demon business as usual.
Gawthrop – Kuboa
Genre: Sludge/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5I love how this album makes me feel, even though it’s in no way pleasant. Think buried alive in a cemetery where all the corpses start slowly tunneling their way towards you. What I will say though, is that I get my fill of this vibe from the first three songs, and then the remaining four just keeps doing more or less the same. It’s nasty, borderline death doom, raspy, rumbly stuff, where each track has one, simple job. Nothing more, nothing less.
Heretoir – Solastalgia
Genre: Blackened/progressive metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A highly introspective, moody and melodically saturated album, vaguely in the style of blackened, atmospheric metalcore (I know it’s post metal, I just object to that term in general). It feels a bit like swimming upstream in a river full of emotionally laden debris. There are rapids, but these are outweighed by the calmer sections, which slow down the experience far too much for me, especially towards the end. Love the album art though.
Igorrr – Amen
Genre: Experimental extreme metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5It’s a difficult sometimes with bands like Igorrr to decide if their music is becoming more conventional, or if you’re just getting attuned to it. I want to say that Amen, at the very least, sounds like the most coherent album I’ve listened to of his 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. As suggested by the title, you’re getting a conceptual sprinkling of religious solemnity, with backing choirs and the feeling of big, high-ceiling space. What goes on in this space though, I wouldn’t qualify as particularly reverent. This is a beast of a record, with tons of aggression and extremely well-produced layers of force and finesse. Everything from the 12 second, rabid explosion “2020” to the acoustic folk interlude “Étude n°120”, and varying levels of catchy, electronically infused insanity in between, around and beyond. If you’re on board with the style, you’re in for a whole load of treats with massive replay value.
Highlights” “Headbutt” and “Mustard Mucous”
Kamra – Unending Confluence
Genre: Atmospheric black/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5This one snuck up on me, then proceeded to ensnare me with its multi-limbed, malignant embrace. It’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. You get a variety of vocal styles, from spoken-word chanting to rabid snarls, and an equally varied rhythm approach. It should probably be labeled as experimental, but you get the feeling that this is how it’s “supposed to be”, as decreed by some terrible, pagan deity. It’s got the venom and hatred of early black metal, and the bestial bloodthirst of death metal, and combines the two in fluid fashion, drawing more from the essences than the superficial techniques. An album that will fascinate and disturb you in equal measure, without going overboard with neither the level of randomness nor ugliness.
Highlights: “Of Pillars, Walls and Mutilation” and “Unlightment”
Krigsgrav – Stormcaller
Genre: Melodic black/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This Texas band with the Norwegian name and fairly Scandinavian sound has been moving steadily forward under the radar since 2004, and are now on their eighth full-length. They deal in doom-paced, melodic black metal, borrowing quite a few traits from solemn, forest-dwelling melodeath. With that, this latest album is already fairly well summed up, as there isn’t a heap new going on, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sound good. It’s a full, punchy sound that highlights the chunky riffs and rumbling bass, enveloping and propelling the melodies, both when they’re slowly drifting and cutting through as wailing guitar solos. It’s a little short on ideas, but generous on immersion.
Highlight: “Ghosts”
New World Depression – Abysmal Void
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Here’s an old school death metal banger out of Germany, but sounding like a stripped-down version of Obituary meets Vader. This is mostly all about the riffs, of which I wish there were even more. It’s just the kind of malevolent, driving sound that you’d expect, with a moderate and highly fitting amount of groove.
Novembers Doom – Major Arcana
Genre: Gothic/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Chicago’s Novembers Doom strike again, for the first time in six years, and so they’ve made sure to strike hard. This is still monumental, riff-heavy, gothic doom, but the tap controlling the influx of melodic extreme metal has been given a liberal yank. There is still room for closed-eyes, nihilistic serenades from atop the darkened manor staircase, but the band’s sludgy roots seem much more interested in breaking through the floorboards and tearing the place apart. The whole album feels like a statement of strong melodies, organic-but-catchy rhythms and powerful clean/harsh vocals. It’s epic and confidently bombastic, but still comfortably within the confines of melodic doom.
Highlights: “Major Arcana” and “Ravenous”
Paradise Lost – Ascension
Genre: Doom/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5You’re getting a few different iterations of Paradise lost as you make your steady way through their mammoth 17th (!) album. Not that this is some massively style-morphing thing, but it’s definitely got more to offer than just their current, signature gothic doom style. Death doom and melancholic melodeath make strong entrances, as well as more proggy goth and a bit of groove. Nick Holmes’ voice ties it all together, even as he demonstrates an impressive range to suit the different musical moods. It is long, and feels long, with the heaviest tracks being front-loaded, and mostly every song having that stare-into-the-distance feel of taking as long time as is necessary. Even so, it’s not what I would call over-indulgent. There’s plenty of purpose and contrasting moments that show the veteran band’s ability to play around with their own formula.
Highlights: “Tyrants Serenade” and “Silence Like The Grave”
Sunniva – Hypostasis
Genre: Sludge/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A hostile, smoke-wreathed, lumbering sludge doom album that every now and then fools you into a false sense of security with some ethereal, floating calm, only to heap the misery back on over you my means of mountainous riffs and grating vocals.
Tithe – Communion In Anguish
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Now on their third full-length, Tithe play murky, blackened death doom, quite often (perhaps contradicting) at grindcore-level speed and ferocity. The cool part is that, even with longer, dragged out sections of scouring abuse, the whole thing wraps up at just over 35 minutes. This feels like just enough to fully appreciate the duality of this beast’s malevolent mood, which is evenly represented throughout. There’s a hunger and bitterness to it that comes through effectively both in the pained crawls and the bared-teeth stampedes. They don’t quite manage to avoid a measure of repetitiveness, but the rawness and hostility is highly convincing, and overall I’d say it’s a solid step forward for the band.
Highlight; “At The Altar Of Starving Children”
Vittra – Intense Indifference
Genre: Melodic death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5In 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. This actually reminds me a lot more of Finnish bands like Children of Bodom, Ensiferum and Mors Principium Est when they’re in their more playful moods, but, to be fair, also fellow countrymen like Witchery. What this album basically does is patch together a Mad Max-style vehicle of melodeath muscle and thrash metal arsenal of guns and spinning blades, and then drive it with a rock ‘n’ roll upbeat and carefree attitude. As you might imagine, it’s all riffs with lots of light-hearted cool, but enough bite to leave a few marks.
Highlights: “MOFO” and “Transylvanian Buffet”
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
albums, Ancient Thrones, black metal, castle rat, death metal, grindcore, groove metal, Heretoir, Igorrr, Kamra, krigsgrav, metal, metal albums out this week, new metal releases, new releases, New World Depression, Novembers Doom, overview, Paradise Lost, progressive metal, review, thrash metal, Tithe, Vittra -
Weekly rundown September 12 – 2025
Prog metal has a big surge this week, and isn’t so weird or smug that it’s can’t co-exist with a good bunch of more straightforward and predictable stuff.
