#recordsothemonth — 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!

Record’s o’ the Month – October 2025

By Steel Druhm

The holidays are in full swing, turkeys have been stuffed, and thoughts turn to gift-giving, tree trimming, and snow golem building. Into this hectic, Mariah Carey-voiced silly season comes the October Record(s) o’ the Month. Yes, it’s a lot to process this time of year, and yes, it may be the Ho, Ho, HO that breaks your Christmas spirit like a wishbone, but we must endure for the good of the children. Unwrap these generous gifts and be thankful you didn’t get cesspool coal or spoiled pruno, you greedy fooks!

What more can we say about the progressive death metal of An Abstract Illusion? We fanboyed long and hard on their 2020 opus, Woe, and now in 2025, a new reviewer picked up the mantle and fanboyed just as hard over The Sleeping City. It’s almost like they paid us! Loaded with synths and emotional textures, The Sleeping City doesn’t try to replicate the melancholy of Woe, but instead finds its own groove with hints of Blood Incantation in its tasteful ferocity and venom. Violin, cello, and multiple vocalists help round out the scope and tapestry, and everything is played for and with emotion and feelz. Words like “masterpiece” have been thrown around the AMG offices despite my regime of brutal whippings and electro-torture. As a gobsmacked Killjoy gushed, “The Sleeping City is different enough to further expand An Abstract Illusion’s fanbase while retaining the heartfelt compositions that garnered such a large following before.” I guess there must be something special here after all.1

Runner(s) Up:

Aephanemer // Utopie [October 31, 2025 | Napalm Records | Bandcamp] — Number one on my pile of shame is Aephanemer’s brilliant Utopie, which takes the things that make these French neoclassical melodeath dealers great and continues building. Fortunately, while I’ve been trapped in the nether realm—a glass cage of emotion and questionable well-being—I have capable wordsmiths who are willing to climb over my near-corpse to produce brilliant reviews. Grin Reaper waxed poetic and had the added benefit of waxing correctly: “Utopie is the sound of a band with a vision so crisp and vivid that all you need to do is close your eyes to be whisked away to paradise. Aephanemer oozes jubilance and confidence, harnessing the successes of previous albums and honing them to an eager edge,” he gushed, “sallying forth with nary a concern for detractors. In a year when melodeath claimed two of 2025’s Records o’ the Month and saw huge releases from legends and newcomers alike, Utopie claims the top spot in the genre. Aephanemer in 2025 best embodies the spirit and triumph of what symphonic melodeath can do, mustering a celebration of undeniable charm and panache.” I mean, that’s pretty close to what I would’ve said. Just, y’know, late and with unearned confidence. – AMG

Dawnwalker // The Between [October 24th, 2025 | Independent Release | Bandcamp] — U.K.’s Dawnwalker are the kind of band that evolve and mutate from album to album. On The Between, they offer a single 30-plus-minute song showcasing a delicate blend of progressive, post, folk, doom, death metal, and New Age sounds,2 without forfeiting their metal credentials. With a concept centered on death and dying, things won’t exactly be cheery, but the music’s ebbs and flows take you on a real journey. The album’s seamless movement between heaviness and serenity lets it slip beyond strict genre boundaries and into something more cinematic. The Between feels meticulously structured and, because of its grand scale, continues to reveal new layers with each listen. As Twelve exuberantly exclaimed, “Writing a half-hour song in any context is a mighty undertaking, and it’s impressive how well Norgate and Dawnwalker pull it off on The Between.” Dawnwalker walks the walk.3

