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Weekly rundown July 25 – 2025
Each part of the more extreme reaches of the metal spectrum has something to say this week, and it’s all worth paying attention to.
Atomic Witch – Death Etiquette
Genre: Thrash/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is a tasty sampling of classic elements from old school thrash and death metal, without having to shift completely into a retro mindset. On their second full-length, the band constantly tugs at the reigns, refusing to relax into predictable patterns, delivering vocals that go from high pitched shrieking to throat-clearing snarls, and rhythms that both float and sting like a determined boxer. There’s both dissonance, heft and melody, showcasing the heaviness of death as well as a certain epic, NWOBHM-like flair. It might not land quite enough satisfying, headbanging grooves for some, and is perhaps more eager than stylistically confident, but overall it’s a riot of a listen.
Highlight: “Of Flesh & Chrome”
Azure Emote – Cryptic Aura
Genre: Avant-garde death/folk metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Think a progressively minded Fleshgod Apocalypse with a nod to the symphonic approach of Dimmu Borgir and then mix in a few different acoustic folk instruments and matching atmosphere, not unlike the style of Thy Catafalque, and you should be on to what this band’s like. If definitely feels more avant-garde and experimental than theatrical, but it’s not a “difficult” sound to get into. In fact, it could probably benefit from an even fuller, detail-minded production to really land the force of the death metal fury, as an even stronger contrast to the mythical, solemn atmospheric parts. It’s a bit lacking in outstanding, true highlight-tracks, but it’s got a really distinct flavor that offers plenty of ear candy throughout.
Highlight: “Feast of Leeches”
Beheaded – Għadam
Genre: Blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5On their seventh full-length, this long-going Maltese death metal band has taken a step away from their earlier crisp, technical-brutal style to don the unholy cloak of blackening. That’s not to say that this isn’t still a hard-hitting, riff-focused, rhythmically pummeling sound, but the production is now on the muted side, and the tone has crept all the way down into the musty, plague-infested cellar. What you get is a potent mix of ceremonial, underworld evil and proper, red-hot death metal fury with a healthy touch of groove. There’s perhaps a bit of dynamism lost in the band’s stylistic shift, but it certainly doesn’t feel like a half-effort, landing somewhere roughly in between Rotting Christ and Behemoth. Not too morose, not too savage, this is a solid, well-balanced effort.
Highlights: “Għadam” and “Iljieli bla qamar”
Black Magnet – Megamantra
Genre: Industrial/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Behind the screen of distortion coating Black Magnet’s sound you will find clear nods to alternative greats like Nine Inch Nails and Deftones, as well as a dash of psychedelia like that of White Zombie and straightforward aggression in the style of Ministry. In short, it makes for a punchy sound that still has layers, depth and decent variety. Whether it be manic electronica or club-beat-riffs, menacing noise or riotous hardcore energy, the band makes it work for them. It sounds confident, like a solid base that I’d like to hear them branch even a little bit more out from. It feels like the only significant thing the album lacks is a massive, furious, thorny anthem to make the crowd lose their shit. For now, it’s almost low key, which might be where they prefer to be for the moment, but still hits plenty hard.
Highlights: “Endless” and “Coming Back Again”
Bloodletter – Leave The Light Behind
Genre: Melodic thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Add a splash of epic heavy metal to old school thrash and this should for all intents and purposes be the result. Speedy riffs coupled with mid-to-high tempo rhythms, bark-snarly vocals and melodic, soaring leads, that’s in essence what you get on here. Variation in not the album’s strongest suit, and it’s not mind-blowingly distinct, but you’re in for repeated surges of headbanging, style-faithful satisfaction.
Cold Slither – Cold Slither
Genre: Heavy metal/hard rock
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5G.I. Joe-themed, Accept-like 80s heavy metal that’s strong on the goof factor, but not quite enough to ignore the fact that the music itself is fairly uninspired. It’s fun, with some breakneck solos, tasty licks and on-theme soundbites, but never really leaves a lasting mark.
Cordyceps – Hell Inside
Genre: Brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5This feels like a ride in a demonic, high speed stone crushing machine. It’s brutal, pounding death metal with gurgling vocals and dissonant riffs, that sometimes get hooked on off-kilter rhythms. It’s impressively punishing at times, and with the right kind of unholy-cacophony-atmosphere to it.
Goblinsmoker – The King’s Eternal Throne
Genre: Doom/sludge metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Properly fuzzy, bass-heavy doom with coarse, sludge-like vocals and riff tone. It quickly tells you exactly what you’re in for, then cocoons you in a thick blanket of sound to keep you transfixed. There is not much variation at all to speak of, mostly only vibes.
Hebi Katana – Imperfection
Genre: Doom/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A Japanese doom band that\s going their own way, blending in elements of classic heavy metal and indie. A lot of this actually reminds me of Queens of the Stone Age, but with fuzz, occult tone and galloping riffs. The vocals are a bit of an acquired taste, but work very well for their style, and remind me of several iconic grunge/alternative/indie vocalists.
Hemelbestormer – The Radiant Veil
Genre: Atmospheric/progressive doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5It’s the band’s fourth full-length, and for those unfamiliar, this is Belgian, mostly instrumental, atmospheric, exploratory doom metal that’s traditionally incorporated some black metal elements, but those are way scaled back on this release. This is doom that only partially sticks to the formula. Sure, there are prolonged head-down, eyes-closed, morose, dreaming-of-better-times parts all over the album, and there are tracks that are all-ponderous, but you also get rushes of excited rhythms and hopeful, energetic melodies. And these are all welcome detours – nothing really ever pulls you out of the flow or feels like it doesn’t belong. Once you’re in, it’s all part of the same other-world, taking the shape of barren-yet-dramatic landscapes both over and under ground, through day and night, light and shade.
Highlights: “Satre” and “Usil”
Jordfäst – Blodsdåd och hor
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5I caught onto Swedish black metal band Jordfäst on their excellent debut, which consisted of only two long tracks. Since then they have stuck to the two-song-approach, but taken to splitting up each song into four parts, making each section of the experience a bit more manageable. Personally I preferred the original approach, as it felt a tad more coherent and thematically confident. But if you don’t actually look at the progress bar as “Blodsdåd och hor” plays, then the experience is fairly seamless, with unbroken track transitions between the four parts of each song. The production is noticeably improved from the last two releases, with more punch and detail in both highs and lows, while still allowing for a simplistic sound free of fuss. It’s chillingly melodic, and utterly saturated with Scandinavian folk elements, as is the band’s style. It’s more aggressive than the debut album, and doesn’t quite capture the same epic, haunting grandeur, but pleases in pretty much every other aspect.
Highlights: “Ett altare av skärvor, Pt. 1” and “Dit gudarna trälar är, Pt. 2”
Kontusion – Insatiable Lust For Death
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Get ready to be chased through dead, jagged woods by a hungry, grind-structured death metal beast. Old-school in both instrumental and vocal approach, it’s got a nice crunch to it, a bit of hardcore simplicity and feedback-squealing, and has been moderately dulled by a reverb-favoring production, increasing the feeling of being stuck in a cavern with some multi-eyed abomination. The tone is full-on terrifying, without resorting to horror gimmicks. A fair bit of the time there is little to differentiate it from a host of its peers, but it has a knack for always presenting at least two different faces of its personality during each song, giving you both relentless trotting, blast beats and groove-forward riffs.
Highlight: “Throne of Skulls”
Malformed – Confinement Of Flesh
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Malformed play Finnish old school. semi-melodic death metal that’s strutting with creative energy. The drums are lively, the riffs crunchy and the vocals perfectly dry-guttural. It’s actually a riot from start to finish, but is unfortunately marred by a poor finish and a few rough edges in the performances that are a bit too distracting to completely ignore. Massive potential for the future though.
Scalp – Not Worthy Of Human Compassion
Genre: Grindcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5Easily the heaviest thing you’ll hear this week, Scalp’s third full-length feels like being subjected to a spiked, hyperactive garbage compactor infused with the rage born of the world’s collective unfairness. Every performance from the band is loaded with fury, and when this collective output joins together in rhythmic, riff-led unison, it stirs something deep inside you that makes you want to wring necks. Again, and again, and again the album delivers cataclysmic bangers, punching up with barbed-wire-bound fists. Is it grindcore? Is it powerviolence? Is it death metal-infused hardcore? Who cares? From the thundering of the low end to the concrete-ripping riff tone and flesh-shredding vocals, this is a triple-album-worth of explosive punishment packed into a sub-18 minute runtime, and it absolutely devastates.
Highlights: “EGODEATH” and “CROWSFOOT”
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, Atomic Witch, Azure Emote, Beheaded, Black Magnet, black metal, Bloodletter, death metal, grindcore, groove metal, Hebi Katana, Hemelbestormer, Jordfäst, Kontusion, Malformed, metal, metal albums out this week, new metal releases, new releases, overview, progressive metal, review, Scalp, thrash metal -
Weekly rundown July 11 – 2025
This week goes light and dark, fast and slow, aggressive and light-hearted, and offers a good deal of surprises.
Angerot – Seofon
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Angerot are back with their fourth full-length of crunchy, modestly blackened death metal. It sounds tough and sinewy, which works well as a stylistic feature, but it also manifests as a lack of dynamism in the performances, vocal and instrumental alike, which isn’t great for the flow. That aside, it’s more than punishing enough, with some real beastly energy and sections of bloodthirsty groove. The tone is sinister and ever so slightly morose, and I get the mental image of this being performed in a dilapidated, filthy and very dimly lit room, with upside-down crosses and blasphemous passages carved into the walls. The production is good though, with plenty of force and a good, sharp edge to the lead guitar.