Between The Buried And Me – The Blue Nowhere
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5I’m all for prog metal feeling a bit bonkers, but not when it results in complete aimlessness. I don’t think that’s the case with “The Blue Nowhere”, but it’s also far from the most coherent thing you’ll ever hear. I think the aim with this album was to have fun. To seriously stretch some creative muscles, not just technically but also in terms of songwriting. To push the limits of flavor while still remaining, unmistakably, Between The Buried And Me. And to me, the prog masters most definitely succeed in their experiment. Yes, it’s wild, and by stuffing it full of jazzy, cabaret-like musical elements it will inevitably stretch some listeners’ tonal tolerance past the breaking point. If you call it over-indulgent, I totally see what your mean. But, critically, to me the variety doesn’t feel random for the sake of randomness. I 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. And because it doesn’t get lost in atmosphere or repetition, I don’t actually notice that it’s well over an hour long, which a feat in itself.
Highlights: “Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark” and “Absent Thereafter”
Demon Hunter – There Was a Light Here
Genre: Metalcore/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5If what you’re looking for is emotionally anchored, riff-based, groove-focused metalcore, Demon Hunter is a safe bet, and this hasn’t changed with their latest release… the key word here definitely being “safe”. There are some genuine feelings being dealt with on this album, which is probably its strongest suit, but songwriting wise there’s a LOT of interchangeability. It doesn’t necessarily feel repetitive, but it all sort of blends together, with very little to distinguish it.
Der Weg Einer Freiheit – Innern
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Black metal that takes the atmospheric and/or melodic direction can, I think, broadly be divided into two groups – the “thin”, focused and stripped down bunch and the “full-bodied”, layered and expansive one. This definitely belongs in the latter group, and that’s not at all saying that it’s some ostentatious, overproduced thing. It’s soaked in dusk-tone melody and builds and fades with complementing layers of instrumentality and atmospheric elements. It 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. In that regard, it’s not as convincingly dark or hostile as a lot of other black metal, but also far from tame, and offering far more than just one, narrow-minded approach.
Highlights: “Eos” and “Marter”
Electromancy – Visions of Utopia
Genre: Robotic black/doom metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Is this the only trve industrial black metal? Electromancy is a duo that, despite chronic disability, plays avant-garde, experimental black metal with touches of doom and death, assisted by robotics as means of performing. Does that make the music sound… robotic? Of course, but instead of trying to mask this, they lean into it. It’s odd, but strangely not as experimental as you might expect.
Exelerate – Hell For The Helpless
Genre: Power/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A cheeky Danish classic metal band that soars for the power stars on thrashing wings. So to speak. The vocals and solos speak epic, and the riffs speak “razorblade between the teeth”. It all melds together pretty well into something half-seriously adventurous, although in need of keeping a good flow in mind.
Helstar – The Devil’s Masquerade
Genre: Heavy/speed metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Try to imagine Judas Priest falling head over heels in love with the sound of Merciful Fate, but deciding that it needs to be faster and thrashier. This album might very well have been the result. I’m tempted to call it occult, guitar-happy power metal. It’s lofty, but instrumentally very direct, jumping straight into racing riffs and licks the moment the short intro track is over, and clearly realizing that the target audience will be happy with them keeping this up till the end. You do get tempo variation, but the guys don’t slow down for long, and only at a point in the runtime when even the most riff-starved listener will be satisfied. I would say that it’s an album you remember as a whole rather than for a set out outstanding tracks, and it’s not in any way revolutionary, but it’s committed, and above all else highly entertaining.
Highlight: “Seek Out Your Sins”
Heruvim – Mercator
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Here’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. Beginning with that mildly progressive Death technicality, and then adding to it with some early Swedish groove, and then coating it all in a very light layer of grime. It’s a sound that knows how to get you going, but also sets higher goals for itself, like this is the start of building its own little world where it has total control, and can subject you to whatever it so desires. For now, the world is quite small, but radiates all the charm it needs to pull you in and keep you there, and once you’re in you’re completely enveloped. I get the feeling that when this this evolves, it’ll take a turn for the uglier… which is exactly what you want. And it might very well be magnificent.
Highlights” “Gnosis” and “Mercator”
Lorna Shore – I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me
Genre: Technical/symphonic deathcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5With a band like Lorna Shore, there’s little surprise that the prevailing philosophy for evolution is MORE. More, more, more. More melody, larger scope, deeper darkness, bigger contrasts. And despite all this, it’s immediately recognizable. Even borderline formulaic. That’s not to say that it’s remotely boring, but I also can’t say that I sense any risks being taken. “Well, would they?”, I hear you say. Don’t change a winning team, and all that. And yes, this is still very, very high quality deathcore. But, as a non-diehard fan, if it wasn’t for the Fleshgod-like boost of piano-led drama infused into proceedings, I would struggle to tell a good handful of these songs apart from earlier material. This is also the band at its most accessible and cinematic, which explains a lot of the things I’ve just pointed out. Technically though, you can’t help but grin and shake your head appreciatively at the excellence. And there is, indeed variation to be had. You can tell that the guys are trying. Maybe not exactly new things, but slightly different things, and it’s more than enough to notice. And god damn is this thing majestic.
Highlights” “Forevermore” and “War Machine”
Mortal Scepter – Ethereal Dominance
Genre: Blackened thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5If you’re looking for the opposite of bombastic, thickly layered and overproduced, then this will scour your palate clean from fluff in a heartbeat. French thrash isn’t exactly something you stumble across every day, but here it is, and it’s in a very Spanish mood. Meaning that it hurls itself at you at breakneck pace, brimming with enthusiasm and lacking any intention of letting up. But while it’s clearly not some cerebral or deeply conceptual thing, it’s also not completely straightforward. There’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. It’s accompanied by very fitting, barking vocals, and offers technical showmanship in spades while keeping it solidly integrated in the song structures, so it’s not flow-breaking or in your face. I never stopped enjoying myself, and if you’re a thrash fan I don’t think you will either.
Highlights: “Ethereal Dominance” and “Into the Wolves Den”
Motherless – Do You Feel Safe?
Genre: Sludge/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Deep, crushing riffs and sharp, strained-throat vocals with heavy hardcore rhythms and dark doom groove is the recipe for this Chicago sludge project. It feels raw and coarse, but at the same time well-rounded and with plenty of low-end stopping power. You don’t feel like you’ve been miles away coming out the other side, more like spending some quality time in a closed-down, restricted area where everything takes on the same, distinct, overwhelming flavor. Despite its heft, it moves well and has the energy to get your heart going, not getting lost in exaggerated use of noise, miserable tonality or oppressive atmosphere.
