As an ambient album, Pike Dreams leans heavily towards synth, with touches of piano, barely-there percussion, and heavily-muted guitars. It carries a feeling of nostalgia that manifests dualistically in fuzzed-out soundscapes and grainy warmth à la Boards of Canada (“1066,” “1381”), and on the other through dungeon-synth, and quasi-medieval horns and melodies (“1328”). This seems appropriate given the record’s historical concept. Its modernity surfaces in subtle hints at an industrial edge to riffs that break the surface of haze and resonate between echoing pulses, reminding me fragmentarily of Phal:Angst and Haunted Plasma (“1066,” “1789,” “2026”). What Pike Dreams is most of all, however, is quiet. Regardless of the music’s precise direction, it remains blanketed by fog with every element subdued, magnifying the meaning of the word ‘reflection’ in the album’s description.

The Mountain King take the ‘less is more’ approach not only to volume, but also to the structure of the record and the compositions themselves. Pike Dreams could be described as fluctuating between introspective calm and confident expressiveness, but this translates to a change in intensity from 1 to 1.5 on a scale of 10. Gentle pulses trade places with blunt, horn-accented chugs (“476,” “1789”), strings and tremolo blur together in indistinct softness (“1525,” “2010”), and trap beats support liquid guitar-synth hybrids (“1789,” “2026”). Often, the blurred boundaries of physically and synthetically-crafted sounds are beautiful, melodically and precisely in their dreamlike ethereality (“1066,” “1524”). Often, however, do the persistent understatement of movement and omnipresent muting hamper Pike Dreams’ ability to gain its listeners’ attention. This muffling is no doubt intentional, and does work well at intervals: for instance, in the service of contrast or transition (“2010”); acting as a musing pause (“1524”); or to amplify a melody’s poignancy through almost painful delicacy (“1066”). Yet its unequivocal application to all moments of all songs can make even the grandest passages underwhelming.

In this regard, it’s uncertain how a listener is meant to relate Pike Dreams to its subject matter. On the one hand, the deliberate vagueness of the soundscape mirrors a look back through the mists of time, and allows the audience to project their own sentiments onto its subtle evocation. On the other hand, this same nature prevents the audience from connecting to the music itself, and from connecting the music to its supposed year of reference. More minimalist tracks (“1328,” “1381,” “2026”) may work better when the listener detaches, but more expressive ones (“1066,” “1524,” “2010”) when the listener invests in their refrains—and the ones in those tracks are often very lovely. Whether there’s an issue here will be down to the role one designates to a concept album—especially of the instrumental and ambient kind.

Pike Dreams is as hard to pin down as you might expect from the above and from its appropriately mysterious title. As a whispering, quite beautiful, backdrop, it makes for a soothing and introspective experience that I can’t deny I enjoy returning to. In many ways, it’s a breath of fresh air amidst a constant storm of fast and extremely heavy music that so often fills these halls, and a chance to exhale and let go in a time of conflict and strife. The Mountain King may not have done enough to fully embody their themes or impress their compositions’ identities upon the listener, but how it feels for the duration is worth something.

Rating: Good
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: VBR mp3
Label: Void Key Recordings
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: March 6th, 2026

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Reborn to Light may be about a sun god, but Aeon Gods is more similar to the moon reflecting the light of many important power metal forebears. The predominant style is an anthemic blend of Gloryhammer and Sabaton. As expected, the music is big and dramatic, seeking to replicate the larger-than-life storytelling of Brothers of Metal, though with much more of a symphonic slant than folk. Aeon Gods stops just short of going full-blown symphonic power metal like Dragony, sticking closer to acts like Twilight Force or Freedom Call, which garnish with keyboards more judiciously. Organs and choirs at times recall the theatricality of Powerwolf. Pretty much all the main hallmarks of the genre are present on Reborn to Light.

Overall, Aeon Gods are blessed by their devout worship of these groups. Most immediately noticeable are the sharp, memorable choruses (charismatically delivered by Alex “Sol’Ra-tu” Hunzinger), as well as the bounteous guitar shredding (courtesy of Robert “Abzu’Kean” Altenbach and Nino “En-Atum” Helfrich). Reborn to Light embodies its concept unexpectedly well, being enhanced considerably by a lyric sheet (and a casual Wikipedia perusal about Egyptian mythology). The bulk of the record paints a vivid cycle of blazing sunrise (“Birth of Light”), tranquil twilight (“Barque of Millions (Amduat pt. I)”), a valiant battle (“Soldiers of Re (Amduat pt. III)”), and the inevitable victory of the sun (“Reborn to Light (Amduat pt. IV)”) again. In many important respects, Aeon Gods stacks up well against the genre greats.

