#asilaydying — Public Fediverse posts

The Books That Shaped My Life: From Avalon to Faulkner (A Very Beth-ISH Reading List)

https://bigbluemess.com/2026/08/27/the-books-that-shaped-my-life-from-avalon-to-faulkner-a-very-beth-ish-reading-list/

Since the last Filter dropped, it still hasn’t stopped raining and storming in my neck of the woods. Consequently, my minions trudge evermore through the thin sheet metal of our ducts as the thunder rattles everything like so many dice in a tabletop nerd’s clutches.1 Yet I must press them and push them, for we have quotas to meet and ravenous appetites to sate.

So it is with shaky hands and discombobulated craniums that my grunts hand over the goods. BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Thrashed Thrall

Ascended Master // Crepuscular Gloom [May 8th, 2026 – Self Released]

Death thrash is best thrash, if you ask this sponge. Something about this unholy combo really rustles my jimmies, especially when its executed with great speed and riff-centered fervor. Cincinnati’s Ascended Master nail that combination right into the grave, boasting a sound that’s three parts Death, one part Atheist, and a pinch of Blood Red Throne. With a sense of groove that gives barnburners “Blood Spilled Upon the Stars,” “Crepuscular Gloom,” and rabid closer “Xenopaleontology” a deadly swagger liable to cause fierce whiplash in all who would headbang to it, debut LP Crepuscular Gloom” is a record pumped full of testosterone and adrenaline. Speedy rippers like “Midnight Mother” and “Ghoul Queen” put the pedal to the metal with a ferocity more commonly associated with Kvaen or Hellripper in the modern pantheon, but the record’s natural engineering and coherent screams hark to earlier times where Death reigned supreme in the scene. However, it would be inaccurate to call it pure worship. Ascended Master have an intense personality and a particular ferocity that allows Crepuscular Gloom to integrate smoothly into their respective category without blending into the crowd. As their career develops from this point, I expect we’ll see their identity bloom and rise with greater distinction, further setting them apart and threatening year-end lists all around. Just wait, you’ll see!

ClarkKent’s Prehistoric Pulls

Ilienses Tree // Toward the Storm [May 1st, 2026 – Meuse Music Records]

Ilienses Tree sow their roots deep into the island the band originates from—Sardinia, just off the coast of Italy. Their name, Ilienses, refers to an ancient Nuragic civilization that, during the Bronze Age, built impressive stone tower structures that still stand today. While the band isn’t nearly so old, their second album, Toward the Storm, dabbles in the sort of slow, deliberate doom that speaks of the patience of those ancient ruins. They lean towards a style of funeral doom that has the brutal power of My Dying Bride, but their record also contains the unpredictable dynamic drumming of Oromet and sneaks into speedier death/doom territory akin to Paradise Lost and Novembers Doom. Ilienses Tree have a mastery over melancholic lead riffs, such as the one that opens “To Not Be Forgotten.” “Sudden Rain” flexes the band’s creative muscle most impressively. Beginning in a slow burn and anchored by a poignant guitar lead, the song has a sudden burst of energy, turns in a lovely duet between arpeggiated riffs and bass, and features several more memorable and distinct guitar leads. Though the songs average nine minutes, they fit neatly into a 38-minute record, and thanks to progressive structures, they never feel overlong. If you’d like some music that simultaneously hits you in the feels and provides a shot of adrenaline, then go towards, not away from, this storm.

Anna Fiori // Metztli [May 21st, 2026 – Self Released]

Sometimes symphonic metal bands grow a touch stale from a failure to innovate, relying too heavily on the gimmick of symphonic instruments. Anna Fiori, however, has created something pretty special, with a Mexican/Aztec twist on the genre. Her band mixes “pre-Hispanic instrumentation” with cinematic symphonics and heavy guitars to create thrilling high-energy music. While some songs hit a more poppy Beyond the Black mold (“En El Vacio”), others take a longer-form route. The nine-minute “Luna Llena (Xiki Noeso)” blends indigenous chants and flutes with orchestral elements that sometimes sound like an exciting score to a whimsical adventure film. The highlight, “Luna Menguante (Nimotemak),” contains a mix of cool riffs, flutes, and blast beats before taking us on a bonkers ride involving operatic singing, off-kilter pianos, a few solos, and perhaps the summoning of a demon or two. While the song compositions are tons of fun, Fiori’s performance ties it all together. She sings in the sweet poppy manner of Epica’s Simone Simons, the operatic style of many a Therion singer, and even some growls in the spirit of Seven Spires’s Adrienne Cowen, if not quite her power. Fiori even briefly raps on a couple of tracks, with a pretty impressive section on the outro track, “Tetzahuitl, Pt. 2: El Origen,” and goes off-script with an infectious laugh on “Entre Mil Voces.” Clearly she’s having a lot of fun. Metztli hits some of the familiar symphonic notes while injecting enough personality of its own to make for an entertaining, and sometimes wild, ride.