Highlight: “Reptile Dysfunction”
Nicolas Cage Fighter – I Watched You Burn
Genre: Hardcore/metalcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This Nick Cage-approved metallic hardcore project is back to shake your skull off the spinal chord and have the rest of the audience pass it around like a beach ball. It’s a fighter for sure, with boundless energy, unrelenting fury, and the muscle to make it all land with bruising effect. It’s not inventive, but it keeps on giving and giving, even picking up the savagery factor towards the end, creeping into death metal borderlands. These are not the kind of moshpits you emerge unscathed from. There’s not a ton more to say about it, other than that I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Highlights: “Death in Bloom” and “I Watched You Burn”
Revelator – Light The Devil’s Fire
Genre: Black/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A slice of peppy Canadian black metal with a thrashy death engine. The production is not great, and it’s a bit uneven in how rewarding the songs are, but at it’s best it’s a big charmer, mixing rowdy groove with raw, cutthroat determination.
Schreigarm – Mara Comes and Darkness Shall Reign
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5As black metal goes, this is a fairly vibrant kind of sound. Deeply infused with melody and folk-leaning atmosphere, the harshness feels almost insincere. It’s got the right tone, some great riffs and proper, aggressive vocals. But it seems to prefer to slow down and soak in emotion, which takes the edge off a bit. Sounds good though.
Unaligned – A Form Beyond
Genre: Technical/progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A lot of tech death debuts that I’ve listened to are typically preoccupied with instrumental precision, speed and complexity above all – including any sort of artistic traits that might imprint a bit of personality. I understand why they do this though. A tech death album simply can’t be sloppy. Unaligned must therefore be patient enough to have honed their sound over long enough time, or simply talented enough to hit the ground running, all guns out and with a clear plan in mind. I won’t say that they avoid bringing to mind a good number of their peers, but “A Form Beyond” is neither trying too hard nor lacking in terms of craftsmanship. The technicality has been utilized in enabling a moderately progressive approach to structure, and this has been executed tastefully. It’s not a wild album, but it’s certainly dynamic. Aggressive yet melodic, and avoiding an impressive number of tropes, it’s not instantly memorable, but will grow on you, and oozes potential.
Highlight: “Ruins of Lunacy”
Yotuma – The Final Void
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A brutal-ish, energetic death metal project that incorporates modest amounts of a few different styles, like groove and hardcore, but mostly staying on bloodthirsty, pummeling course. It’s feels a bit muddled and indecisive at times, but delivers big on riff satisfaction and filthy tone.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
albums, Between the Buried and Me, black metal, death metal, Demon Hunter, Der Weg Einer Freiheit, grindcore, groove metal, Helstar, Heruvim, lorna shore, metal, metal albums out this week, Mortal Scepter, Motherless, new metal releases, new releases, nicolas cage fighter, overview, progressive metal, Revelator, review, thrash metal, Unaligned, Yotuma -
Weekly rundown September 05 – 2025
A truly unpredictable, full-spectrum week where you can find something to match whatever mood you might be in at any given moment.
Ambush – Evil In All Dimensions
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is about as classic as metal gets, and yet it’s not fine-tuned to any specific point in history, instead showcasing a moderate breadth of stylistic traits from the 70s and 80s, both from traditional heavy metal and its chest-beating, quest-obsessed cousin power metal. The most important things to point out is that it’s really well written, and also, thankfully, totally unpretentious. On the less impressive side, it’s not what you would call boundary-pushing in the technical department, with mostly half-relaxed rhythms and epic ballad-flavored melodies. But then that’s also a big part of the charm, and even when they go full-out ballad, it’s done well. No real surprises, but it’s a committed effort that does pretty much everything right within expectations.
Highlight: “Come Angel of Night”
Before The Dawn – Cold Flare Eternal
Genre: Melodic death/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5After returning post-pandemic with their first album in 11 years, Finnish melodeathers Before the Dawn have revitalized that early 2000s sound (think In Flames’ “Reroute to Remain” and “Soundtrack to Your Escape”). This is committedly melodic, with clean choruses and a fairly bright tone considering the subgenre. For anyone recognizing the style it’s sure to be a delightful shot of nostalgia, although those hoping for a good balance between hard-hitting brutality and immersive melody will find it lacking in the former of the two departments.
Bent Sea – The Dormant Ruin
Genre: Grindcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5The grind supergroup that is Bent Sea, consisting of Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth), Sven de Caluwé (Aborted) and Shane Embury (Napalm Death), present here their first actual full-length record since starting out in 2011. Considering the lineup, I suppose it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that this isn’t straight grindcore, but something slightly more experimental. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it completely unpredictable, but it certainly weaves in and out of ominous-toned death metal, extreme, dissonant prog and a touch of groove and doom. It’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. It’s grind where you get to use your brain a bit, and have it properly scrambled as a reward.
Highlights: “Curtailer Of Conceit” and “Sharpen The Blade”
Cult Burial – Collapse Of Pattern, Reverence Of Dust
Genre: Blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A British blackened death metal album of the decidedly new school, with hyperactive drums and brutal vocals competing with the mean-spirited tone and abyssal doom elements. The balance isn’t struck brilliantly, but if what you’re looking for is ominous punishment, you won’t go wrong with this one.
Crypt Monarch – Codex Pestilentia
Genre: Doom/stoner metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Costa Rican doom with a thick coating of sludgy, tar-thick stoner groove. You can easily imagine some sort of alcohol-fueled, dusk time ritual going on, and it mostly sounds like a good time. While the music is fairly predictable, the tone and atmospheric elements are on point.
Faetooth – Labyrinthine
Genre: Atmospheric doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5If dark, dreamy shoegaze working itself up into sludgy, slow-burn fury sounds like just your kind of thing, then… I suppose you already know about this band and their newest album. But or everyone else, this is an all-female atmospheric doom band from Los Angeles, here releasing their second full-length, but sounding like they’re working with a good decade’s worth of experience. Apart from a few overly long buildups and fairly predictable song structures, this 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. That being said, this is still very much a heavy doom album, just not quite approaching death levels of punishment.
Highlights: “Hole” and “Death Of Day
Falling Leaves – The Silence That Binds Us
Genre: Melodic death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5An album like a walk through a dark autumn forest, with a terrible storm raging just beyond the tree line and shaking the canopy. It’s got that Finnish epic-melancholy-melodic quality, although the band is actually from Jordan (now based in Dubai). The rhythm work is a little short on finesse and I could have wanted some more dynamism to the vocals, but it’s got several strong sections and is well worth the listen for fans of atmospheric melodeath.