Highlight: “Her Song Ov Feathers & Ivory”
Born Of Osiris – Through Shadows
Genre: Progressive/electronic deathcore/metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5I haven’t really followed the progress of this band since I discovered them on 2019’s “Simulation”, but this latest album is definitely lacking a good deal of the elements that sold me on their sound back then. It’s still technical, playfully progressive and melodic, but “suffers” from several of the typical symptoms of becoming big and popular. Chant-able choruses, bright, poppy synth elements and at times fairly rhythmically rigid, breakdown-prone riffing as a default for heaviness. Still, the production is great, and most of the songs flow really well. It’s not an album that should leave you bored.
Celestial Wizard – Regenesis
Genre: Power/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5This is for all of us that want fun and aggression to coexist when visiting the less serious corners of the metal spectrum. It’s got all of the fierceness and melodic verve of a Finnish melodeath project, but slightly simplified and leaning way into classic power metal. They haven’t achieved the best songwriting on this one, but it’s got a handful of highlights and is properly entertaining.
Cronos Compulsion – Lawgiver
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5The debut album from a young gang of US death metallers, and it’s not messing about. It feels towering, swathed in darkness, and dangerous in a slightly unpredictable way. There’s a touch of dissonance and a few progressive-minded rhythm switches, some of which are a bit iffy, but it doesn’t feel experimental in any significant way.
Disembodiment – Spiral Crypts
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Festering, murky death metal that comes rumbling out from below a layer of maggoty intestines. The bass does a tremendous job to maintain the gore-horror mood, without it tipping over into flippant- or meta-territory, although it does include some well-fitting sound clips and atmosphere alluding to 80s horror movies. The band knows exactly what kind of sound they’re going for, and they’ve nailed it. I wouldn’t have complained over a little more crispness for that scratching-in-your-ears feel, but it’s also not severely muffled. The tempo varies, and the drum work is exactly as precise and pummeling as it needs to be, with ravenous guitars and raw-throated vocals making up the meat of the beast.
Highlight: “Infected to Rot”
Front Row Warriors – Running Out Of Time
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Classic feel-good, wind-in-your-hair heavy metal with female lead vocals. It’s not advanced in any way, but the lyrics and melodies will have you singing along, and the tone is on a favorable tipping point between comfortable and cool.
Hell – Submersus
Genre: Blackened doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5When I choose to describe this album as “cinematic”, know that it has to do with the immersive, enveloping quality of the music. I see myself in a massive, dark auditorium, barely lit by a red glow, like that album cover, and the screen/stage opens up like a great maw to swallow you into a world of eternal damnation. It’s a sinister, ground-trembling sound, but it doesn’t feel hostile in a way like it’s about to attack you. You’re being subjected to the machinations of the underworld, and they barely take note of your presence. It’s a smooth, uncomplicated listening experience, and everything feels very deliberate, but it’s not too slow, not too uneventful, just pouring on sulfurous atmosphere and mountainous bass and riffs. It’s not overly oppressive or disturbing, just naturally evil.
Highlights: “Hevy” and “Bog”
Imperial Crystalline Entombment – Abominable Astral Summoning
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Like a melding of Immortal and Satyricon, this is severely chilled black metal played from deep within an ice cave. It’s got a sharp aggression to it, and uses it to spearhead an assault of marching riffs and charging drums. While it’s got melody in it, it’s not exactly melodic, more majestically atmospheric, but with the instrumental performances front and center. A more punchy production might have allowed it to hit harder, and even bigger contrasts between attack and pause would probably allow individual passages to stand out more clearly. But if you’re into atmosphere-loaded, aggressive, classic black metal, then you can’t go wrong with this.
Highlight: “Esoteric Offerings” and “Insufferable Shivers”
Impureza – Alcázares
Genre: Folk/death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Hearing the description “flamenco-infused death metal”, my expectations immediately pulled from Fleshgod Apocalypse. But, while they’re not worlds apart, this is definitely not quite the same. While the flamenco certainly adds a sense of occasion, the overall feel is not distinctly theatrical. The folk elements mostly function separate from the death metal, which by themselves sound like non-Scandinavian classic melodeath, leaning ever so slightly into modern tech death. The most important part is that this isn’t overproduced. It’s fierce and powerful, but it’s not an apocalyptic cacophony. The guitar attack is direct and purposeful, and the rhythms deftly skip between playful, folk-inspired passages and visceral assaults. The transitions between castanets and acoustic guitar and murderous chugs with predatorial vocals include both complete shifts and stylistic blends, and somehow work incredibly well regardless. A thing I didn’t realize how much I needed in my life.
Highlights: “Bajo Las Tizonas De Toledo” and “Reconquistar Al-Ándalus”
In The Company Of Serpents – A Crack In Everything
Genre: Sludge/doom/stoner metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5This feels first and foremost like sludge that every now and then chills out with a desert rock vibe, and that in itself is a very cool pairing, mixing coal-powered, lurching heaviness with acoustic-melodic playfulness. But it’s also got a doomy heaviness and pace, and a stoner-like, groovy approach to the riffs. Add the final touch of a tastefully low-fi production, and you’ve got an expression that is both distinct and still fairly familiar. It’s dark and a bit cynical, but dares to dream, and takes you on a journey through dry landscapes of sun-burned paleness and black, impenetrable shadows. It sounds a little understated at first, but once you get attuned, you’re hooked.
Highlights: “A Patchwork Art” and “Cinders”
Philosophobia – The Constant Void
Genre: Progressive/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Classic progressive metal with moments leaning into softer prog rock, and some straight, melodic heavy metal passages when a bit of epic is called for. It’s got a few transitional hiccups and slightly uneven vocal work, but thanks to a flair for storytelling, it’s surprisingly immersive.
Sheev – Ate’s Alchemist
Genre: Progressive stoner metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Parts of this sound like the more dreamy side of Mastodon, while the rest is distinctly more groovy than sludgy, and progressive in a rhythm-minded rather than style-bending sort of fashion. They tend to get lost in repetitive patterns a bit too often, but the prog-stoner combination (unless you’re already familiar) will grow on you.
Viogression – Thaumaturgic Veil
Genre: Progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5This is one of those albums where every other song is an interlude, which doesn’t quite work for me unless they’re super short (which they’re not) and they do push the runtime beyond what is strictly necessary. Beyond this, what you’ve got in store is mildly chaotic, moderately blackened, progressive death metal. It’s too uneven to be able to fully recommend, but it’s got spirit and demonstrates good variation.
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, Angerot, black metal, Born of Osiris, celestial wizard, death metal, Disembodiment, grindcore, groove metal, Hell, Imperial Crystalline Entombment, Impureza, In the Company of Serpents, metal, metal albums out this week, new metal releases, new releases, overview, progressive metal, review, Sheev, thrash metal -
Weekly rundown July 04 – 2025
No way around it, this is a damn short week, but that just means you have more time to pay attention to the small handful of gems in store.
Anger Machine – Human Error
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5This is the second full-length of this Dutch thrash outfit. Theirs is a groove-centric sound, not without speed but also not showcasing the most neck-breaking rhythm maneuvers. The biggest downside is the lyrics and choruses, which are heavy handed and fairly rigid, breaking up the flow. But there’s a bunch of cool riffs, and the tone is great.
Meth Leppard – Gate Keepers
Genre: Grindcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/514 minutes and 33 seconds is short even in the coked-up-hummingbird world of grindcore, but the amount of ground covered by this Australian outfit on their second full-length makes you start to question just how much of the material on records three or four times the length is actually essential for the listening experience. To be fair, this stuff is extremely to-the-point. Boosted by roaring vocals and a vey death metal-esque rhythm section, this isn’t quite your typical punky grindcore, but a merciless barrage of gut-punches in the irreverent and relentless style of fellow countrymen Werewolves. Yes, it’s a tad one-dimensional, but it’s also so damn focused and entertaining.
Highlights: “Mind-Ctrl-Alt-Delete” and “Algorithm & Blues”
Mortual – Altar of Brutality
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is death metal that’s never seen the light of day. It’s an abomination of the dark, hissing and gurgling curses from the shadows. The band is clearly much more concerned with vibes than any sort of innovative songwriting or crowd-pleasing attributes like groove, but it’s also far from hopelessly drowned in a mire of noise or fuzz. Although it’s not the most punchy thing in the world, the low-end is very much present and threatening, and it knows how to jab at your throat with its murderous and impressively precise riff work.
Highlight: “Fiendish Visions”
Seasons In Black – Anthropocene
Genre: Groove/doom metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5I’m pretty sure that if Dethklok turned into a groove metal band, this is more or less what they’d sound like, just more varied. The problem with this is that there’s a slightly comical edge to the heavy-handed rhythms, on-the-nose tone and forced-serious vocal style, that very likely isn’t meant to be taken as such. In fact, the doom-like mood and dark themes work very well in short amounts and on a very superficial level, but it’s a bit too stiff and stereotypical to stand up to a closer inspection.
Stygian – Dreadlands
Genre: Black metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A casual listen to this might excuse mistaking it for blackened death metal, as it boasts deep growls, a slightly muted production and a good rumble to the low end. But pay half attention and you’ll soon recognize the whole-body-banging rhythms and fairly simplistic structures of hardcore. A bit more energy would have done this album good, as it seems a bit sedated at times. Still, the tone is spot on unholy troublemaker, and the switches from cult-y black metal vibes to punk anger make up an engaging dynamism.
Warkings – Armageddon
Genre: Power/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Not being the biggest power metal buff, I didn’t discover Warkings until they dropped their 2022 release “Morgana”. Their riff-focused, rather aggressive sound struck a chord with me, and although their typically Germanic, bombastic approach to songwriting and production is evident, it’s not overpowering. “Armageddon” is an epic, chest-beating, war-romanticizing beast, but if you don’t care to join in with the chants, then there’s plenty of chugging riffs and solos to divert your attention. This album stands out as one for the power metal enthusiast though, as it includes guest performances by Orden Ogan, Dominium and Subway to Sally, and the interesting, dynamic tracks are balanced out by the anthemic, fairly by-the numbers ones. That being said, even these ones are mostly solid, so it’s still absolutely a listen to recommend.
