#oct26 — Public Fediverse posts

As the year begins to transition into the sort of gloomy weather that proves a perfect companion to doom metal, this fall season isn’t quite cooperating. Rather than the gloom pervading the cover art’s beautiful painting by Larisa Brechun, the light is still keeping us. Only a few days before Mother of Graves’s latest take on ’90s-style death/doom, the temps around my parts hit 80°F. Does the good cheer this warmth brings hamper any enjoyment for the music Mother of Graves plays? Hardly. This mid-October release date has become a tradition for the Indiana quintet. Grymm enjoyed their debut over a pumpkin spice latte when they released Where the Shadows Adorn on October 14, 2022. When Carcharodon admired their “sweet, sweet sadboi vibes” in his TYMHM 2024 post, they had released The Periapt of Absence on October 18. Now releasing The Light That Keeps Us on October 16, the promo promises us that, yes, this is still your grandfather’s Mommy Graves.

Mother of Graves continues to hone what made many listeners fall in love with them on their last two records. They hop from an aggressive Paradise Lost-style of death/doom to a slower and thicker shade of My Dying Bride funeral doom with some Swallow the Sun and early Katatonia mixed in. Their transitions between these elements feel effortless thanks to impeccable mixing from Dan Swanö. Mother of Graves shines in their ability to craft evocative melodic doom. The eight-minute opener, “Wingless Soul,” contains a melody so catchy that it’ll stick like a well-loved lollipop that slipped from your hands and tangled itself in your beard hair. And speaking of Swanö, he has a brief part singing cleans on the opener, albeit a little awkwardly.1 “Wingless Soul” displays a little bit of everything the band has to offer, from gentle piano to cleans to heavy doom to up-tempo death. While it’s a strong start, it’s not even the best thing on the album.

Nowhere does Mother of Graves better demonstrate the power of their songwriting prowess than on the final three songs of The Light That Keeps Us. “A Moonlit Tryst” begins like a piece from a Dolven record, complete with nighttime campfire sounds and acoustic guitars. The brutal, slow-moving doom that follows casts a mournful spell that’ll leave you feeling crushed in the most gentle way possible. When “The Beggar’s Allegory” begins with its beautiful gothic piano tune, it feels almost like more of the same thing. Yet the track dives into a speedier death/doom anchored by a killer melody, and there are moments on it where you can hear whispers of early Opeth. “The Endless Climb,” however, comes pretty close to SOTY material, with a terrific melodic lead, some violins, and a gentle classical piano bit, all coalescing into a conclusion that just may be the year’s most powerful.

Yet, The Light That Keeps Us falls just short of the greatness of The Periapt of Absence. It doesn’t as consistently weave its spell, as a few songs in the front half lack the impact of the rest. Mother of Graves also employs some spoken/whispered word bits throughout the record that pull listeners out of their doom-y trance. They rear their ugly head in the already lengthy “Wingless Soul” and also conclude “Through the Pale Shade” with a whimper. The worst section comes from “Eventide Angel,” though that tune at least ends in terrific, aggressive fashion. In a way, these are nitpicks, but they go to show that this album just isn’t as consistently great as its predecessor. With a more pared-back tempo, it’s also not as immediate, though it offers plenty of rewards on repeat spins.

Three records in, Mother of Graves continue to impress with their emotive compositions and incredible performances. Brandon Howe growls with strength and depth, evoking the image of a gentle giant—powerful yet sensitive. Coupled with Ben Sandman and Chris Morrison’s calculated riffs, which effortlessly carry the music from dense heaviness to melodic beauty to tenderness, Mother of Graves writes music that’s comforting in its familiarity yet rewarding in its depth. It wouldn’t surprise me if this ends up on many year-end lists, and maybe with repeat spins it could elevate itself onto mine. Whatever the case, I look forward to their next album to land October 13, 2028.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Profound Lore Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Site
Releases Worldwide: October 16th, 2026

Iapetus – The Mother Void Review

There’s an art to writing long-form metal albums. Determining how much to write while keeping listeners engaged as…
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https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/933120/