Gjallarhorn’s Wrath – The Silver Key
Genre: Symphonic black/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5This is all dark, heavy bombast from start to finish. Like a modern death metal/deathcore band donning corpse paint and given control over an orchestra. It’s got tons of that Fleshgod Apocalypse and Septicflesh dramatic and brutal-catchy appeal, just not quite the same cleverness in terms of songwriting at this early stage, this being their debut. The rhythm sections stumbles ever so slightly now and then, but for the most part the flow is great, and it never gets dull.
Green Carnation – A Dark Poem, Part I: The Shores Of Melancholia
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Veteran Norwegian prog band Green Carnation are back after five years with their seventh full-length, and it’s a delightful mix of jazzy cool, doomy groove and evolved progressive black metal not totally unlike Enslaved (speaking of which, vocalist Grutle Kjellson makes an appearance on “The Slave That You Are”, and it’s pretty great). This variation is absolutely one of the album’s stronger suits, but not everything the band tries works quite as well. The melodies are mostly impactful, but don’t always harmonize perfectly with the vocals, and the rhythms feel a bit understated overall, at least outside the more intense sections. Overshadowing this however, is the obvious willingness to take chances and not getting bound to one, narrow approach. It’s just weird enough to stand out, and well thought out enough to be memorable.
Highlight: “In Your Paradise”
Jord – Emellan Träden
Genre: Atmospheric black/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Wander down a path that will take you through ages past and realities that only exist in the shadowy corners of your imagination. The band confidently carries on the Swedish tradition of high quality, non-clichéd melodic extreme metal, without feeling the need to overly constrain itself with genre conventions. It’s black metal, and it’s also very much doom, but first and foremost it’s storytelling that takes on a multitude of dark shades, touching on feelings of loss, hopelessness and rage, but also resilience. It feels effortlessly epic without being the least bit silly, and serious without trying too hard. The more you listen, the deeper you sink in, the more rewarding it gets.
Highlights: “Dimma” and “Prinsessan och Hästen”
Korp – And Darker It Shall Become
Genre: Black/death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Just low-fi enough to feel properly underground, but catchy enough to get a large crowd moving, this is Swedish black metal wildly chasing thrash riff-happiness and old school death metal relentlessness. To be fair, there’s a good deal on here that the well-versed will have heard before, but the tropes aren’t overused to the point where they dominate the experience. It’s all about getting in the right mood, and then having the fury unleashed upon you. The band serves up banger after banger with just enough melodic backing to give it some depth, but for the most part preferring to keep things relatively straightforward.
Highlights: “The ritual” and “Feast upon the spineless”
Nailed To Obscurity – Generation Of The Void
Genre: Melodic/progressive death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Nailed to Obscurity keep evolving their sound, and have never sounded bigger or more ambitious than on their latest release. Stepping 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. It’s steadfastly melodic throughout, with as much (if not more) clean vocals as harsh ones, and both complement their respective sections beautifully. Neither the melodic death metal nor the doom is lost, but the latter of the two is now approaching more of a tonal influence, although there are absolutely slower parts. To those who can stomach the fact that the band is edging its way out of extreme metal, although certainly not fully leaving it behind, this is a bountiful experience of engaging highs and lows with impressive technical work and obvious effort involved.
Highlights: “Clouded Frame” and “Overcast”
Nuclear Dudes – Truth Paste
Genre: Experimental grindcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is about as nerdy as death metal can get. Fired off at an impatient grindcore pace, it grafts synthetic beats, blurts and background melody lines onto punishing, noisy riff and drum assaults, and then goes wherever its fancy takes it. For extended sections it can come off as terribly distracted and aimless, which at times feels like a bit of a waste of the very limited runtime. But the entertainment value makes up for the most of it. It’s loaded with dorky song titles, whacky tangents and big contrasts, and therein lies the appeal. If you can appreciate this level of silliness, then you might just end up loving it.
Highlight: “Dirty 20”
Pestilential Shadows – Wretch
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Solemn, classic black metal from this long-going Australian band. Not the first place you’d be looking for black metal, perhaps, but this is solid stuff, clearly inspired by the Nordic origins, but taken in a more atmospheric, less folk-influenced direction. It’s fairly subtle, but this is a different flavor to the stuff you get out of Scandinavia, something subgenre enthusiasts/cultists will surely appreciate. The brilliant album cover caught my attention instantly, and the music matches the looks pretty spot on. I wanted it to be a bit more daring, a bit more different, but this is much more one for the purists than the casual black metal listener.
Highlight: “Where Sunlight Goes To Die”
Primal Fear – Domination
Genre: Power/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5If all you want from a Primal Fear record is some new riffs accompanied by Ralph Scheepers’ vocals, then rejoice, because this album sounds like it’s made specifically for you. Yes it’s fun, and yes it’s epic as all hell, but it’s also quite tame, and woefully unoriginal and unengaging. Also, please get that AI-generated cover out of my face.
Ritual Mass – Cascading Misery
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Death metal emanating from the absolute murk, somewhere deep down in the bottom layer of the earth’s crust. This is all growling, steamroller-pace, crushing misery that will exercise the last shreds of hope you have in a bright future. Not for those looking to avoid death metal tropes, but then this is absolutely a niche beast.
Tallah – Primeval: Obsession // Detachment
Genre: Experimental nu metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5I flat out loved Tallah’s 2022 release “The Generation of Danger”, primarily for its achievement in tapping into that wild, early Slipknot energy and honing it into something both technically sharp, exploratory and distinct. What they’ve done since then is continue the exploration from a point on the outermost fringes and onwards. That’s not to say that the downtuned, rhythmic heaviness is gone, but it’s no longer the dominant element. The unpredictability on this album has been drastically turned up, and particularly the rhythm section is doing its utmost part to veer the progress off the straight path as much as possible. It’s instantly recognizable as Tallah, which is a testament to their musical vision, and I can’t not applaud their boldness in going this weird on only their third full-length release. I miss the force and relentlessness of the predecessor, but as a redefinition of style and artistic statement, it’s still a heavy hitter.
Highlights: “as fate undoes” and “A primeval detachment”
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 August 22 – 2025
We seem to be out of the summer siesta and bands from all manner of spires and catacombs are poking their heads out to show off what they’ve been working while you were at the beach.
Amenspear – All My Gods Are Dying
Genre: Experimental black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5This is absolutely, in essence, black metal, but jump in at the “wrong” part of a given song, and you might be led astray. The mood is very much out of a hopelessly grey and rainy day, the production is spartan and the riff and vocal approach mostly matches the subgenre expectations. But you get individual tracks leaning into sludge, rock, doom and even a bit of old school death metal. It all ties inn quite well, making for a refreshingly varied style. A few fairly repetitive and low-impact tracks detract a bit from the experience, but overall I’m excited to see this project mature further.
