#spanish-metal — Public Fediverse posts

This week's #ThursDeath is Catalonia's ROTTEN CAVERN and their single from 2024, 'Emanations of the Dying World'.

https://rottencavern.bandcamp.com/album/emanations-of-the-dying-world

Some super cavernous, crushing, guttural, nasty death doom shit. Hope to see more from these guys soon.

#metal #DeathMetal #Spain #SpanishMetal #RottenCavern #Catalonia #DeathDoom @HailsandAles @wendigo @rtw @guffo @AlfeeDee @c0m4 @Kitty @umrk @flockofnazguls @swampgas @nnenov @ttntm @Affekt

#ThursDeath this week is this great, gross new Death Gore split. It's nasty, it's awesome, I dig both Phlegmesis (from Boston) and Rotten Organs (from Spain). Quite a ride.

https://rottenorgans.bandcamp.com/album/death-gore-split

#metal #DeathMetal #MetalSplits #Phlegmesis #RottenOrgans #Boston #Spain #BostonMetal #SpanishMetal #MassachusettsMetal @HailsandAles @wendigo @rtw @guffo @AlfeeDee @c0m4 @Kitty @umrk @flockofnazguls @swampgas @nnenov @ttntm @Affekt

What do you listen to death metal for? Are you a riff-centric fellow? Do you prioritize emotional catharsis? Do you like super artistic statements or are you here for a collection of banging songs? Spain’s Altarage have carved out quite a career for themselves over the last decade, beginning life as a much more predatory Portal before branching out into elements of drone and audible disease, but never wavering in their commitment to the savage and violent. Seventh album Cogwheel is rooted in the plight of the industrial worker, a major thematic shift for a typically ethereal band. I’ve had the misfortune of working in a manufacturing warehouse for a few years, and I was very curious to hear how a group rooted in cosmic horror would handle such a down-to-earth topic, so clock in with me and let’s get ready for a long day at the office.

Despite being no slouch in requisite bursts of speed and blasts, the overall vibe of Cogwheel is morose and plodding. The chords are foul, with the constant smashing of Primitive Man and a bone-crushingly heavy guitar tone that sounds like slowly being buried under liquid cement.1 It’s an album as gray as its cover, with cuts like “Wielder” offering up the methodicalness of Godflesh while drummer Phlegeton alternates between lightning assaults and drum-machine impressions. Look to “Future Wreck” for an industrial vibe, with mid-paced chords crashing together like factory gears, and Bassist Mikel Glez rumbling away under the noise. That theme of exhaustion and weariness is deeply embedded within the album’s DNA, as each cut beats you into submission over and over again.

Taken from the perspective of an average consumer of tunes, Cogwheel is a remarkably frustrating release. Songs are overly long, riffs are obnoxiously repetitive, and the drone elements are an annoyance in place of actual music. There’s an overreliance on quarter-note clanging, such as in “Not a Proper Burial”, (a gosh darn shame, as it also features one of the most devastating, and devastatingly short, riffs on the whole album), and “Peso Muerto” ends on completely atonal guitar scrapping in half notes for a full minute. There’s an unnecessary Sun 0))) tribute in all eight minutes of “1988” which does nothing for the album except being a track you regretfully recall existing. “Ichor” kicks off with nauseating strums and more half-note popping before evolving into a full-blown “Portal take you to your heaviest night at the opera” impression, with vocalist Javier going all in on vibrato-laced cleans which don’t quite suit the music underneath. And let’s not forget the three-minute ending of more string screeches, continuing the disquiet and the discontent.

And yet, when considered through the lens of what Altarage set out to accomplish, there’s an argument to be made that Cogwheel is an artistic joy.2 Every major criticism hurled at it suddenly becomes an important puzzle piece when viewed as the depiction of the overworked and spiritually malnourished industrial laborer. The riffs sound beaten and defeated, much like the broken factory employee. The few leads sound dismal, angry, and bitter, much like (presumably) that worker’s inner being. The songs are needlessly excessive in length, much like a shift, and the actual music repeatedly descends into mindless cacophony, much like the background noise emanating without remorse from the machines all around. Without pounding the metaphor to dust, Cogwheel offers up an auditory example of “commit to the bit”, taken to the most extreme maximalism. “Industrial Offering” could make a great soundtrack for the line of workers slowly trudging into another abysmal day, clocking in and disappearing under the factory smoke, leaving behind them their dreams and aspirations for another round of soul-crushing misery. Suddenly, all of Cogwheel’s points of agitation reveal themselves as purposeful and impassioned, carefully arranged for peak affect on the focused listener.

What then, is the honest reviewer to do? Cogwheel isn’t for casual listening; there are only a few riffs on here of any note, and there’s no reason for it to be seventy-five minutes long. And yet, major credit must be given for crafting such an album, where what would be extreme blemishes in the hands of another band turn into a well-thought-out artistic presentation. And so, we return to the original question of why we listen to death metal. Let the arbitrary score be a starting point for you, dear reader, to answer for yourself. If you’re seeking something engaging, violent, and immediate, deduct a full point and keep it moving, as there’s little for you here. If you appreciate music as a transcendental art piece, add a full point and stand in wonder at a thoughtful creation from a very forward-thinking band. For my part, I can’t find myself reaching back to this record much, particularly over The Approaching Roar, but I still must declare Altarage’s mission a resounding success.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Sentient Ruin Laboratories
Website: Official Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: July 31st, 2026

Of all metal’s subgenres, doom remains one of the most welcoming to outside influences, often stretching its boundaries past lethargic, downtuned tempos of despair and dread. Spanish duo TodoMal1 embody that openness completely, drawing from a wide spectrum of styles to shape their unique blend of progressive doom. Formed by multi‑instrumentalists Christopher B. Wildman (Jade (live), ex-Asgaroth) and composer/producer Javier Fernández Milla (ex-Asgaroth), Ultracrepidarian (2021) and With a Greater Good (2023) pushed at the edges of classic doom with a big, cinematic approach rooted in the grandeur of Candlemass and the cosmic blues of Pink Floyd. Graveyards of Joy, their third record, closes the trilogy and marks their first expansion into a five-piece recording and live ensemble, joined by drummer Javier “Bud” Martínez (Jade), guitarist Javier Félez (ex-Teitanblood), and vocalist/keyboardist Cecilia Tallo (ex-Maud the Moth). And their contributions help unlock TodoMal’s most ambitious and articulate record to date.

Graveyards of Joy finds TodoMal pushing their sound into more progressive territories, with their immersive strain of atmospheric doom feeling far more melodic and balanced than their previous work. Juxtaposing processional tones with airy, luminous passages in a way that resists categorization, each song on Graveyards of Joy is incredibly dense yet no less urgent. “Mare Ignis” could have come straight from a Devin Townsend record, elevated by an expressive, gothic shimmer and reverb-drenched textures, while “Misericordiah” offers a moment of pure acoustic beauty before “Unholy” snaps back with brooding gothic rock heaviness and bright, pop-minded sensibility. Tallo’s lush choral backdrops (“Mare Ignis”), coupled with orchestral elements like horns (“Point of Coalescence,” “Mare Ignis”), violins (“Misericordiah”), Hammond-esque synths (“For Mercy”) and piano (“Graveyards of Joy,” “Lucid Nightmare”), create soaring, hook-laden melodies with an ethereal, dreamlike quality that lets the heavily layered arrangements feel deceptively lighter than they are, even in the face of Martinez’s thunderous drums, Felez’s chunky riffing and the record’s saturating production.

TodoMal excel at balancing darkness and light, constantly offsetting heaviness with melody and atmosphere. “Lucid Nightmare” leans into melodic allure without losing heft, pairing resonant guitars with Tallo’s bright piano and choral layers, while “Point of Coalescence” contrasts ominous horns and crushing riffs against airy vocals that keep the song from ever feeling too oppressive. The guitar work on Graveyards of Joy favors big, expressive solos and memorable phrasing, emphasizing emotional lift over technicality and adding another dimension to TodoMal’s cinematic, textured identity. “Deliverance” delivers the record’s most dynamic moment, moving from delicate acoustics into a massive, emotional swell, while “Humanised Gods” distills their approach into a punchy, hook- and synth-laden standout. Across Graveyards of Joy, TodoMal uses melody, orchestration, and texture to let the material surface for air before pulling you back into its darker depths.

Wildman’s vocal performance is one of Graveyards of Joy’s defining highlights, channeling a tone that lands somewhere between Jón Aldará’s (Iotunn, Barren Earth) soaring melodicism and Robert Smith’s (The Cure) emotive, gothic inflection. Instead of leaning into brutality, Wildman avoids growling entirely, opting for an indie-tinged, gothic rock delivery that softens and reshapes TodoMal’s traditional doom foundation. “For Mercy” evidences the full reach of his character, with an untethered vocal line floating above an upbeat acoustic guitar that initially feels awkward but quickly captures my admiration with its off-kilter charm. The track recalls the Violent Femmes in many respects and shows the breadth of the group’s influences. The duo also leans heavily on background harmonies and choral passages to amplify the material’s emotional weight, creating a soundscape that reveals new nuances with each listen. The production reinforces this, feeling enveloping and bright, and the concise runtime—aside from the sprawling “Deliverance” and the similarly lengthy closer—ultimately strengthens the record’s pacing.

Graveyards of Joy pulls all of its many ingredients into a layered, multifaceted whole that grows more rewarding with every listen. TodoMal’s twist on doom may feel occasionally strange, but it’s insanely stylish and unmistakably their own. It’s the kind of take that makes genre labels feel irrelevant because there is no denying this is simply great music. A couple of longer tracks could stand a trim, and a few endings land a bit abruptly, but those small quibbles fade quickly. What stays with you instead is the album’s accessibility, scope, and immensity. TodoMal may mean “all wrong,” yet Graveyards of Joy is anything but.

Rating: Great!
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Season of Mist
Websites: todomalband.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/todomalofficial
Releases Worldwide: July 3rd, 2026

After 3 years, Epic Doomers #TodoMal have returned with a new album.

One of my fav bands. Do recommend checking them out.

https://todomalband.bandcamp.com/album/graveyards-of-joy

#DoomMetal #EpicDoomMetal #Spain #SpanishMetal #Metal

Bloodhunter – Sons of the Abandoned Review

Formed in 2014 in the wake of the success of Arch Enemy, Spain’s Bloodhunter joined the ranks of…
#NewsBeep #News #Music #2.5 #2026 #Annihilator #ArchEnemy #AttheGates #AU #Australia #Bloodhunter #Entertainment #InFlames #Jun26 #Melodeath #MelodicDeathMetal #review #reviews #RoarRockofAngelsRecords #SonsoftheAbandoned #SpanishMetal
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/733588/

BLOODHUNTER deliver a merciless, energetic melodic death metal record. If you like the early Arch Enemy albums, don't miss out on "Sons of the Abandoned"

https://www.bloodhunter.net/

#Bloodhunter #newmusicfriday #melodicdeathmetal #spanishmetal #womeninmetal

Formed in 2014 in the wake of the success of Arch Enemy, Spain’s Bloodhunter joined the ranks of melodeath bands featuring attractive leading ladies who snarl and growl rather than sing like Disney princesses. Lokasenna favorably reviewed their sophomore record, The End of Faith, writing that while it wasn’t particularly innovative, Bloodhunter sounded promising enough to give them a potentially bright future. The nine years since have sown significant changes, with a new bassist and drummer, as well as an additional guitarist; founding guitarist Dani Arcos and vocalist Diva Satanica serve as the only common links between these two albums. Sons of the Abandoned, their fourth, seeks to live up to the bright future Lokasenna prophesied.

Sons of the Abandoned proves a highly energetic affair, having a melodic bent in the vein of At the Gates or In Flames. Tracks waver between high octane (“The Devils Own,” “Human Insecticide”) and mid-tempo (“The Outspoken,” “Ephemeral Youth”). While plenty heavy, Bloodhunter fall just shy of brutal, with a much lighter intensity than the comps listed above, though they do occasionally ramp things up. “The Devils Own” gets the album off to a nice start, with its gentle melodic lead jumping into some of the record’s most brutal cuts. It’s a really good song that reveals a melodic side underneath that tough exterior. From there, tunes largely shed the brutality and drop to a slightly slower tempo before ending on another fast and brutal high note on the thrashy Annihilator cover, “Human Insecticide.” The mid-tempo stuff allows Bloodhunter to dive more deeply into their melodic side, though with mixed results.

Lokasenna’s critique about a lack of innovation still applies, as Bloodhunter stick to pretty standard riffs, but they do flash some impressive melodies here and there. Bloodhunter save their most memorable melodies for the choruses. The best comes from “Sons of the Abandoned,” transforming a pretty standard song into something more rewarding thanks to a lead I find myself frequently whistling. Not all leads successfully push the bar, however. “Ephemeral Youth” similarly features a pretty good lead, but the tune ultimately grows a bit tiresome thanks to too much repetition. Sadly, the mid-album tracks lack the hooks to stir any interest. Even a rather elaborate solo on “No One Beats Death” does very little to resuscitate the record’s earlier vitality. Bloodhunter invite Laura Guldemond (Burning Witches) to handle cleans for a rather disappointing chorus on “The Path that Never Ends” in yet another unsuccessful bid to spruce up this stretch of songs.

Sons of the Abandoned sounds really good, thanks to some great production values and solid performances. While the guitar parts don’t always wow, the addition of guitarist Guillermo Starless opens up space for a heftier, more interesting guitar presence. It’s true that Arcos and Starless could inject a little more creativity into their riffs, but they still have plenty of really good stuff. There’s a lead on “Masters of Deceive” that has a smooth jazz vibe that displays their ability to get creative, and an instrumental interlude has some lovely arpeggios that I can’t help but think could have gone to more use throughout Sons of the Abandoned. The mix also allows Fabian Tejeda’s bass to breathe, with some gentleness on the quieter interlude and then some hectic noodling on “Human Insecticide.” Finally, Diva Satanica serves the record well as frontwoman. She has some capable growls, switching to Trevor Strnad-like snarls now and then, even if she lacks the brutality of some of her contemporaries.

While Sons of the Abandoned does scratch that melodic itch here and there, it also gives me a better appreciation of the creative riffs that At the Gates recently displayed. I’m a sucker for a good melodic lead, so I’m willing to overlook some shortcomings if the record has enough of them. Bloodhunter meet this criteria a little more than half the time. There are plenty of songs I’d be happy to put into a playlist, but unfortunately, too many are forgettable. While LP number four hasn’t yet delivered on Lokasenna’s hope for a bright future, Bloodhunter certainly has it in them to deliver a killer record.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: ROAR! Rock of Angels Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Site
Releases Worldwide: June 12th, 2026

Seems like the Filtration system is overburdened once again. Normally, my minions have to scavenge much longer to pick things up this early in the year, but 2026 is proving to be rich in moderately precious metallic ore. That just means I gotta push my team even harder to pull greater loads of filth from the ducts!