Iapetus – The Mother Void Review

There’s an art to writing long-form metal albums. Determining how much to write while keeping listeners engaged as…
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https://www.newsbeep.com/us/882390/

The Law of Diminishing Recordings™ is a cruel mistress. She cares not for the effort put forth into any given work, nor does she show any sympathy for passion or skill. In all endeavors, she looms in shadows, in corners, and in crevices, waiting for a chance to bring down her victims a peg. And sometimes, she misses. So far, Pennsylvania wonky blackened death duo Veilburner evaded her attacks with a slithering swiftness, scrying her every move and staying two steps ahead. Futuristic, primal, and strange, Veilburner’s occult curios always find some portal to an improbable space where identification is immediate but engagement is preserved. Can ninth tome All That Glimmers is Gloam achieve the same feat?

If you’ve heard any Veilburner since Lurkers in the Capsule of Skull, then you know what to expect here. Wiry riffs that bend but never break, cymbals that clink and clang like wind chimes made of bone and brass, morphing utterances as inhuman as they are enticing, and an occult atmosphere that burns the air with devilish spice await in every chamber of Glimmers’ constructs. Familiar song structures build upon the more accessible patterns heard in Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy but the pace and aggression more closely resemble the animalistic The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom or A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy. Psychedelia still establishes a strong foothold as always, which scaffolds the intensity of Veilburner’s writing with a sinewy fluidity that belies its unhinged personality.

For the first time, however, there aren’t as many deviations from prior installments as I expected, which in turn gives the impression that maybe Veilburner is running out of steam. That comes as no surprise to me, after watching the duo drop an album nearly every year since Lurkers.1 Opening duo “Here is Thine Sabbath, So Mote It Chasm” and “Oblivion Is Yours to Labyrinth,” along with later cuts like “Phænomena Obscura,” “Of Godslave and Blood Mortar,” and to some extent the title track closer stuff themselves with trademark Veilburner riffs and evil vocals heavily modulated with effects and other production wizardry, but don’t offer a voice unique to this release. Consequently, each of these numbers could be swapped into one or more of Veilburner’s other records and effortlessly blend into the crowd. They simultaneously lack memorability. Even if I make a conscious effort to recall a riff, a solo, a hooky vocal refrain, precious few come into focus. True to the Law of Diminishing Recordings, I also noticed Veilburner’s application of repetition in this release to make their measures sticky isn’t as effective as it once was. In stronger cuts like “Vitriolic Hiss,” the twangy refrain that gives the song its core still lacks a mutagenic quality that would allow it to evolve over the course of six minutes, robbing the moment of depth and engagement.

On the other hand, Veilburner still constitute a creative force highly capable and willing to take risks and do things just a bit differently. Album highlights “Dis’ Obedient Woe” and “Golgothic Holocaust” are perfect examples therein. In the former, a focus on gentleness, low-frequency clean vocals, and a lulling atmosphere uncovers a new element to Veilburner’s sound that I haven’t heard before—and the remarkable effectiveness with which it’s delivered is refreshing. The latter cut, on the other hand, is one of Veilburner’s wildest and most daring excursions. Twisting, writhing burls trade blows with a howling falsetto wail that I’ve never heard from Veilburner before. It’s terrifying and exciting in equal measure. Somehow, both of these unusual offshoots from the expected formula still give off an unmistakable scent that draws me in like a fly to fruit. Veilburner could hone in on these tracks, break down and discern exactly what makes them stand apart from the others, and use that data to build another high water mark in their discography down the line.

For now, All That Glimmers is Gloam is a competent and familiar work from one of the most recognizable and reliable entities in experimental extreme metal. Yet, it might be the weakest installment in their discography simply because most of what you hear they’ve done before, and often better. The exceptions housed inside this work save me from feeling disappointed with the final product. In fact, they stoke a fire of excitement and interest in me that leads me to believe that Veilburner might be on to something special if they capitalize on those riskier choices going forward. A newfound success is in their hands. All Veilburner need to do is firmly grasp it!