Grin Reaper’s Spring Fling

Beyond the Veil // Oblivion [May 1st, 2026 – Wormholedeath Records]

There’s little online information about Tokyo prog metallers Beyond the Veil,2 and while I don’t recall how I stumbled across debut Oblivion, I’m glad I did. Upon listening, I was immediately enamored by their familiar yet enchanting blend of drama and technicality. Fans of Opeth and Dream Theater will uncover a trove of unapologetic prog where Beyond the Veil weaves gorgeously conceived instrumentation into intricate compositions. Oblivion also embraces long-form arrangements, sporting six tracks ranging between seven-and-a-half and sixteen minutes each. Credit to Beyond the Veil, though, because even with such robust runtimes totaling over an hour, Oblivion never feels repetitive or bankrupt of ideas. Quite the opposite, in fact, as each listen reveals new knots to untangle and coils to unwind. Perhaps the facet I’ve come to appreciate the most as I revisit Oblivion is Beyond the Veil’s merger of piano, mellotron, and orchestrations with guitar, bass, and drums. They’re hardly the first band to do this, but each song sounds well-attuned to incorporating the right instrument for the right part rather than spotlighting heavy-handed wankery, allowing Oblivion to soar. While Beyond the Veil doesn’t break the mold with this one, getting lost in Oblivion never sounded so sweet.

Lago // Vigil [May 8th, 2026 – Everlasting Spew Records]

Vigil introduced me to Lago and their infectiously abrasive death metal, and this album is forty-two minutes of unhinged brutality flecked with melody. The blood of Immolation, Morbid Angel, and Incantation pumps through Lago’s veins, delivering unapologetic tangles of dissonant, jangling guitars, fuming blast beats, and murky bass runs beneath Cole Jacobsen’s devilishly demented gutturals. Lago’s brew is potent stuff, swirling and churning with caustic acid that will leave your eardrums scarred and cowed with nary a moment wasted. Complimenting the devastating filth Lago dredges is Gus Barr’s warbling lead guitar, which cuts through the grime with off-kilter shredding. “Behold, Ruin” and “Initiation Rite” hit with the immediacy and aplomb of Immolation, lurching onwards with Brian Miller’s timekeeping straight out of Close to a World Below’s playbook. Meanwhile, “Procession into Slaughter” and “The Land Was a Desert” launch into Azagthoth-tinged, otherworldly riffs. Everything about Lago screams danger, yet once the blood starts flowing it’s impossible to turn away from their murderously addictive violence. Once Vigil has its hooks in you, you won’t want them to Lago.

Redshift // Down the Wire [May 29th, 2026 – Pale Wizard Records]

As a massive Rush fan, Redshift’s Down the Wire immediately caught my attention with ample parallels. A power trio wielding buttery smooth bass lines, Lifeson-leaning chords, and Tiago Martins’ tender tenor call to mind Canada’s greatest export for all the right reasons. Yet Bath, England’s Redshift is more than a Rush clone, and on Down the Wire they bounce and whip in syncopated flurries and chromatic runs while dabbling with vocoded vocals and deathly roars. As the best prog does, Redshift explores vast territory in a commensurately brief runtime. Opener “The Routine” hits the Rush influence hard and early, but “The Clown” draws upon Synchestra-era Devin Townsend kookiness while “The Rogue” dabbles in Yesified eclecticism and even features guest keys from Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen). One thing Redshift steers away from is the self-seriousness associated with a lot of prog, and Down the Wire radiates a pervasive sense of fun. Trumpets and samba-coded melodies enliven “The Rogue” while “The Singer” assaults with fierce growls, wicked solos, and perfectly balanced instrumental interplay. Down the Wire fires on all cylinders, scorching with progressive songwriting and so much replayability that I regret not getting the chance to write a review in full. If you’re Down to the Wire and need a prog fix quickly, Redshift is a clever choice that won’t disappoint.