On the other hand, this side-by-side comparison reveals a few qualities in which Aeon Gods is lacking. While Sol’Ra-tu has a solid singing voice—some listeners will appreciate that he avoids the typical shrill upper ranges—it isn’t always strong enough to carry the music on its own, particularly during the slower parts like quasi-ballad “Barque of Millions (Amduat pt. I).” The guitarists prove their mettle with their soloing during the bridges of most songs, but there are few notable leads that might have given the vocals a boost. Anja “Su’en-Chel” Hunzinger’s keyboards are more impactful, injecting a triumphant oomph to the chorus of “Reborn to Light (Amduat pt. IV)” and an awe-inspiring tone to “Blood and Sand (Re’s Dying Reign pt. II).” Finally, while Aeon Gods rejects bloat, Reborn to Light does not deviate at all from the standard pop structure, which gives each song a measure of predictability despite the variety in the compositions.

Imperfections notwithstanding, Reborn to Light is a great implementation of tried-and-true musical formulas. It’s executed very well, and should be a pleasantly familiar—albeit safe—experience for many power metal fans. I would, ideally, like to see Aeon Gods apply their abundant talents to more daring songwriting and let the guitars and keyboards share a bit more of the melodic load. Reborn to Light is a sizable step up from Aeon Gods’ debut, showing they are on a clear upward trajectory. I look forward to the day when Aeon Gods ascends to the echelons of full-fledged godhood.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Scarlet Records
Websites: scarletrecords.bandcamp.com | aeongods.com | facebook.com/AEONGODS
Releases Worldwide: February 20th, 2026

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A lot of bands aren’t good judges of their own sound, but Teutonic Slaughter deliver what’s on the tin with Cheap Food: no-nonsense German thrash built to bash your bratwurst in forthwith. Teutonic Slaughter riffs without restraint or mercy, drawing from the melodic but near-death metal aggressiveness of Kreator (“Redistribution,” “Hostage”) as vocalist Phillip Krisch rasps and growls with the volatility of Sodom’s Angelripper and the band tears through tracks in reckless, Tankardesque good-times-lovin’ fashion (“Witches Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Give em Hell”). Krisch and Jan Heinen’s guitars are hefty and lacerated on Cheap Food, bolstered by drummer Christian Vollmer’s thunderous kicks and an even heftier bass presence from Fabian Kellermann. The power chord rules on Cheap Food, but Teutonic Slaughter mix it up whenever necessary, like on the twisty leads of “Cheap Food,” the arpeggios kicking off “Redistribution” or the harmonics-laden chorus of “Witches Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Teutonic Slaughter promised nothing but good, archetypal German thrash and Cheap Food has that in spades.

But more impressively, Cheap Food also delivers in hashing out good thrash to the masses by means of lean songwriting, blistering energy and vicious vocals. Though songs frequent the thrash iffy-zone of five-plus-minutes, Teutonic Slaughter serve riffs and ideas economically, letting nothing wear out and keeping energy squarely at eleven. Besides the back end of “Eviscerating Surgery” and the dead minute-and-a-half of “Intro,”² Cheap Food is spry at 36 minutes and flies by in a head-banging haze. Teutonic Slaughter sound one volt from exploding on Cheap Food, baring teeth on “Redistribution” and “Fight the Reaper” with crossover levels of hardcore intensity reminiscent of Municipal Waste.³ Personally, I think it’s Krisch’s animal-like mic job that gives Cheap Food its meanest bite, lathering songs with deathly howls (“Eviscerating Surgery”), blackened roars (“Witches Rock ‘n’ Roll”), hardcore gang shouts (“Hostage”), and just some of the gnarliest barks and shouts this side of Sodom. Gnarly vocals on top of fatless, relentlessly aggressive songs is foam crowning Cheap Food’s beer stein, and brother, it’s flowing over.

Teutonic Slaughter made a simply fun album. You’re not getting any radical surprises out of Cheap Food, and that’s by design. Instead, Teutonic Slaughter delight through expert performances of well-trodden thrash staples. Heinen provides the dive-happy, shredful soloing you expect and demand from the genre, leaving everything he has on closer “Give ’em Hell” in a no-holds-bar display of guitar belligerence. Thematically, when not dealing in societal or political issues (“Cheap Food,” “Redistribution”), Teutonic Slaughter revel in the schlocky macabre (“Witches Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Eviscerating Surgery”) and fist-pumping motivation (“Fight the Reaper,” “Give em Hell”). It’s not meant to be complicated. Teutonic Slaughter aimed to pound your brain to spätzle with Cheap Food, and if you give it a spin, they’ll have succeeded handily.