Ashen – Leave The Flesh Behind
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Ashen is an Australian band that, rather refreshingly, doesn’t lean decisively neither backwards nor forwards in their chosen style of death metal, yet still manage to deliver something impactful. This thing oozes “ancient evil”, dipping into both that old school mire of malevolence as well as smashing its way out of the cave with monstrous, club-wielding force. It’s not “brutal” or “technical”, but certainly assaults you with a towering sound that’s both bulky and spiky in all the right places. Apart from the doomsday atmosphere, the groove is the real standout quality on the record, as the guitars work beautifully with the rhythms to prowl from one pulverizing riff section to the next. I imagine this will be a treat to experience live.
Highlight: “Leave the Flesh Behind”
Blackbriar – A Thousand Little Deaths
Genre: Symphonic/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Whelp, I 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. Basically, this is dark folk tales performed by angelic vocals and set to gorgeous, dramatically somber melodies, then added heavy riffs to increase the impact. The weakest part of the album, just to get that out of the way, is the rhythm approach, which is very clearly not prioritized, and you get pretty much exactly the same tempos throughout. It’s not badly performed, just not very engaging. I could also have wished for bigger contrasts between the ethereal, piano-led trickles to the majestic highs of orchestra-boosted drama, but then the band doesn’t seem interested in tapping in to any of the more extreme metal traits. The melodies truly make up for this slight lack of dynamism though, and while the tone and songwriting style doesn’t change notably from song to song, the lyrical and melodic contents do an excellent job to instill identity and memorable flair.
Highlights: “The Fossilized Widow” and “I Buried Us”
Burning Witches – Inquisition
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5I didn’t think the world of 2023’s “The Dark Tower”, but on this latest release, Burning Witches manage to make more of a splash. The key seems to be buying fully into the over-the-top theatrics of their power metal influences, while keeping the instrumental approach tight and fairly aggressive, with a strutting bravado to the rhythms and a thrash-like, threatening tone to the riffs. The vocals walk this tightrope between the epic and badass with what sounds like well-honed understanding, and strike a good balance between force, attitude and melody. There’s a general handful of fun highlights on the album, but also a few that don’t really contribute much other than pushing the runtime closer to 50 minutes. Apart from this, it’s a release that affirms the band as an outstanding contributor to the classic heavy metal revival.
Highlights: “The Spell of the Skull” and “Mirror, Mirror”
Corridoré – Abandon
Genre: Atmospheric doom/black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5A meld of dark feelings, both silken and abrasive in texture, into a monumental and moving sound that borrows from doom, black metal and atmospheric rock. There are aspects to this blend that I simply can’t get to work for me personally, chief of which are parts of the vocal style and the more trope-y instrumental elements of black metal being used to add ugliness and harshness to expressions of anguish and despair. Some of the melody-driven atmospheric sections can also get a good bit too introspective and a bit repetitive for my taste, but they are offset by parts that contain haunting beauty. The album is a mostly slow affair, but varies greatly in intensity. The feeling you’re left with is that of an extensive sonic realm that you could probably keep exploring forever, if you’ve got the mind to stay constantly immersed in mild depression.
Highlight: “Like Moths” and “This Great Divide”
Deftones – Private Music
Genre: Alternative/progressive metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to review a new album by a band of such status as Deftones as if it was their first (this is their tenth), not taking into account expectations linked to previous styles and achievements? Well guess what, you’re pretty much getting that here, ’cause Deftones is just one of those bands that never really “clicked” with me, and so I’ve spent very little time with their material. But even an outsider like me can tell that you’re getting a very complete experience with “private music”. You get hard-hitting grooves and hardcore-like 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, and several other places beyond that. And yet, despite its wide-reaching branches, the trunk that is the band’s signature sound effortlessly carries it all, leaving you with no doubt that all of it belongs. It’s certainly on the serene side overall, but never feels complacent, which keeps it from getting dull. Some real though and talent went into this, and what feels like just the right amount of ideas.
Highlights: “my mind is a mountain” and “ecdysis
Desaster – Kill All Idols
Genre: Black/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5German veterans Desaster are back with their 10th full-length since debuting back in 1996. They play a ragged, ominous version of primitive black metal with strong thrash elements, and also a few from speed- and traditional heavy metal. The latest album has its ups and downs, and in the end doesn’t strike me as their finest work, feeling slightly directionless and with several tracks either taking too long to get to the point or over-relying on old tricks. That being said, it’s far from toothless, and strikes out with rebellious energy at pleasingly frequent intervals.
Feuerschwanz – Knightclub
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5This will be more like a mention than an actual review, cause those inclined to consume this kind of stuff will hardly get hung up on my opinion. Entirely predictable with overblown bombast, stupidly simple riffs and recycled melodies, it is by no means meant to be taken even the least bit seriously, and is all about the catchy-factor and sing-along choruses, which it definitely delivers in spades.
Innumerable Forms – Pain Effulgence
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Usually death doom conjures up mental images like being trapped in musty underground caverns lit by a faint, ghostly glow, with terrifying rumbles echoing along the dripping walls. While the tone of this album certainly is sinister enough, and there’s a decent amount of oppressive atmosphere to deal with, I get the feeling that this is more about the music than it is about painting a vivid soundscape. Innumerable Forms’ latest falls pretty decisively on the death metal side. Even though it’s slow and patient for extended stretches, it seems almost constantly eager to burst out into chugs and dive-bombing solos, and has a well-rounded production that brings out the best of each instrument. Despite its changing temperament, the mood stays very consistent, bringing the very essence of doom – hopelessness and the sense of crushing weight – like a black, low-hanging cloud cover. It does rely on a few, recognizable OSDM-tropes every now and then, but if you sit down and take it in you will quickly come to realize just how ominously alive this thing is.
Highlights: “Blotted Inside” and “Ressentiment”
Jack The Joker – The Devil To Pay In The Backlands
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is Brazilian prog metal in the vein of Leprous, just a bit more freaky, and (these days) significantly more heavy, not too far from Haken in that regard. Compared to the latter band, these guys prioritize instrumental acrobatics over melodic flow on this album, so it’s not one to seek out for a cohesive, satisfyingly conceptual experience. It’s got a good deal of that Devin Townsend playfulness, although they have a ways to go before reaching that level of songwriting and instrumental proficiency. That being said, they do a lot of things right, and clearly strive to push boundaries. Not that it really surprises as a prog album, but both vocals and instruments tug at the reins and poke at the limits of their capabilities. It results in a few weaker moments, but also quite a few impressive ones, and they showcase a great aptitude for mixing exploratory melody with youthful heaviness.
Highlight: “Denied”
Mob Rules – Rise Of The Ruler
Genre: Power/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5This is some fine German power metal, managing a highly entertaining balance between epic melody and classic 80s metal riffage. It’s not overdone, and both the vocals and instruments sound great. Even with a retro feel, it comes off as modern and vital. The main issue is simply the lack of originality, but if you’re just out for rousing ear candy your should definitely give this one a spin.