As I send them in for yet another round, please enjoy the spoils thus far exploited. BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Tattered Tome

Overtoun // Death Drive Anthropology [February 13th, 2026 – Time to Kill Records]

Chilean progressive death thrash outfit Overtoun is what you get when you mix old school Death and Atheist with the proggier side of Pestilence, then amp the thrash up by a half turn. At a lofty 50 minutes, you’d expect third release Death Drive Anthropology to drag on, but to make that assumption is to criminally underestimate Overtoun’s creativity and versatility. Opening up the throttle in fine form, the one-two punch of “What Unites All (ft. Max Phelps) and “The Final Beat” manages to encompass many of these Chileans’ songwriting and performance skills in a scant 10 minutes. More introspective, nuanced songwriting takes center stage throughout Anthropology’s midsection, balancing smart melodies and minimalist atmosphere with complex guitar layering, proggy structures, and shreddy wizardry (“Dur Khrod,” “Jade, Gold, Obsidian,” “Yurei,” “Weeping”). The three-part “The Waves Suite” suite adds a mystical character to the affair that blends remarkably well with Overtoun’s more overt political messaging and emotional textures, which helps carry the record through its lengthy runtime without causing fatigue. It’s a neat record that’s modestly blemished by a bass presence that begs for more weight and wildness, especially considering the raw talent on hand. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a creative, thoughtful, and sophisticated entry into the death/thrash progosphere, Death Drive Anthropology makes a strong case.

Andy-War-Hall’s Primordial Pick-Up

The Grand Myth // Of Vultures and Dragons [February 26th, 2026 – Suncrusher Recordings]

I have a grossly limited capacity for seriousness. Yeah, I like my death metal progressive, technical, and thoughtful, much the way Brandon Bordman’s The Grand Myth deliver it on their latest record, Of Vultures and Dragons, but sometimes I just want fun, too. Of Vultures and Dragons, an adaptation of Ethan Pettus’ novel series Primitive War1 in which a rescue team searches a Vietnamese jungle for a missing platoon of Green Berets and fights for their lives against dinosaurs, has fun in spades. Utilizing a many-layered guitar attack (“Symbiotic Death”), shifting and propulsive rhythms (“Through the River Styx”), a wide cast of voice actors for brief narrative bits2 and surprisingly bright tones (“Agony”), The Grand Myth’s approach to progressive death metal isn’t revolutionary, but it’s deeply refreshing and engaging regardless. Though an absolute blast, The Grand Myth doesn’t spew embarrassingly stupid levels of campiness with their sci-fi dinosaur theming like Victorius. Rather, Of Vultures and Dragons can be fairly emotionally effective at times thanks to Bordman’s emotive clean/harsh vocals and elaborate soloing (“Pyre,” “Agony”). Nobody asks about your favorite dinosaur anymore,3 so feed your inner kid with The Grand Myth’s Of Vultures and Dragons now!

Saunders’ Sunken Shards

Puscifer// Normal Isn’t [February 6th, 2026 – Alchemy Recordings]

After losing track of recent offerings, I reacquainted myself with the latest LP from Puscifer, leaving me pleasantly surprised in the aftermath. The project featuring Tool/A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan returned for their first hit out since 2020’s Existential Reckoning. Normal Isn’t finds the shape-shifting project embracing its quirky, gothy industrial rock and electronic elements through an angsty filter of guitar-driven arty rock, post-punk, and infectious songcraft. Age should not weary Maynard, as he still sounds angry, cynical, and on point vocally through a mostly engaging, catchy bag of tunes. The dueling vocal melodies with collaborator Carina Round’s ghostly singing work a treat amidst jittery beats, angular riffs and strong electronic overtones. Rhythmically, it is an interesting ride, drummer Gunnar Olsen putting in a top-notch performance, while there is a vaguely progressive edge underlying the hook-centric songwriting. Opener “Thrust” sets the album in motion with sticky hooks, a darkly humorous, unhinged Maynard performance, and a dose of spite. Other key highlights include “Bad Wolf,” “Self Evident,” “A Public Stoning,” and “ImpetuoUs.” Puscifer made a fine return with Normal Isn’t.

Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows // Inexorable Opposites [February 6th, 2026 – Magnetic Eye Records]

You’ve gotta love a sneaky name drop from our trusty commentariat. It has led to many great discoveries over the years. On this occasion, one of our dear commenters enlightened me to Melbourne psych-blues-doomers Jack Harlon & the Dead Crows with fourth LP, Inexorable Opposites. And it didn’t take long absorbing this latest slab of rustic Aussie coolness to be struck by the album’s slow-burning, addictive power, and gritty tones. Boasting an expansive, rugged sound built on layers of distortion and a weighty blend of psych-drenched blues and doom heaviness. Jack Harlon & the Dead Crows features old school, outlaw-driven lyrical content from mastermind and vocalist/guitarist Tim Coutts-Smith, meshing fictional tales of woe and adventure of character Jack Harlon, with relatable real-life struggles. Through the fuzz, thick jammy vibes, and Coutts-Smith distorted, menacing Aussie drawl, catchy songcraft shines through the muck and psych haze. From the tense, stoner-infected grit and catchy hooks of opener “Moss,” through to the stormy outback balladry of closer “To Die,” Inexorable Opposites is a hard-hitting, riffy delight, further evidenced through scorched earth, infectious cuts like “Venomous,” “Seer,” and the trippy, drug-addled “Mt. Macedon.”

Grin Reaper’s Reaped Recluse

Cold Communion // Monuments to Ruin [February 13th, 2026 – Self Released]

Melodic death/doom isn’t a genre I dabble in often, but every now and again, one of its bands thwarts my defenses and wraps their tendrils around my precious listening time. Durham, North Carolina’s Cold Communion is one such band, featuring Barre Gambling (Daylight Dies) on guitar and Tim Rowland (Alchemy of Flesh, Silent Vigil) on everything else. If that sounds like an unfair split, take a spin and reassess, because Gambling’s performance defines Cold Communion’s melancholic character as much as Rowland’s emotive growl. Forgoing any long-form doom epics, Monuments to Ruin’s longest song comes in at five-and-a-half minutes, with the entire album clocking just forty-five. It’s a tidy platter, and both in song composition and mood shares ample common ground with Finnish sadbois Insomnium. Besides Monuments’ superior production, songs like “A Stillness Survival” and “When the Light Breaks” wouldn’t feel out of place on Across the Dark or One for Sorrow. And despite the somber trappings one might expect from doom-adjacency, there’s plenty of lively riffing and solos to find across Monuments to Ruin, adding a touch of boom to the gloom. In the end, Cold Communion doesn’t reinvent the genre or break new ground, but Monuments to Ruin offers a comfy chair by the fireside on a freezing cold day, and I’m perfectly content with that.

Mossgiver // Renewer [February 6th, 2026 – Sij MusicArt]

Atmospheric black metal often contrasts the beautiful with the bestial, typically prioritizing moods over hooks. ‘Twas a delight, then, to unearth Mossgiver’s Renewal, which deftly combines the two. Weaving together hypnotic passages flooded with strings, piano, flute, synths, double bass rolls, and the requisite blackened tremolos,4 Mossgiver’s mastermind Tilen Šimon (Ueldes) delivers the band’s best record to date. Above all, Renewer sounds like a celebration of nature in the vein of Autrest and Cân Bardd, evoking a whispering wind whipping at leaves or sunlight dappling a brook shaded by oaks and maples. Beyond the well-crafted soundtrack for a walk through the woods, Mossgiver etches emotion into the nooks and crannies of Renewer’s five tracks. From rousing string orchestrations (“I Bring the Spring with Me”) to soft-and-heavy tradeoffs pitting clean guitar and pan pipes against distorted guitar and blast beats (“Renewer”), Mossgiver shimmers with a lush backdrop of instrumentation rife with playfulness and pensiveness. The trio of primary songs5 revolve around powerful melodies that evolve over each track’s duration, with assorted instruments coming in and out to push refrains along. Renewer’s brisk thirty-four minutes showcase Mossgiver’s sticky compositions and leave me whistling its melodies for days at a time. Now throw on your hiking boots and get lost in the Moss.

Ossomancer // Banebdjed’s Path [February 28th, 2026 – Esoteric Evocations]

Six-and-a-half years removed from Ossomancer’s debut Artes Magickae, lone wolf and mastermind Kamose returns to tread Banebjed’s Path. Bursting with references to mythology and mysticism, Banebjed’s Path rumbles and shakes with arcane thunder. Although the backdrop and track names might recall the frenzied onslaught of Nile, Ossomancer instead conceives a realm recalling Aeternam, Iotunn, and Naglfar. Despite the scant thirty-four-minute runtime, Banebjed’s Path sprawls across diverse landscapes and textures. Opener “The Ogdoad Arrangement and the Osirian Creation” oscillates between In Flames melodies and a slinky crawl that could pass for a 90s Geddy Lee bass line played over synth injections from Rush’s 80s era. Follow-up track “Sobek – Cosmic Vibrations Devoured” features Kreator-bred riffing, while closing duo “A Sea of Sand, a Silver Star” and “Retraction into Kether” synthesize the ethereal atmospheres of Iotunn with the blackened assault of Naglfar. Through it all, Ossomancer sounds fabulous, as Banebjed’s Path flaunts an enviable DR 8 and a bodacious mix that spotlights its burly bass performance. Ossomancer’s sophomore outing is crammed with meloblack goodies, and though it’s not a long trek, the journey down Banebjed’s Path far transcends its distance.

Tyme’s Danish Dalliance

Ædel Fetich // Ædel Fetich [February 20th, 2026 – Deadbanger Productions]

That blinged-out pink dish-glove-clad hand is what first drew me to Denmark outfit Ædel Fetich’s self-titled debut. Then I clicked play and was taken on one of the more compelling “black” metal rides in recent memory. With roots primarily buried in the soil of the traditional second-wave, Ædel Fetich is rife with moments of rifferous tremolodic speed (“Ridderlig Lider,” “Madras”) and absolutely berserk guitar chaos (“Sort Magi”). There’s a Trhä-like sense of experimentation, and the rawness of the production enhances the oft-changing compositions, which, like weather in the Midwest, often shift on a dime without warning. Luckily, Ædel Fetich’s adept songwriting organically smooths these transitions, which could have easily come off stilted and jarring, but makes drawing direct comparisons to the Ædel Fetich sound difficult, as there’s a spectrum of other influences at play. There are tracks packed with punky punch (“Et Liv Fuld af Fejl,” “Ildtang”) or imbued with folky reverence (“Mit Billede af Dig”) and even some 80s pop—fans of the movie Flashdance shouldn’t have a problem finding the poppy easter egg hiding near the end of “Sort Magi.”6 Far and away the star of the show, however, is singer Skvat, whose performance is filled with as much black metal bravado as it is theatrical exuberance, his arsenal of shrieks, growls, hoots, howls, and operatic baritonations a refreshing treat, akin to if Mike Patton woke up one day deciding to record a Danish black metal album. Bottom line is, I really dig Ædel Fetich and think you will too.

Creeping Ivy’s Ashen Afterthought

Belzebong // The End is High [February 20th, 2026 – Heavy Psych Sounds]

In my humble opinion, lyrics are key to making stoner metal more than novelty music. If you’re referencing reefer in your album art, band name, and song titles, at least keep the reeferisms out of the songs themselves,7 or better yet, avoid vocals altogether. Taking this latter advice to heart is instrumental Polish four-piece Belzebong, who have been at it for almost 20 years now. On The End is High, their fourth full-length, Belzebong deal 35 minutes of fuzzed-out riffery described as “a new sermon for the final days.” While not as highbrow (huh huh) as the instrumental stoner metal of Bongripper, Belzebong are similarly ominous on opener (yes) “Bong & Chain,” which caps its ten-minute burn with creepy, haunting synths. From there, the band settle into material more akin to Bongzilla; sound clips adorn the chill grooves of “420 Horsemen,” “Hempnotized,” and “Reefer Mortis,” which closes things out with some solid Electric Wizard worship. If you instinctively (and understandably) recoil from music with marijuana aesthetics but dig the meditative repetition offered by stoner metal, consider sampling The End is High. It’s not exactly the caricature it advertises itself as.

Baguette’s Bygone Bounty

Sundecay // The Blood Lives Again [February 13th, 2026 – Self Released]

Toronto’s Sundecay has been around for a while. These Canadian doomers spawned sometime prior to 2014, quietly releasing EP material every once in a blue moon. The Blood Lives Again is their first full-length release—their first signs of life since 2018 in general—and the time and care they took to develop their sound and songwriting prowess pays off here in spades. The doom and proto-doom inspirations from Black Sabbath to Saint Vitus are obvious (“Here Comes the Wizard”), complemented by other influences from proto-metal, psychedelic, and progressive music (“Silence Spoken”). The hefty, layered guitars have a nice fuzz without fully landing in stoner territory. Ambitious long-form tracks like “Will Dusk Defy Dawn” flow like water while carrying significant emotional heft. Lastly, a moody, reverb-heavy vocal performance crowns the classic doom trance the band is aiming for. At five tracks and some 43 minutes, The Blood Lives Again is a total vibe and flies by before you’ve even noticed. Fans of the ’70s should take notes!

Temple Balls // Temple Balls [February 13th, 2026 – Frontiers Music]

One of the most authentic ways you can honor rock music tradition is via questionable naming conventions. On an unrelated note, Temple Balls is a Finnish hard rock/glam rock band, and they’re fun as hell! They’re not particularly new around the block, either: the group formed in 2009, and self-titled Temple Balls is already their fifth album since debut Traded Dreams in 2017. 2023’s Avalanche felt like a watershed moment, a welcome surprise that brought some new life and energy to a fairly dated genre of Europeisms and Hanoi Rocks rehashes. Temple Balls proves that Avalanche wasn’t a one-off, continuing their extremely authentic throwback approach. The heavy/power-metal-meets-AOR direction of songwriting (“Flashback Dynamite,” “Soul Survivor”) gives it that extra guitar oomph and energy that melodic music like this requires to be anywhere near competitive. With great all-out vocals from Arde Teronen and gigantic hooks to match, it’s just a damn good time front to back. Though it will sadly be the last time we’ll hear Niko Vuorela’s guitar work on record (R.I.P., and fuck cancer), the self-titled is certainly a worthy final milestone for him—and hopefully, another beginning for his comrades.