Worthy of their countrymates’ thrash legacies, Teutonic Slaughter produced an incredibly enjoyable album in Cheap Food. Riffing heavy, fast, and without stop, it’s a record that’s here for good times and for making good times. Perhaps it gets a bit played out by the end, repeating a short list of moves for half-an-hour, but Cheap Food proved to be a surprisingly compelling listen that only further endeared itself to me with every listen. Obviously, if you like thrash, I’m going to recommend you give Cheap Food a spin. If not, don’t let the door hit your lederhosen on the way out. Mahlzeit!

Rating: Very Good
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Iron Shield Records
Websites: facebook.com/teutonicslaughter | teutonicslaughter.bigcartel.com
Available Worldwide: January 30th, 2026

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Monikered after a track from Mental Funeral, it’s unsurprising that Slaughterday establishes its soundation on the works of Autopsy. Avoiding mere clone status, though, founders Jens Finger (guitars, bass) and Bernd Reiners (drums, vocals) also line their sonic quiver with arrows laced with toxic amounts of Massacre, early Death, and Grave. After a doomy, engaging intro, Dread Emperor gets down to thrashy business as “Obliteration Crusade” comes galloping through the gates at full velocity. Showcasing the gamut of talents that Slaughterday wields, the track weaves bouts of blistering speed, salaciously solid solo work, and passages of drunken, doomy Autopsy worship into a skin-sewn tapestry of death, replete with creepy melodicism and a subtle, yet ear-wormy chorus. Finger’s bass lines pop like blood bubbles as Reiners’ brutish bashings bolster the rhythm section, aptly accompanying the man’s beastly roars, a discernibly deathly emulsion of Peter Tägtgren and Kam Lee. This opening salvo encapsulates the Dread Emperor experience, which is one of gut-wrenching goodness, proving that Slaughterday has as many musical tricks up its sleeve as Art the Clown has weapons in his kill sack.

At the heart of Dread Emperor’s success lies Slaughterday’s ability to craft truly great death metal songs. And with this talent, Finger and Reiners pay apt tribute to their deathly influences without slipping into derivative mimicry. Every time the groove settled into a swarming swing full of Autopsy swagger (“Subconscious Pandemonium,” “The Forsaken Ones”), my head was powerless to stop bobbing. While the majestic, Egyptian-tinged melodic leads and girthy, doom-laden death riffs of the title track “Dread Emperor” solidified themselves as the album highlight for yours truly. Dread Emperor also doubles down on a facet of Slaughterday’s previous efforts that, at times, was found lacking: the guitar solo. Fingers leaves no fret untouched, packing tons of excellent, melodic soloing (“Astral Carnage,” “Necrocide”) and loads of haunting lead work (“Rapture of Rot”) into Dread Emperor’s every nook and cranny. This here, boys and girls, is death metal created especially for death metallers, so if it isn’t bringing your raised fist and stank face to the yard, relinquish your fan card to AMG Headquarters.

From its near forty-minute runtime to Pär Olofsson’s ominously perfect cover art, I found little at fault with Dread Emperor. I suppose, if I had to pick at something, I’d say that many of the faster tremoloed sections tended to blend, sharing a marrow of similitude amidst Dread Emperor’s greater skeletal structure, but even that is a minor quibble. All due primarily to Slaughterday’s ability to construct compositions in such a way as to render the many inter-song shifts in style and tempo an organic strength as opposed to a stuttery distraction. Even Slaughterday’s version of Protector’s “Golem” sits comfortably at the end and fits the overall narrative of Dread Emperor well, escaping the fate of feeling tacked on, which is often the case with album-closing cover songs.

Does Slaughterday play meat-and-potatoes death metal? Sure, but this ain’t no watery soup from a can, this is stew like grandma used to make, filled with steamy hunks of fresh potato and chunks of beefy meat, swimming in an ichorous broth worth killing for. I didn’t anticipate how much fun I was going to have with Dread Emperor when I grabbed it, but it does exactly what it’s supposed to do: elicit a smile from my lips, a bang from my head, and Dio’s horns from my fist. Prime Tyme-certified death metal perfect for rotten valentines.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320kb/s mp3
Label: Testimony Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

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From the moment you press “play,” it’s clear that Revered by Death is bursting with punk energy and metal spirit. Opener “A Pessimistic Soaring” wastes no time before hitting you square in the face with a simple, but effective power chord riff panned to one channel before the full rhythm section bursts in. We get a tasty, phased-out guitar lead before landing on a fun, punky verse riff, complete with blackened rasps about “a world consumed by darkness.” This sets the stage nicely for what Karloff is all about: no-nonsense, kitschy retro metal/punk with plenty of energy. Their bread-and-butter is like if a less-gaudy Midnight crashed into the punked-out thrash of early Nasty Savage and sprinkled it in a blackened layer of late-era Darkthrone. When it all comes together, the result can be oodles of fun. Karloff isn’t reinventing the wheel, but they’re definitely spilling some beer on it and decorating it with fake cobwebs and candles.