Rating: Mixed
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: October 16th, 2026

There’s an art to writing long-form metal albums. Determining how much to write while keeping listeners engaged as their attention inevitably wanes is no easy task. But how long is too long? We will use that question as the launchpad for our journey into the cosmos with death metal duo Iapetus. Multi-instrumentalists Jordan Navarro and Matthew Cerami have been testing the limits of attention spans since 2010, releasing two albums built around epic compositions designed to function as complete works. Thus far, it has worked splendidly. Their 2019 self-released effort, The Body Cosmic, impressed the Eldritch one enough to earn a spot in his Things You Might Have Missed feature, and it appears Iapetus made an equally strong impression on the team at Willowtip Records, which has chosen to release the duo’s new record, The Mother Void. This third effort concludes a trilogy started by 2017 debut, The Long Road Home.

Telling a story about humanity, the cosmos, and the tension between a mortal existence and the vastness of immortal space, The Mother Void largely follows the formula Iapetus established on previous releases while refining it into a compelling odyssey among the stars. Four tracks serve as the record’s focal point across its 69 minutes, with shorter interludes providing the connective tissue between each showstopper. The compositions are seamless and as grandiose as before, seesawing between tremolo-heavy, volatile surges and soft, shimmering moments. Fabienne Erni (Eluveitie) lends her talents to wistful verses (“The Mother Void”), entrancing bridges (“Aniara,” “Parturition”) and bombastic choruses (“Red Giant”), leaving absolutely nothing on the table as she tears through the fabric of space and time.1 Cerami’s coarse growls occupy the death end of the spectrum and provide a powerful counterpoint to Erni’s soothing, soaring melodies, creating a dynamic interplay that helps give The Mother Void its robust character.

From the title track through “Red Giant,” Iapetus forms The Mother Void’s celestial nexus, swelling and expanding like the universe in the wake of the Big Bang. The title track immediately launches the listener into overdrive with a blaze of tremolo picking and relentless blast beats, evoking the melodic black of Wintersun as Erni’s ethereal vocal lines guide the song into a sea of tranquility. “Aniara” is reminiscent of Ne Obliviscaris at their best. Beginning with a crestfallen tone before returning to Iapetus’ trem-picked tendencies, the cut’s knotty yet catchy riffing shines at the bridge, striking an impressive balance between technicality and melodicism. The same can be said of the guitar solo that anchors the track’s closing minutes. Everything reaches its zenith with “Red Giant,” which melds the influences of the prior tracks while injecting Mors Principium Est’s sharp melodeath into the mix. In short, it’s an epic song that never overstays its welcome, despite stretching to nearly twelve minutes. The same can be largely said of The Mother Void’s first half, where the group’s ambitions are matched by a keen sense of pacing.

It’s at this point—as the interlude “Énouement” gives way to “TON”—our initial question comes back into focus. While The Mother Void largely avoids the pitfalls of bloat, “TON,” and, to a lesser extent the dreamlike heart of “Aniara,” find Iapetus exceeding the bounds of The Mother Void’s scale and flow. At nearly nineteen minutes, “TON” initially succeeds, pairing forceful melodeath with Frank Harper’s strong guest vocals while showcasing Iapetus’ knack for complex songwriting. By this stage, their formula has grown somewhat predictable, but that alone is not an issue. The main issue lies in the song’s second half. The track lingers far too long, settling into a tropey Gojira-esque riff that feels out of place amid the song’s otherwise more distinctive traits. The outro only compounds things, sounding as though it’s winding down before pressing on for several more minutes. Similarly, the inclusion of “The World Be Undone” feels unnecessary, as Iapetus could have ended on a stronger note without it.

Like the universe it contemplates, The Mother Void burns brightest when it keeps its ambitions in balance. Though a few songs drift beyond their natural limits, the addition of Erni elevates the duo’s sound, while the songwriting remains ambitious, emotive, and richly textured. Iapetus has delivered an odyssey that serves as a worthy conclusion to the trilogy they began years ago, standing as another impressive achievement from one of progressive death metal’s most promising acts. For death fans of all stripes, The Mother Void is well worth the journey.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Willowtip Records
Websites: iapetus1.bandcamp.com/music | iapetusband.com | facebook.com/Iapetus.Metal
Releases Worldwide: October 16th, 2026