Howling Giant // Crucible & Ruin [October 31st, 2025 | Magnetic Eye Records | Bandcamp] — Nashville stoner/psychedelic rockers Howling Giant have a pretty unique sound that references multiple genres and some better-known acts, yet they never lose their own unmistakable identity. Their rock-forward foundation carries traces of sludge and a healthy dose of prog, all wrapped around hooky choruses and riffs built to level small buildings. The new record sharpens that formula: the songwriting feels broader and more ambitious, with layered guitars, soaring vocal harmonies, and psychedelic atmospheres that push them well beyond the usual stoner-rock palette. At the same time, they’ve kept the crushing low-end and riff-driven punch that makes their catalog so replayable, giving the album an immediacy that sticks from the first spin onward. All of it is cloaked in just the right amount of stoner smoke and mirrors, and there’s a rowdy, anthemic groove running through the whole affair—complete with nods to Helmet—so you know fun will be had. As Dear Hollow screamed at unsuspecting readers, “Songwriting prowess on full display, the kitchen sink of riff, solo, melody, and catchiness has never looked so clean!” Howl with the giant pack.

#2025 #AnAbstractIllusion #CrucibleRuin #Dawnwalker #HowlingGiant #RecordSOTheMonth #TheBetween #TheSleepingCity

Record(s) o’ the Month – June 2025

By Angry Metal Guy

As we inch inexorably closer to relevance and timeliness, we must first cross the fallow fields of June. A weird month, June was differentiated by the sheer number of recommendations that I received from the staff. Some months will see the Groupthink kick in, and everyone will vote for the same three albums. But June had no clear standout. Instead, it had a raft of yeah, I like that! That said, the longer I’ve spent with the records that were released in June, the more I have enjoyed almost all of the recommendations. Some of them unexpectedly. That there were so many recommendations has meant that I have had to take my time. But at last, the time has come…

You guys remember that time when we had a big kerfuffle with the guy who produced The Flesh Prevails? That’s the last time that I can clock that a Fallujah record really hit home for me. As much as I adored their debut, Fallujah’s post-gettin’-big material has largely left me cold. I’m not even sure I remember listening to 2022’s Empyrean until prepping for this. Xenotaph—out June 13th, 2025, from Nuclear Blast Records [Bandcamp]—is different. With a vibe that screams Traced in Air, but with a willingness to push into the realms of death metal that made Fallujah a household name,1 Xenotaph hits genuinely different. Sounding something more akin to reunion-era Cynic works for them because it’s technically appealing, it’s melodically sexy, and it doesn’t undermine their strengths. It enhances them. While The Harvest Wounds did have a vaguely atmospheric backing, the guitars and drums had bite, and the whole album didn’t have the dreamlike quality that came to define their follow-ups. While the increasingly atmospheric vibe undermined the band’s sound for me, Xenotaph—which features more guitar attack than any record of theirs since their debut, probably—benefits from the dreamy qualities, giving it a surreal, progressive feel that flows with the album art, the dynamic vocal performances, and interesting composition. Yet, the reintroduction of attack on the guitars and the more consistent compositional dynamics make Xenotaph feel heavier and more immediate than anything I’ve heard from these Bay Area death metallers in a long time. The deeper I dig into Xenotaph, the stronger it feels. Dolphin Whisperer noted—in a newborn baby-induced fugue state—that the album benefits from borderline-conceptual interlinkages between songs and “endless and lush guitar layers that scaffold the composition on Xenotaph and make it a rewarding, repeatable listen.” That’s unusually understated for a Record o’ the Month review. So let me hyperbolize: Fallujah has achieved a conceptual evolution on Xenotaph that feels true to their origins and yet develops their sound in ways that make it accessible, and yet, truly unique. Said differently, Fallujah’s sellout has been well executed, and I’m here for it.2

Runner(s) Up:

Insania // The Great Apocalypse [June 13th, 2025 | Frontiers Music | Stream on Tidal] — I was surprised when I started listening to Insania’s The Great Apocalypse and found myself increasingly invested in it. At first, it was the kind of record that felt familiar—a solid Good! on the rating scale, something that scratched an itch and amused me—but with time, I came to see so much more. Too much of the response to this album has been to write it off as either derivative or rote power metal, but a deep dive tells a different story. The Great Apocalypse finds a band that’s developing its sound, using decades of experience, and branching out slowly but surely. This becomes increasingly true as the album continues. A bit like T/L’s Rhapsody, this record starts in the familiar and becomes increasingly adventurous and interesting as it goes on—with particularly elevated guitarwork throughout. But I don’t need to justify my love for The Great Apocalypse by saying it’s more than it is perceived to be. Because it is also a very good Europower record from a band that cut its teeth decades ago and has reawakened full of piss, vinegar, and addictive hockey rock choruses that you won’t forget for days. To quote an earlier, extremely excited version of AMG Myself, “by playing to form and yet resisting predictability, The Great Apocalypse finds Insania sounding like a band that knows the rules so well that they don’t have to break them; they subvert them. While earlier albums felt a bit paint-by-numbers, added nuance and increasing sophistication have propelled Insania into a different tier: one that’s ambitious, confident, and, at times, even profound.”3

Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence [June 20th, 2025 | Season of Mist | Bandcamp] — Remember when a Cryptopsy release was the biggest deal in the metal scene since the last Cryptopsy release? It’s been a while. And yet An Insatiable Violence is a reminder that Cryptopsy is still very sorry for whatever it was they tried to do, and actually, they’re still really fucking good. Maybe they’ve gotten better. At first pass, An Insatiable Violence feels like a continuation of 13 years of Cryptopsy paying penance for an album no one liked while proving they can still rip with the best of them. But the longer you sit with An Insatiable Violence, the more it comes into focus as something greater: 38 minutes that deliberately weave together every era of Cryptopsy, from the bone-grinding grooves and whirwind savagery of their early days to flashes of melody and subtle nods to avant-garde detours. As some fucking guy who I’ve never heard of before (Alekhines Gun?4) wrote with an obvious excess of pathos that makes me wonder whether he’s a fit for what we do around here: “For the last decade plus, Cryptopsy have enhanced their skillset, honed their compositions, and fine-tuned their performances into the giants they used to be. An Insatiable Violence is engaging, bloodthirsty, frantic, and most importantly, an excellent release from a granddaddy band who are here to remind any that there truly is none so vile.”

Helms Deep // Chasing the Dragon [June 20th, 2025 | Nameless Grave Records | Bandcamp] — American power metal was on a lot of lips in June. Alas, everyone was talking about one band with great music, but who struggled to stick the landing. On the other hand, not enough people were talking about the album that literally has a dragon with a fucking jetpack on the cover, as well as a vocalist who can both cheese and hit notes when doing his US Power Metal Obligatory Falsetto Wail™. Whether evoking Mötely Crüe (“Cursed”) or Rata Blanca (“Craze of the Vampire”), Helms Deep does it all with the kind of charm and pizzazz that is undeniable. Chasing the Dragon exudes a certain charisma, what the kids would call “rizz,” but also has a righteously old school production job—in style, if not in DR Score—that makes me feel like I’m listening to a dubbed tape that my brother’s buddy’s older brother recorded for us. But all of this is window dressing on a record that is chock full of genuinely good guitar work, fun writing, and the kind of Drinking a PBR and Headbanging with My People energy that metal has increasingly lost as listeners and practitioners have become invested in Being Taken Very Seriously as Artists.5 As a-guy-who-definitely-is-not-Superman wrote, unchecked by journalistic ethics or a desire to be circumspect and humble in his opining: “Within the belly of this dragon is a great album. I immensely enjoyed my time with Chasing the Dragon, which has a modern sound that is clearly dedicated to its influences without ripping them off. Sciortino has created a magical project. If Helms Deep can combine their balls-to-the-wall energy with some discipline, their next album could be a monster.” Point taken, it’s long, but Chasing the Dragon is already a monster. A winged, armored, fire-breathing monster wearing a fucking jet pack!

#2025 #AnInsatiableViolence #AngryMetalGuy #BlogPost #ChasingTheDragon #Cryptopsy #Empyrean #Fallujah #HelmsDeep #Insania #Jun25 #RecordSOTheMonth #RecordsOfTheMonth #TheFleshPrevails #TheGreatApocalypse #Xenotaph