A lot of Revered by Death’s charm comes from the no-nonsense attitude on display from Karloff’s members. At their best, the riffs have the sort of quality of alcohol-fueled basement jams, with Tom Horrified providing some flavorful leads to spice things up and laying down punky power chords that find a sweet spot between uncomplicated and straight-up ignorant (“Crown Cult Fate,” “Die Wiederkehr der Dunkeleit”). H.T Steinbrecher’s drum performance is effective and workmanlike, rarely veering into blastbeat territory and keeping things classy with variations on rock beats, aided by the occasional d-beat (“Prince of Parasites”). Karloff maintains their core metal/punk sound across much of the album, but a few effective variations help to keep things fresh. “When the Flames Devour You All” is a mid-tempo, blackened banger, with swirling black metal arpeggios meeting sludgy power chords, and “Elisabetha’s Revenge” continues this thread, amping up the cinematics and dynamics to make for a memorable closer. Throughout it all, there’s a distinct sense of personality that helps maintain a sonic cohesion.

My only real complaint with Revered by Death is that some tracks aren’t quite as tightly executed as others. Karloff largely hit the mark, and none of the songs are complete stinkers, but some of the B-sides fail to get the blood pumping as effectively. At 4-minutes, “Regicide” is a tad longer than average and lingers on its main riff for its entirety, lacking a lead or meaningful variation to keep things interesting. “On Weathered Altar” is a surprising turn towards instrumental horror ambience and lands smack in the middle as an interlude that runs for about twice as long as it should. These aren’t total deal breakers, but on a short album, they feel longer than they otherwise would and distract somewhat from an otherwise solid package.

With Revered by Death, Karloff has delivered a lively batch of blackened metal/punk rippers. Nothing here will boggle your mind, but the band’s distinctive attitude and kitschy execution are plenty entertaining. The next time I want to feel like I’m in a metal party scene from an 80s horror movie, I’ll crush a beer can on my forehead, pull out my ripped jeans, gel my mullet, and throw on some of the best tracks from this latest Karloff.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Website: facebook.com/karloffpunk
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026

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Brutal cold envelops the building as my minions scrape through ice and filthy slush to find even the smallest shard of metallic glimmer. With extensive budget cuts demanded by my exorbitant bonus schedule—as is my right as CEO of this filtration service—there was no room to purchase adequate gear and equipment for these harsher weathers. However, I did take up crocheting recently so each of my “employees” received a nice soft hat.

Hopefully, that will be enough to tide them over until the inclement weather passes and we return to normal temps. Until then, they have these rare finds to keep them warm, and so do you! REJOICE!

Kenstrosity’s Knightly Nightmare

AngelMaker // This Used to Be Heaven [November 20th, 2025 – Self Released]

I’ve been a fan of AngelMaker’s since their 2015 debut Dissentient. The grossly underrated and underappreciated Vancouver septet are a highly specialized deathcore infantry, with their lineup expanding steadily over their career in concert with their ever-increasing songwriting sophistication. Unlike the brutish and belligerent debut and follow-up AngelMaker, 2022’s Sanctum and new outing This Used to Be Heaven indulge in rich layering, near-neoclassical melodies, and dramatic atmosphere to complement AngelMaker’s trademark sense of swaggering groove. With early entries “Rich in Anguish” and “Haunter” establishing the strength of both sides of their sound, it always surprises me how AngelMaker successfully twist and gnarl their sound into shapes—whether it be hardcore, blackened, or melodic—I wasn’t anticipating (“Silken Hands,” “Relinquished,” “Nothing Left”). A rock-solid back half launched by the epic “The Omen” two-part suite brings these deviations from the expected into unity with the deathcore foundation I know AngelMaker so well for (“Malevolence Reigns,” “Altare Mortis”), and in doing so secure their status as one of the most reliably creative deathcore acts in the scene. Nothing here is going to change the minds of the fiercer deathcore detractors, but if your heart is open even just a crack, there’s a good chance This Used to Be Heaven will force themselves into it, if not entirely rip the whole thing asunder. My advice is simply to let it.