Highlights: “Armageddon” and “Circle of witches”
Wytch Hazel – V: Lamentations
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5What a beautiful sound this album has. From the exquisite vocal quality to the warm embrace of the production, eager rhythms and tastefully understated but-ever-present riffs, it doesn’t break stylistic stride for a single second of its 45 minute, 9 second runtime. For those unfamiliar, this is medieval-styled heavy metal of the NWOBHM-variant, and yes, it’s retro, but not in a way that limits it. I raved about their 2023 release “IV: Sacrament”, and am more than happy to repeat myself in regards to this one. Although its mood is a tad brighter than the slightly doomy feel of its predecessor, I still recognize the use of epic groove and moderate melancholy to be like “Ghost at their absolute best”, to quote myself. It’s not an album for headbangers, although it’s not a sleepy affair. It’s more about storytelling and overall vibes, but keeps surprising you with inspired instrumental contributions and gorgeous melodies.
Highlights: “I Lament” and “Elements”
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown June 27 – 2025
Reaching the height of summer doesn’t always mean that the metal wellspring dries up, as demonstrated by the meaty lineup we’re in for this week.
Deadguy – Near-Death Travel Services
Genre: Hardcore/metalcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5A vital return for this veteran band, sounding just as hungry and pissed off as is essential for a hardcore group to really hold their own and confidently broadcast their message with authenticity. As you might expect, this is metallic hardcore leaning slightly into math, and so it’s stark and punishing in a sort of under-exaggerated way. The instrumental sound is raw but full, and the vocals are perfectly rusty and weary, without that getting in the way of the energy behind them. I find my favorite tracks exclusively outside the singles. That might say more about me than the music, but I don’t really respond that strongly to their more conceptually minded approaches. However, when they go back to basics and sound their most primitive and angry, you are left in no doubt as to their continued relevancy.
Highlights: “Barn Burner” and “The Forever People”
Deciduous Forest – Fields of Yore
Genre: Atmospheric black/folk metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5As black (or at least dark) metal goes, this is rather pleasant-sounding. It’s refreshing to hear synth-led melody that doesn’t immediately scream Finnish folk, but still manages to send your mind soaring over misty, forested hills. It’s austere, but far from miserable, a bit repetitive rhythm wise, but well produced.
Fer de Lance – Fires On The Mountainside
Genre: Heavy/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Nailing the proper level of solemnity for an epic heavy metal sound can be crucial. Too much and it’s cheesy – too little and you’re achieving no immersion. Fer the Lance get it right on their sophomore LP. High-flying vocals with an above average conviction are paired with patient, doom-like tempos, laying the foundation for a journey to be savored at a fairly relaxed pace. It’s adventurous far more than it’s gloomy, but also not without heaviness, also including a bit of harsh vocal work and a few bitter, black metal-leaning tonal turns. It’s dramatic in its own, measured way, and achieves distinction through their clearly very carefully honed instrumental finish and overall production.
Highlight: “Ravens Fly (Dreams of Daidalos)”
Heaven Shall Burn – Heimat
Genre: Metalcore/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5One of the things I have always appreciated about Heaven Shall Burn is their obvious melodeath influence, and they’re not shying away from it on “Heimat”. Several of the heavier songs contain riffs that sound straight out of Gothenburg in the late 90s/early 2000s, and they’ve got the proper melodic passages to go with it. What is indeed missing, which bothers me less personally, is, truth be told, any hint at originality. The riffs and melodies sound mostly interchangeable with earlier work, and there is little complexity in the song structures. The lengthy runtime emphasizes this problem. That being said, there’s a good mix of heavy and more melodic tracks, and, to their credit, they successfully resist the temptation to go fully soft and accessible.
Inhuman Condition – Mind Trap
Genre: Death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Three albums in, and Inhuman Condition have proven not only their eagerness, but a highly impressive consistency of quality to go with it. In short, there’s not all that much more to say about it than that it’s rock solid Floridian death thrash. The surprise lies not in it being experimental, progressive or terribly distinct, but in that it manages to be so goddamn engaging despite its faithfulness to that original, Obituary-like style. The fact that it’s thematically morbid and sadistic is also entirely predictable. Much of the success must be credited to the rhythm work, which is about as dynamic as can be without getting distracting or messing up the flow. It also doesn’t hurt that the riff tone is awesomely vicious, the vocal style satisfyingly coarse, and the low end perfectly punchy.
Highlights: “Face for Later” and “Severely Lifeless”
King Potenaz – Arcane Desert Ritual Vol. 1
Genre: Doom/stoner metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Warm and atmospherically rich stoner doom out of Italy. It’s structured into four long tracks which you’re invited to get utterly lost in as you imagine floating through wondrous desert landscapes.
King Witch – III
Genre: Doom metal/hard rock
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5As female-vocal doom goes, this is vibrant and powerful, without leaning too hard into nostalgia. It’s groovy in a non-stoner, vital and catchy way that’s more reminiscent of hard rock than classic heavy metal. Its’ got traces of grunge and great crunchy heaviness paired with mildly epic, solo-prone melody, without it ever taking off and becoming too lofty. The production is punchy and modern, in stark contrast to the fuzzy, muddled style that such contemporaries as Castle Rat like to go for. In this respect, it might not be able to find a dedicated niche audience, and will perhaps fall a bit in between the mainstream and the underground. But its musical qualities – vocals, rhythms and melodies alike – deserve to be appreciated regardless of your finer points of preference.
Highlight: “Sea Of Lies” and “Swarming Flies”
Lord Belial – Unholy Trinity
Genre: Melodic black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5There’s nothing subtle about Swedish band Lord Belial’s brand of black metal, so if you’re the type that’s looking for atmospheric nuance or genuine, bitter misanthropy, this isn’t for you. It’s big, it’s aggressive and usually quite intense, with a strong penchant for semi-symphonic melody. I would not go so far as to call it technical, but the instrumental performances are front and center, with plenty of detail to be found both in the high and low frequencies. Noting at all surprises me on this album, but nothing really disappoints me either. Once you’re attuned to the sound you can enjoy it fully for what it is, both the gothic-epic and the snarling blasphemy.
Highlight: “Scornful Vengeance”
Noumenia – Echoes
Genre: Atmospheric metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A dark, atmosphere-rich metalcore (modern metal) band out of Italy that delivers big on catchiness and tonal consistency. The compositions are quite simple, and betrays a fairly limited vision, but it’s got quite decent dynamics and flow.
Putridity – Morbid Ataraxia
Genre: Brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Unflinching, merciless, gory, squealy death metal from these long-going ear defilers. The drums in particular never let up, pounding and clicking away like some infernal noise torture device. The guitars sound like they’re ripping through walls made of raw flesh, and the vocals are low and threatening without going completely over the top. For me its way, way, way too repetitive, with only a precious few instances of clear variation from the unstoppable assault. But fans will be able to appreciate it being impressively precise and wickedly savage at the same time.
Ready For Death – Pay With Your Face
Genre: Hardcore/thrash/industrial metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Combining the relative levity of punk with the ferocity of hardcore, the tempo of thrash and wrapping it in a layer of dystopian, industrial tone, theme and production, READY FOR DEATH stood out to me with their self titled 2022 release, and continue to do so with “PAY WITH YOUR FACE”. This one feels like they’ve honed in on their crossover thrash side, but the edge is still slightly muffled and noisy, and the attitude feels very down to earth and punk-like. It’s not a gut-punch of a sound, and it’s not the most even thing in terms of strong songwriting, but it feels raw and free-spirited, which is just right for this particular corner of the metal spectrum.
Highlight: “SEWAGE OF THE DIVINE”
Shadow Of Intent – Imperium Delirium
Genre: Deathcore/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5It will come as little surprise to you that Shadow of Intent’s latest album sounds absolutely massive. But let’s go one step further and call it terrifyingly majestic, because it’s only appropriate. The melodic dimension of the band’s style has, at least in my opinion, always been their strongest suit, drawing on gothic melancholy, but able to deliver it in a darkly epic manner that perfectly complements the brutal technicality that goes with it. This has in no way changed on “Imperium Delirium”, and the balance they are able to strike between roaring deathcore pandemonium, death metal savagery, tech death instrumental flourishes and theatrical grandeur is right up there with the very best of their discography, as well as that of their peers. It’s almost a bit much at times, suggesting that greater contrasts in intensity might have made for an even more impactful and memorable experience, but at the same time I can’t really fault their style for lacking dynamism. It’s great, simple as that.
Highlights: “Feeding the Meatgrinder” and “Apocalypse Canvas”
Sodom – The Arsonist
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5To describe “Sodom’s “The Arsonist” with one word, I would call it confident. Everything from the production to the instrumental interplay to the vocal style and the runtime. At nearly 49 minutes, it’s not a short album, but the old timers have no trouble keeping you entertained. Therein lies the foremost strength of the album. It doesn’t exactly sound young, but also very far from tired or complacent. The slightly muffled finish isn’t for me, but the riff tone hits just right, there’s decent rhythm variation, and it’s got that bloodshot Slayer edge that separates it from the more fun-loving and antics-driven thrash metal. I definitely wouldn’t go so far as to call it original, but highly satisfying, especially for longtime fans.