Blood and Sun – Aion’s Light Review

Few bands are as kvlt as Blood and Sun, and they play folk. Luke Tromiczak has toiled away…
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https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/801607/

Few bands are as kvlt as Blood and Sun, and they play folk. Luke Tromiczak has toiled away at his dark Americana neofolk project since the mid-2010s, mixing 70s-style folk and black metal atmosphere with the purpose of delving “into the borderlands between song, spell, and memory.” With two albums behind him—most recently 2020’s Love & Ashes—Tromiczak now reaches into Blood and Sun’s deepest history for this year’s Aion’s Light. What he found was a Tascam 414 four-track cassette, the same he used for the project’s earliest demos. On it, he recorded each of Aion’s Light’s songs as they were written and tracked, every decision and mistake put to tape and heard in the same order as they were committed. This stringent, low-tech approach to recording leaves little room for mistake. So, does Aion’s Light capture an artist’s rawest expression in unmasked clarity, or do Blood and Sun capture more recording artifacts than magic?

If you’ve longed to hear Jim Morrison sing Leonard Cohen songs with black metal production, say hello to Aion’s Light. Blood and Sun’s distinct moody Americana and Tromiczak’s booming voice are as puissant as always on Aion’s Light, but now with an even more energetic, organic, and off-the-cuff feel. Blood and Sun weave dark tones and raw production into pensive folk scores, sporting dungeon-like synths and an Aquilusesque rustic, romantic dread. Listeners are treated to strident acoustics and bombastic synths with sprinklings of percussion,1 ranging from simple and aggressive solo guitar (“A Nation Falling”) to full-blown symphonic grandeur (“All Is Bloom All Is Ruin”). “Gifts of Oneiroi” and “Aion’s Light” showcase Tromiczak’s baritone croon at its most sultry, while “Jacob’s Ladder” and “Life Lessons” flex a greater theatrical bombast. At its best, Aion’s Light is a gripping foray into American gothic and western balladry, replete with eerie tales for odder trails.

Blood and Sun set a strong mood on Aion’s Light and write like they have somewhere to be. Like a Giles Corey or Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter record, Aion’s Light often sounds like it’s at the cusp of breaking. Its strings pop and synths waver while its tape crackles under Blood and Sun’s intensity, felt strongest on the haunted “Horrid Host” and “Jacob’s Ladder.” In Aion’s Light’s biggest moments, it feels ready to burst (“Axe and Mistletoe,” “All Is Bloom All Is Ruin”). But Blood and Sun maintain lean form and keep each track tight and economical. Even when spinning harrowing stories on “A Nation Falling” or majestic scenes in “Kiss the Wilds,” Aion’s Light keeps to easily digestible runtimes and only flirts with bloat on the six-and-a-half-minute “Gift of the Oneiroi.” This keeps Aion’s Light immediate, which is largely to its benefit, as the longer songs on Love & Ashes could get away from them. Aion’s Light feels like the work of an expert storyteller, both timeless and timely and deeply enjoyable.

In recording Aion’s Light the way Blood and Sun did, however, comes certain difficulties the record doesn’t completely overcome. For instance, Aion’s Light is relatively back-loaded, with the opening title track and “Kiss the Wilds” lacking the gravitas of later cuts like “Gifts of Oneiroi” or “All Is Bloom All Is Ruin.” None of Aion’s Light is bad, but I think Tromiczak really got rolling about halfway through recording it. Also, though Blood and Sun’s songwriting has never been better than it is on Aion’s Light, they don’t sound as great as they have before. I find myself missing Love & Ashes’ lush soundscape—see “By What Road”—a reality most likely out of the reach of this album’s constraints. Nonetheless, if given the choice of having a more conventionally made rendition of Aion’s Light or the one Blood and Sun gave us, I’d take the latter every time; you’d lose more than you’d gain otherwise.