Panzerchrist – Maleficium, Pt. 2
Genre: Blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Panzerchrist is a Danish band playing snarling, tar-drenched, spiny death metal. They obviously have a bit of a war gimmick goin on, but this is less prevalent on the second chapter of the two-part “Maleficium” album, which delves into witchery and dark myth. And, to their credit, this is evident in the musical choices on the album as well as the lyrical ones. Outside of the imposing riff charges, there’s graveyard atmosphere and a sinister tone, with vocals alternating between hissing whispers and dry snarls. The transitions between downtempo, spooky sections to full-on death metal assaults can be a bit jarring at times, but overall the balance between the two works well, and the overall feeling is that of them complementing each other. Once you get what it’s about it doesn’t offer the biggest surprises, but also doesn’t let off the gas pedal.
Highlight: “Harmbidder”
Signs Of The Swarm – To Rid Myself Of Truth
Genre: Deathcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5If you’re familiar with the antics of modern, technical deathcore, then despite the violent sonic assault that this album is, there’s nothing on here to shock you. Wet, throaty vocals, hyperactive, demolishing rhythms and brutal-styled guitars, this is unmistakably deathcore, but also leaning into Cattle Decaptitation-styled death metal. What I’m strangely missing on this release is a good, rumbly low end. The bass is definitely audible, but not filling out the sound the way I would have expected. It leaves the punches a little low on mass. They’re definitely working on pushing boundaries in terms of technicality, and it’s objectively really quite impressive, but not unique.
Steegmoord – Mandatory
Genre: Progressive/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Instrumental prog that really digs its groove riffs. The rhythms morph to the mood, and never really get out of hand. It sounds like it was created first and foremost with the guitar playing in mind, even though the drums are just a tad too distinct in the mix. It’s not a very fleshed out sound, more like a demonstration, but it’s got enough drive to keep your interest throughout.
White Mantis – Arrows At The Sun
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Here’s some oddball thrash for you. I would call some of the vocal- and melodic transition choices on here questionable, but it brings that weird-unique factor that makes the whole thing stand out. It’s got plenty of galloping riffs and lightning solos, but also a good deal of atmosphere, giving it a conceptual dimension and allowing your mind to go to work on visualizing its little realm.
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 August 15 – 2025
This is a week of both reliability and fringe ideas are able to triumph, even as both the safe and inventive fail in other hands.
Anthrodynia – Unspeakable Horrors Emanating From Within
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5The title doesn’t leave much room to wonder what kind of experience you’re in for on the debut album by these death doomers. It emanates a “we’re all fucked” attitude, and offers not a single hint of positivity. The crunchy riffs, while a bit repetitive, and the earthy vocals complement each other well, and the mood stays consistently ominous and depressing.
Baest – Colossal
Genre: Death/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Not having read anything about this latest release by Danish death metallers Baest before diving in, I was taken aback by the (excuse the pun) colossal change in sound from the 2022 EP “Justitia”, and everything before that, for that matter. Blast beats and boulder-chomping riffs have been replaced with cheeky gallops and licks, cowbell and prog rock-like solos. Well, at least partially. There are still brutal tracks and parts on here, but as a whole it’s definitely a huge branching out, almost all the way to death rock, and brings to mind the likes of Avatar far more than, say, The Haunted or Blood Red Throne. At its best, once you get over the initial shock, the album is actually a lot of fun. The main problem is that it’s pretty uneven, pulling in different directions almost from track to track, wanting to be silly, groovy, angry, solemn and clever all in one package. And it doesn’t quite work. It would help if every track was solid, standing as strong individual statements, but there are almost as many flawed tracks as great ones. Still, the playfulness is endearing, and in these times of old school death metal dominating the extreme sphere, it’s really nice to get a band that dares to be different.
Highlight: “Misfortunate Son”
Fell Omen – Caelid Dog Summer
Genre: Black/heavy metal/punk
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Talk about nailing a style! This stuff sounds like Kvelertak meets old school Darkthrone on speed, and with an even worse production. This is the kind of stuff where it hardly matters whether your speakers cost $10 or $1000 – it’s the spirit of the music that matters. The origin 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, and allows the gothic atmosphere to function as a theatrically ominous soundscape-shaper, rather than just a tacked-on, pretend-evil vibe. The music sounds like it belongs in some alternate, shadowy realm that only its creator can allow you to visit, and it’s a privilege to have been invited.
Highlights: “The Fire Is Still Warm” and “Poise On Rune”
Fermentor – Agreement
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5An experimental project that only contains two technically oriented instrumental elements, namely guitar and drums. The tone and feel of the thing in somewhere between whimsy and ominous, as the style varies between melodic prog and technical death metal. Because there’s no bass, the music has no good low-end floor or push, and so there’s just this sense of the two instruments dancing frantically while floating in space.
Incite – Savage New Times
Genre: Groove/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Incite are back with their seventh full-length, and a slight shift in style to go with it. It’s still groove metal with strong thrash elements, but they’ve now gone in a harsher, leaner and more hardcore-oriented direction. The rhythms are a bit more start-stop, with some slightly clunky transitions here and there, which isn’t great for the flow, but also veers away from the stereotypical. It has a few highlight tracks where they sound properly pissed off and ready for battle, but also some that either lack punching power or where the instrumental approach gets a bit repetitive. It reminds me of Kataklysm and early Machine Head, and sounds hungry and vital despite the experience behind the levers.
Highlight: “Just a Rat”
Justice For The Damned – Stay Relentless
Genre: Hardcore/deathcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is metallic hardcore going to war with a deathcore arsenal. Once you hear the first couple of songs you know pretty much exactly what you’re gonna get for the rest of the 30 minute experience, and that’s okay, cause even though it’s all expected, the delivery is good at worst and exceptional at best. It’s dry, throaty roars on top of jump-around rhythms and grim-toned, crunchy riffs, with plenty of chest-beating energy behind it. It rarely devolves into the generic, and stays loose and relevant throughout, managing an infectious combo of groove and hard-hitting, percussive aggression.
Highlight: “Built To Be Broken”
King Yosef – Spire Of Fear
Genre: Industrial metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5I’m not well versed in the dystopian realms of industrial metal, so King Yosef is complete news to me, but the fact that this project is now six albums deep becomes evident in the craftsmanship. It’s a hostile, beat-heavy experience, but with a great deal of haunting, synthetic, noise-tinged atmosphere to go with it. It’s got the heaviness and ferocious nature of metal, with the rhythm and structure mentality of hardcore and hip-hop. The energy takes a bit of a dip past the halfway point, with tracks starting out doomy and ethereal before getting their bite on far into the song. Apart from this there is much to like, with strong song identities and a consistent mood that has you feeling trapped in an eternal state of smoggy dusk, containing both beauty and horror, threats and opportunities.