Highlights: “Witchhunter” and “Sane Insanity”
Thanatorean – Ekstasis Of Subterranean Currents
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is Polish, abyssal black metal, but taking a fairly primitively styled, manageable shape. The feeling you’re left with is one of utter evil, heading for nothing but despair where you thought there might await you unholy rapture. The force with which it lands, paired with the gravelly vocal style, bring to mind blackened death metal, but the shivering, sinister tremolo is firmly old school black metal. It’s an album that both swipes right at you with a scythe as well as sneaks up on you in the shadows with a dagger. The rhythms are primal and engaging, and overall it’s surprisingly varied while remaining pleasingly consistent.
Highlight: “Thrice-Hexed”
Wanted – Cutting Edge
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5This is pure nostalgia. Wanted’s sound is straight out of the 80s, and there is precious little about it to suggest that it was just now released in 2025. It’s a bit too uneven to make a solid impression, but it’s got plenty of charm.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
albums, black metal, Deadguy, death metal, Fer De Lance, grindcore, groove metal, Heaven Shall Burn, inhuman condition, King Witch, lord belial, metal, metal albums out this week, new metal releases, new releases, overview, progressive metal, Putridity, ready for death, review, Shadow of Intent, Sodom, Thanatorean, thrash metal -
Weekly rundown June 20 – 2025
This week is out to banish the light and warmth of summer, pouring on darkness and anger in clear defiance of sunny optimism.
Alestorm – The Thunderfist Chronicles
Genre: Folk/power metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5I will admit that I got over being endeared by Alestorm’s party-pirate schtick rather quickly after first learning of them, but kept appreciating their commitment to silliness and on-theme antics. Lately though, their albums have been straight up lazy, offering little but empty calories served up in formulaic fashion. This one is a bit different. Instead of going all-out party metal, it feels like the boys have taken a decisive step (back) to rowdy folk metal, bringing to mind the likes of Finntroll, and even Children of Bodom in parts. There are some actually interesting instrumental performances, varying moods and solid melodies, and, contrary to my expectations, the 17-minute finisher is one of the best tracks on the record.
Highlight: “Killed to Death by Piracy”
Black Majesty – Oceans Of Black
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Classic, shred-y, instrument-driven power metal out of Australia. Apart from it being far too long at nearly an hour runtime and not offering a shred of innovation, it’s highly style-confident, and sounds fittingly lofty.
Cryptopsy – An Insatiable Violence
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5When I describe this band’s sound as “ferocious tech death”, you gotta forget the likes of Archspire and Fallujah. Cryptopsy is much more in touch with “straight” and brutal death metal, in the way that it sounds coarse and monstrous. It’s precise and fast, yes, but there’s a ravenous, predatory force behind it that constantly tugs on the reigns. It’s got some of the most spine-tinglingly crushing riffs I’ve heard all year, and manages to inject austere, darkly majestic melody without it diluting the malevolence. Tonally and vocal-wise it’s not super varied, but very consistent and fitting for the style. An absolute blast if you’re looking for something both massive and uncompromisingly aggressive.
Highlights: “The Art of Emptiness” and “Until There’s Nothing Left”
Haggus – Destination Extinction
Genre: Grindcore/hardcore
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Haggus takes the form of a street-stomping, pissed off punker that also happens to be a rotting, flesh-eating undead. Essentially it’s grindcore, confirmed by its sub-25 minute runtime, total lack of buildups and steady, impatient tempos. But it also showcases goregrind nastiness, death metal heaviness, groove and melody, and plenty of punk and hardcore levity. There are a few by-the-numbers tracks (and even these hold a high standard) and then there’s a generous handful of true entertainers, rocking your world with style shifts, endearing attitude and/or sick riffs. I’d say that the first half is definitely best, but there aren’t any real lulls or drops in quality, so you can expect a good thrashing till the very end.
Highlights: “Do You Love Mincecore” and “Bound By Realms Of Cruelty”
Hellevaerder – Fakkeldragers
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Hellevaerder is a Dutch black metal band that’s now on their third full-length, and that experience is clearly audible on “Fakkeldragers”. If you don’t pay it all that much attention, it’ll probably sound like run-of-the-mill, cold, folk-tinged, windswept black metal, but the devil is absolutely in the details. The band is not content to rely on atmosphere to provide the nuance. Instead they apply subtle tonal- and rhythm shifts, helped by an effective use of bass and tremolo, that sometimes feel like they’re performing two sides of a dynamic duel. The production is suitably lean and sharp. I could have liked a bit more punch to the riffs, especially when they’re at their most aggressive, but for the most part the mood comes through perfectly. The vocals sound tortured, like they’re performing painful invocations, and contribute to the feeling of sinister witchery at work.
Highlights: “De laatste dageraad” and “Fakkeldragers”
Imha Tarikat – Confessing Darkness
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Bitter black metal out of Germany on offer here. Marching, often high-tempo rhythms drive the songs forward at an unstoppable pace, spreading the misery steadily across all of reality. There’s an aggression borrowed from blackened death metal that ensures a good, solid impact, and the dark melody paints an expansive picture of lands swathed in smoky blackness. There’s a hint of a sinister western groove to the guitars, and the vocals are hoarse rather than full-on harsh, which provides the band some welcome distinction. It’s probably a bit longer than necessary at nearly 56 minutes, but certainly doesn’t ever run out of energy.
Highlight: “Another Failed Ritual”
Malevolence – Where Only The Truth Is Spoken
Genre: Groove metal/deathcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Am I really gonna be THAT guy and proclaim that with their latest release, Sheffield’s Malevolence have crossed the threshold and gotten “too big”? Well, let’s accept the facts: Their 2022 release “Malicious Intent” was a big hit, and very deservedly so. The follow-up was never gonna sound underground, but one could at least hope that the band would strive for the same level of aggression. And it sounds like they have, but at the same time clearly not been able to help themselves in terms of trying to produce…hits. Many of the choruses are streamlined and feeling fairly tame, with some actual ballad work entering the fray, and deathcore breakdowns becoming the standard solution for a “heavy” finish. All that being said, there’s even more groove than before, and at it’s best it’s actually insanely good. And when they really set out to rip your face off, they take the teeth, eyes and tongue with it.
Highlights: “If It’s All The Same To You” and “With Dirt From My Grave”
Mugshot – All The Devils Are Here
Genre: Hardcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Mugshot take demolition-minded hardcore and weaponize it further, with meaty death metal guitars and stone-crunching vocals. Everything’s about the beatdown rhythms and threatening tone, bringing to mind a wrecking ball being flung around like a flail by massive machinery. In certain parts it gets fairly similar, but the next industrial-like scrape or squeal, groovy riff or playful rhythm variation is never far away. It’s a bludgeoning affair that’s (thankfully) over in just over 25 minutes, which is right on point for this kind of punishment. If the Malevolence album wasn’t quite heavy enough for you, these guys will probably grant you your fix.
Highlights: “I Will Be Here Forever” and “Vale of Tears”
Patristic – Catechesis
Genre: Blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Merciless yet solemn blackened death metal that’s clearly adhering to a blasphemous concept. At times it prowls, at times it hurtles itself at you full force, and some times it just goes rabid with fury, thrashing everything around it. It never really lands anything truly memorable, but feels like it’s on the verge of it several times.
Reflection – The Battles I Have Won
Genre: Heavy/power metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Miss Dio? You can get a taste of that unapologetically epic style on here, both vocal and instrumental wise. It’s far from a bombastic and “big” sounding record, but it’s perfectly melodic and methodical about its progression in a way like it’s continuously telling a story with every element at its disposal. It lacks a bit of force and energy to really leave a mark, but the style is highly endearing.
Tenebrae In Perpetuum – Vacuum Coeli
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Atmosphere-leaning black metal from Italy, that’s not the least bit interested in harmony. It’s bitter, maddening and ugly, with a very lean production and highly traditional approach to performances.
Witherer – Shadow Without A Horizon
Genre: Blackened death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5This one will require some post-listen light therapy. It feels like being buried alive and hearing the earth move around your coffin like a great beast tossing and turning in its sleep, while other buried souls scream their lungs out in agony and despair all around you. There seems to be little rhyme or reason to its progression, other than it taking the shape of a deeply disturbing nightmare that refuses to let go, and gets even more oppressive the more you fight for consciousness in an attempt to wake up. It’s disharmonic, but not in a technical or actively jarring way. The tempo is doom, but the drum, bass and guitar interplay is so intricate and at odds with each other in an oddly organic way that it feels quite busy at times. The vocals are mostly deep and gurgly, and it feels heavy in a deep and echoing way, but it’s not at all overproduced. Dive in, and forget what comfort and happiness feels like.
Highlights: “Fiat Umbra (Burial Beneath the Stalactites” and “Solar Collapse Mandala”
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown June 06 – 2025
Stretch your taste and take in the variety of this mixed week, offering fun, danger, sadness and a few cerebral challenges.
Austere – The Stillness of Dissolution
Genre: Gothic/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5As band names go, Austere have chosen a fitting one for the style of music they make. I was impressed with their 2024 effort “Beneath the Threshold”, and wouldn’t you know, they’re back with more just a year later. On this one they’ve flipped the black/gothic balance in favor of the latter, prioritizing atmosphere and mood over harshness and cold, guitar-led melody. It’s a subtler sound, perhaps too subtle. Even though theirs is not a particularly slow approach, the transitions are often very gradual, and not a heck of a lot of ground is covered during the course of a song, which is often in the 7-minute realm. Still, their mastery of the tone, achieving both melancholy and hopefulness, is just as strong as before. The clean-sung parts are performed with true emotional weight, highly fitting their slight shift in style. If you’re looking for dark gothic metal devoid of the kitsch-factor, this is absolutely recommended.
