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  1. Season of Melancholy – In Sleep Review By Kenstrosity

    I’m on a romantic music kick lately, and who can really say why. It’s always been a flavor that I crave deeply in the music I frequent, but so often that craving is left unsatisfied or only partially sated. But Ukrainian goth rock/post punk quintet Season of Melancholy aren’t about to let me go before giving me everything I want, right? Bleeding hearts, sultry melodies, stories of heartbreak and of yearning, and dark atmospheres supported by bouncy tunes have been a part of their sound since inception over a decade ago. With one LP under their belt so far, follow-up In Sleep promises even sharper hooks, bigger choruses, and crunchier tones. Can they make me swoon?

    After a slew of singles to foreshadow the release of In Sleep, a clear focus on accessibility and immediacy sharpens. Bridging the gaps between Mana-era Unto Others, AFI, Dead or Alive, and HIM, Season of Melancholy balance downtuned guitars with bright synths, danceable beats and a sultry baritone that stirs the loins. These are songs that could easily break into the charts but still maintain a dark character, and strategically placed metallic heft helps attract fans of harder music. A few instances of native Ukrainian make an appearance, though I would have loved to hear more as it meshes beautifully with this sound. On the production front, In Sleep is modern—perhaps too polished—and quite loud. That said, it boasts a balanced, bassy mix and isn’t so cluttered with instrumentation that its paltry dynamic range causes too much stress on my ears.

    At a tight 43 minutes, In Sleep gets in and gets out, but not without leaving you breathing heavy from dancing all night long first. High-energy romps “Inmate,” “Keep the Night,” “Т.И.Ч.И.Я.,” “Way Out,” and “Down in Rage” bring metallic tones to the dancefloor, fortified by choruses so sticky in the moment that they might pull your shoes right off your feet. Though this material isn’t chock full of shreddy solos or boisterous riffs, pumping chugs and a clanky bass tone still move mountains as they groove and shove their way in between that buttery smooth baritone. Fun synthy incidentals embellish songs like “Farewell Song,” “Ghost,” and “Born in Lies” to offset their more mid-paced amble and create points of interest in spaces that would otherwise feel sparse and unfinished. And, while some of these songs are already a few years old, In Sleep is remarkably cohesive without feeling too repetitive.

    That said, there is a strange sense of monotony that creeps in after multiple spins. Avoiding the dreaded pit of self-plagiarism by a thin hair, Season of Melancholy’s songwriting carries a consistent ABABCB structure that almost never shifts or shuffles. There’s a lot a band can do even inside that restricted chain to bring high heat to the affair, and any kind of exploration outside of it brings out more flavor, novelty, and excitement—both things that In Sleep lacks to varying degrees. As such, this record slots comfortably alongside releases from the aforementioned comparison points, but takes the safest route to get there. Consequently, most of the material presented here outside of a few of its best moments aren’t going to make it to long-term rotation.

    Still, In Sleep offers good, clean fun to audiences looking for something easily digestible and universally approachable. It’s heavy and chunky enough to earn the favor of metalheads unbothered by accessibility or poppy sensibility, too. However, it’s safe, derivative of many of its peers/influences, and lacks staying power. Were it blessed with more adventurous structures or bolstered by a wide array of hooky riffs or other substantial instrumental spotlights, In Sleep would’ve earned a much higher score. As it is, it’s worth a listen or two and its best songs feel right at home on playlist duty. Whether it goes farther than that depends on the listener, and mileage may vary.

    Rating: Mixed
    DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
    Label: Self Release
    Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
    Releases Worldwide: September 4th, 2026

    #25 #2026 #AFI #DeadOrAlive #GothicMetal #GothicRock #HardRock #HIM #InSleep #postPunk #Review #Reviews #SeasonOfMelancholy #SelfRelease #Sep26 #UkranianMetal #UntoOthers
  2. The Night Eternal – Cold Velvet Review By Steel Druhm

    Do you, like me, ever find yourself missing the sheer metallic perfection of the first few Mercyful Fate albums? Both Melissa and Don’t Break the Oath cast such a brilliantly macabre, occult atmosphere that they surely amplified the already palpable Satanic Panic of the mid-80s. Good things never last, but for a brief time, In Solitude managed to partially fill the dead spot in my heart that longed for more albums like those Fate classics, but all too soon they were gone too. Enter German metal crew The Night Eternal to fill the gap created by In Solitude, if not the yawning chasm left by Mercyful Fate. I discovered them on their 2023 sophomore release Fatale, and was quite impressed. Their sound was like an early, less Satanic Fate strained through a Goth rock filter, and it worked exceptionally well. Now, a few years later, we get the follow-up, Cold Velvet. The basic template is still in place, but this time they’ve gone deeper into the Goth rock doldrums and dulled their heavy metal edge in the process, approximating the Idle Hands / Untoothers material. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for ’em.

    The Night Eternal’s strengths heard on gems like “In Tartus” from Fatale are still present on opener “Where This World Ends,” as frontman Ricardo Baum’s slick merger of King Diamond, To Die For’s Jarno Perätalo, and Amorphis’ Tomi Joutsen pays big dividends. The pure metal quotient of the backing music feels a touch softer than last time, even approaching Ghost-levels of hard and Goth rock, but the song works and hooks you in. As Cold Velvet plays out, the Goth vibe increases. “Eurydice (Don’t Look Back)” is a polished take on 80s Goth rock, and it has legs and memorability that demand replays. This could have sat on Mana by Idle Hands and fit right in if they added a few werewolf-y grunts and howls. “Caught in a Spell” is a very laid-back piece of Goth flair with an easy breezy charm, and after a few spins it cements itself into your nerve clusters. It even has a vague Wytch Hazel vibe that adds extra charisma points.