ClarkKent’s Sonic Symphonics

Brainblast // Colossus Suprema [November 11th, 2025 – Vmbrella]

A debut album five years in the making from a band formed in 2015, Colossus Suprema is the brainchild of Bogotá, Colombia’s Edd Jiménez. Jiménez turned his passion for and training in classical composition towards his symphonic progressive act, Brainblast. With Bach as an inspiration, Brainblast’s brand of technical death metal has the grandeur of Fleshgod Apocalypse, the speed of Archspire, and the virtuosity of concert musicians. Jiménez’s classical training shows — the compositions have an orchestral feel, only played at insane energy levels. The speed, the depth, and the breadth of the instrumentation are sure to leave you breathless. Nicholas Le Fou Wells (First Fragment) lays down relentless kitwork with jaw-dropping velocity, while Eetu Hernesmaa provides technical fretwork that’ll similarly leave you awestruck. He delivers sublime riffs on “Relentless Rise” and a surprising melodic lead that steals the show on “Unchain Your Soul.” Perhaps most prominent is the virtuoso play of the bass from Rich Gray (Annihilator) and Dominic Forest Lapointe (First Fragment) that is omnipresent and funky on each and every song. To top it all off is the piano (perhaps from Jiménez), giving the music some gravitas with the technical, concert-style playing. This record is just plain bonkers and tons of fun. Given this is the debut from a young musician, the idea that Brainblast has room to grow is plenty exciting.

Gods of Gaia // Escape the Wonderland [November 28th, 2025 – Self Released]

If you’ve been eagerly awaiting the next SepticFlesh release, Germany’s Gods of Gaia have got you covered. Founded in 2023 by Kevin Sierra Eifert, Gods of Gaia is made up of an anonymous collective from around the world, contributing to a dark, heavy, and aggressive form of symphonic metal. Their sophomore album, Escape the Wonderland, features a collection of death metal songs with plenty of orchestral arrangements that add a dramatic flair. Along with crushing riffs and thunderous blast beats, you’ll hear choral chants (“Escape the Wonderland,” “Burn for Me”), bits of piano (“What It Takes”), and plenty of cinematic symphonics. SepticFlesh is the obvious influence, but the grandiosity of Fleshgod Apocalypse flares up on cuts like the dramatic “Rise Up.” The front half is largely aggressive, with “What It Takes” taking the energy to thrash levels. The back half dials down the energy, even creeping to near doom on “Krieg in Mir,” but never pulls back on the heaviness. Cool as the symphonic elements are, the riffs, blast beats, and brutal vocal delivery are just as impressive. Make no mistake, this is melodic death metal above all else, with symphonic seasonings that elevate it a notch. Just the opposite of what the record title suggests, this is one wonderland you won’t want to escape.

Grin Reaper’s Frozen Feast

Hounds of Bayanay // КЭМ [November 15, 2025 – Self Released]

Two-and-a-half years after dropping debut Legends of the North, Hounds of Bayanay returns with КЭМ to sate your eternal lust for folk metal.¹ Blending heavy metal with folk instrumentation, specifically kyrympa² and khomus,³ as well as throat singing, Hounds of Bayanay might sound like a Tengger Cavalry or The Hu knockoff, but you’ll do yourself a disservice by writing them off. Boldly enunciated, clarion cleans belt out in confident proclamations while grittier refrains and overtones resonate beneath, proffering assorted and engaging vocal stylings. Rather than dwelling overlong in strings and tribal chanting, the deft fusion of folk instruments with traditional metal defines Hounds’ sound and feels cohesively integrated on КЭМ, providing an intimate yet heavy backdrop to a hook-laden and alluringly replayable thirty-nine minutes. In addition to the eclectic folk influence, there’s a satisfying variety of songwriting from track to track, with “Ardaq,” “Cɯsqa:n,” and “Dɔʃɔrum” exemplifying the enticing synthesis of styles. More than anything else, Hounds of Bayanay embodies heart and fun, warming my chilly days with a well-executed platter of Eastern-influenced folk metal. Don’t skip this one, or the decision could hound you.

Blood Red Throne // Siltskin [December 05, 2025 – Soulseller Records]

I’m shoving up against the deadline to wedge this one in, but Blood Red Throne’s latest deserves a mention, and bulldozing is just the sort of thing you should do while listening to BRT’s brand of bludgeoning, pit-stomping romp. Back in December, the venerable Norwegian death metal act dropped twelfth album Siltskin, maintaining their prolific and consistent release schedule. In addition to their dependable output, BRT stays the course with pummeling, brutish pomp. In his coverage of Nonagon and Imperial Congregation, Doc Grier drums up comparisons to Old Man’s Child, Panzerchrist, and Hypocrisy, and while I’m not inclined to disagree on those points, I’ll add that Siltskin also harkens to Kill-era Cannibal Corpse in its slick coalition of mid-paced slammers, warp-speed blitzes, and fat ‘n’ frolicking bass. Add to that the sly, sticky melody from the likes of Sentenced’s North from Here (“Vestigial Remnants”), and you’ve got a recipe for a righteous forty-five-minute smash-a-thon. Blood Red Throne’s last few records have been among their best, which is an incredible feat for a band this far into their career. While Siltskin doesn’t surpass BRT’s high-water mark, it keeps up, and if you’re hungry for an aural beatdown, then Blood Red Throne would like to throw their crown into the ring for consideration.

Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu // Immortality [December 17, 2025 – Bang the Head Records]

I am woefully late to the charms of Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu, a Japanese death metal outfit prominently featuring slap ‘n’ pop bass. Had it not been for our trusty Flippered Friend, I might have continued this grievous injustice of ignorance, but thankfully, this is not the timeline to which I’m doomed. Immortality is Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu’s seventh album, and those who enjoy the band’s previous work should remain satisfied. For new acolytes, Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu grasps the rabid intensity of Vader and Krisiun and imbues it with a funky edge. Meaty bass rumbles and sprightly slapped accents, provided by bassist/vocalist Haruhisa Takahata, merge with Kouki Akita’s kit obliteration to establish a thunderous, unrelenting rhythm section. Atop the lower end’s heft, Keiichi Enjouji shreds and squeals with thrashy vigor and a keen understanding of melody. First proper track “Anima Immortalis” even includes gang intonations that work so well, I wish they were more prevalent across the album. The sum total of Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu’s atmosphere is one of plucky exuberance that strikes with the force of a roundhouse kick to the dome. Had I discovered it sooner, Immortality would have qualified for a 2025 year-end honorable mention, as I haven’t been able to stop spinning it or the band’s prior releases.⁴ Though I’m still in the honeymoon phase, I expect this platter to live on in my listening, and recommend you not miss this GTK killer like I almost did.

Thus Spoke’s Random Revelations

The Algorithm // Recursive Infinity [November 21st, 2025 – Self Released]

I’ve been a fan of The Algorithm since the early days, back when their electronica-djent was almost twee in its experimental joy, spliced with light-hearted samples. Over the years, Rémi Gallego has tuned his flair for mesmeric, playful compositions to develop a richer, more streamlined sound. Recursive Infinity continues the recent upward trend Data Renaissance began. With riffs and rhythms the slickest since Brute Force, and melodies the brightest and most colourful since equally-prettily adorned Polymorphic Code, it’s a cyberpunk tour-de-force. The wildness is trained, chunky heaviness grounding magnetic melodies (“Race Condition,” “Mutex,” “By Design”), dense chugging transitioning seamlessly into techno (“Advanced Iteration Technique,” “Hollowing,” “Graceful Degradation), and adding bite to bubbly, candy-coloured soundscapes (“Rainbow Table,”). The skittering of breakbeats tempers synthwave (“Endless Iteration), and bright pulses wrap cascading electro-core (“Race Condition,” “Mutex”) and orchestral melodrama (“Recursive Infinity”). It’s often strongly reminiscent of some point in The Algorithm’s history, but everything is upgraded from charming to entrancing. This provides a new way to interpret Recursive Infinity: not just a reference to an endless loop in general, but to Boucle Infinie (Infinite Loop)—Remi’s other musical project—and by extension, The Algorithm themselves. Yet he is still experimenting, including vocoder vocals (“Endless Iteration,” “By Design”) for a surprisingly successful dark-Daft Punk vibe in slower, moodier moments. With nostalgic throwbacks transformed so beautifully, and the continued evolution, there’s simply no way I can ignore The Algorithm now. And neither should you.

Owlswald’s Holiday Scraps

Sun of the Suns // Entanglement [December 12th, 2025 – Scarlet Records]

Bands and labels take heed—We reserve December for two things: Listurnalia and celebrating another trip around the sun. It is not for releasing new music. Yet this blunder persists, ensuring we inevitably miss gems like Sun of the Suns’ sophomore effort, Entanglement.⁵ The record dropped just as the world was tuning out for the year, and it deserves much better. Building on the foundation of their 2021 debut, TIIT, the Italian trio has significantly beefed up their progressive death formula. Mixing tech-death articulation with deathcore brutality, Entanglement ensures fans of Fallujah will feel right at home with its effervescent clean melodies and crystalline textures. Francesca Paoli (Fleshgod Apocalypse) returns to provide another masterclass behind the kit with rapid-fire double-bass, blasts, and tom fills, while guitarists Marco Righetti and Ludovico Cioffi deliver cosmic shredding and radiant solos that are both technical and deliberate. While the early tracks lean into Fallujahian songcraft and Tesseract-style arpeggios, the album shines brightest late when the group largely sheds its stylistic orbit. “Please, Blackout My Eyes” pivots toward a majestic Aeternam vibe with ethereal tech-death incisiveness, while “One With the Sun” and “The Void Where Sound Ends Its Path” hit like a sledgehammer with Xenobiotic’s deathcore grooves. Though Luca Dave Scarlatti’s vocals lack differentiation, the sheer quality of the compositions carries the weight, proving Sun of the Suns are much more than mere clones.