Highlight: “Redolent Foulness” and “Rusted Veins”
Battlesnake – Dawn Of The Exultants And The Hunt For The Shepherd
Genre: Heavy metal/hard rock
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Battlesnake is a zany Australian heavy metal project that’s now on their third full-length in as many years. It draws inspiration from 80s and 70s heavy metal, but drops most of the shred. It’s mostly mid-tempo, hard rock-rhythm, fairly light hearted stuff, taking on a lot of that cyber-punk synth tone that Ghost has been dipping into for their last two releases. It’s not exactly what you’d call heavy, but has some cool uses of guttural vocals that mesh very well with temporary tips into a darker mood. I would classify this as style over substance. There are a lot of fun antics going on, with short spoken-word interludes here and there, but the actual music is for the most part not all that innovative. Still, it bristles with charm and has enough highlights to keep you invested.
Highlight: “Murder Machine”
Bear Mace – Slaves Of The Wolf
Genre: Death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Bow down to our werewolf overlords. It’s a neat thing when you can look at a ridiculous death metal cover and just go “yeah, why the hell not”. And be delighted when the music matches the visual expression perfectly. This is hard-hitting death thrash with a strong emphasis on the former of the two. The thrash mostly appears in the form of shredding and upbeat tempos, but the tone, vocals and low end are all dimly-lit, blood-dripping butcher’s work. Notably, it’s not obsessed with old-school style, which is a departure from the norm these days. It’s neither filthy, crusty, musty or grimy, nor is it in any way polished. It’s just punishing, riff-driven, headbanger-friendly bad-assery all the way.
Highlights: “The Iceman Cometh” and “Worthless Lives”
Dissonant Seepage – Dystopian Putrescence
Genre: Brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Slamming, brutal death metal has a fairly narrow purpose to fulfill, and often very little interest in doing anything apart from this. “Dystopian Putrescence” at least tries to play around a bit with its rhythms, and goes into some technical rhythm work now and then, while not overloading you with tropes.
Gaahls Wyrd – Braiding The Stories
Genre: Avant-garde black metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Rooted in the conventional, but presenting an extraordinary blossom on the splayed fingers of branches stretched wide through decades of growth, “Braiding the Stories” was always going to be a wide-reaching experience. In fact, it feels like a small universe of its own, where we travel down a spiraling, non-linear timeline, the progression being felt as both near-stationary floating, and stark sprints of riled-up panic. Comparing it to the style of Enslaved, this is more contrasting – managing both greater departures from, and closer visits to, the original, primitive Norwegian black metal sound. It’s not doom, it’s not gothic, and it’s not really folk. It’s primal, transcendent, dramatic and dark in a natural way.
Highlights: “Time and Timeless Timeline” and “Flowing Starlight”
Gruesome – Silent Echoes
Genre: Progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5In stark contrast to the Rivers of Nihil album last week, this is back-to-basics, old school prog death that will inevitably draw comparisons to Death. It goes very light on the low end, staying agile and precise, some times skipping into thrash and even a bit of adventurous classic heavy metal. It feels like style worship, and it probably is, but it’s a very specific sort of sound that you don’t hear all too often these days, even with the insatiable OSDM revival going on. To me it feels ever so slightly hollow, like the shape and technical approach came first, and the artistic intent was more of an afterthought, but for the absolute most part this doesn’t stop me from really enjoying it. The atmospheric intros are very cool, and the restlessness of the thing is energizing.
Highlights: “A Darkened Window” and “Shards”
HolyRoller – Rat King
Genre: Stoner/psychedelic metal/rock
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5This band caught my attention with 2022’s “Swimming Witches”, mostly due to the successful balance between desert crunch, mid-tempo stoner groove and restrainedly melodic vocals. “Rat King” feels a bit more sluggish, and could have used a bit more punch to the riffs. The vocals however, are as good, if not better than last time, adding a touch of the epic and a much-needed melodic dimension.
Highlight: “Rat King”
Katatonia – Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State
Genre: Progressive/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5This album feels like the natural continuation of 2023’s “Sky Void of Stars”, which doesn’t speak all that much to the band’s powers of innovation, but as styles go, it’s a very good one to keep exploring. Melodically, it’s just as strong, if not stronger, particularly in the slower, calmer sections. It’s definitely some of the most beautiful gothic doom I’ve ever heard. As a progressive album, it’s restrained, but the transitions employed in their most dynamic songs are silky smooth and completely organic. My biggest complaint is that they front load their most dramatic and heavy songs, leaving the last half fairly understated and soft. But as a balm for your ears and mind, there’s hardly anything better out there.
Highlights: “Wind of no Change” and “Thrice”
King Parrot – A Young Person’s Guide To
Genre: Grindcore/hardcore
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5This album feels like chugging gasoline and promptly pissing it onto a fire. It’s strutting with barbed wire bravado and reckless abandon, but instead of going in the murky, ultra-heavy direction of death metal, it pulls from hardcore and punk, making it agile and spiteful. There’s not a dull moment on here, but it doesn’t need to get chaotic or overly noisy in order to fulfill its purpose of shaking your brain to a paste. There’s tons of groove, the rhythms (although often hectic) are easy to follow, and combined with some killer riffs, it truly gets your heart pumping.
Highlights: “Fuck You And The Horse You Rode In On” and “Punish the Runt”
Ophiolatry – Serpent’s Verdict
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A speedy, mildly technical and modestly brutal Brazilian death metal project. Performance-wise it’s a bit one-dimensional, but they sneak a good number of tasty riffs in there. It is, however, far too long.
Orthodox – A Door Left Open
Genre: Hardcore/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Returning after 2022-highlight “Learning to Dissolve”, Orthodox is back to punish your eardrums with distorted chugs. That album felt like a lost, early Machine Head album given the metallic hardcore treatment, and although this album goes a different way, there are certainly elements of the same style on “A Door Left Open”. But this time it’s almost entirely about the rhythms, leaving nearly all traces of melody behind, and going lighter on the groove. While there’s a lot of technically impressive twists and turns on here, almost tipping over into mathcore, a great deal of the character of the predecessor is lost, which is a shame. The savagery is still there, its’s just not quite as dynamic.
Highlight: “Keep Your Blessings”
Phase Transition – In Search of Being
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Phase Transition is a Portuguese, female-fronted prog metal band that bring to mind the symphonic and melody-rich styles of several Finnish and Dutch greats. What this album isn’t though, is overproduced. It’s got a clean, fairly lean sound, not lacking fullness but also far from bloated. Granted, I would have liked a bit more force in the peaks, especially considering that the band isn’t at its best in the calmer sections. But the album is well balanced, and considering this is their first full-length, I see great potential for expansion. The violin solos are a very welcome touch.
Highlight: “The Other Side”
Refusal – Venomous Human Concept
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Ah yes, any week with a bit of crunchy death metal is a good week in my book. This is the Finnish, grindcore-tinged kind, which makes it quite lively. Songwriting-wise it’s a bit clunky, not delivering the smoothest transitions or biggest highlights. But there’s plenty of buzzsaw riff goodness.
Volbeat – God Of Angels Trust
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This might be as close as we’ll ever get to an “evil” Volbeat album. There must have been some temptation for Michael Poulsen to pull the sound in the direction of his highly successful Asinhell death metal project, but, likely in an effort to clearly differentiate the two styles, it sounds like he’s held back. As a result, the heaviness on “God of Angels Trust” feels superficial, manifesting in a select few (decidedly badass) riffs. The rhythms feel largely uninspired, sometimes outright repetitive, and the melodies and choruses are very typically “Volbeat”. All that being said, there are a handful of real highlights, a few refreshing departures from the expected, and the rugged charm of the early records, which has only occasionally resurfaced in the years since, can be clearly felt.
Highlight: “Demonic Depression”
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, austere, Battlesnake, Bear Mace, black metal, death metal, Gaahls Wyrd, grindcore, groove metal, Gruesome, Holyroller, katatonia, King Parrot, metal, metal albums out this week, new metal releases, new releases, orthodox, overview, Phase Transition, progressive metal, Refusal, review, thrash metal, Volbeat -
Weekly rundown May 30 – 2025
A week that will please the brain as much as the heart, and make sure you get a proper neck exercise in.
Coltsblood – Obscured Into Nebulous Dusk
Genre: Doom/sludge metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A misery-mired shuffle through a soundscape of cold, indifferent marvel, this is funeral-like doom with a raspy, jagged, blackened sludge core. It’s not one where you go through any real, significant shifts throughout each song, and so for someone lacking the required patience for several 10-minute single-path tracks, this can be a slog to get through. But if it’s a tonal landscape you feel at home in, or at least find rewarding to visit, you’re in good hands.
Death Rattle – The Moral Chokehold
Genre: Groove metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Rhythmic groove metal with very obvious Gojira influxes, to the point where it’s mildly derivative. Creatively though, it’s not really in the same league, but offers up some nice riffs, and the atmospheric touches make a decent effort in trying to pull you in.
Eschaton – Techtalitarian
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Fair warning: If the erratically busy nature of modern tech death is precisely what puts you off most examples of the subgenre, then this is most certainly not for you. This thing skips about like a hummingbird on speed – and with unrestrained teleportation abilities. It’s not the kind of thing you go to for measured buildups and a deeper sense of purpose. Neither is it an overly chaotic sort of beast. The drums in particular ensure a supercomputer-like level of control and precision, and while it’s not exactly immersive, it certainly can be fascinating. There’s not much melody outside of the guitar solos, but neither does it feel bleak or soulless. The instrumentation takes on a life of its own, like being enveloped in frantic and overlapping streams of communication in an alien language.
Highlight: “Antimatter”
Golem Of Gore – Ultimo Mondo Cane
Genre: Goregrind
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5I feel like goregrind will never be objectively “good music”, and perhaps it actually shouldn’t be. Bad taste is, in a way, inherent in the style. This one is too long at nearly 38 minutes. There are some awesome turns from all out instrumental hammering to punishing breakdowns, and you so love them when they arrive, but they are in the minority, and you can feel your brain numbing at the constant assault it suffers, leading to fatigue long before the end of the album.