    The best moments come when The Night Eternal put their foot on the accelerator and dial up the metal. “The Veins of Time” is a throwback to Fatale, hitting the sweet spot between metal and Goth. It’s a bit more urgent and edgy without forsaking the sadboi glumness, and there’s a Sisters of Mercy vibe under the surface. My personal favorite track is “Shape of Sorrow” as it’s the most jacked-up version of the band’s current formula. It’s hardly a face-melter, but it offers more intensity and less moping and feels considerably heavier than the rest of Cold Velvet. Unfortunately, a few tracks, while good, just don’t sizzle enough to excite the grey matter, and when teamed up with the album’s languid vibe, they drag the excitement factor down a few notches. “When the Last Candle Dies” is like a lost modern Ghost track, and it’s okay but not much more, and closer, “Dance on Crimson Ground,” is the longest here at 7 minutes, but it isn’t all that interesting. At 42-plus minutes, Cold Velvet isn’t a challenging listen, but it isn’t the most exciting one either. The Goth influences result in a muted, sometimes drab expanse, and though the writing overcomes the limited color scheme at times, the album merely glides but never soars.

    As with past outings, Ricardo Baum is the star of The Night Show. He’s got a big vocal presence that’s hard to resist, and he’s the kind of frontman that elevates everything a band does. He can sound like a youthful King Diamond, but this time he seems much more determined to turn himself into the prototype for an 80s Goth rock hero. He regularly delivers slick vocal hooks and phrasing that add a cool factor to everything the band does. There’s an argument to be made that the music behind Baum is more anodyne than last time. Robert Richter and Heinrich Käseberg can be a potent guitar tandem as they demonstrated on the prior albums, injecting classic metal and NWoBHM influences into their playing. Here, however, they dial things back to more Goth-appropriate levels, sacrificing power for poise. That makes for a less dynamic listen with fewer big, brain-shaking metal moments. Talent abounds, but the material feels overly restrained and held in check, and that’s unfortunate.

    The Night Eternal are a very good band capable of delivering solid music that spans several genres. On Cold Velvet, they deliver some high-quality moments, but these highs aren’t as lofty as last time, and they get tangled in a series of less animated moments that sink the album into a Gothy bog. Cold Velvet is plenty classy, but it isn’t bashy enough for its own good. This gives me the sadz in the wrong way. Still worth a listen.

    Rating: 3.0/5.0
    DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
    Label: Metal Blade
    Websites: thenighteternal.bandcamp.com | thenighteternal.com | instagram.com/thenighteternal_official
    Releases Worldwide: August 21st, 2026

    #2026 #30 #Aug26 #ColdVelvet #Fatale #GermanMetal #Ghost #HeavyMetal #InSolitude #MercyfulFate #MetalBladeRecords #Review #Reviews #TheNightEternal #UntoOthers
  3. Lorn – Searing Blood Review By Spicie Forrest

    Nearly a decade has passed since Italian black metal project Lorn last graced these halls. Arrayed Claws greatly impressed the sage Eldritch Elitist back in 2017, who praised its “caustic edge and sheer strangeness.” The man behind the project, Radok, seems to have been relatively quiet in the last nine years, but I don’t think he was idle. In the intervening years, I think Radok has been watching and listening, and he’s found the present lacking. In an endless ocean of new content, Radok sees naught but an arid desert, devoid of depth. On Lorn’s fourth full-length, Searing Blood, Radok promises to reject modernity’s vapid content singularity and conceptually return to black metal’s roots. Is Searing Blood an oasis in the desert, or is it just a mirage?

    Those returning to Lorn will immediately notice some differences between Arrayed Claws and Searing Blood. First and foremost, Radok’s newest effort actually has a low end. Where Arrayed Claws was almost grating in its shrill and disquieting tone, Searing Blood rumbles and shakes the ground upon which it stands. This makes for a more physically enjoyable experience, avoiding the listener fatigue that threatened Arrayed Claws. Fans will also clock the shift from fairly distilled black metal toward the atmospheric variety. Radok’s 8-string guitar is still a deeply unsettling force to reckon with (“Haderburg”), but there’s an unexpected tenderness to Searing Blood. While it’s not uncommon for atmoblack bands to focus on the majesty of nature, Radok approaches it through a lens of disillusionment with contemporary life, weaving a sense of loss, betrayal, and impotent outrage into Searing Blood.

    Change isn’t always a good thing, but it is on Searing Blood. While Lorn does pay homage to the past with brilliantly discordant melodicism (“Searing Blood,” “Leuchtenburg”), an increased prevalence of synths and the introduction of new elements well-suited to atmospheric spaces allow Lorn greater breadth of expression. “Leuchtenburg” channels Panopticon with metal-stringed chords that hint at a synth-backed, acoustic interlude. Draped in the gothic tones of Unto Others, picked leads on “Gallows” float in and out, evoking a beautiful sense of tension and anxiety. Airy, choral synths and ringing melodies bestow instrumental “Ordo Draconis” with a magical, otherworldly quality. Through it all, Searing Blood’s heart of aching tremolos and agonizing screams adeptly evokes the Romantic’s view of Modernity, an indictment of what is and a yearning for what was.