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With fourth album Colours of Pain, Ron has again kept himself within the blackened death sphere, this time by producing what’s essentially a modern black metal album that still contains enough variety and heavier flourishes to keep it from being trapped solely within that genre’s confines. Roughly half the songs here are similar to the opener, “Ashes,” which faintly recalls Satyricon in how it bobs forward on rocking rhythms that support Ron’s wretched, raspy growls and headnod-worthy riffs. The song is a decent tune with guitar-work that’s clear and assertive, if somewhat unremarkable. Of the other songs in this style, “Mindvirus” and the closer, “Resist,” are the best of the bunch, with snappy mid-tempo drumming and catchy, “riding to war” riffs that are sure to earn them a spot on my future jogging playlists. In much of the record’s second half, things drift more into post-black metal territory, with tracks like “Death Machine” using slightly slower passages, flashes of melody, and high-register guitars to conjure the melodrama of stuff like Woods of Desolation.

On paper, Colours of Pain seems to be a pretty diverse set of songs. Yet, somehow, it still comes across as oddly homogenous. In part, this issue may be caused by Joris’s drumming: While I enjoy the man’s beats, I wouldn’t call his performance particularly dynamic, with much of the album cruising pleasantly along at a similar tempo. As a result, many of the songs end up having a similar overall feel, even when the underlying riffing is quite different. The blame is not solely his, however. While Ron employs some decent riffs here, he never delivers anything that truly grabs you by the balls, resulting in an album that requires a decent amount of undivided attention to reveal its charms. The production has a clear and balanced sound that reminds me of Art of Propaganda signees like Harakiri for the Sky, which works for Bloodred’s style but exacerbates the album’s homogeneity a bit by coming across just a touch too loud and clean for me.

Despite these shortcomings, Colours of Pain remains an enjoyable release overall, and its highlights become increasingly apparent with repeated listens. The title track, for instance, shifts between a nice shuffling, mid-tempo riff and more traditional black metal hammering, resulting in a cool song that sounds something like a socially-conscious version of Belphegor. “Heretics” is another good cut, featuring an odd sidewinding riff and a particularly combative tremolo line. The backing operatic vocals in “Winds of Oblivion” and the climax of “Ashes” are also a nice touch, with the former track also serving as one of the album’s only true “slow” songs (making it a perfect lead-up to the boisterous closer, “Resist”).

Colours of Pain is the type of album that you can put on for any extreme metal fan, and while they may not love it, they almost certainly won’t hate it. Although initial impressions suggest an album that’s too inoffensive for its own good, repeat listens reveal a record with enough quality ideas and variety to keep it from being just extreme metal elevator music. What’s more, a perusal of Bloodred’s website shows that Ron seems quite passionate about the music he makes and the politically tinged lyrics that color these songs. In all, if you’re looking for a modern extreme metal album that goes down easy, you could do far worse.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Massacre Records
Websites: bloodred.bandcamp.com | bloodredband.com | facebook.com/bloodredofficial
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

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And progressive it is! Though perhaps the band would disagree with me—they describe their sound as being “rooted in Postpunk, Postrock, Artcore, Progressive Metal, Pop and classical music.” It’s an interesting blend with a couple of notable outliers, but frankly, that’s how I like my music. Lead vocalist and guitarist Nils Wittrock’s style could fit fairly well in most of those styles, a clean, somber croon with a hardcore edge—or vice versa, depending on the song. Bassist Ilja John Lappin lends his cello to proceedings, giving Der Brauch a symphonic, classical side that softens its otherwise loud approach. This, in turn, forces drummer Moritz Schmidt to be something of a chameleon, adapting to each of the aforementioned styles as songs demand. The result is a loud, hardcore-ish sound rooted in progressive metal that is nevertheless “nice” to listen to.

…or so it may appear at first glance. Truer is that Der Brauch is very much a multifaceted album and The Hirsch Effekt have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. Songs like “Das Seil” lean into their art/classical stylings, with lengthy, complex guitar noodling and cello support. It builds to a dramatic metal flourish and demonstrates much skill from each musician. Elsewhere, “Der Doppelgägner” features notably more intense guitar work, leaning towards the more extreme side of progressive metal. “Die Brücke,” on the other hand, is slow and dream-like, reminding me of Dawnwalker in the way it covers a lot of ground, seemingly in no rush to do so. Lastly, “Das Nachsehen” treads symphonic metal territory, using the cello as a lead instrument and building a genuinely dramatic sound. Throughout, the three bandmates, all of them vocalists, sing, growl, and scream their way through each style as needed.