Graceless – Icons Of Ruin
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Graceless manage the feat of both staying faithful and satisfyingly predictable within the sphere of old school death metal, and at the same time branching out and pulling in select elements from neighboring styles. When they slow down, it feels like a nod to epic doom. When they take the brutality down a slight notch, it feels like cracking open the door to melodeath. And when it’s time to step up the fun factor, they start toying around with early groove metal. Rhythm wise, it’s not terribly engaging, and they lack a bit of force in the low end to really knock your socks off. But the production is suitably grungy, and for such a style-conscious sound, it’s pleasingly varied.
Highlight: “Sanctified Slaughter”
Gridiron – Poetry From Pain
Genre: Rap metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Rap metal isn’t the subgenre where you expect the most experimentation or variety, and for the most part Gridiron’s newest offering lives up to this “prejudice”, if you will. Their hardcore influences mixing with the straightforward street-hip-hop is fitting, but hardly a contrasting flavor. It’s a little more interesting how the heavier guitar and rhythm parts take cues from aggressive thrash, even death metal at times, and I wish that they would have allowed these influxes more room overall, instead of letting the predictable stomp-beatdowns dominate. All that being said, it’s hard to deny the energy and headbang-ability of this album, so if you’re just looking for a heavy metallic hardcore sound not too far removed from Body Count, then I don’t see why you wouldn’t enjoy the hell out of this.
Grin – Acid Gods
Genre: Sludge/stoner metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5In my mind, this is the optimal mix of sludge, stoner and psychedelia. The lazy, groove-loving rhythms bring a touch of comfort to contrast the clenched-fist, gravel crushing heaviness of the tone and vocals. Speaking of which, Jan Oberg sound like he’s straining his vocal chords to the point where I want to clutch my throat and chug ice water to alleviate the imagined pain. The upside of this is that he’s able to wring his voice into melodic gargle-howls not unlike the great Lemmy, which adds another dimension to the experience. While this is in no way a genre-bending sort of sound, with the subtle psychedelic elements feeling like a natural addition, the album feels meticulously and expertly shaped. There’s both darkness and levity at the extreme ends, and in the middle it’s a restrainedly soulful, slow-rolling thunderclap.
Highlights: “Nocturno” and “Beneath the Altar”
The Haunted – Songs Of Last Resort
Genre: Melodic death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5If you haven’t listened to The Haunted before, firstly shame on you, and secondly I’ll try to sum up what you can expect on their latest release by way of name dropping. Think the songwriting excellence and heaviness of At the Gates with the restless groove of Lamb of God, some Cavalera Conspiracy ferocity, a bit of Destruction-style thrash shredding, and a touch of old school In Flames melody. If that sounds like the stuff of dreams, then you can start to appreciate just what you’ve been missing out on for the last 27 years. On “Songs of Last Resort” they go heavy on the thrash and groove, but always with the throat-ripping vocals and a ravenous aggression fueling the momentum. The start of the album is insanely strong, and it keeps the quality all the way though, although you do feel like you’re on a slight downwards slope in terms of freshness. Still, it’s an album packed with bangers, and the qualities that shaped the band still shine through as strong as ever.
Highlights: “In Fire Reborn” and “Warhead”
In The Kingdom Of Nightmares – Fading Light
Genre: Metalcore/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Take some Unearth-style early metalcore and add some heavy, Kataklysm-style groove to it, as well as a bit of hardcore rhythm rigidity, and you should be able to clearly picture this stuff. It’s not the most three-dimensional songwriting wise, but will fill your craving if you’ve got it.
Obsidian Tongue – Eclipsing Worlds Of Scorn
Genre: Experimental black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Welcome to this otherworldly sermon to powers incomprehensible. Yes, this is in essence black metal, but it’s warm, curious, expansive and unpredictable in a non-jarring way, like it’s inviting you along to experience an undiscovered part of the universe. You get gentle, atmospheric melody, rich, friendly psychedelia, a tragic-epic tone and sweeps of snarling heaviness that feel both old school and grand in a tastefully understated way, without resorting to a garbage production. There’s not really a clear, coherent direction to the listening experience, and I find myself losing interest slightly on the second to last two songs, but then it soars back up with the final track, and all is well again.
Highlights: “Theater of Smoke & Wind” and “Orphaned Spiritual Warrior”
Obstruktion – The End Takes Form
Genre: Hardcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5As a fan of metallic hardcore, this is kind of what I want all hardcore to do, which is to simply turn the riff power up to eleven. Allowing in a few other rhythm influences also doesn’t hurt, and pushing the vocals into raspy territory also really does it for me. This album has that monumental riff tone that makes death metal sound so ominous, and plenty of beat-heavy energy. A bit too many of the songs are overly one-dimensional, but it’ll still get your blood pumping.
Puteraeon – Mountains Of Madness
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5Oh dear, it’s crunchy Swedish death metal. I can feel my objectivity draining away and my consciousness slipping into a happy place coma. This one even has some thematic depth to it… oh damn, I’m completely sold from the get-go. You can imagine my ecstasy at discovering that the melodic and rhythmic variety on this album is also more than decent. Let’s see if I can muster the mental fortitude to properly describe it to you. This is a Lovecraft-themed, fairly cold-toned, modestly melodic, Swedish old school death metal album that boasts a beefy production, playful rhythms and a constantly threatening tinge. The vocals are mostly all-out wet-snarling, but also does a few barks, and a couple of dips into clean. There is absolutely nothing missing from this in terms of pure, headbanging heaviness, but I will deduct some slight points for missing the opportunity to utilize some genuinely scary atmosphere. A few cues from death doom might have done it. But other than this, I find precious little to criticize.
Highlights: “Watchers At The Abyss” and “The Land of Cold Eternal Winter”
Quadvium – Tetradōm
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A band of two bassists, essentially, this is a masterclass in instrumental prog metal, at least as far as technicality is concerned. Yes, there’s a bit of riffing and drums in there as well, but the bass is no doubt king. It’s got a warm, all-enveloping low end (as can be expected) and doesn’t go too crazy with the rhythm transitions, but it’s still a showoff through and through.
Rivers Of Nihil – Rivers Of Nihil
Genre: Progressive/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5I both want to be more strict and more liberal with my rating of River of Nihil’s latest. From the point of view of a laid-back appreciator of technical proficiency and melodic variety, this is extremely enjoyable. The album explodes with force and verve, leaving behind almost all trace of the pensiveness of 2021s “The Work”. So if that one bored you, then it’s time to rejoice. But if you, like me, find yourself a bit disappointed with the near-abandonment of consequential thematic depth to the benefit of deathcore-levels of rigid, punishing chugs, metalcore-like choruses and electronic ambience, then, well, that’s disappointing. There are still plenty of recognizable elements though, like the riff tone and use of sax, so don’t worry. It’s still high quality melodic prog death, just not quite pushing the envelope for this highly competent gang.
Highlights: “Dustman” and “House of Light”
Svart Vinter – Isvind
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5This is pretty much as straightforward as you can imagine atmospheric black metal to be. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just limits the scope. It’s cold, snarly and with sweeping, tragic tremolo melody.
Vildhjarta – + där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar +
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5You should know that when a band that uses djent guitars as heavily and percussively as this still manages to win me over, they are truly doing something right. I think the key in this case being that they understand how to manipulate the sound into doing OTHER things than just drive the progression steadily and punishingly to the next, predictable breakdown or jarring rhythm shift. At it’s best, the guitar tone and riff structure mimic other music styles, making it feel like the whole song is morphing into some gleeful caricature. Don’t get me wrong though – while it’s certainly entertaining, it’s not silly or disrespectful, in fact it shows a fluidity of taste and musical understanding that is nothing short of admirable. And it somehow ends up meshing perfectly fine with the flow of the album. It’s a little long, and slightly repetitive at times, but well worth a listen for any prog enthusiast.
Highlights: “+ den spanska känslan +” and “+ kristallfogel +”
Zig Zags – Deadbeat At Dawn
Genre: Heavy metal/punk
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Playing a characterful blend of classic metal and punk rock that the band themselves like to call garage metal, there is no doubt that LA’s Zig Zags have a very specific expression in mind. Is it a bit narrow? Sure, but not more than usual for any of the subgenres in question, which also include a bit of speed and thrash. It’s a mid-tempo, back-to-basics affair that strikes a tasteful balance between lean and punchy. The album starts very strong, then dips into a slight creative lull, before coming back stronger towards the end. The overall length is only a bit over 33 minutes though, and there’s really nothing bad on here, so expect to be entertained throughout.
Highlight: “Altered States”
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, black metal, Coltsblood, death metal, Eschaton, Golem of Gore, Graceless, Gridiron, Grin, grindcore, groove metal, metal, metal albums out this week, new metal releases, new releases, Obsidian Tongue, Obstruktion, overview, progressive metal, Puteraeon, Quadvium, review, Rivers of Nihil, The Haunted, thrash metal, Vildhjarta, Zig Zags -
Weekly rundown May 23 – 2025
Caught in a rut? This is a rugged, rowdy week that will shake the dust off and not leave you indifferent.
…And Oceans – The Regeneration Itinerary
Genre: Symphonic/avant-garde black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5At its core, …And Oceans is “simply” a highly competent symphonic black metal band. Where they stand out though, is in the additional layers that are unveiled throughout the listening experience. You take in the first couple of minutes of a song and think you know exactly where this is headed, and then they change it up with a bit of synthwave, or an atmospheric break, only to continue in a new, interesting direction. Or at least that is the case with the strongest tracks on this album. Those looking for the full-on avant-garde experience might find this to be a bit too straightforward. The good news is that, for those just looking for a conceptually elevated, richly melodic, non-cheesy, grand black metal record, this is a stellar example of that exact combination.