    Lorn’s exploration of a new form isn’t without its stumbles, though. The acoustic interlude in “Leuchtenburg” is a little long, and the synths can distract from the strings. At over nine minutes, “Gallows” similarly sags under its own weight, and “Ordo Draconis” features a jarring transition that only leads to a mismatched back half. Sample usage is a bit heavy-handed,1 and Searing Blood wouldn’t suffer for their omission. Lorn also relies heavily on certain compositional decisions, robbing them of their impact. Short lulls that explode into a furious bridge appear far more often than they should, even multiple times in a single track (“Gallows,” “Threshold’s Tragedy”). And while I appreciate a good fade out, ending every song that way grows stale quickly.

    Searing Blood isn’t what I expected. I had prepared to be unsettled and challenged, but I was instead guided through a poignant and emotive journey. Both novel and familiar, Searing Blood presents a surprisingly singular vision. Rather than simply refining Lorn’s particular flavor of dissonant black metal, Radok tills new soil with well-worn tools. Lorn’s new direction is compelling, missteps aren’t fatal, and there’s ample room for Radok to both improve and continue exploring this space. A tighter and more varied composition would aid any future efforts. Searing Blood won’t necessarily drop any jaws, but for those on the fence, it should convince you to keep an eye on Lorn.

    Rating: 3.0/5.0
    DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps
    Label: I, Voidhanger Records
    Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
    Releases Worldwide: May 15th, 2026

    #2026 #30 #AtmosphericBlackMetal #BlackMetal #IVoidhangerRecords #ItalianMetal #Lorn #May26 #Panopticon #Review #Reviews #SearingBlood #UntoOthers
  4. Spell – Wretched Heart Review By Steel Druhm

    There’s a certain kind of music that sits at the crossroads of 70s rock, Goth, and classic heavy metal. Where once I would have dubbed it retro or throwback metal, since 2010, it’s been easier to tag it Ghost-core for obvious reasons. Canada’s Spell fall into that rotpit, with a sound that has come close to what that Swedish supernatural entity did on their early albums. I liked 2020s Opulent Decay, but felt it was missing a certain x-factor needed to take it to the next level of stickiness. For whatever reason, I slept on their 2022 release Tragic Magic, but I’m here for 5th full-length Wretched Heart. Mostly because the lead single “Lilac” has been stuck deep in my brainpan for the last 2 months, compelling me to grab the promo and get reacquainted with these occult-loving Canucks. Their style still floats between 70s rock and Goth metal, with hooks at a premium, and when they nail their template, you get super-catchy chestnuts of pure rock glory. So, how much nailing can you expect from Wretched Heart?

    More than I expected, actually. Since the last time I spent time with Spell, they’ve become much more consistent songsmiths, and over the course of Wretched Heart, you get a fun, hard-charging collection of tunes with enough raw charm to make you believe in magic. Of course, there’s “Lilac” which punches way above its weight with an irrestible blend of Ghost and Unto Others. It’s easily my favorite song so far in 2026, and I’ve been walking around singing the flower-powered chorus constantly, much to the chagrin of Madam X, who thinks I’m turning into a morbid florist. Play this song twice, and it will move into your brain and raise 3 generations of earworms. “Take My Life” is another entertainer with an interestingly weird blend of Goth, hard rock, and edgy emo. The chorus sticks on first exposure, and Cam Mayhem’s vocals at chorus-time pack just the right amount of emo angst to sell things. “Unquiet Graves” is a winning little gem, loaded with an intriguing blend of Goth and punk that checks all the right boxes. You’re treated to a winning chorus again, and the mood recalls the best of early Ghost.

    Elsewhere, you’re introduced to “Oubliette,” which carries a strong Dawnbringer vibe and sounds like Chris Black dropped by to do guest vocals. It dials up the darkness and heaviness and really zaps the mind. Another highlight is “Exquisite Corpse.” It’s like Idle Hands / Unto Others had a love child with H.I.M., and that shouldn’t be a good thing, but fuck it all, this song is awesome. The chorus is G-money, and though I suspect it’s about necrophilia, I don’t even care and won’t stop spinning it and singing it in public. No song on Wretched Heart is filler, though opener “Dark Inertia” doesn’t put the band’s best foot forward, and the short, funeral home-appropriate interlude “In Duress” seems tacked on for no good reason. Other than that, it’s an elevator ride to the penthouse with one killer cut after another. At a trim, tidy 41 minutes and with most songs in the 4-minute window, this is an easy-breezy spin, and the good songs are made even better because Spell never step on their own meat by dragging things out needlessly.

    I was on the fence with Cam Mayhem’s vocals when last I reviewed them, but I’m sold now. He’s like a cross between Papa Emeritus I-V, Chris Black, and Gabriel Franco (Untoothers). His offbeat delivery suits the songs and provides an identity to what Spell are doing. Everyone in the band is credited with guitar work, and the guitars are a huge part of the Spell experience. They run through 70s prog, hard rock, Goth, and metal, borrowing acorns from each genre and assembling sounds to suit moods adroitly. Some of the stuff here is surprisingly dark and heavy without losing the rocked-out vibe, and that’s a nifty feat. There’s even a healthy bass presence that adds some oomph to the sound. The big ticket is the improved songcraft, which is, at times, nigh impossible to resist.