Spicie Forrest’s Nostalgic Nugget

Haste the Day // Dissenter [May 1st, 2026 – Solid State Records]

I haven’t heard the name Haste the Day since 2008. At the time, I was on the tail end of my metalcore phase and pushing into heavier styles, so while I recognized their quality, I didn’t latch on to them as I did other acts of their ilk. It’s a shame, because Dissenter is the sound of my adolescence. Slinging the same emo-flavored metalcore as early As I Lay Dying and August Burns Red, the Indianapolis-based six-piece offers 39 minutes of beautifully aching nostalgia. Stephen Keech’s lead vocals sound pushed and strained (complimentary), evoking the emotion of early Linkin Park (“Shallows,” “Grave”). Guitarists Scott Whelan, Brennan Chaulk, and Dave Krysl are so in sync, delivering stellar layered riffs and leads felt in the soul (“Burn”). When Michael Murphy’s bass comes to the fore, as on “Liminal,” he brings a heaviness and intensity that hurtles me back to middle school like it was just yesterday. Dissenter is a bit heavier and faster on the front end, but even the not-quite-overwrought power ballads of the back half maintain their drive and pacing thanks to Giuseppe Capolupo’s kit work (“Adrift,” “Escape”). For those of us who cut our teeth on acts like Haste the Day, late-career and comeback albums can be an anxious affair, but I’m happy to report that Dissenter is a worthy walk down memory lane.

As I Lay Trying (To Sleep On the Airport Floor)

#LayOverOrDelayABook
#HashTagGames #AsILayDying @hashtaggames

AS I LAY DYING (Estats Units) presenta nou single: "If I Fall" #AsILayDying #Metalcore #Novembre2025 #EstatsUnits #NouSingle #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

As I Lay Dying - Echoes

https://asilaydying.bandcamp.com/track/echoes

#aild #asilaydying #metal #metalcore #thrashMetal #metalcore. #sanDiego

AS I LAY DYING (Estats Units) presenta nou single: "Echoes" #AsILayDying #Metalcore #Octubre2025 #EstatsUnits #NouSingle #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

Orbit Culture – Death Above Life Review

By Dear Hollow

Orbit Culture is a stellar band, so 2023’s Descent should have been an AOTY contender. An all-killer, no-filler blend of melodeath and thrash with a dark industrial edge sounds like a hodge-podge in the worst ways, but the Swedes have made it their brand with a fluidity that has defined them from the beginning. In this way, the quartet showed their songwriting prowess, with tracks like “Black Mountain” and “The Aisle of Fire” leading the charge in the death/thrash riffage that we’ve all come to know and love. But while the claustrophobic mix provided 2020’s Nija a bloodthirsty darkness, it made Descent impenetrable in its compressed muck – sinking it from formidable to forgettable. It was too much doing too much, with no breathing room to do it. Death Above Life offers a bit of a different feel, although it is undeniably Orbit Culture.

Don’t get me wrong, Death Above Life is claustrophobic and overloud, but its pitch-black overflow feels channeled into a better outlet. At its core a melodeath band with a healthy love for thrash, Orbit Culture has long incorporated a slough of djent and metalcore influences, which Death Above Life utilizes for choppy start-stop riffs and climactic breakdowns – emphasized by Humanity’s Last Breath multi-instrumentalist Buster Odeholm on mixing. While it sounds like a sellout, they provide reprieve for a band amplified to the max with ideas. Alongside this, we get our usual range of thrashy early-Metallica numbers to punishing pitch-black death metal cuts. There is more range in softer ballads and punishing ragers, and it is a production improvement over Descent, but Karlsson’s overloud and often awkward clean vocals are suddenly a nagging issue.

As expected, the traditional thrash vibe is alive and well with Orbit Culture – even the more accessible cuts will rip you a new one. Mastermind vocalist/guitarist Niklas Karlsson continues to shift his Hetfield-inspired cleans more front and center, which adds a bit of gravelly (albeit imperfect) familiarity amid the breakneck riffs. Mostly, it’s easy to overlook, as speedy tempos and intense brutality grace the more traditional verse-chorus formats, in an early Soilwork-esque homage. This portion of Orbit Culture’s sound focuses on the range of emotion, as fury, melancholy, pride, and desperation collide in the mix of chord progressions, vocal varieties, and tasteful synth – highlighting their admiration for film composers Hans Zimmer and Howard Shore. Offer soaring chorus punctuated by djenty start-stop riffs (“Inferna,” “The Tales of War”), while more prominent clean vocals dominate thrashier and more subdued tracks alike (“Into the Waves,” “The Path I Walk”). There’s more metalcore influences as breakdowns add much-needed breathing room (“Inside the Waves,” “Hydra”) and more melodic fretboard wizardry and galloping riffs recall As I Lay Dying’s earlier material (“Nerve,” “The Storm”).1

The deathened intensity that pervades Death Above Life showcases the Orbit Culture’s newly capitalized fury. While many of the heavier tracks do feature clean vocals (“Hydra,” “Neural Collapse”), they are largely an afterthought to the beatdown – and are better for it. Ominous ambient textures and cinematic scope make the brutality all the more intense, with climactic solos and bloodthirsty roars focusing on establishing this misanthropy. The best tracks here are “Bloodhound” and “Death Above Life,” due to their absence of clean vocals and their cutthroat quality amplified by chunky Slipknot-esque rhythms, blazing tempos, and Karlsson’s most vicious performances to date. They put Karlsson’s clean vocals elsewhere to shame, existing as too blaring in the mix and damaging certain tracks with their jarring inclusions, worsened by protracted song-lengths and grating repetition (“Inside the Waves,” “Nerve,” “Neural Collapse,” “The Path I Walk”).