ClarkKent’s Enchanting Earworm

Hela // A Reign to Conquer [February 27, 2026 – Ardua Music]

Just as it put a pause on many plans and projects, the COVID pandemic slowed down the output of Spain’s Hela. A Reign to Conquer marks their first record since 2019’s Vegvìsir, which was their third release since 2013. This brief hiatus brought new blood in the form of vocalist Raquel Navarro, though, in truth, the only consistency in Hela’s lineup is the other three members—Tano Giménez on bass, Miguel Fernández (The Holeum) on drums, and Julián Velasco (The Holeum) on guitars. They have a deep bond, first forged in 2009 with The Sand Collector before forming Hela just three years later. Though they brand Hela as melodic doom, and the band does have a little in common with Katatonia, I think it’s more accurate to describe them as dreamy progressive rock. Navarro is a major reason for this, with dreamy croons that guide listeners through breezy soundscapes. She bears a passing resemblance to Maud the Moth, though the music Hela plays is decidedly more metal than our Dolphin friend’s favorite nocturnal insect. Guitarist Velasco plays a hypnotizing mix of atmospheric fuzz, crushing doom, and melodic riffs that add some heft and crunch to the ethereal sound. A Reign to Conquer has plenty of layers to probe, rewarding listeners who bear with it for repeat listens. While my initial spins left me wanting, I’ve since become spellbound. Add to that some gorgeous artwork, and this is a nice addition to anyone’s vinyl collection. Hela yeah!

Spicie Forrest’s Vicious Vittles

A Wilhelm Scream8 // Cheap Heat [February 27th, 2026 – Creator-Destructor Records]

A Wilhelm Scream9 returns after a four-year hiatus with their eighth long player, Cheap Heat. Sounding like the best combination of The Story So Far and Rise Against, A Wilhelm Scream delivers an impressive tour de force so late in their career. Vocalist Nuno Pereira10 is the highlight of Cheap Heat, driving the album with urgency and passion (“Somebody’s Gonna Die,” “Fell Off”), but no one here is a slouch. The rhythm section—bassist Brian J. Robinson, rhythm guitarist Trevor Reilly, and drummer Nicholas Pasquale Angelini—gleefully tosses gas on Pereira’s bonfire (“I Got Tunnel Vision”) and delivers solid grooves (“Poison II”) and searing ragers (“Unsolving the Mystery”) that keep the energy cranked to 11 all through Cheap Heat. Hooks are by far the most common lead duty, and Ben Murray puts on a fucking clinic. Each note that rings out from his axe sounds like it fucking owns the place (“Run,” “Visitor: Unimpressed”). Cheap Heat is a smidge front-loaded with “Midnight Ghost” and “I Got Tunnel Vision” being album highlights, but no song on here is anything short of a barn burner. At a super tight 28 minutes, Cheap Heat hits hard and fast and gets the fuck out of Dodge before you’re even sure what hit you. I didn’t expect a 26-year-old hardcore outfit to knock my teeth out when I queued it up on a whim one morning, but Cheap Heat is proving to be one of my favorite albums of the year.

Lead Injector // Witching Attack [February 20th, 2026 – High Roller Records]

Who doesn’t like the combination of thrash’s unchained aggression and black metal’s cold hate? There’s never been a better pair. Lead Injector hit the ground running on debut LP Witching Attack. From the opening moments of “Siege Upon Heaven” to the closing moments of “Nuclear Antichrist,” Lead Injector is here to do two things: feed high-speed buckshot to God, skeletons, and anything else that gets in their way, and have a Hellripping good time. “Angel Destructor” and “Siege Upon Heaven” barrel pell-mell through searing riffs and blast beats, while groovier tracks like “Evil Executioner” and “Nuclear Antichrist” let black metal’s punk ancestry shine through. Heavy metal influences a la Judas Priest can be found injected into tracks like “Sacrifice This Bitch” and “M.C.C.I.” While nothing about Lead Injector’s sound is particularly new, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. This debut is a unique and retro spin on a tried-and-true formula that bodes well for a young band. Witching Attack is a killer time that Ash Williams would gladly spin while boomsticking Deadites alongside Lord Arthur’s army.

The thing I am most afraid of is losing my mind. The progressive destruction dementia wreaks upon a brain is upsetting enough to endure from the outside, but the horror of that brain potentially being mine is a thought that keeps me up at night. While not explicitly about dementia, To Become the Endless Static follows the disintegration of a person’s mind as “[a]ll pathways, dreams and connections to what once formed their identity spiral down, merging into the great nothing, the endless static.” It’s a frightening, abstract concept that naturally suits Aversio Humanitatis’ brand of freeform dissonant black metal, which here takes a turn for the still more intense and unsettling. The group have garnered a reputation for long rumination between releases, and though not everyone might agree, 2020’s Behold the Silent Dwellers demonstrated the fruitfulness of this approach with its nine-year-awaited greatness. Six years on, with the sophomore but a shadow in the nebulous past, the apparition of Endless Static portended greatness once more, in addition to a genuinely scary theme. I was only too happy to indulge my masochism.

Much like the march of time and an incurable disease, Endless Static does not wait until you’re ready before attacking. “Long Stretch the Shadows” threatens whiplash as it erupts off the start line with relentless percussion and tremolos bending at uncomfortable angles. It epitomises the shift in Aversio Humanitatis’ already extreme and dissonant style towards a still more complex, confrontational, and often faster version of itself, which dominates across the album. Rhythms shift more frequently, and the distortion wrought by the layering of agonised roars and churning riffs is more clamorous; even the slower aspects are more haunting. Endless Static sees a leaning into a chaotic splendour akin to a sped-up Patristic, a more acerbic Schammasch, rendered in a deceptively melodic, deeply atmospheric way that at turns also recalls Aeviterne and Selbst. But Aversio Humanitatis prefer to create their mournfulness and urgency by disguising it as dissonance in a way distinct from any of the above. Endless Static is a masterful distillation of this practice: a soundscape whose violently aversive face admits more honesty and beauty the more you allow it.

Endless Static doesn’t just embody its concept generally; it lives it viscerally. The lurching of discordant scales (title track, “Blackened Mold Marrow”), and repeated strip-back and surge in of percussion (“Long Stretch…,” “Collapsing into the Resonance”) is upsetting yet mesmerising. And its transformation into a stumbling sway (“Strange Angles,” “The White Noise is Calling”) elevates unease with doubt. Shuddering, multitracked screams, cymbals panting like laboured breaths, and disorienting rhythm and riff patterns (“Strange Angles,” “Blackened Mold Marrow”) express the nightmare of incurable confusion. The soft creep of a melancholic tremolo behind the recurrent tumbles of percussion, and the bleeding of their melody into the pervasive atmosphere (title track, “Collapsing…”) communicate the grief of loss and the fear of the future. These patterns develop with the runtime too: the tightness with which harmony is sealed into overtly cold guitar lines slowly loosens and vocals slip more frequently into a desperate, anguished wail, culminating in the stirring lead melodies and devastating resistance of closing duo “The White Noise…” and “Collapsing…” All the while, the terror-amplifying resonance of the vocals and sinister edge to the riffs never ceases to feel frightening. But Aversio Humanitatis’ ability to shape these dissonant waves of assault into something beautiful without compromising on this affecting frightfulness makes Endless Static greatly more compelling than it otherwise might have been.

That Aversio Humanitatis can communicate all this so compellingly in a mere 35 minutes makes it that much more impactful. The speed at which “Long Stretch…”‘s confrontational unease becomes the ardour-filled protest “Collapsing…” is upsetting—another metaphor perhaps. This brings me to my only real complaint about Endless Static, which is how short it is; though I suppose it’s better to have brilliance and be left hungry than have a flawed abundance. I must, more importantly, draw attention to the drumming—courtesy of J.H—that rivals last year’s Patristic in its tenacity, dynamism, and unhinged precision whilst being so ridiculously fast and expressive (“Blackened Mold Marrow” has my jaw on the floor). Its speed and violence play no small part in Endless Static’s horror. I am also sometimes drawn to wonder if vocalist A.M is actually undergoing some phantasmagorical transformation, so wild and terrifying are his howls.

Dissonant black metal bands and degenerative diseases operate in the shadows, but Aversio Humanitatis now, if never before, deserves all the light we can cast on them. But more likely that this hypnotically horrifying work will yank you violently into its darkness. Harrowingly inexorable even in its brevity, one can’t escape the draw To Become the Endless Static.

Rating: Excellent
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Websites: Official | Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: April 24th, 2026

SolNegre – Anthems for the Grand Collapse Review

Just off Spain’s Mediterranean coast lie the Balearic Islands. Among the approximately 1.2 million island residents is a…
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https://www.newsbeep.com/au/583471/

Just off Spain’s Mediterranean coast lie the Balearic Islands. Among the approximately 1.2 million island residents is a cadre of musicians who appear to have played together in a variety of projects for some time.1 SolNegre comprises four of these musicians along with a handful of guest contributors. Based on the photos of the beautiful sandy beaches and clear blue water, you might think these guys would play a cheerful genre like Beach Boys-core. Yet, even the beach life must have its woes because what SolNegre deliver is a slab of melancholic doom that has more in common with My Dying Bride or Saturnus than any band playing songs about Piña coladas. Just the sight of their apocalyptic album title, Anthems for the Grand Collapse, makes me want to soak in one of those lovely beaches to rinse off the bleakness. Let’s dive in and see how well these island dwellers do the sadboi.

While the intro for opener, “The Axiom – Song for the Inert Part II,”2 reveals SolNegre’s flair for using synths to create atmosphere, the meat of the song establishes their mix of crushing My Dying Bride riffs and growls with the more energetic death/doom of Novembers Doom. A hooky melodic lead wends its way throughout, culminating in an ambitious solo that takes the lead to new levels. The incredibly catchy follow-up, “The Hollow Inside,” includes a chorus that potentially has appeal for a mainstream audience, even if the track goes off in decidedly non-mainstream directions. The flip side to the death/doom is an Ennui-level funeral doom tune that casts a pall over the already dour mood (“For All that Could Have Been”). SolNegre play sorrowful tunes in an impressively varied number of ways.

The Axiom – Song for the Inert Part 2 by SolNegre

The band members’ strong chemistry shows in their talent and cohesiveness. Ûkh lays down a powerful vocal performance with some muscular death growls. He adds heft and punch alongside an impressively bass-heavy guitar attack. Gebre proves to be the glue that adheres the record together. His deep, chugging bass features on nearly every track, and he also gets to play a nifty jazz solo midway through “The Hollow Within.” Guest contributors add some varied character throughout, such as a solo from Mike Le Rosetti that comprises almost the entire back half of “The Axiom” and some cleans from Pedro Inglés during the jazzy segue on “The Hollow Within.” SolNegre hands the reins over to recurring guest singer Gadea es Ineseta3 and violinist Núria Luis on the remarkably lovely “In the Stillness of the Womb.” Though it skews more soft rock than extreme metal, it features such poignant and affecting performances from Ineseta and Luis that it feels right at home among these anthems to a grand collapse.

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A few iffy songwriting decisions do keep Anthems for the Grand Collapse from greatness, however. For one, SolNegre struggle with coherent lyrics on some tracks. This is especially problematic on “The Hollow Within,” where an awkward attempt at a metaphor combining loneliness, water, and drowning leads to the laughably bad line, “A room without doors or windows / Knowing how to swim is wise.” It’s a sore part of an otherwise terrific song. Further, the hot and cold pacing creates a stuttering feel throughout the record, with a few tunes creeping too slowly and others creeping on a bit too long. “For All That Could Have Been” in particular sags in the middle of the album. Individually, the songs are good to great, but transitions between them can be jarring.

Next time you want to balance out your bright and cheery beach vacation with some downer music, you should pack SolNegre’s Anthems for the Grand Collapse. It’s sure to have you and your family looking to drown out your loneliness and sorrows in the warm, beautiful waters lapping at your toes. This has proven to be a solid sophomore effort from the Balearic Islands. I love to hear the passion on display, and even where the band shows some warts, it only makes the record all the more endearing. I hope those island beaches don’t keep these guys happy and occupied for too long so they can put out another record sooner rather than later.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Meuse Music
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Site
Releases Worldwide: April 3rd, 2026

Rave in Fire – Square One Review

While I may be a product of the 80s, I have almost zero direct recollection of the decade…
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https://www.newsbeep.com/us/447382/

Rave in Fire – Square One Review

While I may be a product of the 80s, I have almost zero direct recollection of the decade…
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https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/406363/

While I may be a product of the 80s, I have almost zero direct recollection of the decade itself. Born in 1985, I didn’t become self aware until the 90s.1 So, essentially, by the time I could form long-lasting memories, most of the world’s great music had already been written. Perhaps my inaccessible 80s origins explain why I am drawn to things from and about the era. The bizarre color schemes, the bombastic musical aesthetic, the cheesy-yet-awesome cinema, all of it gives me a satisfyingly melancholic sense of nostalgia. The 80s feel like my own personal primordial, mythological paradise, a Garden of Eden to which I can never return. The gate is eternally guarded by a cherub wielding a flaming sword, but thanks to bands like Rave in Fire, I need not risk being divinely smote in order to feel like I’m back in the garden, all innocent, naked, and happy.

Just one look at that glorious album cover should tell you that Spain’s Rave in Fire oozes 80s glory. Lead single “Still Standing” sounds like it rode a tiger straight outta Ronnie James Dio’s mind with its driving groove, intricate guitar leads, and the effortlessly powerful vocals of singer Sele. The track is so 80s that it would fit perfectly over the top of a Rocky IV fight scene or training montage (one of my primary measuring sticks for quality 80s music, I might add).

Square One by Rave In Fire

If metal was doing something cool in the 1980s, it’s a good bet that Rave in Fire does it too. “Witches’ Hell” captures the swagger of peak Scorpions, the instrumental opener and its successor scream Screaming-era Judas Priest, and “Untiring Eagles” and “Speed and Rave” sound like Megadeth from an alternate reality, one where Dave Mustaine is female and can actually sing. The closing title track displays the band’s more ambitious aims, mixing all of the above-mentioned influences with progressive rock a la Rush and/or Kansas. Overall, Rave in Fire does everything they do with so much competence and authenticity that they’re hard not to love.

My only real nitpick with Square One involves the transition from the “The Hellion”-esque opener into first proper track “Dark Poison.” The switch just doesn’t match up very well, so much so that I checked multiple times to make sure I hadn’t unwittingly messed up the track order. It’s a fairly minor flaw in the grand scheme of a 42-minute album, but it’s jarring each time nonetheless. Instrumentally, Rave in Fire is stacked with talent. Guitarist Jonjo puts on a classic metal/rock clinic, and the rhythm section (Sara on bass and Jimi on drums) displays impressive chemistry. But the MVP trophy goes to vocalist Sele. Her passionate performance is just spectacular, sounding so unbelievably genuine and lending Square One a pleasing patina of seemingly long-lost classic status, and, fortunately, the beautiful production only enhances the luster of that patina.