    Wretched Heart is a sizeable step up from what I heard back on Opulent Decay, and it seems Spell have come into their own. With Ghost gone to mainstream success and sleepy radio rock antics and Unto Others dropping the tooth jar last time, Spell are here to fill the gaps in your metal listening needs. If you want semi-dark music loaded with earworms and a cheery, tongue-in-cheek vibe, and you can look past that dayglow abortion of a band photo,1 plant this in your topsoil. Pairs well with summer gardening and corpse defiling.

    Rating: 3.5/5.0
    DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
    Label: Bad Omen
    Websites: spellofficial.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/spellspell | instagram.com/spellofficial
    Releases Worldwide: May 1st, 2026

    #2026 #35 #BadOmenRecords #CanadianMetal #Ghost #GothicRock #HardRock #HeavyMetal #May26 #Review #Reviews #Spell #UntoOthers #WretchedHeart
  5. Hoaxed – Death Knocks Review By Maddog

    Death Knocks isn’t the most extreme album out there, but it straddles the metal boundary more than enough to earn a spot here. While I hadn’t heard of Hoaxed before, their new release caught my eye through its album art and its impressive lead single, “Where the Seas Fall Silent.” This three-piece from Portland plays metal-edged occult rock that aims for an eerie atmosphere as much as for melodic gems. Simple and concise, Death Knocks isn’t revolutionary, but it’s a worthwhile half-hour coven excursion.

    Hoaxed plays a familiar brand of bass-heavy, mid-paced doomy rock. In contrast with much of the genre, Hoaxed’s guitars might be the most understated part of their sound. Alternating between more aggressive riffs that recall Sumerlands and sparser melodies, Kat Keo’s guitar work is simple but tinged with evil. New bassist April Dimmick (Soul Grinder) brings her thrash experience to bear with aggressive thumping bass lines that often steal the show. Keo also handles lead clean vocals, while Dimmick alternates between clean harmonizing and harsh growls. These vocal melodies serve as a backbone, offering straightforward but engaging hooks to hold songs together. Rounded out by occasional synth backing, Death Knocks’ style of Gothic rock reminds me of Avatarium or a slowed-down Unto Others. It’s not an unheard-of style, but it’s one that works.

    Death Knocks by Hoaxed

    Death Knocks revels in its simplicity. Keo and Dimmick’s vocal work shines through its power rather than any technical gymnastics. The catchy melodies grab my attention throughout, even when other pieces falter; for instance, the rising and falling vocals of “Kill Switch” single-handedly redeem a track that struggles otherwise. Keo’s serene vocal approach sometimes reminds me of Myrkur’s folkier work (“The Fallen”). Similarly, Dimmick’s vocal harmonies aren’t earth-shattering, but they add a layer of depth throughout the album. Meanwhile, her bass riffs don’t hesitate to take center stage, adding oomph and variety (“Wretched”). But the real star of this show might be the drums. Kim Coffel’s tom-heavy and hi-hat-heavy kit attack displays a mastery of groove and creativity without feigning a technical clinic. The drums evolve constantly both within verses and between them, adding fluidity even in melodically simple moments (“Dead Ringer”). Coupled with a rich sound, Death Knocks’ drums are the most memorable part of the album, which I rarely ever say.

    Straightforward songs are Hoaxed’s strength, but they can get old. Death Knocks’ song structures are cookie-cutter, with verses and choruses interspersed with instrumental interludes. While this poppy approach can work fine, it quickly loses me when the underlying melodies aren’t bulletproof (“Promised to Me”). Similarly, Hoaxed struggles to have creative outros even on their stronger tracks (“The Fallen”), making it seem like they came up with great ideas but weren’t sure how to stitch them together. Keo’s guitar melodies stand out on the opener “Where the Seas Fall Silent” and the fantastic “The Family,” but in the middle of the album, they tend to lose my interest through repetition. Death Knocks is consistently competent, but would benefit from more variety in its songwriting.

    It’d be tough to argue that Death Knocks rewrites the book on anything. But with catchy vocal harmonies, engaging guitar and bass lines, and a stand-out drum performance, it’s a worthy addition to your collection. Death Knocks is also a triumph of conciseness; if this album had been 50 minutes long rather than 31, the bloat would have made it more of a chore to get through. As it stands, while Hoaxed has room to grow in their musical diversity, Death Knocks is a perfectly entertaining and ghoulish listen.

    Rating: 3.0/5.0
    DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: Stream
    Label: Relapse Records
    Websites: hoaxed.bandcamp.com | hoaxedband.com | facebook.com/hoaxedband
    Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

    #2026 #30 #AmericanMetal #Avatarium #DeathKnocks #DoomRock #Feb26 #HardRock #HeavyMetal #HeavyRock #Hoaxed #Myrkur #OccultRock #RelapseRecords #Review #Reviews #Sumerlands #UntoOthers
  6. Ooh look what turned up at The Ken Den. It's only the rather excellent Never, Neverland album by Unto Others on the compact disc medium. I bought it and so should YOU! 🤘😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

    #untoothers #gothmetal #thekenden

  7. Soulfly – Chama Review

    By Grin Reaper

    Max Cavalera casts one hell of a shadow in metal, with a wide swath of bands he’s either founded or played alongside. Though Cavalera’s mightiest legacy will be his time with Sepultura, he’s been with Soulfly over twice as long. In that time, Max and company have written and recorded thirteen albums. On latest offering Chama,1 the elder Cavalera relinquished producing credits and creative focus to his son and Soulfly’s drummer, Zyon, providing an opportunity for a fresh direction. Chama’s loose concept centers around a boy surviving in Brazil’s favelas.2 In the wake of his environment’s pandemonium, the boy ignites a spark for something greater, leading him into the Amazonian wilderness to kindle his inner spirit amongst the native tribes. Getting back to one’s roots is a theme explored throughout Max’s career, and one that has informed the band’s sound since the beginning. Does Chama find Soulfly going back to the primitive, or just going through the motions?