Highlight: “Vi Coarctus” and “Lichen”
Unleashed – Fire Upon Your Lands
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5The viking death metal O.G.s are back with their 15th(!) release since getting the raiding party started in 1989. And while they are certainly not the most prominent or influential in this niche part of the subgenre today, “Fire Upon Your Lands” proves that it’s by no means time to put the axe down. Fire up one of their early releases, and I think you’ll find that the same, hungry energy has re-emerged all these years later. It’s not innovative at all, but feels confident in just the right kind of way, like they don’t have to try too hard to show their best side. 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. It’s half-groovy, half-melodic, mid-to-high tempo, moderately epic, but mostly malicious-sounding old school death metal that knows what it wants, and how to impress by way of having a good time making aggressive music.
Highlights: “War Comes Again” and “To My Only Son”
Warmen – Band Of Brothers
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5For those not familiar with this band, this is former Children Of Bodom keyboardist Janne Wirman’s baby that he birthed as a side project back in 1999. The band resurfaced in 2023 after a long break, releasing the entertaining “Here For None”, giving that lingering COB itch a good scratch with the combo of virtuoso solo work, sharp riffs and power-esque, synth-driven melodies. In that regard, all is well on “Band of Brothers”, but, long story short, it’s not enough. While there’s plenty of fun to be had, you have to ignore a lot of pretty lazy rhythm work along the way, and melodically you’ve definitely heard it all before. Technically it’s not particularly impressive, but a lot of it is quite tasty. If that sounds like it’s enough, this album will satisfy.
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 August 08 – 2025
Dark and spiritual underground dwellers are being offset by vibrant, fun-loving mass pleasers this week, and it will no doubt divide the fanbase.
Ashes Of Ares – New Messiahs
Genre: Heavy/power metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5For fans of Iced Earth (which is basically the origin of this band) this will probably be a fairly enjoyable, low-demand listen of groove-like riffs and the distinct, belting vibrato vocals of Matt Barlow. But on a more general basis this is seriously trite, with a poor, blunt production, unengaging rhythm work, mediocre melodies and formulaic songwriting.
Babymetal – Metal Forth
Genre: Pop/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5I won’t spend a ton of time on this album, because I honestly think that reviews of bands like Babymetal need to be written and read by people that genuinely like them, and who don’t care to classify them. For me, when something crosses this far into the land of pop sensibilities, it loses too much of the foundation on which I base my opinion (Sleep Token being a prime example of this). Fans of this will, for instance, probably don’t care that it’s stylistically all over the place due to the fact that it’s completely dominated by guest performances, whose influences overshadow any distinct core sound. There’s alternative, metalcore, deathcore, pop, symphonic, power, rap, electronica… and the list goes on. Bottom line though, is that it’s a lot of fun. It’s flavorful and catchy, with several strong tracks, and none of it is poorly written. But spending any significant time considering the question of WHY it was made, and I just lose interest.
Blackbraid – Blackbraid III
Genre: Atmospheric folk/black metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5The degree to which this is still black metal is a consideration best left behind when diving in to this album, because it will only distract you. Think of it more like blackened folk, and you’ll probably enjoy it more. Like the album art suggests, this is a sound born of the night, but not of complete darkness. There is life, pale light, and a horizon full of promises, despite the woes of the day just left behind. The 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. It’s an epic affair with long main track alternating with mostly acoustic interludes. These might be a tad long for some, but once you’re in the flow most of them are engaging enough to keep your mind from disconnecting. It’s beautifully produced, and delivers both vicious aggression and a grand sense of scope, closer to melodic death metal than black metal in that regard. Nothing feels overstated, and offers fantastic immersion for anyone able to take it for what it is.
Highlights: “The Dying Breath of a Sacred Stag” and “God of Black Blood”
Cytolysis – Surge Of Cruelty
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5This is one of those “didn’t stop to consider whether they should” scenarios. The band obviously thought it might be interesting to dive into groove-progressive rhythms for their otherwise fairly grounded brutal death metal sound, and my verdict is that it only partially works. The rhythm work feels a bit tacked on, like they’re refusing to keep things predictable just for the sake of it, and the result is that the flow suffers woefully. Otherwise, it’s pretty solid.
Dropout Kings – Yokai
Genre: Rap/nu metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5A pop-hop/nu metal hybrid that hands out both barbed wire and sugar. It’s certainly not something you to for authenticity of rap or metal attitude. It’s youthful, emotional, poppy and able to swing a few punches when it gets pissed off. Way too many “whooo-ooooh” gang vocals for my taste though.
Liv Sin – Close Your Eyes
Genre: Heavy/power metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5Liv Sin is one of those bands who have fun with throwing in growls and death metal riffs to an otherwise over-the top, power-leaning heavy metal sound. It adds a contrasting layer of aggression, but feels a bit superficial considering the unremarkable heavy-handed rhythms and clichéd lyrics.
Lord Of The Lost – Opvs Noir Vol. 1
Genre: Gothic/industrial metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5More grand goth metal incoming from Hamburg. This album feels like a slight nod back to their pre-Eurovision days of half-accessible angst, but that boldness of success has definitely come to stay. Boasting big guest appearances from Within Temptation, Deathstars, Feuerschwanz and more, it’s meant to be big, whatever the mood. To their credit, these added flavors don’t shift the stylistic course of the album significantly. It remains bombastically somber, with the ever-present hint of seduction. Vocals and production are outstanding, as usual.
Malthusian – The Summoning Bell
Genre: Blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Forget about comfort, forget about restraint, and say goodbye to convention. Malthusian play fiendishly free-structured, yet technically sharp blackened death metal that sounds like the hungry, anguished gurgle-sighs of hell itself. Whenever it pleases the dark forces, they slow it down into death doom, showing off their horrifyingly convincing atmospheric sensibilities, as well as retaining an iron grip on their rhythmic precision. Then, when the volcano erupts, it’s back to chugging death metal full of guitar squeals, and it’s all buried under a moderate layer of dead earth, This is not one you come to headbang your way through, it’s to enter a state of chaotic, unholy euphoria.
Highlight: “The Summoning Bell”
Pustulant Flesh – Gurgling Pustulence
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5The Danes have a good grip on crunchy death metal, and here’s some of the gleefully gory variant. It seems almost a bit hurried at less than 20 minutes, like they were eager to just get it out there, and I would have welcomed a few more tracks. It’s nasty stuff, full of throaty gurgling and slimy sound effects, but in essence it’s a bunch of murderous riffs delivered with bass drum hammer blows. Nice!