Blood and Sun rocked that four-track and gave us their best record yet with Aion’s Light. Tromiczak possesses a mightily compelling voice and an ear for song structure, imbuing his newest opus just the right amount of blackened rawness, dreamlike effects, and gothic swoon. It’s an easy listen for uneasy feelings and just what the doctor ordered for these autumn days. If neofolk’s on your horizon, then let the Aion’s Light in at once.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps MP3
Label: Nordvis Produktion
Websites: bloodandsun.net | facebook.com/Blood-and-Sun | bloodandsun.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: October 16th, 2026

How HateSphere has continued to find success after over twenty-five years playing their tried, true, and dated brand of Scandathrash is beyond me. With a catalog as inconsistent in quality as an Arizona highway, these Danes continue pounding out records like Mormon men with fourteen-person families. After two decades of personnel changes, the best thing going for the band is the surprise behind the mic. But since 2023’s Hatred Reborn, there haven’t been any real surprises behind the scenes. Minus a new drummer, founder Peter Lyse Karmark continues to lead the charge, even bringing back Mathia Uldall for vocal duties. With a touch more melody than the previous record, this year’s Guillotine delivers ten new tracks to either push the envelope or just… be.

Against better judgment, this will be the fourth time I review a HateSphere release. But I initially requested this prison sentence because I enjoyed records like Bloodred Hatred and The Great Bludgeoning. Not to mention, I’ve been a genre lover from the early days of At the Gates, The Haunted, and Witchery. But man, it’s been a rough few records of mediocrity and staleness. Because the entire structure hasn’t changed in the last three years, maybe Guillotine will start a focused era of output. Wait, why the fuck am I being positive?

This twelfth album opens with the aptly titled instrumental “Chapter XII.” After the soft, reverberating guitars, the distortion kicks in, and we are provided with one of the best riffs on the album.1 The opener sets the tone nicely, slingshotting us into the purely predictable but solid “Dogma.” Wrapped up tightly in every element that defines the band, “Dogma” aggressively barks and growls; guitars hammer and swirl; and alternates between groove and melody. But in the end, it’s nothing special; it’s the standard we expect from HateSphere.

Thankfully, there are a few exciting numbers, like the back-to-back “Cleansing” and “Snake Charmer.” The first opens with a standard melodic introduction before firing off into a fun main riff. When the vocals arrive, the guitars come and go, letting the bass rise to the surface. After clawing through massive overlaid barks and growls, it ends with a headbangable chug of pure bliss. “Snake Charmer” is an extra minute-plus, delivering sinister vibes and a razor-sharp riff straight from Witchery’s Don’t Fear the Reaper. Toss in some melodicness and a good balance of back-and-forth antics, and it’s a pleasing piece. For something a bit more Soilwork-meets-Dark Tranquillity, ensure you check out the catchy and punchy “Human Scum.”

But as is the case with most recent HateSphere records, filler pieces or duds distract or poison the flow. Unfortunately, it really hurts when it’s the first single and the title track. The main riff of “Guillotine” is the laziest attempt at Pantera’s “5 Minutes Alone.” I mean, I like the tone and direction, but then it drops into that slow, dissonant, overused guitar sound that bores the hell out of it. The best part is the riff transition at the end, but, ya know, it’s a bit late. “Bottom Feeder” is another slogger with a decent vocal approach, but it tries so hard to be old-school death that it never develops further than the character. The closer is the longest on the album and one of the biggest letdowns. “Heresy” feels like the expected album epic, and the band thought so too, but like “Guillotine,” it goes on and on, moving up and down for no reason, and consists of bruiser riffs and bully vocals that won’t end.

With a typical Tue Madsen master and early 2000s compression, Guillotine is just another in a long string of mixed HateSphere records. It has some kickass tunes, some predictable ones, and others that try so hard they become forgettable.2 That said, denying their drive and prolificity would make me a poser because I still come back to see if the next record breaks the mold. Guillotine has some interesting tweaks that freshen the palette for us old-time fans, but nothing cracks the surface that hasn’t been done numerous times over. But I didn’t hate everything, and what I did like will be added to my HateSphere playlist.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kb/s mp3
Label: Scarlet Records | Bandcamp
Websites: hatesphere.com | facebook.com/hatesphereofficial
Releases Worldwide: October 9th, 2026

Carnation – Symphony in Flesh Review

Death metal is one of my favorite things on Earth. One of the coolest and most invigorating innovations…
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https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/800611/