    With Zyon at the artistic helm, Chama filters Soulfly’s signature sound through a darker lens and enlists a slew of support. Chama feels like a natural progression from 2022’s Totem, which embraced a more calloused aesthetic after guitarist Marc Rizzo’s departure. Where Ritual’s thrashy tendencies welded melody with indigenous flair, Totem pitched Soulfly’s sound into darker territory. Chama continues this descent, adding industrial heft that imbues extra grit into the record’s grim sound (“Ghenna,” “Black Hole Scum”). This suits the narrative’s backdrop as ‘the boy’ escapes from the overpopulated slums of a developing nation. And speaking of overcrowding, Soulfly puts out the call to arms to help Chama arise (again). The album features Fear Factory’s Dino Cazares (“No Pain = No Power”), Nails’s Todd Jones (“Nihilist”), Arch Enemy’s Michael Amott (“Ghenna”), and vocal appearances from No Warning’s Ben Cook and Unto Others’s Gabe Franco.3 Throughout the album, Igor Amadeus Cavalera handles low-end duty while Mike DeLeon (Flesh Hoarder, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals) picks and wails on guitar.

    Rather than dulling Soulfly’s bite, age has only honed the veteran act’s edge and intensity. The last ten years have seen the band shift away from sprawling structures, preferring ten (mostly) focused tracks in under forty-five minutes. Chama ups the ante, clocking in at only thirty-three. First proper song “Storm the Gates” launches with Max in fighting form, roaring with as much vitriol as ever while he commands us to, “Fight the power, fight the greed.’ “Ghenna” and “Favela/Dystopia” further evidence Max’s conviction, tightly channeling his righteous indignation. “Favela/Dystopia” and “Black Hole Scum,” meanwhile, conjure Ministry’s mid-90s atmosphere, evoking Filth Pig’s sludgy swamp stomp between intermittent bursts of drums ‘n’ chugs. Zyon finds moments to abuse his kit with satisfying zeal, where “Storm the Gates” and “Ghenna” highlight his performance, and Igor Amadeus’s bass asserts a self-possessed and audible sweet spot in the mix.

    With so much going right on Chama, it’s a shame there isn’t more of it. This is the first time that I can accuse Soulfly of not supplying enough material, though a solid thirty-three minutes could have been enough. However, with two-minute intro “Indigenous Inquisition,” four-minute instrumental “Soulfly XIII,” the unnecessarily long intro to “Always Was, Always Will Be…” and the outro in the last half of “Chama,” we’re left with about twenty-five minutes of proper meat over this flame. That’s not quite enough to sate the requirements of a full-length,4 and the remaining songs don’t afford enough variety or substance to stand on their own. In isolation, individual songs get in, jumpdafuckup, and get out, but altogether, Chama feels light by a song or two.

    Chama attests that Soulfly has gas in the tank and a destination in mind, and Cavaleras & Co. prove they can still pen a rousing anthem and bring it. While I can’t say this about every Soulfly album, Chama feels vital and important to the band, and that authenticity seeps into the sludge and the fury. The filler-to-killer ratio holds Chama back, but it’s a worthwhile listen for anyone curious what Max is up to these days or with half an hour to pass. Those familiar with Soulfly won’t be surprised at what they hear, but I wager many will appreciate how the band has distilled Chama into a controlled burn.

    Rating: Good
    DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
    Label: Nuclear Blast Records
    Websites: Official Website | Facebook
    Releases Worldwide: October 24th, 2025

    #2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #ArchEnemy #BrazilianMetal #Chama #DeathMetal #FearFactory #FleshHoarder #GrooveMetal #HeavyMetal #Ministry #Nails #NoWarning #NuclearBlast #NuclearBlastRecords #Oct25 #PhilipHAnselmoAndTheIllegals #Review #Reviews #Sepultura #Soulfly #ThrashMetal #UntoOthers

  8. #NowPlaying the recent EP "I believe in Halloween II" by the band #UntoOthers from the #USA

    #HeavyMetal #GothicRock #AlbumsOf2025

    Personal Rating: 5 / 10

    Recommended Tracks: "They come from Space", "Robots"

  9. Unto Others Return With Spooky EP “I Believe In Halloween II”; Share New Track “What I Did…”

    Photo by Artur Tarczewski.

    Portland goth-metal favorites Unto Others return with I Believe in Halloween II, out October 17 via Lone Fir Records (USA) and Eisenwald (EU). The EP delivers three chilling originals plus haunting covers of The Misfits’ “Halloween” and Ramones’ “Pet Sematary.” Brooding, cinematic, and darkly playful, I Believe in Halloween II reaffirms Unto Others’ mastery of merging horror-punk aesthetics with melodic heavy metal grandeur—just in time for the spooky season.

    https://open.spotify.com/track/1E1KvLQu6uyBYNOPauQRcs?si=db8710f31daa43cb

    #GOTHROCK #METAL #MUSIC #NEWS #POSTPUNK #UNTOOTHERS

  10. Morgen will ich mal wieder in's #NewForce nach #Erlangen. Die Forcler haben einen Abend unter dem Motto „Screams from the Underground" quasi genau für mich vorbereitet. Als Musikwunschliste kann ich dann einfach meine Kutte hinter die DJ-Theke reichen 😁 — freu' mich drauf!