When I picked Square One out of the promo sump, I’d just finished Stranger Things and was yearning to fill that 80s-shaped hole in my heart. After spinning this dozens of times, I can confidently say that Rave in Fire has done just that. This band is loaded with talent, and I expect more very good albums from them in the future.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: High Roller Records
Websites: raveinfire.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/raveinfire
Releases Worldwide: January 30th, 2026

Battering Ram – Time Masters Review

Occasionally, pet projects can take a very long time to gestate into something more serious and tangible. Spain’s…
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https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/386431/

Furi Helium – No Altar Stands Eternal Review

The first review of the year always brings a strange sensation. After a long year of reviewing great,…
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https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/426440/

The first review of the year always brings a strange sensation. After a long year of reviewing great, good, meh, and fucking terrible records, it gets even longer come November/December with list season. The amount of work increases more than ever as you write your blurbs, edit others, and constantly monitor comments by those who wrongfully disagree with you. After list season comes to an end, there’s an involuntary sigh of relief that all the work got done, and while a lot of the lists were shit, stylistically and format-wise, they looked good. But the first review of the year is a different kind of sigh. Not one of relief but one of “here we go again.” So, with my knuckles cracked and promo downloaded, I dive into Spanish thrashers, Furi Helium, and their sophomore outing, No Altar Stands Eternal.

I’m not gonna lie, I absolutely picked this promo because of the band name. Ignoring spelling and pronunciation, the thought of “furry helium” is fucking hilarious to me. As I rolled around on the floor, with kids and cats alike watching in bewildered horror, it was brought to my attention that “furi helium” can be translated to “black sun” in Latin. Fine. Take all the fun out of my life. But, after my initial spins, I came to appreciate this little gem because Furi Helium is much in the vein of Spanish brethren (and one of my favorite thrashers), Crisix.1 So, instead of imagining furry gases that give you a high-pitched voice and furballs, I’m pummeled with crushing riffs, punchy gangshouts, memorable choruses, and a bass presence deserving of better production. Which, I suppose, I can accept.

No Altar Stands Eternal by Furi Helium

Like many of the other neothrash outfits these days, the opening track, “Bloodspiller,” launches into a simplistic approach that sets the tone for the album. But it isn’t until a couple of songs later that No Altar Stands Eternal really takes off. “Criminals” introduces some nifty guitar work and a charging attitude. From there, it alternates between a galloping riff and one of the more memorable choruses on the album. At the album’s midpoint, the back-to-back “Tidal Disruption” and “Fall in Disgrace” rule the roost. While both have killer riffs throughout, what makes these songs so special is the massive bass presence. While it’s been there up to this point, it’s dialed up to eleven, and the performance is stellar. “Tidal Disruption,” in particular, is a banger. It features punchy vocals that perfectly match each drum hit, plenty of melodic At the Gates vibes, and the standout chorus on the record.

Others worth mentioning are “12 Mirrors” and the closer, “The Chronophage.” The first is up there with songs like “Tidal Disruption,” laying to waste anything in its way with a kickass thrash groove and gnarly fucking vocals. It’s a monster mash of Crisix attitude and riffs that get better as they go. The closer is the black sheep of the record, loaded with a thick layer of melodic laquer and dark, swirling atmospheres. It also gives off a lot of The Haunted vibes—growing and falling along a path of thick riffs and soothing movements—producing a near-perfect ending to this sophomore effort.

The main issues I have with No Altar Stands Eternal are that it takes a bit to get going, and the production is not worthy of the skill. While the first handful of songs are worth a listen, by the time you get to “Criminals” (the fourth track on the album), the album really begins to blossom into something special. From there, it’s nonstop satisfaction. I only bring this up because some might bail before the good stuff emerges, and that would be a terrible mistake. While the production isn’t bad, it only bothers me because the nooks and crannies are what I’m most interested in. Whenever the bass controls a song’s flow, it feels dialed up to accommodate it. Otherwise, it sits comfortably in the background. With a dynamic master that can breathe and throb with all the intricacies throughout, we might experience the bass and other subtleties as intended. So, someone sign these sons of bitches and give them money for a higher-quality product. All that to say, I really enjoy this record and shall be jamming to it for months to come.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Self-Released
Websites: furihelium.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/furihelium
Releases Worldwide: January 22nd, 2026

Spanish metalcore/melodeath quintet Unexpectance lived up to their name when I encountered them for the first time in 2022, boasting a remarkably meaty and riff-packed assault on their sophomore effort Vortex. After recruiting a new drummer, a new vocalist, and a new lead guitarist, their upcoming salvo Solus Ipse threatens to sound quite a bit different, despite tapping similar Dante-centric philosophical wells for its theme. This potential shift didn’t hamper my interest, however, as their chunky, groovy songwriting held up quite well over time. Considering Unexpectance’s rhythm guitarist and bassist both carry over from the last lineup, I have no reason to believe that solid backbone incurred any serious injury.

The same can’t be said for my backbone, after spending some quality time with Solus Ipse. These Spaniards still understand what it means to groove, and groove hard. While Solus Ipse certainly leans heavier into the metalcore side of Unexpectance’s sound, perhaps to its detriment especially in regards to the new higher register screams, Unexpectance still know their way around hooks, riffs, and momentum. Reeking of Orbit Culture restlessness, Aeternam-esque melodicism and verve, and embellished by ominous trem-picked leads—some of which, oddly enough, resemble those singled out refrains which made Unfathomable Ruination’s Finitude so compelling (“Hybris”)—Solus Ipse’s sycopated patterns and chunky stop-starts play companion to blistering barrages of double-bass-backed ballistics. Sealing the deal, and representing my favorite aspect of Unexpectance’s sound, the entire record is presented in Spanish, with nary a syllable of English to mar the experience. I may not understand what I’m hearing nearly as well (yet), but the effectiveness of Spanish’s cadence and character in this context is undeniable.

I also can’t deny Unexpectance’s ability to craft dynamic, crunchy, and satisfying tunes when all the pieces fall into place. Especially in the back half, Solus Ipse is a clinic in effervescent energy, crushing riffs, and rabid pacing (“Netamorpha,” “Ethos,” “Samsara,” and “Hybris”). In fact, I’d say these three attributes are Solus Ipse’s core strengths, as early highlights “Momji,” “Ataraxia,” and “Gnosis” successfully conjure the same neck-snapping momentum. Those early cuts communicate that momentum through more overt metalcore language, whereas the back end swings the pendulum a little closer to boisterous melodic death metal (“Empíreo”). Through it all, Unexpectance’s lead guitar steals the show, brilliantly weaving melodies in and out of bulky riffs and chuggy breakdowns as if they weren’t obstacles to evade, but rather partners to unite in a destructive dance (“Momji,” “Gnosis,” “Ethos,” “Hybris”).

Unexpectance’s ability to walk a tightrope between similar, but distinct, styles showcases their maturity and versatility as writers, but Solus Ipse as a whole isn’t as strong as previous efforts. The primary aspect that gets in my way of enjoying this entertaining back and forth more are, unfortunately, the vocals. I miss the greater dominance of deeper growls and mid-pitch roars that pervaded Vortex. While they feature here frequently, those higher-pitched screams—while admirably performed and brimming with piss and vinegar—feel not just more prevalent, but also much more monotonous, and thereby create a fair amount of drag. In other areas, Solus Ipse is a touch more repetitive and less cohesive, rhythmically speaking, compared to the never-ending cavalcade of twists and tempos that Vortex effortlessly wrangled. Most easily heard in opening duo, “Sophrosyne” and “Momji,” this kind of weak point forces the impression that I must choose between options to either keep or discard on future spins. I would much rather feel compelled to adopt every track.

Following up a contender like Vortex always posed a daunting proposition. Considering the various lineup changes and the 4-year gap between releases, what Solus Ipse accomplishes is admirable. Unexpectance remains an act to watch, as they routinely offer songwriting that either moves the needle for the style or holds great potential to do so with a little more massaging. A ton of great ideas populate Solus Ipse, but the overall product lacks the same consistent hype-worthy quality of the previous installment. Still, it’s worth checking out at least once, even if you aren’t necessarily a fan of the style.



Rating: Mixed
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Self Released
Websites: unexpectance.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/unexpectance
Releases Worldwide: January 15th, 2026

Occasionally, pet projects and casual fun bands can take a very long time to gestate into something more serious and tangible. Spain’s Battering Ram has had quite a long journey to get to their self-released debut album Time Masters, starting from their formation in 2008 and their demos in the early 2010s.1 Over this time period, their ambitions have also grown. Evolved from just another thrash metal band, Time Masters is a sci-fi concept album looking to fuse epic heavy and power metal with technical thrash metal. How successful is Battering Ram in their goal?

Battering Ram’s fun sound leans more towards the heavy/power metal side than the thrash side. The riffage of Guillermo Marqués definitely borrows a lot from all of the above, though. The drumming of Benjamín Mateo has plenty of classic Watchtower influence here, alongside more classic fun thrash like Anthrax. Complementing the thrashy bits are heavy/power bands like Manowar and HammerFall. Tracks like “Immortality Fed by Death” show some thrashy bite, alongside some fat killer bass by Francisco Cabañas. The 10-minute almost-opener “Unexpected Events (The Beginning of the End)” is a bold choice, but it ends up panning out well.

Thrash and power metal both perform best at high velocity, and most of Time Masters has too little of it. The second half of the album picks things up with cuts like “Immortality Fed by Death (Unstoppable Train),” but they’re not quite strong enough to carry the entire album. The double interlude towards the end of the album is also a baffling decision, interrupting the flow between the album’s three strongest tracks. The bonus track being a base track (penultimate track, instead of the weird double interlude?) would’ve also directly upgraded the experience and album flow. The riff work is good and multifaceted, though, and the drums are very fun to listen to as well, providing lots of cool patterns and fills here and there. The instrumentation is really cool, but the vocals definitely need more work. David Ordás sings well on tracks like “Immortality Fed by Death,” but his performance is inconsistent throughout the album. They lack energy and range on tracks like 3 and 4. However, they do also improve as the album goes along (tracks 6, 7).

Despite its drawbacks, there are plenty of good pieces on Time Masters to work with. The guitars, drums, and bass all sound great and have great players behind them. The riffs are fun and have enough variety for the material, and the bass, in particular, in the first half of the album, is cranked loud and plays some really fun lines. There’s definitely a 3.0/Good! hidden in here, but the vocal inconsistencies, slight bloat, and general sluggish pace all unfortunately drag it down too much. The advantages do not outweigh the disadvantages, but the good things here are still very much visible. If you removed “The Persecuted (Back Again)” and both of the unwieldy two-in-a-row interludes (“The Prophecy,” “Armageddon Wars”), and added the CD bonus track “Wormhole (Dreaming Eutocia)” as the penultimate track, this would be a tight and fun album to replay.

Battering Ram has some good ideas, but throws too many things at the wall at the same time. If they can speed things up, improve the vocals, and tighten their songwriting in general, these guys can definitely have a good follow-up in store. As is, the album has a fun concept with some strong ideas, but it flows very unevenly. Running a tighter 40-minute ship, improving the production, and leveling up the vocals will go a long way. Time Masters is a rough but riffy proof of concept. With some ironing, Battering Ram is well on their way towards creating a fun power/thrash blend.

Rating: Mixed
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: WAV
Label: Self-Released
Websites: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Releases Worldwide: January 10th, 2026

Sepulchral – Beneath the Shroud Review

By Steel Druhm

I’m not at all well-versed on the Spanish death metal scene, but the descriptions for Sepulchral’s sophomore opus Beneath the Shroud intrigued me sufficiently to take a cautious flyer on them for a December review. End-of-year promo offerings are always a mötley stew of rejects, wannabes, never-weres, tricksy re-releases, and lo-fi basement black metal albums set to release on Christmas day, so I didn’t expect much. What I got was something interesting indeed. Sepulchral rock a very old school death metal approach with a prominent blackened streak that sometimes takes center stage. There are nods to early Entombed and the punkier Autopsy releases, and more than a little similarity to proto-black metal bands like Bathory and early Sodom. The resulting racket is brutish, slack-jawed, entertaining, and certainly nostalgia-inducing for olde heads like Yours Steely. This is pure throwback glory, and it isn’t going to move any needles forward, but it sure tries to bend them backward.

After a refined and tasteful instrumental intro, Sepulchral come out with a greasy, filthy bang on the title track, which splits the baby between d-beat-heavy Swedeath and Bathory’s immortal second album, The Return. It’s retro-as-fook, but endearing as all get out. Vocals are like early days Quothorn mixed with Autopsy’s Chris Reifert, and the frantic, bouncy riffs will remind the aged metalhead of any number of 80s proto-death and proto-metal acts. At its core, it’s just a fun, over-the-top dose of thrashy, punky death with swagger and charm. “Abandoned Feretrum” is a macap, thrashing, tantrum of a tune with awkward, stuttering riffs that bulldoze everything and everyone into a muddy mass grave as crazed vocals babble, croak, and vomit forth nonsense. I loved this one immediately and I just keep playing it. Those simple caveman power chugs that pop up are pure gainz fuel for gym time. With the basic template thus set, Sepulchral proceed to blast, hammer, smoosh, and squish you with slight variations of it over the next 35 minutes.

This very singular approach works great on “Conflagration of Sacred Bones” and the remorseless wargrinder that is “Cloaked Spectres,” which feels unstoppable due to its penchant for big, dumb, power chugs. Slower selections like “From the Crypt, the Putrid Mist” remind of long-buried 80s proto-black metallers N.M.E., due to that clonky bass sound.1 “Gravestone Covenant” is a rumbling, brain-crushing Panzer of a song that annihilates everything in its path, and “Poison Wind” is an unabated beat down, brainless and bloodthirsty. As fun as the core Sepulchral sound is, they can run into issues when they stretch songs out and try for different moods. “Torchless Crossroads” is good, but it attempts to mellow things out too much on the back-end, creating a dull, dead space that doesn’t add any real atmosphere. “Gravestone Covenant” opts for a doomy wind-out but pulls it off better, though it would be better if it were left off entirely. Another issue is the tendency for the songs to all bleed together into an agitated, writhing mush. It’s a fun one to be sure, but it does feel like a lot of the same hash and beans by the time the album wraps.

Guitarist “Gorka” digs deep into the 80s for inspiration, offering a rabid, rotten collection of riffs that sound like they were culled from the first few Bathory albums and then dumped into an Entombed-ifier filter, only to be abandoned in a public toilet with Autopsy’s Shitfun. It’s moldy, and the stench is formidable, but 90% of the fun here is generated by the frantic, unceasing riffage and chuggery. And boy, those power chugs drain IQ points at a startling rate, but I can’t get enough of them. “Gaueko” provides gruesome vocals that sit exactly between death and black metal and are often no more than a raw bark or croak. His penchant for adding frequent vomit and spewing noises as accents is a plus, and he’s a reliable narrator for the horrors Sepulchral describes. His thumping, thudding bass-work is a boon as well, bubbling away in the background and foreground as needed.

