#atthegates — Public Fediverse posts

April breezes are blowing across the AMG estates even though the summer heat reigns supreme. With several big-ticket releases and a collection of killer platters from lesser-known acts clogging the April voting sheets, it was a pretty fat month for extreme music. This caused consternation among staffers as loyalties to iconic bands clashed and lengthy histories of excellence were rehashed, compared, and contrasted. In the end, hard decisions were made, office furniture was hurled, and curses were invoked. This is the AMG way. Welcome back to April!

If one band exemplifies death metal majesty, decay, and consistency over 30-plus years, it’s New York’s own Immolation. Since launching their crusade of brutality way back in 1989, the band have become one of the most influential acts in the genre, with a sound that evolves and mutates but is always recognizably Immolation. April brought us the 12th installment in their legacy of ugliness, and Descent [out April 10th from Nuclear Blast (Bandcamp)] is another statement on what death metal should be. Wickedly heavy, technical as hell, and ugly as fook, it’s the kind of album that feels like a tanker full of anvils. It highlights the inventiveness of Immolation even as it revisits past eras of the band’s enormous catalog. As a well-impressed Steel Druhm pointed out, “Immolation remain a rare, altered beast among other repellent horrors, painting their uniquely disturbing soundscapes across history and time.” An equally gobsmacked Kenstrosity added, “This twelfth album, soon upon us, perpetuates that standard and may even prove, with time, to have elevated it once again.” Strong words for the Grand Titans of Death. All hail Immolation.

Runner(s) Up:

At the Gates // The Ghost of a Future Dead [April 24th, 2026 | Century Media | Bandcamp] — It’s very difficult to review an album that you know will be the last for a metal luminary. It’s the end of a life, an era, and a musical companion you’ve traveled with for years, even decades. Such was the dilemma facing Grymm when The Ghost of a Future Dead was released in the aftermath of the tragic passing of legendary vocalist Tomas Lindberg. At the Gates have had plenty of genre-defining moments over their career, and fortunately, what Tomas left us with here can stand proudly among their very best. It’s a vicious, face-melting slab of thrashy melodeath with hooks and fangs aplenty, showcasing the classic At the Gates sound and the caustic, corrosive vocals of a brave and ever-defiant Tomas. As Grymm astutely summarized, ” If this ends up being At The Gates’ swansong, this is a hell of a way to go out, as they dropped another classic on our sorry asses. Awesome job to all those involved. Rest in power, Tompa.” Journey on, metal brother.

Green Carnation // A Dark Poem Part II: Sanguis [April 3rd, 2026 | Season of Mist | Bandcamp] — Successor act of Norway’s In the Woods..., Green Carnation traveled a strange musical path since 2000, passing through death and Gothic metal to eventually arrive at a kind of progressive metal-lite. A Dark Poem Part II: Sanguis finds them continuing their Poem trilogy, offering hard-edged moments alongside plenty of sad, sullen set pieces sure to bring the feelz to the coldest of hearts. Musically, Sanguis explores some older Green Carnation sounds while also pushing their style forward into new spaces, always with quality songcraft at the forefront. There are some genuinely tear-jerking moments here if you like to feel unhappy. As the usually jaded, cynical, and cranky-assed Doc Grier gushed, “For those who need something in these trying times to bolster their spirits or tear them apart (if only for a moment to reset), Sanguis is here for you.” Flower power!

It’s been a long time since Stormhammer dropped 2019’s epic Seven Seals. Having snuck its way into my top ten that year, Seven Seals proved to be one of the band’s best records, and one of the best power metal records of 2019. With a diverse vocal range, Matthias Kupka lent his voice to that record better than the other eighty vocalists mic-ing it for Stormhammer. It helps that the band put together a fluid record for a change, merging the blasty with the powery and the epic with the sappy. So, what have these German cheese grinders been up to for the last seven years? Oh, you know, hiring a new vocalist. Oh, and an entire new lineup around founding bassist Horst Tessmann. So much for dynasties.

Now that we, once again, have to start all over with Stormhammer—learning the ranges of its new vocalist, how the songwriting will adjust to those strengths and limitations, and fuck all else we need to pay attention to—let’s see what apple Horst has plucked from the Power Metal Singing Tree to wail their way through this year’s Wrath of the Hammer. Let’s see… M. Nox? Is this fucking Kamelot? How can I judge the hiring skills of a band that’s been around for over thirty years? More like, how can I Nox, amirite? OK, I’ll stop.

The epic “Beware” comes crashing down on your head with pounding drums, big choirs, and a massive orchestral element that builds and builds as it progresses. Then the title track powers up, delivering a thrashy lick that I haven’t heard from the band before. With burly backing vocals in play, Nox’s voice rises through the Blind Guardian-esque pre-chorus before soaring into the hooky chorus. It’s a strong piece of work, with killer soloing and a massive conclusion. For more of the thrashy bits, skip ahead to “Veil of Fire.” While it’s not their best, its At the Gates-meets-The Haunted Swedethrash is eyebrow-raising. But as with all tracks of this caliber, it always swings back into power metal territories, utilizing the tired intro-verse-prechorus-chorus-verse-prechorus-chorus-someothershit-solos-repeatingchorusthatneverseemstoend.