    > „Wir widmen uns den Abend über jüngeren Vertretern des traditionellen Metal, d.h. wir spielen aus aus den Bereichen New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, US Metal und Epic Doom der letzten Jahre.
    Freut euch auf #Enforcer, #AtlanteanKodex, #UntoOthers, #Visigoth aber auch @mechanictyrants, #RiotCity, #NightDemon & Konsorten!“

  11. Unto Others hitting England and Wales this June

    Portland, Oregon's Unto Others have shared details of their upcoming UK and EU run, including six headline dates and two supporting King Diamond and Paradise Lost throughout the UK. Taking them through Nottingham, Southampton, Norwich, Swansea, Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester, and culminating at London's historic R

    moshville.co.uk/news/tours/202

    #ToursLiveDates #UntoOthers

  12. Stress Test – Stress Test Review

    By Dolphin Whisperer

    Just as much as any genre that’s been around for 40-plus years, hardcore is not a monolith, not by a long stretch. As an unleashing of rough-and-tumble punk energy with an extra flash of sharpness and swagger, its permutations can run the gamut of high-tempo riffage, ragged vocal attitude, and instrumental histrionics, all while wearing the speed-loaded label. With a classic thrash attack and a dash of grind spirit, Stress Test wears the genre like a tattered and patched denim vest befitted with snappy pull-off runs, d-beat anthemics, and short bursts fit for a moshing audience. No one needs to reinvent the urge to start up the pit to have a good time.

    Featuring the rhythm section of Unto Others, with Brandon Hill assuming guitar and vocals instead of bass for Stress Test, Stress Test lands with a polish and focus not typical of acts whose songs frequent the sub-two minute range. Though that energy presents in some of the harder-hitting cuts that Unto Others has to offer, Stress Test shares little but members in the kind of drive that this debut holds. Hill and co.’s understanding of the studio helps Stress Test find smart and punchy pockets for deep bass propulsions (“Coward,” “Bastard Behavior,” “Stress Test”), which go a long way in adding color to the snarl and shifty riffcraft that perpetuates its eighteen-minute run. And with colors that range from the early 90s death/grind of Napalm Death to the meatheaded aggro-crossover of Terror, Stress Test uses their experience to travel familiar paths with a skanking stride that sounds urgent.

    Even though time-tested riffs and a cadence rooted in thrash history defines the simple appeal of Stress Test, its tracks flow with healthy variation to maintain a momentum that remains unbreakable and memorable. Embracing the smooth and sliding Exodus stomp with the brevity of Municipal Waste party bangers spells, on its own, an easy-to-enjoy, never-ending circle of punky abandon (“Coward,” “Bastard Behavior”). But that p-word attitude, alongside the other important p’s of pummel and political edge, also serves as its hissing core, fueling snarky sample punches (“Degrees of Violence,” “It Isn’t Real,” “God Sucks”) and unrelenting layered vocal assaults—a barking fervor and accompanying caveman-frenzied bellow—color the bouncing intensity as Stress Test progresses. Nothing that Stress Test rips from the sweat and beer-stained pages of thrash reads as new, but its in-and-out groove remains difficult to deny.

    The choice to keep Stress Test svelte hinders how high it can fly, though. Stress Test knows their way around a whiplash tune and quick guitar hero cut-in to let accelerating tempos breathe (“Degrees of Violence,” “It Isn’t Real,” “Gullible”). And while these bite-size ragers take up a small percentage of runtime in this already low-commitment affair, they also make for the most interesting guitar parts that Stress Test can muster. Of course, it would be hard to call longer cuts like mid-album “Suffer” and “Bastard Behavior” slouching, as their vocal bite and rhythmic overload ensure swinging arms and cracking necks from start to finish. However, in their self-similar nature, along with “Stress Test,” they allow fewer avenues for Stress Test to leave a stronger identifying mark.

    Yet, as a feisty debut, Stress Test makes for a powerful, practiced statement. It doesn’t take a virtuoso to make music that is fast, loud, and angry. But, as Stress Test shows, steady (enough) hands and an ear looking for the right accents and accelerations will find a grace in wild tempos that mimics the fury of an untethered mind. With a varied pool of legacy influences, these Portland-based punks hold the potential to develop their low-frills sound in just about any way that they choose. And though Stress Test lacks in extreme choices that could hoist this fledgling act to a loftier status, Stress Test has taken aim at becoming a primary form of relief for those in need of boiled-over thrash madness.

    Rating: 3.0/5.0
    DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
    Label: Transylvanian Recordings
    Websites: stresstest.us | stresstestpdx.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/stresstestpdx
    Releases Worldwide: February 28th, 2025

    #2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #CrossoverThrash #CrustPunk #Exodus #Feb25 #Hardcore #MunicipalWaste #NapalmDeath #Review #Reviews #StressTest #Terror #TransylvanianRecordings #UntoOthers

  13. Could you use some chest-kicking crossover thrash from right here in Portland? This new joint from Brandon Hill of #UntoOthers (!) is EXACTLY what you need right now, trust me. 🖤 #StressTest #metalsky stresstestpdx.bandcamp.com/album/bastar...

    BASTARD BEHAVIOR, by STRESS TE...