Death Above Life sounds better than Descent, but like any good game of Whack-a-Mole, the stuffy production value is quelled only for Karlsson’s overloud cleans to pop up as an issue, amplified by the album’s fifty-three-minute runtime. The riffs are first-rate, the harsh vocals are vicious, and the songwriting encompasses a range of emotion that reflects Orbit Culture’s respect for film composers – but the increasingly upfront vocal attack wears thin very quickly. It’s a solid release from a band who has earned their reputation as one of extreme metal’s best in a distinct blend of nostalgic thrash and modern melodeath – I just know they could do so much better.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: STREAM
Label: Century Media Records
Websites: orbitculture.bandcamp.com | orbitculture.com | facebook.com/OrbitCulture
Releases Worldwide: October 3rd, 2025

#25 #2025 #AsILayDying #CenturyMediaRecords #DeathAboveLife #DeathMetal #HansZimmer #HowardShore #HumanitySLastBreath #Industrial #MelodicDeathMetal #Metallica #Oct25 #OrbitCulture #Review #Reviews #Slipknot #Soilwork #SwedishMetal #ThrashMetal

Ιδέες για το τι να ντυθείτε στο Halloween.

Υ.Γ.: Ο Tim Lambesis, τραγουδιστής των As I Lay Dying, είχε συλληφθεί το 2013 και καταδικαστεί για εντολή δολοφονίας της γυναίκας του μέσω πληρωμένου εκτελεστή.

#metal #metalcore #asilaydying

As I Lay Dying face major shakeup: Phil Sgrosso announces departure ahead of new album:

#AsILayDying #PhilSgrosso #News #Update

https://metalinsider.net/news/as-i-lay-dying-face-major-shakeup-phil-sgrosso-announces-departure-ahead-of-new-album

#AsILayDying isn’t *done*. Tim Lambesis has stated multiple times in interviews after all the prior members of AILD quit that he would continue the band regardless of who came and went. He’ll do the same now and it really is on you if you want to keep supporting someone like that.

https://www.metalsucks.net/2024/10/24/as-i-lay-dying-continues-to-fall-apart-as-ken-susi-nick-pierce-and-ryan-neff-quit-the-band/

❤️ Loved: As I Lay Dying - Blinded https://cfultz.wtf/RfwyA

#AsILayDying #ShapedByFire #metalcore

https://www.last.fm/user/cfultz

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BraveWords
Today In Metal History 🤘 September 20th, 2024🤘
OZZY OSBOURNE, AC/DC, EXTREME, BULLETBOYS, YES, OPETH

https://bravewords.com/news/today-in-metal-history-september-20th-2024-ozzy-osbourne-ac-dc-extreme-bulletboys-yes-opeth

#OZZYOSBOURNE #ACDC #EXTREME #BULLETBOYS #YES #OPETH #STYX #CINDERELLA #BRITNYFOX #SABBAT #SKYCLAD #NELSON #SOUNDGARDEN #METALLICA #MOTÖRHEAD #BONJOVI #GODFORBID #HIRAX #STORMLORD #THEAGONIST #ASILAYDYING #BLUTAUSNORD #CULTOFLUNA #EXHORDER #KOBRAANDTHELOTUS #MICHAELSCHENKERFEST #THENUMBERTWELVELOOKSLIKEYOU

#BostonWeekend 7/x 🤘
#Metal and #Hardcore festival , #Worcester #massachusetts Sat & Sun tons of bands including
#SuicidalTendencies
#KillswitchEngage
#SlaughterToPrevail
#Converge
#AsILayDying

#BostonMusic #Boston #NewEngland
https://metalandhardcorefest.com/

#TheMetalDogArticleList #MetalInjection Metal Injection's Top Tracks Of The Week, 9/13/2024 metalinjection.net/playlist/top... #Mastodon #LambOfGod #Whitechapel #BlackLabelSociety #AugustBurnsRed #Jinjer #DefeatedSanity #Earthburner #AsILayDying #Frost #Molder #Underoath #NeonNightmare