Venturing Beneath the Shroud reveals something nasty, profane, and grotesque that cannot be unheard. It’s more fun than expected, though there are noticeable warts, boils, and blemishes along the way. Sepulchral may never end up a household name outside of their area of influence, but they have something cool going on with this mega-retro sound. If you appreciate the early days of extreme metal, take a whiff of this piece of offal.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Soulseller Records
Websites: sepulchraldeathmetal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/sepulchraldeathmetal | instagram.com/sepulchral.osdm
Releases Worldwide: December 5th, 2025

#2025 #30 #autopsy #bathory #beneathTheShroud #deathMetal #dec25 #entombed #nME #review #reviews #sepulchral #sodom #soulsellerRecords #spanishMetal

Antinoë – The Fold Review

As the whispering winds of winter begin to blow colder through my neck of the woods, a time…
#NewsBeep #News #Music #2025 #4.0 #Ambient #Antinoë #Darkher #DeadCanDance #DimmuBorgir #Emperor #Entertainment #enya #NotMetal #Nov25 #Piano #review #SpanishMetal #TheFold #UK #UnitedKingdom
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/276182/

Antinoë – The Fold Review

As the whispering winds of winter begin to blow colder through my neck of the woods, a time…
#NewsBeep #News #Music #2025 #4.0 #Ambient #Antinoë #CA #Canada #Darkher #DeadCanDance #DimmuBorgir #Emperor #Entertainment #Enya #NotMetal #Nov25 #Piano #review #SpanishMetal #TheFold
https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/298159/

Antinoë – The Fold Review

By Tyme

As the whispering winds of winter begin to blow colder through my neck of the woods, a time of year when fires get cozier, quaffed beers get darker, and we here at AMG begin to rhapsodize on things missed and regale readers with things listed, I found myself still searching for a near-end-of-year something new. When I saw Antinoë’s Dark Essence Records debut, The Fold, blurbily described as ‘Neoclassical Folk meets melancholy Pop with a Metal attitude,’ I was intrigued. Descending from the mountains of Madrid, Antinoë is the passion project of pianist and vocalist Teresa Marraco. Launched in 2021, Antinoë’s 2023 release, Whispers from the Dark Past, offered a unique piano tribute to the 90s Norwegian black metal scene, with Marraco covering everything from Emperor’s “I Am the Black Wizards” to Mayhem’s “Life Eternal” and Dimmu Borgir’s “Mourning Palace.”1 Poised to challenge the very fluid boundaries of what metal can be, let’s see if The Fold has the warmth necessary to keep those wintery winds at bay.

Void of instrumental trappings associated with most traditional metal, Antinoë relies solely on Marraco’s beautifully resonant voice and her expansive piano compositions to weave stygian tapestries. Conceptually, The Fold navigates the odyssey of accepting death, inviting listeners to tread a path through the idiomatic depths of grief’s different stages, as it traces the process of ‘folding inward.’ From the outset, as cricket-song fades into “Night Falls,” with its delicately crafted, darkly haunting piano melody and celestial vocals, the track pulls at melancholy heartstrings, drawing you into Antinoë’s dark world and setting the stage for what’s to come. The Fold offers an immersive, piano-led experience, peppered with pummeled ivories that shift with metallic force beneath sustained choral harmonies (“The Devil’s Voice”), as wispy trails of folky, Enya-esque ambiance waft amid airy, Dead Can Dance-like atmospheres (“Når Du Dør”). Not unlike Darkher, Antinoë succeeds at tapping into inscrutable emotion by minimalist means, but where Maiven casts spells webbed in doom, Marraco’s magic leans more toward the black arts.

While Antinoë draws much of its ‘metal’ from lyrical themes that explore the dense nature of grief and death, that doesn’t mean The Fold is musically bereft of heavier fare. Death angels descend on Emperor wings with halos of Dimmu Borgir to hover over the opening chords of “Threshold,” heralding dark omens in a chorus of swarming harmonies, witchy laughter, and raspy breaths, all as Antinoë pounds and trills her way through octaves in true symphonic black metal fashion.2 Is it still just a girl and her piano? Yes, but it’s by far the ‘heaviest’ song on the album. Which gives way to the excellently murky pop of “Chaos in the Sky,” another album highlight that had my neck snapped to rapt attention when Marracos, in her smoky voice, opened with “Who the fuck are you? Who the fuck am I?” like some dark-alt Adele, creating another moment more metal than not.

Drenched in warmth, The Fold’s production captures the beauty of Antinoë’s neo-classical elegance and marries it perfectly to its atmospherically blackened weight, providing a full-on musical experience. Whether it’s the delicate last minute of “The Devil’s Voice,” which flirts with a “Lágnætti” melody, off the Sólstafir magnum opus Ottá, or the inquisitive, childlike mystery of the whispers and keys on “Flock,” to the somber dirge of vocals from “Light Bringer,” listening to Antinoë is to become utterly immersed. I have little to critique, so enamored am I by Antinoë’s ability to impart complex ideas in the simplest of terms. I suppose there’s a minute or two that Marraco could have shaved from the two instrumentals, but in all honesty, there’s not a minute of The Fold that I would cut or change.

One of the things I’ve always appreciated about AMG is its fearlessness in shedding light on bands that are categorically not metal. Case in point, among many, is Dolphin Whisperer’s review of Maud the Moth’s excellent The Distaff this year. Antinoë has recorded an emotional album for healing hearts, and as I look back on the last few years of losses I’ve experienced, I’m unsurprised by how impactful it’s been to me. I wasn’t expecting something of this caliber to come sweeping in so close to list season, but here we are. I’ll gladly wrap myself in a warm blanket next to a cozy fire, slip on my favorite pair of headphones, and sip a smoky porter while letting The Fold envelop me against the impending winter’s chill.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Dark Essence Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: November 21st, 2025

#2025 #40 #ambient #antinoe #darkher #deadCanDance #dimmuBorgir #emperor #enya #notMetal #nov25 #piano #review #spanishMetal #theFold

Sun of the Dying – A Throne of Ashes Review

By Thus Spoke

Autumn is well and truly here, so it’s about time I reviewed some doom. Though my ears have been diverted towards certain listworthy death/black drops these past few weeks, the pull of the gloom grows stronger in proportion with the shortening of the days. But rather than the icy climes of Scandinavia, or wintry North America, or even rainy old England, my long-awaited dose of darkness came from Spain. In less than three-quarters of an hour, Madrid’s Sun of the Dying proved that you don’t need miserable, cold weather to make music about misery. A Throne of Ashes, the group’s third LP, is a bold, strong, and stirring mélange of death-doom styles that both filled the void in my musical life and made me downright embarrassed not to have listened to them before.

Sun of the Dying borrow from across the spectrum to craft their compositions, creating richly layered soundscapes. Gracing soaring melodies with dolorous piano, they channel Swallow the Sun on the highs, and Endonomos on the lows. Sweetly sad strings and soft singing recall My Dying Bride, and a duet over warm, vibrating chords and resonant atmosphere Draconian.1 But all this familiarity detracts not one iota from the authenticity of A Throne of Ashes; if anything, it makes it easier to love. By combining the best aspects of these influences with a heavy dose of character, Sun of the Dying make them their own, constructing a powerful whole that simply oozes feeling and personality.

As an indicator of how well A Throne of Ashes communicates emotion by way of staggering death-doom, it contains not just one, but two Song-o-the-year list contenders. Contender one, opener “Martyrs,” had me sitting back in my chair completely still, to give it my full attention. Its graceful dynamism between uplifting guitars and hushed cymbal, narrated by Eduardo Guilló’s beautiful singing and untempered roars, is matched for pathos only by fellow highlight “House of Asterion.” The latter leans into the orchestral more heavily, accenting melancholy descents with ever more dramatic flourishes of strings in a way designed to stamp them into the listener’s heart. These two exemplify Sun of the Dying’s knack for creating depth of feeling and composition with careful weaving of delicacy and sturdiness— the mark of all great doom. As refrains pass between piano, synths, and guitar, they wax, wane, and build gracefully. Spacious resonance over which solo piano (“With Wings Aflame,” “Of Absence”) or strumming, or the sounds of someone sobbing (“Of Absence”) float over and bleed into, prefigures or breaks the gradual escalation into screaming strings (“The House of Asterion”), or white-hot tremolo (“Martyrs”), or the blows of shuddering riff and cymbal (“The Longest Winter,” “Of Absence”). The fullness of even the quieter moments, with bittersweet melodies detailed with touches of choir and orchestrals and multi-tracked vocals and the warm heartbeat of percussion, makes the experience powerfully immersive, heightening the climaxes and deepening the nadirs.

So strong is Sun of the Dying’s ability to draw its listener in and wring their heart out that one almost forgives their occasional structural missteps. Advance track “Black Birds Beneath Your Sky” is a crushing slab of comparatively aggressive doom-death whose string-swelling, group-sung chorus yet exemplifies most explicitly the anthemic feel that other songs hint at. It’s a good song—particularly in its more soaring second act—but it sits awkwardly between the mournful “Martyrs” and “With Wings Aflame,” suddenly brushing aside the rapturous mist of sadness only for it to descend again right after. Its mood-breaking grit is echoed, albeit faintly, by “The Greatest Winter,”‘s more grey and stolid riffing, and there’s the quiet sensation that the pair don’t quite belong with their more sombre companions. Without them, however, the album would be very short, and so rather than removing them, their use of dark and light, soft and heavy elements might simply need to be adjusted.

Even if its atmosphere isn’t perfectly sealed, A Throne of Ashes proves transportive and engrossing all the same. Heartfelt and compelling, it distils an ideal of modern doom and had me scrambling to hear Sun of the Dying’s back catalogue. Don’t let the year end without a walk on a grey day and A Throne of Ashes in your ears.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: AOP Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: November 21st, 2025

#2025 #35 #aThroneOfAshes #aopRecords #deathDoom #doomMetal #draconian #endonomos #myDyingBride #nov25 #review #reviews #spanishMetal #sunOfTheDying #swallowTheSun

God’s Funeral – El Despertar Dels Morts Review

Written By: Nameless_n00b_605 Metal is full of niche genres, and within that sphere, doom metal is full of…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Music #2025 #Ahab #Aug25 #DoomMetal #Doom:VS #ElDespertarDelsMorts #Entertainment #FuneralDoom #God'sFuneral #MeuseMusicRecords #review #reviews #ShapeofDespair #SpanishMetal
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/122233/

God’s Funeral – El Despertar Dels Morts Review

By Angry Metal Guy

Written By: Nameless_n00b_605

Metal is full of niche genres, and within that sphere, doom metal is full of unique variations. Funeral doom, doom metal’s basement-dwelling offspring, is as impenetrable a metal genre as some of the nastiest bands in the business. Trudging, droning song structures, distorted, bellowing vocals, and (as the genre tag suggests) the vibe of being at a funeral can make for a taxing listen on a good day. Nailing all these individual elements isn’t so much a challenge as a rite of passage, but truly meshing these staples together is a skill few bands possess. God’s Funeral joins the cacophonic dirge on their first LP, El Despertar Dels Morts. Hailing from Tarragona, Spain, can their brand of Catholic-guilt-infused funeral doom make a splash in the cesspool of sadness, or is it merely a teardrop in the bucket of filth?

El Despertar Dels Morts has all the hallmarks of great funeral doom; roomy production offers space for naturalistic string arrangements and atmospheric organ playing. Lead singer Abel nails the classic funeral doom tone, with vocals that sound like they are recorded in the roomy basement of a moldy castle. The riffing from guitarists Naila and Juan is suitably churning and ominous, and Sergi’s drumming fills the deliberate void with hard-hitting playing. The kicker is that God’s Funeral nails production and musicianship, but misses the mark on nearly every level otherwise. From songwriting to editing, and from pacing to variety, El Despertar Dels Morts fumbles at every turn. In a five-track album spanning nearly fifty minutes, it is a struggle to find standout moments in a sea of nearly identical song structures, played-out riffs, and tedious vocals.

Where God’s Funeral bucks trends is in the most unfortunate places. Genre stalwarts like Ahab, DOOM:VS, and Shape of Despair feature similarly deliberate song structures, but break these up with vocal variety, melodic sections, left turns into death metal, and more. God’s Funeral eschews all of that, and the only notable moments of reprieve from the grinding, one-note style on El Despertar Dels Morts are the wonderfully rich-sounding string work that are a staple across the album, an epic organ section at the end of “Ara Que Torna El Silenci,” and the militaristic marching drum intro to “La Processó De Les Ombres.” It is telling that you have to reach for points of interest on this LP; they act like life rafts in a never-ending storm of monotony.

The back half of El Despertar Dels Morts is the strongest part of the album, if only for the fact that the songs stay under ten minutes. These last three tracks at least offer a glimpse at what God’s Funeral could be capable of with a lot more editing. “Fossa Comuna” is the standout track that exemplifies the best of what the band can do. An atmospheric bass intro leads to an actual beat that surpasses the downright sleep-inducing tempo of previous tracks, and the drumming sounds alive for once, finally helping a track rise above the sub-50 bpm droning that drags across the entire LP. While having an album that sounds similar throughout isn’t necessarily a negative, especially when that one song is a ripper, God’s Funeral missed the memo. Telling apart individual tracks on El Despertar Dels Morts is downright challenging. It pains me to be so negative about a band that is invested in their craft and obvious worshippers at the doom altar. God’s Funeral is so close on many levels, but it leans into genre tropes so intensely that they become repellent.

El Despertar Dels Morts is, finally, a monotonous listen that feels more like prepping for bed as opposed to reveling in the big sleep. Funeral doom is slow, it is atmospheric, it is crushing, and God’s Funeral does an admirable job attempting to turn these elements into a cohesive album. But the band draws from the same well too often, leaving El Despertar Dels Morts stylistically empty. In a genre that is already difficult to break into as a band and a listener, God’s Funeral has all the makings of a great addition to the pantheon, but it fails in the most fundamental elements. The band can play well, and the album sounds great from a production standpoint, but the most important part, the songwriting, sags at every turn. Fans of funeral doom may find some choice moments or good background listening with El Despertar Dels Morts, but unless you love the genre, this album won’t change any hearts.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Meuse Music Records
Websites: godsfuneral.bandcamp.com | instagram.com/godsfuneral.band
Releases Worldwide: August 15th, 2025

#2025 #Ahab #Aug25 #DoomMetal #DoomVS #ElDespertarDelsMorts #FuneralDoom #GodSFuneral #MeuseMusicRecords #Review #Reviews #ShapeOfDespair #SpanishMetal

Today is song's #radio day for me at #spotify.