  14. Gig Review: Satan’s Satyrs / Unto Others / Green Lung – The Garage, Glasgow (20th February 2025)

    On a crisp evening in Glasgow, the air was thick with anticipation as fans gathered for the much-awaited Heathen Neverland show, featuring the formidable acts of Unto Others and Green Lung. The

    moshville.co.uk/reviews/gig-re

    #GigReviews #GreenLung #SatansSatyrs #UntoOthers

  15. Hamburg, 14.02.2025 – Die Stoner Rocker GREEN LUNG aus London haben sich die Gothic Rocker UNTO OTHERS als Co-Headliner und SATAN’S SATYRS als Support mit eingepackt für ihre „Heathen Netherland“-Tour 2025. Perfekt also, um eine okkulte Séance zu veranstalten, deren Hamburg-Edition wir beiwohnen durften ... #greenlung #untoothers #gruenspan

    burnyourears.de/live/54456-gre

  16. Ein Kumpel hat mir Pøltergeist empfohlen, deren Debüt „Nachtmusik“ - und wer Unto Others oder The Cure mag, sollte mit dem Post-Punk-Goth-Rock der Kanadier hier ebenfalls ein wenig anfangen können. Gloomy Retro-Rock in Schwarz … #Poltergeist #UntoOthers #TheCure

  17. Alright folks, let's do this, it is:

    ✨ #TomsAOTY2024 TIME! ✨

    Starting at number 10:

    🔟 Unto Others - Never, Neverland 👏

    Unto Others made my #AOTY2024 list very late and if it wouldn't have been for @SimoRavens19 who unintentionally reminded me of its existance, this one would have slipped my attention.

    But it didn't. Like everything #UntoOthers formerly known as Idle Hands do, it is catchy AF.

    The album is full of Sisters of Mercy, The Smiths, Paradise Lost and The Cure references, and, believe it or not, has some killer Slayer style riffs on it. Despite all the references, they are original and never copycats.

    album.link/at/i/1755593688

    1/n

    #AOTY

  18. Unto Others, they really know how to riff! 🤘

    Thanks go out to @SimoRavens19 for putting them into my timeline! I already forgot that they released an album this year.

    🎵 Fame by #UntoOthers
    💿 Never, Neverland, 2024
    ▶️ song.link/y/WYNdhG3eSEU

    #TomsMusic #NowPlaying

  19. Legendarium – For Eternal Glory Review

    By Eldritch Elitist

    Powerdeath. That’s the genre tag attached to Legendarium’s fifth album For Eternal Glory, and one I’d almost certainly roll my eyes at, had I not been following this curious project since its debut LP. Through arcane magics of ancient origin1, I became aware of Legendarium, the brainchild of singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Laurence Kerbov and drummer Stefano Vaccari, in its earliest stages as a charmingly amateurish blend of traditional metal and classic punk. 2022’s Death’s Hand in Yours changed their status quo, not only by amping up their power metal side and introducing death metal elements to the mix, but also by being the first Legendarium record to be legitimately good. For Eternal Glory is their logical next step. Like its predecessor, For Eternal Glory sounds like nothing else in metal. Unlike its predecessor, however, it transcends novelty status.

    At its core, Legendarium’s heart is rooted in trad / trve metal, their straightforward rhythms and legato guitar lines rooted in grounded grandiosity. You wouldn’t know it from the introductory riff of opener “A Thousand Swords” though, which claims a tremolo-happy middle ground between Ensiferum and Dissection. This track makes immediate sense of the “powerdeath” tag, one which I find sells the Legendarium experience short. For Eternal Glory is showered with shimmering keys yanked from the 90’s symphonic black metal playbook, and while the occasional blackened vibe rears its head (“Nightfall in the Deep Woods”), the keys more frequently compliment tracks that remind of Manilla Road (“Crypt Crusher”) or Viking-era Bathory (“Tomorrow We Die”). I could namedrop bands all day, but what ultimately matters is Legendarium’s miraculous cohesion. No aspect of For Eternal Glory sounds forced or out of place; everything gels, a unified vision that delights in exploring the connecting threads of countless styles of metal.

    A record like For Eternal Glory only works if it manages to be more than the sum of its parts. While that certainly holds true, it inevitably feels something like a jack of all trades, master of none. The experience as a whole is engrossing and addictively catchy, but its steadfast baseline of quality means that there are no surprising standouts. The closest this record comes to throwing a wild curveball comes from the Unto Others-esque goth-pop-metal jam “My Life in Your Hands;” refreshing, but not exactly thrilling. While For Eternal Glory is far and away the superior Legendarium album to Death’s Hand in Yours, I miss the latter record’s big rhythmic and stylistic swings, resulting in odd, delightful surprises, even if they didn’t always work. It’s difficult to justify complaining about the lack of strong highlights, however, on a record with no identifiable weak links. On For Eternal Glory, consistency is king. It’s just missing a certain je ne sais quoi that would elevate it to the same tier as Legendarium’s most prestigious peers.

    While my compositional nitpicks are nothing that should turn off prospective Legendarium fans, For Eternal Glory’s vocals may prove divisive. Kerbov’s harsh vocals manifest as shouty death growls, and while I love their distinctly unhinged timbre, his clean singing requires some acclimation. Kerbov’s confidence and control over his clean vocals have improved exponentially with each subsequent Legendarium release, but while his singing is a great fit for the slower, mournful “Tomorrow We Die,” his delivery on the record’s more intense cuts lack the power to be fully compelling. That being said, I find his performances on the whole to be more charming than detrimental, and really, this show is all about his string work. For Eternal Glory is one of those records where there is almost always something interesting happening with the guitars. Massive, effortlessly catchy lead riffs soar above just about every measure of this record, resulting in every single song being stuck in my head at some point during my review process.