The best of the bunch are the back-to-back “Light in the Dark” and “Wheels of Eternity.” Both are standard Stormhammer power metal, with Dream Evil vibes in the first and Dragonforce wankery in the latter. “Light in the Dark” is a passionate number that checks all the power metal boxes. It’s also an interesting addition because it was previously released on 2022’s Never Surrender – 30 Years of Power compilation. But now it has an official home. “Wheels of Eternity” is one of the more ambitious tracks, mixing chugtastic verses with movie-soundtrack orchestrations. And the chorus is massive as fook.

The best quality of Wrath of the Hammer is its digestible runtime, making it far shorter than anything else in their repertoire. The other surprising quality is the thrash elements—something they talked a lot about in their promo materials. What doesn’t fare well is the one-dimensional vocal approach. For years, there has always been diversity galore in the throat department. Wrath of the Hammer is about as typical a power metal performance as you can get. Don’t get me wrong, Nox gives a good performance. But it just feels like a step backward compared to Seven Seals. Wrath of the Hammer has good energy and a handful of solid tracks, but it completely ignores the hard work laid before it by its predecessor.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Rock of Angels Records
Websites: stormhammer.de | facebook.com/stormhammerband
Releases Worldwide: July 17th, 2026

Melodic death metal had a banner year in 2025, brandishing outstanding releases from Aephanemer, Vittra, Buried Realm, Aversed, and others. Given that many of melodeth’s top tier releases came out in the back half of last year, there’s no cause for alarm yet, but with the exception of At the Gates’ opus The Ghost of a Future Dead, I can’t help feeling 2026 is off to a slow start.1 Throwing down the gauntlet with Old Gods Awaken, Vancouver collective Atavistia stakes their claim on this year’s melodeath throne. In his review of Cosmic Warfare, Doom_et_al noted that Atavistia made meaningful strides in songwriting since The Winter Way, but that plenty of room exists to further define an identity outside of Wintersun’s shadow. With the spotlight shining on folk metal influences throughout Old Gods Awaken, can Atavistia maintain their velocity after Cosmic Warfare, or would it have been better to let sleeping gods lie?

For anyone who’s read about Atavistia at AMG before, you know there’s one band whose temple even these Old Gods pray at.2 If you expected that to change, shame on you. With their most flagrant foray into folk metal to date, Atavistia doubles down on Wintersun worship with Old Gods Awaken while succumbing to a feverish case of Ensiferumania. On the surface, this may sound like Atavistia regressing back towards The Winter Way, but instead the band continues to refine the overwrought compositions that Doomy dinged in that review and delivers a succinct forty-three minutes of symphonic melodeath. And though Wintersun and Ensiferum cast the longest shadows, shades of Children of Bodom and Kalmah broaden Old Gods Awaken’s footprint and enrich its well of influences.

Despite Atavistia’s new musical folk-us and turning over half the band since Cosmic Warfare, they submit well-conceived orchestrations and tight performances throughout Old Gods Awaken. Specifically, Atavistia bade farewell to guitarist Dalton Meaden and bassist D’wayne Murray in 2024, welcoming Elia Baghbaniyan and Spencer Budworth in their stead. The quality of instrumentation remains consistent with previous albums, where guitars and synths steal the show as they trade earwormy melodic lines (“Mystic Tavern,” “I Skogens Djup”) that lead into heartfelt solos (“Goddess of My Dreams,” “Ride the White Storm”) and stirring, rustic breaks (“To a New World”). The haunting choirs on Cosmic Warfare have also been replaced by viking gang chants, which makes sense stylistically, but loses some of the flair that helped the former stand out. Longtime drummer Max Sepulveda lays down a commendable performance as well, spicing songs up with well-crafted fills that never overpower Old Gods Awaken’s dense compositions. Besides contributing guitar and supplying his best vocal performance to date, Atavistia ringleader Matt Sippola weaves together a rousing album that stands beside its inspirations.

While Atavistia successfully plunges headlong into folk, the move erodes some of the identity they established previously. Tracks on Cosmic Warfare recalled Wintersun, but just as much reminded me of Brymir and the choral arrangements in The Phantom Menace. Old Gods Awaken forsakes these subtle nods, and though that isn’t bad on its own, the Ensiferum influence is a safer path that deteriorates some of Atavistia’s idiosyncrasies. Additionally, some of the melodies and song structures on Old Gods Awaken blur together. “Mystic Tavern,” “Seeker of Time,” and “Goddess of My Dreams”3 all have similar-sounding leads, and the first two also have somewhat predictable compositions that stand out since the songs are back-to-back, particularly in terms of pacing and the timing of more subdued moments. Ultimately, these are minor complaints on very well-executed material, but diversifying the song structures could unveil even greater heights.

Old Gods Awaken subverts my expectations of what I thought a new Atavistia record would sound like, and even though they lean into a well-defined arena, they do so capably. Monster hooks and intricate, engaging arrangements keep the replay value of Old Gods Awaken tantalizingly high, especially with tight songwriting across the album. I’m curious where Atavistia goes next, as there’s no clear indication of what direction they’ll take. Whatever it is, the persistent urge to evolve their songcraft proves Atavistia will make it interesting and fun, and that every once in a while, you can teach Old Gods new tricks.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: Website | Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: May 15th, 2026

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IMMINENCE's HARALD BARRETT Shows Off The Riffs That Taught Him
Dude shreds.

https://metalinjection.net/video/imminences-harald-barrett-shows-off-the-riffs-that-taught-him

#Imminence #HaraldBarrett #Riffs #Guitar #TheBlack #HenrikUdd #Architects #BringMeTheHorizon #AtTheGates #MetalInjectionExclusives #ProducedRecorded #KerryKing #PhilDemmel #GaryHolt