Highlights: “Förnyelse i Tre Akter” and “Prophetical Mercury Implement”
Animalize – Verminateur
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5I gotta say, it’s pretty damn refreshing to hear clean-sung metal in a language other than English every now and then. Regardless of this, French band Animalize nail the 80s glam-infused, melodic heavy metal sound, without resorting to tired clichés. It’s mostly a mid-tempo affair, but they shake it up with a few speed metal racers, which is where I find them at their best. They sound confident, and very comfortable with their chosen style, loading on the tropes in a way that keeps all the fun and none of the cringe. The melodies are strong, and most of the tracks build to memorable choruses.
Highlight: “Verminateur”
Balmog – Laio
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is stripped back black metal just the way I like it. Not reduced to a “listening to a broken toy speaker” experience by a low-fi production, but simply consisting of the necessary elements to shape their sound, and nothing else. It sounds malign, raw and genuinely like the work of devil worshippers, but with a snap to the rhythms and a hint of groove to the riffs and tremolo melodies. It’s honestly very close to a higher rating, just missing one or two songs that really stand out. Overall, it’s quality, evil black metal all the way, that can be appreciated for its individual style rather than it desperately trying to emulate the Scandinavian origin.
Highlight: “Tongue in pieces”
Chepang – Jhyappa
Genre: Grindcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Nepali(!) grindcore that mixes short-form, groove-laden death metal fury with unhinged dissonance and just enough folk elements to give it a distinct character. The riff tone reminds me a bit of Alien Weaponry, but the muddled production and undeniable ferocity of the thing clearly separates it from anything approaching listener-friendly. It serves up some truly killer, primal riff sections though, not terribly unlike something you’d expect from Soulfly. At 17 min 31 sec, it doesn’t overstay its welcome, and crucially doesn’t sound like the same couple of tracks on repeat.
Highlights: “Gatichad” and “Nirnaya”
Entheomorphosis – Pyhä kuilu
Genre: Ambient/avant-garde doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A four-track, roughly half hour long piece of Finnish avant-garde doom madness. The first three songs feel like a very slow, ambient buildup to the final one, where everything seems to come together as a stretched-out climax, combining noise, black metal, sludge and other elements.
Feversea – Man Under Erasure
Genre: Avant-garde black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A band standing about waist-deep in the inky mire og hopelessness that is black metal, very much letting it paint the scene of the soundscape, but directly communicating with you from a much more philosophically neutral and genre-unbound place. Clean, semi-melodic female vocals lead the way, occasionally replaced with some harsh wraith-snarling. They’re at their best when restless and really pouring it all into the performances, which is where serious-minded force meets emotion-laden melody.
Hellcrash – Inferno Crematörio
Genre: Black/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5There is never any shred of doubt as to what brand of metal this is, or what purpose it serves. It’s old-school, janky thrash played at speed tempo and given the classic, rough-edged blackened treatment. The production is predictably poor, but there’s no lack of enthusiasm. A few of the tracks get a bit one-dimensional, while others are surprisingly adventurous. It all sounds Venom-level evil, and early Exodus-level impatient and irreverent.
Moonlight Haze – Beyond
Genre: Symphonic/power metal
Subjective rating: 1.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5I can forgive a lot when it comes to power metal lyrics, especially when it’s clear that the musicians are in on the joke of just how cheesy they are. This is not the case with this album, where I’m pretty sure some of the lyrics would get laughed out of Eurovision. Add onto that an uneven and limp production and vocals that don’t quite have their note aim in, and… well, you get where this is going. Some of it is pretty catchy though, and the melodies aren’t half bad.
Ossuary – Abhorrent Worship
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5If you’re up to utterly soiling your earholes, then let’s take this plunge into the suffocating deep and face the cruel, ponderous terrors that lurk in the earthy darkness. Ossuary offer up an intentionally painful listening experience, with the highlight being the ghoulish vocals, that manage to convey hate, revulsion, agony and a dark, threatening hunger through only slight variations in the same, gurgling vocal style. There is just enough reverb to create the sense of cavernous terror, and nothing but towering darkness to the tone. You don’t get more than a handful of standout moments, with some sections getting slightly repetitive, but stylistically they hit the target dead center.
Highlight: “The Undrownable Howl of Evil”
Poison The Preacher – Vs The World
Genre: Thrash metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Been a little while since I’ve had some quality crossover thrash on my radar. This stuff is from Colombia, and they do let in just enough local flavor to clearly distinguish it from the typical North American street rascal sound. What they do serve up plenty of is that Power Trip-style, old school death metal-derived raspy brutality, and coupled with the fired-up, no-way-but-forward mentality of eager, short-form thrash, it sets off like a Mad Max-styled monster truck, mowing down everything in its path. There’s plenty of groove, squealy guitar antics and the occasional hardcore stomp section, and it all fits very well together.
Highlights: “Dying Every Day” and “Congelado en el Tiempo”
Thus Spoke Zarathustra – I’m Done With Self Care, It’s Time For Others Harm
Genre: Metalcore/deathcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5This takes me straight back to that early As I Lay Dying-style, “Shadows are Security” era rhythmic riffing, then adding on some heftier double bass drum work, gurglier vocals and a few heavy breakdowns. There’s lots of enjoyment to be had, but they fail to do anything spectacular, or even slightly unexpected with the stylistic setup they’ve got going.
Undecayed – In Death’s Image
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5Crunchy, meaty death metal with a sense of urgency. It’s a bit to preoccupied with constantly pumping out riffs and restless rhythms to land anything solid or particularly coherent, but if you just want a dose of grinding goodness, it might be worth a spin.
Unmerciful – Devouring Darkness
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Vibrating with the constant rumbling of bass drums and relentlessly hunting its way with chopping riffs, this is semi-brutal death metal that’s decently dynamic and has more tools in its arsenal than just pulverizing mass with which to annihilate its prey. For me, a lot of the songs are largely too similar, and the vocals a bit tedious with their lack of range, but there is no denying the practiced savagery. And for those ready to embrace the style, the band does change things up in terms of rhythms regularly enough to keep it interesting.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown May 16 – 2025
A week where the heavy and complex goes toe to toe with the more easily accessible.
AntropomorphiA – Devoid of Light
Genre: Death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Dark, sinister death metal from the Netherlands that moves at a confident mid-pace, calling for you to join it in the catacombs.
Blood Monolith – The Calling Of Fire
Genre: Death metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5This feels like the full force of the primal savagery behind all death metal unleashed, and further boosted by the ferocity of grindcore. Yes, it can be a bit overwhelming at times, but beneath the storm-whipped, turbulent surface grinds a steady wheel, steering the onslaught in a controlled direction. There’s an otherness to the tone, and meagre hints of melody that give the whole thing a slightly disconnected, unpredictable feel. If you can cope with the distressing nature of it, you might find it quite refreshing. It’s like a touch of industrial, but without the machine-like approach. It’s massively heavy, brutal in a non-caricatured way, and impressively constructed.
Highlights: “Prayer to Crom” and “Slaughter Garden”.
Confessions Of A Traitor – This Pain Will Serve You
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5Distinctly modern metalcore out of the UK, going big and aggressive, but not overboard with effects or production. The riffs have some punch, and the melodies meld well with the harshness. The vocals are dynamic, and overall they seem very confident in their style. The main issue is that they seem to habitually coast along on unengaging, mid-tempo rhythms, which gives the album a slightly uninspired feel.
Death Whore – Blood Washes Everything Away
Genre: Death metal/crust punk
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Get ready for some real ear defilement. Death Whore is a French band that dresses crust punk in a thick layer of noise-tinged death metal, and seem poised to shake any stage apart with their monstrous, rumbling low end. The cool thing is that the rhythms are quite easy to follow, so you can headbang, jump and stomp your way through the whole goddamn thing. There’s a glimmer of levity beneath the brutality, which makes it all the more engaging, and allows you to accept it for not being all that conceptually fleshed out.
Highlight: “Infernal Terror Machine”
Détresse – Pessimismes
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Primitive and slightly thin, but not underproduced black metal with a medieval vibe. The tone has a tragic tinge to it, and the snarling vocals sound bitter in a mildly theatrical fashion. In short, it does a lot of things right, but very little new.
Drouth – The Teeth Of Time
Genre: Black/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5If you find the black/death combo to have grown a little stale and predictable of late, then allow this album the opportunity to change your mind, ’cause it will. It certainly lands more firmly on the black metal side, which is echoed in the ever so slightly (and intentionally) muddled production. But this is by no means a “trve cvlt” sort of traditional-leaning thing. It has an adventurous and daring spirit to it, like the feeling you get from great epic doom and conceptually solid prog metal, and without borrowing any of the technical tropes. The riffs are more often on the heavy, grinding death metal end rather than the cold and sharp one, and there is real force to the bass. The drum work is quite active, but easily stands on the engagingly diverse side rather than being overly precise and distracting. A release that deserves a lot of listens to properly take it in. And the album art is simply fantastic.
Highlights: “The Teeth of Time” and “False Grail”
Executionist – Sacrament Of The Sick
Genre: Thrash/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5With a sound best describes as a precise series of swift dagger strikes, this is technically sharp thrash metal with a bit of death viciousness. The melodies fall a little flat, it’s far too long and the vocals aren’t exactly dynamic, but they’ve got an infectiously aggressive energy.
Genune – Infinite Presence
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Romanian atmospheric black metal that flies through bitter, stabbing hail showers as well as peaceful, sun-bathed breaks in the cloud cover. The music is guided by subtle melody that manages to be both melancholy and comforting.