The first round begins with #Lujuria - Masoquismo

https://open.spotify.com/intl-es/track/10USheBNd3SY2ybPWkm9CN?si=3c76abeae8cc4c21

#HeavyMetal #SpanishMetal

This week's #ThursDeath is a great promo from earlier this month via Tarragona, Spain's CEREBRAL CURSE. As they describe it themselves, "three tracks of raw, slow-burning death metal.. twisted riffs, decaying pace, and suffocating tone." I agree. Definitely not one to miss, and I'm keeping my eyes on these guys-- psyched for more from them.

https://cerebralcurse.bandcamp.com/album/promo-25

#metal #DeathMetal #OSDM #SpanishMetal #Spain #Tarragona @wendigo @rtw @HailsandAles @Kitty @umrk @lola @flockofnazguls

Stuck in the Filter: March 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

Spring is in the air, and with it comes… an insane number of cicadas! Yes, that’s right, Brood XIV spawned this year and is currently overwhelming my staff as they trudge through embuggened ducts to clear out the Filter of semi-precious metal. I bet it’s fucking loud in there…

…. eh I’m sure they are all fine. Just fine. Anyway, enjoy the spoils of our toils!

Kenstrosity’s Gloopy Grubber

Acid Age // Perilous Compulsion [February 28th, 2025 – Self Released]

Belfast’s wacky thrash conglomerate Acid Age came out of absolutely nowhere back in March, unleashing their fourth LP Perilous Compulsion and equipping it with one helluva van-worthy cover. This is some funky, bluesy, quasi-psychedelic thrash metal that pulls no punches. Riffs abound, bonkers songwriting pervades, immense groove agitates. From the onset, “Bikini Island” establishes Perilous Compulsion as a no-nonsense, balls-out affair which reminds me heavily of Voivod and a simplified Flummox informed by Atheist’s progressive proclivities, and expanded by a touch of Pink Floyd’s nebulous jams. Of course, thrash remains Acid Age’s hero flavor, as choice cuts “State Your Business,” “Revenge for Sale,” and closing one-two punch “Rotten Tooth” and “Hamster Wheel” clearly demonstrate. While their fearless exploration of style and structure maintains a sky-high level of interest, it also introduces a couple of challenges. Firstly, this material can feel a bit disjointed at first, but focused spins reward the listener greatly as all of Perilous Compulsion’s moving parts start to mesh and move in unison. Secondly, Acid Age throws a spotlight on a few brilliant inclusions that, over time, I wish were more often utilized—namely, the delightfully bluesy harmonica solos on “Rotten Tooth.” Regardless, Acid Age put themselves on my map with Perilous Compulsion. I recommend you put them on yours, too!

Owlswald’s Desiccated Discoveries

Verbian // Casarder [March 21st, 2025 – Lost Future Records]

It’s unjust that Portuguese rockers Verbian—who have been producing quality post-rock since 2019’s Jaez—haven’t received the attention they deserve. Fusing elements of post-rock with metal, psychedelic, and stoner, Casarder is Verbian’s third full-length and the first with new drummer Guilherme Gonçalves. Taking the sounds and inspirations of 2020’s Irrupção and enriching it with new permutations and modulations, Casarder’s largely instrumental character rides punchy riffs and roiling grooves—à la Russian Circles and Elder—to transmit its thought-provoking legitimacy. Dystopian and surreal séances, via echoing Korg synthscapes (“Pausa Entre Dias,” “Vozes da Ilha”) and celestial harmonies, permeate Casarder’s forty-three-minute runtime, translating Madalena Pinto’s striking Aeon Flux-esque cover art with precision. Ominous horn sections and crusty recurrent vocals (“Marcha do Vulto,” “Depois de Toda a Mudança”) by guitarist Vasco Reis and bassist Alexandre Silva underscore Verbian’s individuality in a crowded post-rock domain. Gonçalves’s drumming—with his intricate and enchanting hard rock and samba rhythms (“Nada Muda,” “Fruta Caída do Mar”)—adds a new dimension to Verbian’s sound, assuring my attention never falters. The group describes Casarder as communicating the “…insecurities of artistic expression and personal exposure when it comes to fearing being judged for something that is somewhat outside of what is done in each artist’s niche.” Indeed, Casarder reveals Verbian is unafraid to forge their own path, and the results are gripping.

Symbiotic Growth // Beyond the Sleepless Aether [March 28th, 2025 – Self Released]

Beyond the Sleepless Aether, the sophomore effort by Ontario, Canada’s Symbiotic Growth, immediately caught my attention with its dreamy-looking cover. Building upon their 2020 self-titled debut, the Canadian trio hones epic and long-form progressive death metal soundscapes, narrating a quest for meaning across alternate realities in mostly lengthy, yet rewarding, tracks that blend technicality, atmosphere, and melody. The group frequently employs dynamic shifts, moving between raging brutality and serene shoegaze beauty (“Arid Trials and Barren Sands,” “The Sleepless Void”). This is achieved through complex and vengeful passages alongside atmospheric synth lines and softer piano interludes (“Sires of Boundless Sunset,” “Of Painted Skies and Dancing Lights”), cultivating an air of wonder, mystery, and ethereality that permeates much of Symbiotic Growth’s material. “The Architect of Annihilation” echoes the style of Ne Obliviscaris with its blend of clean harmonies and harsh growls meshed with tremolo-picked arpeggiations and catchy hooks (the guitar solo even features a violin-like quality). “Lost in Fractured Reveries” evokes In Mourning with its parallel synth and guitar lines giving way to devastating grooves that make it impossible not to headbang. Although some fine-tuning remains—the clean vocals could use some more weight and tracks like “Of Painted Skies and Dancing Lights” and “The Architect of Annihilation” overstay their welcome at times—Beyond the Sleepless Aether shows Symbiotic Growth’s burgeoning talent and signals the group is one to watch in progressive death metal.

Dear Hollow’s Drudgery Sludgery Hoist

Spiritbox // Tsunami Sea [March 7th, 2025 – Pale Chord Records | Rise Records]

From humble beginnings in a more artsy-fartsy djent post-Iwrestledabearonce world to becoming the darlings of Octane Radio, Spiritbox has seen quite the ascent. While it’s easy to look at their work and scoff at its radio-friendliness, sophomore full-length Tsunami Sea shows Courtney LaPlante and company sticking to their guns. Simultaneously more obscure and more radio-friendly in its selection of tracks, expect its signature blend of colossal riffs and ethereal melodies guided by LaPlante’s siren-then-sea serpent dichotomy of furious roars and haunting cleans. Yes, Spiritbox helms its attack with the radio singles (“Perfect Soul,”1 “Crystal Roses”) in layered soaring choruses and touches of hip-hop undergirded by fierce grooves, but the meat of Tsunami Sea finds the flexibility and patience in the skull-crushing brutality (“Soft Spine,” “No Loss, No Love”) and its more exploratory songwriting that amps layers of the ethereal and the hellish with catchy riffs and vocals alike (“Fata Morgana,” “A Haven of Two Faces”). It’s far from perfect, and its tendency towards radio will be divisive, but it shows Spiritbox firing on all cylinders.

Unfleshing // Violent Reason [March 28th, 2025 – Self Released]

I am always tickled pink by blackened crust. It takes the crusty violence and propensity for filth and adds black metal’s signature sinister nature. Unfleshing is a young, unsigned blackened crust band from St. Louis, and with debut Violent Reason, you can expect a traditional punk-infused beatdown with a battered guitar tone and sinister vocals. However, more than many, the quartet offers a beatdown that feels as atmospheric as it is pummeling. Don’t get me wrong, you get your skull caved in like the poor guy on the cover with minute-long crust beatdowns (“Body Bag,” “From the Gutter”) and full-length smackdowns (“Knife in the Dark,” “Final Breath”), both styles complete with scathing grooves, squalid feedback, climactic solos and punishing blastbeats, atop a blackened roar dripping with hate. But amid the full-throttle assault, Unfleshing utilizes ominous black metal chord progressions and unsettling plucking to add a more dynamic feature to Violent Reason (“Cathedral Rust,” “One With the Mud”). The album never overstays, and while traditional, it’s a hell of a start for Unfleshing.

Ghostsmoker // Inertia Cult [March 21st, 2025 – Art as Catharsis Records]

Ghostsmoker seems like the perfect stoner metal band name, but aside from the swampy guitar tone, there’s something much sinister lurking. Proffering a caustic blackened doom/sludge not unlike Thou, Wormphlegm, and Sea Bastard, the Melbourne group quartet devotes a crisp forty-two minutes to sprawling doom weighted by a crushing guitar tone that rivals Morast‘s latest, and shrieked vocals straight from the latest church burning. Beyond what’s expected from this particular breed of devastation, Ghostsmoker infuses an evocative patience reminiscent of post-metal’s more sludgy offerings like Neurosis or Pelican, lending a certain atmosphere and mood of dread and wilderness depicted on its cover. From the outright chugging attacks of churning aggression (“Elogium,” “Haven”) to the more experimental and thoughtful pieces (“Bodies to Shore,” instrumental closer “The Death of Solitude”), Inertia Cult largely feels like a journey through uncharted forests, with voices whispering from the trees. Ghostsmoker is something special.

GardensTale’s Paralyzed Spine

Spiine // Tetraptych [March 27th, 2025 – Self Released]

Is it still a supergroup release when half the lineup are session musicians? Spiine is made up of Sesca Scaarba (Virgin Black) and Xen (ex-Ne Obliviscaris), but on debut Tetraptych they are joined by guests Waltteri Väyrynen (Opeth) and Lena Abé (My Dying Bride). Usually, so much talent put into the same room does not yield great results. Tetraptych is one hell of an exception. A monstrous slab of crawling heaviness, Spiine lurches with abject despair through the mires of deathly funeral doom. Though I usually eschew this genre, my attention remains rapt through a variety of variations. The songwriting keeps the 4 tracks progressing, slow and steady builds, and the promise of momentary tempo changes working a two-pronged structural plan to buoy the majestic yet miserable riffs. “Oubliiette” is the best example here, going from galloping death-doom to Georgian choirs to a fantastic bridge where all the instrumentation hits only on the roared syllables. Xen’s unholy bellows flatten any objections I may have had, managing both thunder and deepest woe in the same notes. The subtle orchestration and occasional choir arrangements finish the package with regal grandeur, and the lush and warm production is the cherry on top. If you feel like drowning your sorrows with an hour of colossal doom, this is the album for you.

Saunders’ Stenched Staples

Ade // Supplicium [March 14th, 2025 – Time to Kill Records]

Sometimes unjustly pigeonholed as the Roman-inspired version of Nile, the hugely underrated Ade have punched out a solid career of quality death metal releases since emerging roughly fifteen years ago, charting their own path. Albums like 2013’s ripping Spartacus and 2019’s solid Rise of the Empire represent a tidy snapshot of the band’s career. Fifth album Supplicium, their first LP in six years, marks a low-key, welcome return. Exotic instrumentation and attention to history and storytelling are alive and well in the Ade camp, as is their penchant for punishing, unrelenting death, featuring a deftly curated mix of bombast, brutality, technical spark, and epic atmospheres. Edoardo Di Santo (Hideous Divinity) joins a largely refreshed line-up, including a new bassist and second guitarist since their last album. Line-up changes aside, familiar Ade tools of harrowing ancient Roman tales and modern death destruction remain as consistently solid as always. Top-notch riffs, intricate arrangements, fluid tempo shifts, and explosive drumming highlight songs that frequently flex their flair for drama-fueled atmospheres, hellfire blasts, and burly grooves. The immense, multi-faceted “Burnt Before Gods,” exotic melodies and raw savagery of “Ad Beastias!,” spitfire intensity of “Vinum,” and epically charged throes of “From Fault to Disfigurement” highlight more solid returns from Ade.

Masters of Reality // The Archer [March 28th, 2025 – Artone Label Group/Mascot Records]

Underappreciated desert rock pioneers and quirky stalwarts Masters of Reality returned from recording oblivion some fifteen-plus years since they last unleashed an LP. Led by the legendary Chris Goss and his collaborative counterparts across a career that first kicked off in the late ’80s, Masters of Reality return sounding inspired, wisened, and a little more chilled. Re-tinkering their familiar but ever-shifting sound, Masters of Reality incorporate woozy, bluesy laidback vibes featuring their oddball songwriting traits through a sedate, intriguing collection of new songs. The Archer showcases Masters of Reality’s longevity as seasoned, skilled songwriters, regardless of the shifting rock modes they explore. While perhaps lacking some of the energetic spark and earworm hooks of albums like Sunrise on the Sufferbus and Deep in the Hole, The Archer still marks a fine return outing. Goss’ signature voice is in fine form, and the bluesy, psych-drenched guitars, cushy basslines, ’60s and ’70s influences, and spacey vibes create a comforting haze. The delightfully dreamy, trippy “Chicken Little,” laidback hooks and old school charms of “I Had a Dream,” lively, quirky grooves of “Mr Tap n’ Go,” and moody, melancholic balladry of “Powder Man” highlight another diverse, strange brew from the veteran act.

Tyme’s Unheard Annunciations

Doomsday // Never Known Peace [March 28th, 2025 – Creator-Destructor Records]

March’s filter means spring is here, mostly, which is when I start searching for bands to populate my annual edition of Tyme’s Mowing Metal. There’s nothing I enjoy more than cracking a cold beer, sliding my headphones over my ears, and hopping on the mower to complete one of summer’s—at least for me—most enjoyable chores. A band that will feature prominently this summer is Oakland, California’s crossover thrash quintet Doomsday, and their Creator-Destructor Records debut album, Never Known Peace. Doomsday lays down a ton of mindless fun in the vein of other crossover greats like Enforced and Power Trip. There are riffs aplenty on this deliciously executed hardcore-tinged thrashtastic platter full of snarly, spiteful, Jamey Jasta-esque vocals, trademark gang shouts, and, oh, did I mention the riffs? Yeah, cuz there’s a butt-ton of ’em. Leads and solos are melodic (“Death is Here,” “Eternal Tombs”). Within its beefily warm mix, the chug-a-lug breakdowns run rampant across Never Known Peace‘s thirty-one minutes (seriously, there’s one in every track), leaving nary a tune that won’t have you at least bobbing your head and, at most, causing your neck a very nasty case of whipthrash. I’m going to be listening to Never Known Peace ALOT this summer, on and off my mower, and while I don’t care that the lawn lines in my yard will be a little wavier this year than others, I’ll chalk it up to the beer and the head banging Doomsday‘s Never Known Peace instills.