Sinsaenum – In Devastation
Genre: Melodic/blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is definitely not an album where you can go in expecting a genre-bound experience. The supergroup is at its core a blackened death metal band, and tonally this doesn’t stray too far away from these roots. But its riff- and rhythm energy seems to come from groove metal, and the solo affinity from thrash. It’s also fairly melodic, sometimes in a grounded way, and sometimes in a more sprinkle-on-top symphonic way, which can feel like a bit of a disconnect. Being a tribute to the late Joey Jordison, there are also clear nods to Slipknot, particularly on “Last Goodbye”. Despite being a bit uneven, there are so many tasty treats to sink your teeth into. It’s hyperactive riffs and all out instrumental aggression all the way, showcasing an infectious appetite for sonic devastation.
Highlights: “The Old Lie” and “Front Towards Enemy”
Theurgion – All Under Heaven
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is a bleak, almost gothic doom album with half a foot into death metal, which brings a nice crunch to the guitars and some snarling vocals. But mainly it’s a darkly grand, atmospheric experience that doesn’t float away into the ether, but stays grounded in sad, folk-gothic melodies. The clean vocals are done in this off-key howling sort of fashion that really isn’t for me, but fit in with the overall mood. At its best it feels epic in a mourning-the-past sort of way, and pulls you into a world of moonlight piercing dramatic, black cloud formations over the gargoyle-adorned graveyard.
Highlight: “Thrice-named”
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 August 01 – 2025
Metalcore makes a big push this week, delivering some solid stuff, but having to share the spotlight with its more brutal and progressive cousins.
Accvsed – Dealers Of Doom
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5This is the debut album of German metalcore outfit ACCVSED, but it sounds like the product of a decade’s worth of experience. Their sound pulls from several corners of the modern metalcore spectrum, and I’m tempted to call them Germany’s answer to Bleed From Within, as they share some distinct similarities in both the harsher and more melodic aspects of their style. But there are key differences as well – they pull more from both djent and industrial when they go heavy, and more from pop, electronica and post-hardcore in the softer sections. Still, for a band that adheres to the breakdown-prone, rhythmically bound trend of today, they are able to shake things up and surprise you every now and then with some seriously solid songwriting.
Highlights: “Dealers of Doom” and “Never Enough”
Barbarous – Initium Mors
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Old school-ish, sledgehammer death metal from California. You get that awesome crunch to the riffs and disciplined, terror-tactics assault of the drums, hungry-beast-vocals and with a moderate portion of groove to go along with it. If you’re in it for the riffs and raw brutality, then look no further. It hits hard and doesn’t feel like the band has to try very hard to come up with decently varying forms of sonic punishment. It’s not a revelation in any way, and could do with some truly massive bangers, but it never goes stale, and remains very true to its style throughout, keeping it tight and sweet at just under 30 minutes runtime.
Highlight: “Conscious Decomposition”
Creatvre – Toujours humain
Genre: Progressive/avant-garde extreme metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5I first discovered this one-man project on the 2021 release “Eloge de l’ombre”, as I found myself drawn to the unique take on progressive, blackened extreme metal: Wild, noisy, unpredictable and evil. Progressive not for the sake of style but because that’s how the vision takes shape. And yet, I found it slightly limited by its production, and felt it had even more to go on in terms of scope. On this latest release I, as the listener, get exactly what I asked for, and for once it truly elevates the whole experience to the next level. Talk 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. It doesn’t come across as chaotic, but it’s also not a harmonious experience. It transcends a slew of different moods, styles and atmospheric realms, but retains a sinister edge. It’s a trip, and one I heartily recommend you take if you’re the least bit adventurous.
Highlights: “810-M4SS” and “Hope Inc.”
Crungus – Hollow
Genre: Blackened/brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A mostly brutal (but not excessively so) death metal project with varying levels of blackened leanings. There are moments that bring on the cold bitterness in spades, but the main intention seems to be pounding punishment. Recommended for those who don’t much like the sillier side of modern, gurgly death metal.
Hammer – Trapped
Genre: Death/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5A modern death-like project out of Scotland that’s very clearly trying to tweak the formula into something ever so slightly out of the ordinary. It’s got a few mildly progressive rhythm transitions, a moderate bit of dissonance, and partially-committed groove leanings. Sometimes it works quite well, sometimes it doesn’t leave all that much of an impression.
Harvested – Dysthymia
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5If modern, sharp, precise death metal, lacking the traditional “texture” and going for all-out aggression and surgical technicality over atmosphere and any pretense of “old school”, then this might very well hit home for you. It’s a confident, no-nonsense sound with a good amount of groove and restrained showmanship. I’m tempted to call AI on that album cover though.
Knosis – Genknosis
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Rhythmic, modern metalcore that, which seems to be the current trend, embraces elements of alternative metal, as well as experimenting with complicated, progressive rhythms. It doesn’t quite convince me that there’s a strong, overarching plan, but it has a few strong songs, and should not disappoint fans.
Terrordome – Plagued With Violence
Genre: Thrash metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Now for a dose of untamed Polish crossover thrash. You’ve got the speed of… well, speed (metal)… and the ill-mannered-ness of hardcore both sort of pulling in the same direction, and it makes for quite a ride. Luckily, it’s also got some muscle to go with the teeth, so you’re getting meaty riffs and malicious groove, very much in the vein of Kreator. Speaking of which, the (mock) satanic themes also fit in nicely with the style. It’s a pleaser of a stomp-y, snarling, adrenaline-fueled riff machine, and I can vividly imagine the mayhem it will cause live.
Highlight: “Satanic Decree”
To The Grave – Still
Genre: Deathcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is not your typical, grand, symphonic or electronic-melodic deathcore. This is straight-faced, harsh, percussive punishment, but, essentially, not utterly without tact or groove. The growls are pit-guttural, the riffs are harsh, the tone is stark, but luckily they are in fact interested in seeing you headbang outside of the breakdowns, so it’s not completely dehumanizing. Conceptually there’s not a ton to dig into, but they manage to keep it tight and focused, leaving you properly shaken and riled up with just a (roughly) 21 minute runtime.
Highlight: “Death Walking Terror”
Victim of Fire – The Old Lie
Genre: Crust/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Victim of Fire blend crust punk and old school Swedish-style chugging melodeath to great effect. This isn’t a folk-inspired, massively layered or ostentatiously produced sort of thing. In fact, the hiss-snarling vocals are fairly buried in the mix, and the drum work feels more punk than death metal to me. As a result it’s light on its feet, but the riffs are plenty crunchy and meaty, leaving you with nostalgic impressions of such classic sounds as that of early Arch Enemy. Despite its no-nonsense, hurried and seemingly unsentimental approach, the melodies are somber, so it doesn’t come across as uncaring or flippant in any way. It’s honest, uncomplicated, and honed-in to its chosen style.
Highlights: “The Old Lie” and “Front Towards Enemy”
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 