    For all of Legendarium’s genre-splicing inspirations, For Eternal Glory sometimes feels like an elevated jam session between Kerbov and Vaccari, and I absolutely mean that as a compliment. This record’s rhythmic simplicity forms the ideal platform for Legendarium’s exploratory nature to blossom. While I’d like to hear them further push the boundaries of their aesthetic, I’m also deeply impressed at how they have boiled down so many genres and influences into a formula that can only be described as the Legendarium sound. This is the first Legendarium record that I can easily recommend to basically any appreciator of traditional and melodic metal, and one which I anticipate being the ideal foundation upon which to further refine and propel their sound. And just in case the spectacular album cover did not make it immediately clear: Yes, you should buy this.

    Rating: 3.5/5.0
    DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: WAV
    Label: Fiadh Productions
    Websites: legendarium.bandcamp.com | ampwall.com/a/legendarium | facebook.com/people/Legendarium/61559083652568
    Releases Worldwide: November 8th, 2024

    #2024 #35 #Bathory #Dissection #Ensiferum #FiadhProductions #ForEternalGlory #InternationalMetal #Legendarium #ManillaRoad #MelodicDeathMetal #Nov24 #PowerMetal #Review #Reviews #TraditionalMetal #UntoOthers

  20. Tribulation – Sub Rosa in Æternum Review

    By GardensTale

    Tribulation has battled its share of tribulations. After an interesting decade of gradually shifting from death metal to goth metal with growls with a new drummer every couple of years, the band lost one of their primary songwriters with the departure of flamboyant guitarist Jonathan Hultén. The last album to include him, Where the Gloom Becomes Sound, was not bad, but certainly more messy and unpolished than its predecessors, and it was the first to largely halt the band’s evolution. Sub Rosa in Æternum sees the reintroduction of Joseph Tholl on guitars, who originally helped found Hazard, the thrash metal band that would become Tribulation. How has the shake-up affected the music, though?

    In the face of all these changes, Tribulation has resumed its long transformation. The death metal to goth metal slider has been yanked almost entirely to the latter end with the introduction of Sisters of Mercy-style clean vocals. All brooding bass and sonorous aching, vocalist Andersson chews the scenery with appropriate abandon and does well with his newfound laryngeal freedom. Yet I am grateful he hasn’t dropped his trademark expressive growls, but instead transitions between both styles with a practiced ease. The ratio varies from all harsh (“Time & the Vivid Ore”), all clean (“Reaping Song”) to a split down the middle (“Saturn Coming Down”) and everything in between.

    The instrumentation and compositional style have made a similar shift into dichotomy. On the one hand, the more metal side of the band remains firm, with inventive hooks and multi-part melodies rendered in just enough distortion to remind that this was a full-blown death metal band once upon a time. On the other hand, an injection of goth rock introduces synths like neon-lit noir streets slick with rain. While it seems obvious to use harsh vocals on the former and clean vocals on the latter, Tribulation’s ability to play against expectations make for an amount of variation and dynamism that makes the record positively fly by. “Drink the Love of God” is a quick but effective ditty that recalls Unto Others’ “Give Me to the Night.” “Tainted Skies” has an infectious chorus and I adore the excellent hold-and-charge patterns throughout “Time & the Vivid Ore.” But some of the best tracks of Sub Rosa in Æternum are the furthest from the band’s bed. “Murder in Red” is gleefully grisly in theme but its Ulver-adjacent darkwave is smooth as butter. But “Reaping Song” takes the goosebump-inducing prize with a stunning and emotional gothic tale carrying shades of Nick Cave and Dead Can Dance.

    With this broad a palette, Sub Rosa in Æternum could have easily wound up a mess, but Tribulation wisely decided to pull back on the song complexity, with the majority of tracks following a more basic verse-chorus structure than the band’s previous ventures. Thanks to the great melody-craft and lean songwriting this is rarely an issue, but when the imaginativity falters, the flaws are more stark. None of the tracks are particularly weak, but the wings on “Saturn Coming Down” fail to unfurl in full, and “Hungry Waters” doesn’t hit the levels of creepy it seems to be going for. Overall, though, it’s simply a more modest record than some of Tribulation’s heyday, and while there is certainly nothing wrong with that, it also doesn’t elucidate as big a response as an album like Down Below did for me.

    Sub Rosa in Æternum feels primarily like the best-case scenario of a transitional album. This term feels a little redundant given Tribulation’s tendency towards ongoing evolution, but in the wake of the impactful line-up change, it makes sense for the band to test the waters with new ideas and influences in a more stripped-down form compared to their recent work. With that in mind, it is a no less accomplished album, a successful blend of established sound and new influences that integrate into an array of playfully diverse compositions. After the minor letdown Where the Gloom Becomes Sound, it’s heartening to hear Tribulation hasn’t lost its touch.

    Rating: 3.5/5.0
    DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
    Label: Century Media Records
    Websites: tribulation.se | facebook.com/TribulationSweden
    Releases Worldwide: November 1st, 2024

    #2024 #35 #CenturyMediaRecords #DeadCanDance #GothicMetal #Hazard #NickCave #Nov24 #Review #Reviews #SistersOfMercy #SubRosaInÆternum #SwedishMetal #Tribulation #Ulver #UntoOthers

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