Rancid Cadaver // Mortality Denied [March 21st, 2025 – Self Released]

Another filter, another fetid fragment of foulness; this month, it’s up-and-coming deathstarts Rancid Cadaver and their independently released debut album Mortality Denied. Adam Burke’s excellent cover art caught my eye during a quick dip into the Bandcamp pool and had me pushing play. A thick slab of murderous meat ripe with fatty veins of Coffin Mulch and Morbific running through it, Mortality Denied overflows with tons of bestial vocals, crushing drums, barbaric bass, and squealing solos, all ensorcelled within the majesty of Rancid Cadaver‘s miasmic riff-gurgitations (“Slurping the Cerebral Slime,” “Mass of Gore,” and “Drained of Brains”). Fists will pump, and faces will stank during the Fulci-friendly “Zombified,” a pulverizing slow-death chug fest with an intro that landed me right back on the shores of Dr. Menard’s island of the undead.2 This quartet of Glaswegians has plopped down a death metal debut that ages like wine, getting better and better with consecutive spins. Surprisingly, Rancid Cadaver is unsigned, but I’m confident that status should change before we see a sophomore effort, and you can bet I’ll be there when that happens.

Dolphin Whisperer’s Unsophisticated Slappers

Crossed // Realismo Ausente [March 21st, 2025 – Zegema Beach Records]

Timing means everything in groove. I know that some people say that they have a hard time finding that kind of bob and sway in extreme music. But with an act like Spain’s Crossed, whose every carved word and every skronked guitar noise follows an insatiable punky stride, groove lies in every moment of third full-length Realismo Ausente. Whether it’s on the classic beat of D (“Vaciar Un Corazón,” “Cuerpo Distorsionado”), the twanging drone of a screaming bend (“Monotonía de la lluvia en la Ventana”), or the Celtic Frost-ed hammer of a chord crush (“Catedral”), a calculated, urgent, and intoxicating cadence colors the grayscale attitude throughout. But just because Crossed can find a groove in any twisted mathy rhythm—early Converge and Dillinger Escape Plan come to mind on quick cuts like “Cerrojo” and “Sentirse Solo”—doesn’t mean that their panic chord-loaded crescendos and close-outs can’t rip your head clean off in banging ecstasy. Easy listening and blackened hardcore can’t go hand-in-hand, but Crossed does their very best to make unintelligible, scathing screeches and ceiling-scraping feedback hissing palatable against crunchy punk builds and throbbing, warm bass grumbles. Likewise, Realismo Ausente stabs into a dejected body tales of loathing, fear, self-rejection, and defeated existence—nothing smiles in its urgent and apathetic crevices. But despite the lack of light at the end of the tunnel of Crossed’s horror-touched vision of impassioned hardcore, an analog warmth and human spirit trapped inside a writhing and pleading throat reveal a presence that’s still fighting. It’s the fight that counts. If you didn’t join the fight last time, now’s as good a time as any.

Nothing // The Self Repair Manifesto [March 26th, 2025 – Self Released]

If you noticed a tree zombie heading steaming through its trepanned opening, then you too found the same initial draw I had to The Self Repair Manifesto. Nothing complex often can draw us to the things we desire, yet in Nothing’s particular attack of relentless, groove-based death metal, many nooks of additional interest exist. The Self Repair Manifesto’s tribal rhythm-stirred “Initiation,” in its bouncy play, does little to set up the double-kick pummel and snarling refrains that lurk in this brutal, Australian soundscape. The simple chiming cymbal-fluttering bass call-and-response of “Subterfuge,” the throat singing summoning of “The Shroud,” the immediate onslaught of “Abrogation”—all in under 30 minutes, an infectious and progressive experience unfolds. And never fear, living by the motto “no clean singing,”3 Nothing has no intention of traveling the wandering and crooning path of an Opeth or In Vain. Rather, Nothing finds a hypnotic rhythmic presence both in fanciful kit play that stirs a foot shuffle and high-tempo stick abuse that urges bodies on bodies in the pit (“Subterfuge,” “The Shroud”), much in the same way you might hear in early Decapitated or Hate Eternal works. With flair of their own, though, and a mic near the mouth vessel of each member (yes, even the drummer!) to maintain a layered harsh intensity, Nothing serves a potent blend of death metal that is as jam-able as it is gym-able. Whether you seek gains or progressive enrichment, Nothing is the answer.

Steel Druhm’s Massive Aggressive

Impurity // The Eternal Sleep [ March 7th, 2025 – Hammerheart Records]

Impurity’s lust for all things Left Hand Path is not the least bit Clandestine, and on their full-length debut, The Eternal Sleep, they attempt to craft their own ode to the rabid HM-2 worship of the early 90s Swedeath sound. No new elements are shoehorned in aside from vaguely blackened ones, and there’s not the slightest effort to push the boundaries of the admittedly limited Swedeath sound. The Eternal Sleep sounds like the album that could have come between Entombed’s timeless debut and the Clandestine follow-up, and that’s not a bad place to be. It’s heavy, brutish, buzzing death metal with an OSDM edge, and it hits like a runaway 18-wheeler full of concrete and titanium rebar. One only needs to weather the shitstorm of opener “Denial of Clarity” to realize this is the deep water of the niche genre. It’s extremely heavy, face-melting death with more fuzz and buzz than your brain can process. Other cuts feel like a direct lift from Left Hand Path and/or Clandestine (“Tribute to Creation,”) and fetid Dismember tidbits creep in during “Pilgrimage to Utumno,” and these feel like olde friends showing up unexpectedly at the hometown watering hole. Swedeath is all about those ragged, jagged riffs, and they’re delivered in abundance over The Eternal Sleep, and despite the intrinsic lack of originality, Impurity pump enough steroids and Cialis into the genre archetypes to make the material endearing and engaging. Yes, you’ve heard this shit before. Now hear it again, chumbo!

#AcidAge #Ade #AmericanMetal #ArtAsCatharsisRecords #ArtoneLabelGroup #Atheist #AustralianMetal #BeyondTheSleeplessAether #BlackMetal #BlackenedCrust #BlackenedHardcore #CanadianMetal #Casarder #CelticFrost #CoffinMulch #Converge #CreatorDestructorRecords #Crossed #Crust #DeathMetal #Decapitated #DesertRock #DillingerEscapePlan #DoomMetal #Doomsday #Elder #Enforced #Flummox #Fulci #Ghostsmoker #Hardcore #HateEternal #HideousDivinity #Impurity #InMourning #InVain #InertialCult #InternationalMetal #ItalianMetal #iwrestledabearonce #LostFutureRecords #MascotRecords #MastersOfReality #Mathcore #MelodicMetal #Metalcore #Morast #Morbific #MortalityDenied #MyDyingBride #NeObliviscaris #Neurosis #NeverKnownPeace #Nile #Nothing #Opeth #PaleChordRecords #Pelican #PerilousCompulsion #PinkFloyd #PortugueseMetal #PostRock #PostMetal #PowerTrip #ProgressiveDeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #ProgressiveThrashMetal #PyschedelicRock #RancidCadaver #RealismoAusente #Review #Reviews #RiseRecords #RussianCircles #ScottishMetal #SeaBastard #SelfReleased #SixpenceNoneTheRicher #SludgeMetal #SpanishMetal #Spiine #Spiritbox #StonerMetal #Supplicium #SymbioticGrowth #TechnicalDeathMetal #Tetraptych #TheArcher #TheEternalSleep #TheSelfRepairManifesto #Thou #ThrashMetal #TimeToKillRecords #TsunamiSea #UKMetal #Unfleshing #Verbian #ViolentReason #VirginBlack #Voivod #Wormphlegm #ZegemaBeachRecords

Jade – Mysteries of a Flowery Dream Review

By Owlswald

Dreams are a gateway into the unconscious, a space where thoughts and emotions flow freely. They reveal what we often conceal, offering a unique and often unsettling insight into our inner worlds. Barcelonian quartet Jade explores this very terrain with their sophomore album Mysteries of a Flowery Dream. Emerging with 2018’s Smoking Mirror EP, Jade forges an atmo-death sound rooted in early death, doom, and black metal, fusing it with the dark and melancholic atmospheres of contemporaries like The Ruins of Beverast and Bølzer. Their 2022 debut, The Pacification of Death, plunged listeners into obscure depths with heavy, bleak, and hypnotic arrangements plastered with charismatic guitar melodies. 2024’s split EP with Sanctuarium, The Sempiternal Wound, followed, adding an aura of the occult to Jade’s nightmarish death/doom/black framework. With Burke’s visceral Ixchel portrayal adorning the cover,1 Jade now navigates the intense and dreamy dialogue between conscious and subconscious states with Mysteries.

Characterized by dark, murky and oscillating arrangements, Jade’s immersive sound reaches new heights on Mysteries. While not overtly technical or flashy, Mysteries’ enhanced atmosphere and sonic depth build upon The Sempiternal Wound, highlighting Jade’s superb songwriting. Oppressive, swirling tremolos and grimy palm-muted drawls meld with deep, thundering rhythms and fiendish growls to saturate lucid and dramatic songs with a sense of desperation. Opposing these haunting manifestations are stretches of defiant melodicism, with charming doom (“Darkness in Movement,” “The Stars’ Shelter”) and power-tinged (“9th Episode”) leads and solos that defuse Mysteries’ prevailing darkness with emotive force. J.’s bellowing and grandiose clean vocal passages—reminiscent of Sulphur Aeon’s M. and Ihsahn—add ephemeral surges of anguish and ethereality that lift one above the shadows. Although Jade’s sound may appear somewhat modest at first blush, Mysteries is a sensory-rich experience that demands patience but is well worth your time and attention.

Jade has precisely composed each of Mysteries’ seven tracks to guide one through their feverish vision. The album’s structure holds together extremely well thanks to excellent songwriting. Jade masterfully employs recurrent themes and soaring guitar leads and solos, seamlessly weaving Mysteries’ forty-three minutes into a unified entity. Swirling occult-like chanting and drum thrashes on “Shores of Otherness” underpin harmonious guitar swells while “Light’s Blood’s” robust and ascendent notes rise amidst spells of high-low tremolos. The classic Pink Floyd-enthused solo on interlude “The Stars’ Shelter (II)” soars above dark reverberated arpeggiations, contributing to Mysteries’ overall unity even as it explores different stylistic territory. Like different images of one mysterious and unsettling dream, Mysteries elicits a keen sense of cohesion. Yet, this doesn’t come at the expense of variation. “9th Episode” displays a galloping, urgent cadence with a meaner, anxiety-ridden edge while “The Stars’ Shelter (II)” offers a crucial moment of respite with its crestfallen touch. Through meticulous construction and contrasting elements, Jade has crafted an album that is cohesive and dynamic in equal measure.

For Jade’s caliber to shine, the album’s production better be on point and thankfully, Mysteries delivers in spades. Sounding vast and dynamic in my headphones, the vivid master illuminates every facet of Jade’s dream-like world. With guitars at its core, the mix carves out ample space for the supporting instrumentation to showcase their worth. As a result, each listen feels as exciting as the next—A testament to Mysteries’ complexity and sophistication. However, this intricacy also presents a challenge for passive listening. Despite its quality, I initially found Mysteries rather mundane and predictable due to the album’s similar traits blurring tracks like “Darkness in Movement” and “A Flowery Dream” together. But much like the gradual awakening from an intense dream, Mysteries’ hidden appeal surfaced once I gave it my undivided attention. From that point, my impressions quickly evolved into appreciation, and I found myself drawn back to Mysteries’ surreal world with regularity.

Demanding a conscious presence, atmo-death fans would be remiss to overlook Mysteries. Though Jade’s sound may seem ordinary at first, the sheer density and weight of Mysteries’ intricate sound takes time and patience to decode. But those who actively immerse themselves in Jade’s expansive world will be handsomely rewarded. The excellent songwriting, replete with its cohesion, balance, and dynamism, is impressive, steadily shifting my initial apathetic impressions to genuine appreciation. So don your finest headphones, sit bac,k and let Jade immerse you in their dreamlike world.

Rating: Very Good!
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Pulverised Records
Websites: emperorjade.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/jadestonemask
Releases Worldwide: May 9, 2025

#2025 #35 #AtmosphericDeathMetal #Bolzer #DeathDoom #DeathMetal #Ihsahn #Jade #May25 #MysteriesOfAFloweryDream #PinkFloyd #PulverisedRecords #Review #Reviews #SpanishMetal #SulphurAeon #TheRuinsOfBeverast

Unbounded Terror – Something Is Rotten in Humanity Review

By Mark Z.

Unlike other major European countries, Spain has never been much of a hotbed for death metal, presumably because they’ve been too busy perfecting their paella (holy shit is that stuff good). That hasn’t stopped Spanish death metal bands from trying to make their mark, however, and possibly the first to make such an attempt was Unbounded Terror. Led by guitarist Vicente Payá, the group initially only managed to release one album, 1992’s Nest of Affliction, before going kaput. Vincente went on to be more prolific with his doom/death band Golgotha before eventually resurrecting Unbounded Terror for 2020’s Faith in Chaos. That album turned out to be a nice little pre-COVID surprise, deviating from Nest of Affliction’s Obituary-gone-atmospheric style in favor of something simpler, catchier, and better produced. The follow-up, 2022’s Echoes of Despair, was another enjoyable release that showed Golgotha’s more melodic tendencies bleeding into the Unbounded Terror formula, an influence that wasn’t entirely surprising given that the two groups also share bassist/vocalist Andrew Spinosa. Now, Vicente has somehow found time between all the fucking projects he’s involved with (including Holycide, Sons of Cult, and a bunch of other stuff I’ve never heard of) to unleash a fourth Unbounded Terror album, Something Is Rotten in Humanity. That title seems more true with each passing day. But what of the music within?

A lot of death metal released today can be readily defined by which old school band it mainly sounds like (usually Incantation, Autopsy, or Entombed/Dismember). In the case of Something Is Rotten, that band is Monstrosity. Like those Floridians, this album offers death metal that almost no fan of the genre would take issue with. The tempos are fast, but not too fast. The vocals are gurgly, but not stupidly so. The production is balanced and polished, but not to the point that it makes things feel sterile. And the riffs? They’re fine, too.

Initially, the approach works. “Fear of Dying” opens the record like a big greasy fist to the face, with meaty chugging riffs that give way to groaning tremolos before a nice melodic lick bursts in partway through. The Monstrosity comparison is especially apt with this track, but even those looking for a more measured version of Cannibal Corpse are likely to find enjoyment here (and elsewhere, for that matter). “Destiny of Evil” quickly mixes things up with blast beats, gyrating tremolos, a winding solo, and even some raspier vocals, while “Demons in Your Mind” works well enough by using a peppy, mid-paced beat to propel a tightly wound, pig-fart verse riff.

Sadly, it soon becomes apparent that “Demons” seems to have served as the template for most of the six tracks that follow. Other than its cleanly picked opening, “Reviving” sounds far too similar to “Demons,” and it took me a couple of listens to realize that the pause between “Reviving” and “Inside Death” was a transition between songs and not a false ending to the former track. Later songs like “Divine Virtue” and “Believing Again” also have a similar feel to “Demons” but are somehow even less compelling, causing the album’s 32-minute runtime to drag more than it should. Ironically, “The Disappointment” is actually one of the strongest cuts in the album’s second half, with a cruising, groovy swagger that its neighboring tracks lack. The instrumental closer “The Evil Cause” is another standout, as its crunchy and confident main riff at least offers something different. As another plus, the solos of lead guitarist Ancor Ramírez (Holycide) are fantastic throughout, with a rich sense of melody and a glorious feel that’s often lacking in death metal leads.