Gigafauna – Eye To Windward
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5With this album, Swedish band Gigafauna try to be a lot of things at the same time, and casually transition between its different personalities whenever they please. Calling it progressive doesn’t quite cut it, and it’s not as experimental as it is a not-so-well organized potpourri of different influences, like Mastodon, Gojira and a few others. It’s fascinating in its variety, and not terribly executed, but lacks a clear vision.
LarcɆnia RoɆ – Extraction
Genre: Deathcore/brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is the sonic equivalent of stupidly vicious, power drill torture porn. It’s a bludgeoning mass of downtuned djent-riffs, animalistic vocals, ping-snare, a nightmarish tone and breakdowns. To me, it’s all the excessive brutality with none of the horror.
Highlights: “Desolation Hexx” and “Foeman’s Flesh”
No Raza – Tyrona
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5This band is originally from Colombia, and through its melodic modern death metal they spin tales of South American history and the current day repercussions. It’s technically tight and vigorous, if perhaps a tad too slick.
Pandemia – Darkened Devotion
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5It’s the first album in ten years for these Czech veterans, and while they don’t sound “modern”, they do sound up to date. This is tight, hard-hitting death metal with old school-ish leanings. The production allows for a great deal of force, and they do the darkly majestic tone quite well. There is not much in the way of distinctiveness, but it’s solid stuff.
Pridian – Venetian Dark
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Rhythmic, energetic metalcore out of Estonia that employ cinematic melodies. The vocals have great variety and range, and their groove tendencies remind me of Bleed From within.
Slow Fall – Blood Eclipse
Genre: Melodic groove metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5A typically melodic Finnish project that falls somewhere in between groove, melodeath, metalcore and plain modern metal. It goes big and small, slow and fast, violent and careful. At its best it’s a sound to get lost in, and for more casual listeners it should work very well as an introduction into the heavier side of the metal spectrum.
Wounded Touch – A Vivid Depiction Of Collapse
Genre: Mathcore/metalcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Wounded Touch bring a confident, refined mix of moderate mathcore and non-melodic metalcore into something that manages to convey emotional depth while for the absolute most part going harsh and heavy. It’s rhythmically driven, yet kept from going stale or repetitive by impressively varied and beautifully transitioning drum work. It’s light on its feel, going for hardcore-levels of heaviness, with a rewarding complexity to the song structures.
Highlight: “The Damning Variable”
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band, or need to give an album another shot, why not pop a comment down below?
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Weekly rundown May 09 – 2025
Blackened death metal outnumbers all this week, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only flavor on offer.
Abysmal Rites – Restoring The Primordial Order
Genre: Sludge/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A Finnish band crafting their sound from only bass, drums and vocals. It’s dark, ominous, and just as heavy as you would expect with the bass guitar performing all the riffs. Sometimes it’s a bit hard to tell where one track ends and another begins, but the mood they set is very effective.
An Tóramh – Echoes of Eternal Night
Genre: Funeral doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5I would say that this album has a gothic feel to it, but it’s certainly a very bleak and sinister one. There are wisps of melancholy carried on melody, but it feels faint and temporary – inevitably to be swallowed by the darkness before long. There isn’t much building up involved, only pauses in the slow, crushingly heavy riff procession, and so it’s not exactly a dynamic experience. But it does a good job of keeping any semi-attentive listener immersed.
Behemoth – The Shit Ov God
Genre: Blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5Ever since releasing the monumental “The Satanist”, I feel like Behemoth keeps being held to an impossibly high standard. That’s not to say that I think their subsequent releases have been masterpieces to even nearly the same level as their 2014 career highlight, but judging them for their independent qualities as works of blackened death metal, I would still argue that they reaffirm Behemoth’s status as subgenre greats. This album takes another step away from the conceptually driven subtleties and artistic intricacies of “I Loved You at Your Darkest” and goes for a much more direct approach. In fact, as Behemoth goes, it’s pretty straightforward. It sounds big, and has a symphonic volume to it. But there’s also plenty of aggressive drive, and some really excellent performances. It’s not mind blowing, but still showcases plenty of the band’s strongest qualities.
Highlights: “The Shit Ov God” and “Nomen Barbarvm”
Chainsword – Chapter XII
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5I will always listen favorably to a band that themes its work around Warhammer 40K, and on this one they seem to have gone in a distinctly Khorne direction. If that means nothing to you, then just ignore it, cause it really doesn’t matter in terms of the feel of the music. It’s semi-primitive, thrash-infused, old school death metal. If you were/are into Bolt Thrower, then this will appeal to you.
Escarnium – Inexorable Entropy
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5This is Brazilian death metal that takes the dark and horrifying route. Most everything about the sound is monstrous, but not in an over-the-top brutal, overproduced sort of way. It sounds like it comes from the deep, rumbling with hunger and feeling its way with slithering tendrils. It’s a thing that’s not instantly easy to wrap your head around, but you feel your understanding growing the further in you get, almost like you’re getting indoctrinated.
Highlights: “Revulsion of Carbon”
Exilium Noctis – Pactum Diaboli
Genre: Blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5Greek blackened death metal that pulls hard in the aggressive, abrasive direction, but doesn’t let go of the penchant for dark grandeur. Honestly, there is very little fresh about their sound, but if you want black-leaning, unholy heaviness that sounds evil despite an impeccable production, it will probably float your boat.
For The Pyres – At The Pyres of Sin
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5No, I can, in fact, not get enough of classic Swedish death metal. This is a lively one, with a heavy focus on those crunchy riffs, and vocals that sound like grinding gravel. It has an air of shadowy triumph about it, but it’s not really one that you take seriously as any sort of no-nonsense malicious statement of actual evil. It’s a non-stop headbanging good time, overflowing with groove and all the brutal bells and whistles you would expect from this style.
Highlight: “Let Their Blood Colour Our Swords”
Ghost Bath – Rose Thorn Necklace
Genre: Atmospheric black/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5If you’re into “healing by feeling”, then this might be the cure for you. It’s an album that pulls you down to its level, insisting that you immerse the misery, depression and suicidality. But at the same time, there’s a notion in here that it’s okay to feel this way, but you don’t have to. You can dream bleak, take in the hurt, and it’s fine. Ghost bath plays black metal with a non-stereotypical gothic flair to the melodies and atmosphere. It also taps into much lighter points of the musical spectrum, like ethereal rock. The metal is the force that wakes you from your reverie invoked by soft, dreamy interludes. I don’t think every song manages the balance as well as the best, but the most inspired material on here has the potential to stay with you for a long time.
Highlights: “Well, I Tried Drowning” and “Dandelion Tea”
Jade – Mysteries Of A Flowery Dream
Genre: Atmospheric/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Like a storm sweeping over the peaks of a mountain range, the sonic turbulence resounding across the valleys below, this atmospheric death metal album rolls over you, forcing you to lean into it to keep your footing. There’s a feeling of primordial forces being invoked, a bit like the dark folk elements you might find on an Enslaved record. In that regard, there is a touch of black on it, like a calling from the shadows, but it never takes any sort of technical shape. It’s a heavy, austere sound that flows exceptionally well, letting in streams of melody that perfectly match the tone, feeling like transient glimpses into worlds beyond the veil of reality. Personally I could have wished for even more force when it comes time to put the foot down, but I’m completely sold on the immersion.
Highlights: “Darkness In Movement” and “Shores Of Otherness”
My Dementia – Premonição: Só Me Arrependo Do Que Não Vivi
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5A funeral-slow, riff-crunchy doom metal album from Portugal. There’s a strong whiff of death metal over it, but it prefers to keep it orderly and august, over raw and bloodthirsty. It’s a bit too repetitive to warrant the 1+ hour runtime, and although I normally don’t complain over a riff-over-atmosphere approach, this one could have benefited from a bit more variation.
Ominous Ruin – Requiem
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5As precise, agile technical death metal goes, this one feels almost restrained. It doesn’t go crazy with the speed of tempo shifts, there’s no vocal acrobatics worth mentioning, no glitch-out, insane guitar solos. It’s very to-the-point, and yet measured. It struggles to distinguish itself in any specific area, but should definitely please fans of the subgenre.
Skaphos – Cult Of Uzura
Genre: Blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5If you thought that the Behemoth album this week was a bit too “safe”, then might I heartily recommend this monstrosity. Not that it’s some sort of out-of-control, ultra-harsh work of madmen, but it’s definitely on the raw and ever so slightly unhinged part of the blackened death spectrum. It dips into eldritch horror and ritualistic soullessness, but first and foremost it’s an utter assault of coarse riffs, canon-barrage drums and rusty, gurgled vocals. It does feel a bit long at almost 50 minutes of runtime, so could have used a bit of trimming, but the real ripper tracks are evenly distributed throughout, so it will keep a tight hold of you till the end.
Highlights: “Shaphism” and “Abyssal Tower”
Tetrarch – The Ugly Side Of Me
Genre: Nu metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5Yes, this album sounds like an absolute guilty pleasures meld of Linkin Park, Korn and Static X, straight out of the late 90s/early 2000s, and please do tell me – what the hell is wrong with that? Yes, I know I’m biased having grown up with this stuff, but honestly I didn’t listen actively to most of the original nu metal bands until quite a while later, and even then it’s never really been “my” subgenre. But the feel you get on this album is simply undeniable. It’s so… pure. So saturated in that baggy-pants, spiked-hair alternative vibe that you can instantly conjure up your own cartoony, hyper-contrast-filter, cyber punk music video for each and every track. And the band absolutely revels in it. Yes, it’s fairly formulaic at certain times, but unless the thing repulses you from the very first minute, you will easily forgive it.
Highlights: “Live Not Fantasize” and “Anything Like Myself”
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 