Overall, Something Is Rotten is a perfectly competent death metal record. It falls short, however, by not being anything else. Other than a few good songs and some great guitar solos, everything here is serviceable but not particularly notable, which is especially disappointing given how many standout ideas could be found on the two prior albums. Ultimately, it’s not bad, it’s not great, but at least it offers a nice break from masturbating to the thought of the next COVID variant wiping out me and the eight billion other naked apes that have infested this planet like a black mold. Sometimes, that’s all we can ask for.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: v0 mp3
Label: Xtreem Music | Bandcamp
Websites: unboundedterror.com | facebook.com/unboundedterror
Releases Worldwide: April 1st, 2025

#25 #2025 #Apr25 #CannibalCorpse #DeathMetal #Golgotha #Holycide #Monstrosity #Obituary #Review #Reviews #SomethingIsRottenInHumanity #SpanishMetal #UnboundedTerror #XtreemMusic

Arruinando Nuestra Vida by Hamlet

https://song.link/s/739ECwaRjf4JruQuy43wL1

#spanishmetal #metal #00smetal

Teitanblood – From the Visceral Abyss Review

By Alekhines Gun

Teitanblood is more kvlt than you. I mean, how many other bands can say their logo was sported on artwork for a Darkthrone album? Since slithering out of nothingness in 2003, one full-length after another have solidified their reputation as one of the prominent peddlers of darkness. Are they bestial death metal? Deathened black metal? Melodic war metal? They don’t care, and don’t care what you call them; they are only here to remind you that in the end, only death is real. With an average release gap of five years, they have arrived after an unprecedented six from previous album The Baneful Choir, with nary a split or demo between releases. Such time tenderizing their newest aural offering has not gone to waste, as this album is from abyssal depths indeed.

From the Visceral Abyss offers up a production for which “claustrophobic” doesn’t begin to do it justice. An eldritch paradox of sound, the entirety of the album exists to savage you with razor-sharp riffs which seem to crawl from the ectosplasmic ocean of density and aural obfuscation. The vocals of NSK emerge with reverb-soaked into their pores, transcending “merely” cavernous echoes into wretchedly human tones that fill the air around the listener with menace. The ever-violent drumming of J brings the customary sixteenth-note-styled battering, but also finds pockets to fill during the more ambient, threatening moments of relative calm. “Sepulchral Carrion God” shows this stylistic blending in all its horror, ranging from militant bass drum lashings to creative, engaging cymbal-based beats and on-a-dime time signature shifts. The DR, while not exactly awe-inspiring, allows for the clarity of each instrument to complement and go to war with each other simultaneously, rendering the music a seething, perpetually scathing cauldron of sound.

Teitanblood have stated that their approach to songcraft is to “seek the point where death and black metal are not differenced.” Churning, all-out blasting assaults ebb and flow into crushing riffs and back with indecipherable, mercurial transitions. Guitar leads shift between borderline atonal fret-tapping freneticism (“From the Visceral Abuse”) to almost melodic, weeping melodies (“Strangling Visions”), with passages always ready to collapse into the next hazy attack. Some blasts focus on snare abuse, some in double time fills; still others find drums pairing back for guitarist Javi Bastard to violate the listener with weeping whammy bar abuse before sliding into more devastating runs. What would be a bland, uniform tone of violence in the hands of a lesser band is transformed into its own diverse, engaging creature where speed never gives way to homogenization, and repetition is never confused for power.

Still, even the ethereal realm is subjected to the might of the riff, and From the Visceral Abyss is no exception. The handful of slower moments allows for some rare tidings of moshable might with groove to rock the shadows themselves. “And Darkness was All” is the most Death-centric song, with a main riff worthy of crushing skulls bookending the blast furnace raging to be found within. Slow half-time chugging comes as a welcome reprieve and lets J show off his rhythmic skills. Additionally, the entirety of the album is meant to be heard as one continuous flow, with atmospherics, ambience, and sounds reminiscent of Spektrs Near Death Experience linking one song to the next before ending on a damned choir of an orchestral note. This is not an album for listener comfort, channeling borderline war-metal straightforwardness into atmospheres that exist to give you plenty of time to breathe, but absolutely never to rest.

Teitanblood are the sound of the void staring back into you. A two-tone palette of hazy blasts into a menacing groove should be inherently limited by nature, and yet the abyss continues. Each release explores new pockets of pitch black in the most abandoned of unholy caverns, and From the Visceral Abyss is no exception. This is not an album to consume or enjoy, but to be swallowed up by and surrender to. A singular body of work with riffs for days and horrors for decades, no minute is wasted and no tone gives in to the light. Such a deeply committed portrayal of writhing darkness will be too much for some ears, but those who have drank from the seven chalices will find themselves gleefully at home in this abyss among the baneful choir, with only death for company.

Rating: 4.0/5/0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Norma Evangelium Diaboli
Website: Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: March 28, 2025

#40 #BlackMetal #Darkthrone #DeathMetal #FromTheVisceralAbyss #Mar25 #NormaEvangeliumDiaboli #Review #Reviews #SpanishMetal #Spektr #Teitanblood

I saw #TierraSanta Live yesterday. COOL show and great band. They gave their Best, I appreciate more this band now

#heavymetal #SpanishMetal #bogota #colombia

#nowplaying Arkania - Espíritu Irrompible

https://open.spotify.com/intl-es/album/3zBU5gmmR2r8DF8ybiB0Kw?si=ZeCes2BBTBGEyNKJnXt89A

#HeavyMetal #SpanishMetal #Spain

Kilmara – Journey to the Sun Review

By Killjoy

The 1980s was a decade that is often portrayed with a thick rose-tinted sheen in today’s media. Whether it was a better time during which to live or this idea was born from simple nostalgia I’ll leave to the reader’s discretion. The fact remains that tons of music artists–both inside and outside of the metal sphere–wear their 80s influence as prominently as Indiana Jones wears his signature fedora. Spanish melodic power metal band Kilmara is intent to join their ranks with Journey to the Sun, whose overarching theme centers around video game arcades at the height of popularity. Can they effectively combine the classic with the contemporary or is this a feeble remake? The only way to find out is to insert a few coins and press start.

Kilmara leveled up considerably after selecting yes at their last continue screen. While 2018’s Across the Realm of Time sanded off the unsightly edges of their early heavy/power metal to achieve a cleaner, more polished sound, it ultimately suffered from lackluster songwriting. On the title track of Journey to the Sun, Daniel Ponce sings, “Choose wisely who’s by your side.” Kilmara have taken their own advice to heart, bringing on guitarist/songwriter Carles Salse and drummer Eric Killer to power up the group. Their influence is palpable; this time around the vocals and guitars work in lockstep to sling sticky hooks and choruses, some of which became lodged in my brain after only a few listens. “Alliance of the Free” is my personal favorite, sprinkled with spirited guitar leads and an infectious chorus that elicits triumphant feelings.

Journey to the Sun derives much of its success from transmuting the simple and upbeat melodies common in retro video games to a modern power metal form. In this sense, Kilmara’s game plan is not dissimilar to that of Beast in Black’s science fiction aesthetic run through an 80s filter, the major difference being that Kilmara is very much guitar-centric in the same way as Fellowship or Evershine. There are several guitar leads in particular (“An Even Whole,” “Alliance of the Free,” “Wildfire”) that I can envision looping in the background of an arcade game stage. Synths are present, of course, but used with tasteful restraint. Another example of moderation is Ponce’s vocal delivery. While I wouldn’t call him a powerhouse, he wisely stays within his range in registers lower than one might commonly associate with power metal while still bringing plenty of character and charisma. His voice has a nasally yet gritty pop-punk texture which may not appeal to everyone, but it can ably carry a chorus in a manner that gives the record a definite poppy quality.

The tradeoff of being constrained to relatively simple melodies is that this Journey to the Sun thrusts or stalls according to the level of catchiness from song to song. From this standpoint, the album is front loaded with the strongest material, but everything after “Chances”–a bizarrely decent mashup of a power ballad and good, old-fashioned heavy metal–slowly atrophies in sticking power as the album progresses. To be clear, nothing in the back half is bad or even bland but the hooks aren’t as barbed, particularly in the choruses of “An Even Whole” and “Take Me Back.” The latter features singer Daniel Heiman (Lost Horizon, Sacred Outcry) in the Player 2 slot but probably shouldn’t have been a duet, as Heiman is obliged to uncharacteristically stick to lower pitches to not leave his partner behind. These are, perhaps, nitpicks, but with such a narrow win condition, Kilmara can’t afford much of a drop in their damage per second.

Kilmara shot for the Sun and, while they didn’t entirely stick the landing, I still consider the Journey a success. It’s undeniably derivative and straightforward (like much retro-themed music) but also endearingly earnest. Journey to the Sun is a pleasant, comfortable listen that should appeal to those who like their power metal with an extra helping of melody. Next time, I’d like to see Kilmara apply their songwriting talents to a less cliché concept than 80s nostalgia but, in any case, I look forward to their attempt to beat their personal high score.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Reigning Phoenix Music
Websites: roar-kilmara.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/kilmaraofficial
Releases Worldwide: January 31st, 2025

#2025 #35 #BeastInBlack #Evershine #Fellowship #HeavyMetal #Jan25 #JourneyToTheSun #Kilmara #LostHorizon #PowerMetal #ReigningPhoenixMusic #Review #Reviews #SacredOutcry #SpanishMetal

Onirophagus – Revelations From the Void Review

By Alekhines Gun

2025 has gotten off to a picturesque start. It seems like half my country caught fire, and in the half I dwell in, I woke up to discover my car covered in a pile of icy slush for literally the first time in my life. Such dichotomous, if not ominous, happenings to kick off the review year have me reaching out for appropriate background music, and the fusion of death/doom has answered the call. Hailing from Spain, Onirophagus are one of a legion of bands who were gaining some traction before the Great Tour Cease of the early 20’s. Some lineup shuffling and dedicated writing later, they’ve returned with Revelations From the Void, sporting some fantastic artwork and a soundtrack to kick off the year in a depressive, destructive style.

Much like the multi-eyed creature adorning the cover, Revelations From the Void sounds layered, expansive, and intimidating. The drumming of Uretra sounds fantastic, laced with reverb that gives the crunching riffs an open, arena-rock vastness even as the guitars attempt to crush with extreme prejudice. Guitarists Moregod and Obzen drop weaving, interlacing leads over grooving blows and slow dirges that erupt into pit-combusting speeds (“Landsickness”) without ever sounding forced or awkward in transition. Most songs treat riffing as a one-and-done concept, evolving and unfolding as they progress. As a result, Onirophagus have mastered the art of seamlessly switching between requisite plods and sudden head-shattering blasts without awkward pauses or the crutch of amateurish feedback buildup, ensuring each song possesses strength of character and personality.

Onirophagus aren’t content to merely weave apocalyptic signals of destruction in their sound. The doomier passages allow for very emotive, somber expressions. The spirit of Monolord (particularly their excellent No Comfort) is spread throughout the slower passages, giving moodier and far more human flourishes to what would otherwise be tar-drenched riffs. “Hollow Valley” masterfully weaves mournful melodies under harmonized leads, allowing for peaceful introspection before catching you with a baseball bat from behind to ruin (or improve) your well-being. The fiercer moments unsurprisingly chant the Incantation but sound far more filled with blood and vinegar. Vocalist Paingrinder in particular does a fantastic John McEntee impression, spewing a stomach-gurgling growl and tortured shouts which sound like they crawled from the bottom of ye olde abandoned well.

Revelations From the Void is at its best when it experiments. A few riffs are ridden far too long, particularly in “Black Brew”, which takes a nonsensical amount of time to build up to an unexpected and welcome violin abuse by way of Adaestuo. On the rare occasion Onirophagus do choose to repeat sections, not every obligatory chug-a-thon hits with the same impact, particularly in “Landsickness.” Sporadic flourishes with bells, background choirs, and even excellently placed spoken word pepper the album. Closing track and easy album best “Stargazing into the Void” pulls out all the stops with masterfully paced build, a double violin solo and a vaguely triumphant, uplifting ending, a glimmer of light in an eldritch-laced view of space. Falling into a few genre trappings of prolonged riffing and unequal impact do little to dent the mood presented to us through the album, and this concluding destination is worth the journey.

The year begins in uncertainty and disaster, and as always, metal is here to answer the call. I am pleasantly surprised by the quality found in Revelations From the Void, particularly for a sub-genre that isn’t generally predisposed to experimentation and evolution. An album of much less literary songs of ice and fire, the pairing of dark filth with excellent emotive expression have made for a thematic, artsy beginning to the adventures in store for 2025. Hopefully, Onirophagus continue to spread their artistic wings further and push the limits on what can be done in the death/doom wheelhouse. For now, lovers of the sound should dive in, and if the genre styling tends to leave you cold, give it a chance. You never know what Revelations are waiting for you at the end of the road.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: onirophagus.bandcamp.com/album/revelations-from-the-void-3 | Facebook.com/Onirophagus
Releases Worldwide: January 17th, 2025

#2025 #30 #Adaestuo #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #Incantation #Monolord #Onirophagus #PersonalRecords #RevelationsFromTheVoid #Review #Reviews #SpanishMetal

Nasty one for this week's #GrindayFriday - the new 'Painless Disfigurement' demo from Spain's CAUTERIZED TORSO. Another great grind find this year. Has a lot of riffs and dynamics, really more deathgrind than plain grind. The full cover is fairly weird, disturbing, etc too but it's cropped here on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-89CdH671w).

Unfortunately, this isn't on Bandcamp to buy and it's sold out on the Headsplit store (https://headsplitrecords.storenvy.com). But Headsplit are a metal label to watch, like Iron Fortress. Headsplit put out the new Hemorrhoid AND the new Viscera Infest this year.

#grind #grindcore #metal #CauterizedTorso #Deathgrind #Spain #SpanishMetal #SpanishGrind @vanessawynn @wendigo @HailsandAles

Y esta noche los Ángelus Apátrida en la sala custom de Sevilla 😁🤘

https://songwhip.com/AngelusApatrida/Indoctrinate

https://metalpython.pythonanywhere.com/searchandtoot

#nowplaying #newwaveofthrashmetal #spanishmetal #thrashmetal #AngelusApatrida

First album for today (my #SundayAlbum)

Tierra Santa - Medieval. An epic album from 1997.

https://open.spotify.com/album/4JUzs407a6FO70VXukeaxl?si=bPMAR0zxRSGWLMhSSpWqvQ

#SpanishMetal #HeavyMetal