So there’s a lot happening here; The Hirsch Effekt is a dodecahedron of ideas on Der Brauch, something you may see as a strength or weakness depending on your preferences. I could argue, for example, that Der Brauch doesn’t have very strong flow as a complete album because the sound is constantly changing. You might return that the sound they cultivate is unmistakably theirs, and so it really isn’t that big a deal. For my part, I like their melodic leanings the best—the dramatic “Das Nachsehen” and surprisingly catchy “Der Brauch” in particular, with their huge choruses and passionate performances. By contrast, the longer, more wandering pieces like “Die Lüge” don’t land so well, and as a resul,t I find Der Brauch lags a little in the middle. I wouldn’t have minded if it were a bit less than its 49-minute runtime, despite the impressive array of ideas contained therein.

But all that is me. Really, The Hirsch Effekt has enough ideas and styles that it’s a hard album to put a number or description on. I’ve certainly enjoyed it, and will likely return to it after this review is published. But I think a lot of people will have varied experiences with Der Brauch (more so than the average album, I mean). It’s a fascinating listen, one that reveals more and more with every spin; strong, explorative, and motivated for sure.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Long Branch Records
Websites: thehirscheffekt.bandcamp.com | thehirscheffekt.de | facebook.com/thehirscheffekt
Releases Worldwide: January 30th, 2026

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On the funeral doom scale, Lone Wanderer fits the Oromet scale more closely than My Dying Bride or Godthrymm. Exequaie mixes the gentle with the crushingly heavy, and the heavier riffs carry more reverb than muscle, lending a more tranquil feel than raw power. Over the course of 24 minutes, the beastly opener “To Rest Eternally” demonstrates Lone Wanderer’s slow burn approach, with impenetrably deep vocals, glacial drum beats, and a slowly developed melody. The gentler portions put away the booming drums and instead twinkle with arpeggiated rhythm while the bass plays out a complementary melody. We hear this tug and pull throughout Exequiaie, from the melancholic and heavy to something more peaceful, still tinged with sorrow but carrying a little hope. Ironically, “Anhedonia”¹ showcases the album’s most pleasurable and memorable riffs during its opening few minutes. The remainder is also exquisite, delving into immense sorrow before closing out in tranquility. The song guides you into gentle acceptance of the fate that awaits us all at the end.

Going in line with the “funeral rites” theme, plenty of elements in Exequaie appear to represent religious symbols or godly figures. The opening minutes of “To Rest Eternally” provide a distant reminder of a church setting with the tolling of bells. This holy setting returns in the finale, “Epistemology of the Passed,” where organs play a mournful dirge alongside wistful arpeggios. The vocals from Bruno Schotten serve as an omnipresent character, his low rumbles coming off like thunder rolling through the sky. Scattered throughout the album, Lone Wanderer perform spoken word portions that serve to enhance this godly persona. While such song segments are generally a nuisance, here they fit seamlessly, taking on the presence of an Oz-like character, commanding yet distant. The purpose of these elements may be inscrutable, but they do provide a sense of formality and authority accompanying death.

As great as the individual tracks are, Exequiae’s biggest obstacle is its own length. With any funeral doom record, holding the listener’s attention can be a challenge, and a 72-minute runtime across 5 songs feels more like work than pleasure. Yet there is plenty to enjoy on this epic record, and Lone Wanderer does implement some variety to mix things up a bit. “Existence Nullified” has a moment of chugging death-doom riffs that take me back to early Swallow the Sun. “Epistemology of the Passed” has a similar increase in tempo thanks to energetic tremolos and brisk drum beats. These moments are brief and few, but all the more notable because of their rarity. In the end, Exequaie’s length isn’t a deal breaker because it has such exquisite compositions. There’s just so much beauty in the music it could go on for twice as long and it’d still be heavenly.

Lone Wanderer is kicking funeral doom off to a great start for 2026. There’s something about the band’s often gentle sound that creates calm, as opposed to bands that lay the despair and melancholy thick with more powerful, overbearing guitar tones. Don’t let the 72 minutes intimidate you. Set aside some time and let Exequiae’s mix of melancholic, peaceful, and even hopeful tones wash over you and transport you, for a time, to a place where you no longer need to worry.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: High Roller Records
Website: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: January 30th, 2026

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Bitterness plays mid-level neothrash that neither raises nor furrows brows, historically straddling the fence between At the Gates-style melodeath and 2000s-era Kreator-core. Yet, Bitterness has leaned further into its thrashy side since introducing a mascot—enter blindfolded Jesus—on the cover of 2015’s Ressurexodus, and who appears here looking strikingly like Snake Plissken. Frank Urschler’s riffs are plentiful, firing primarily at speeds either breakneck (“WWH8,” “Hallowed Be the Game”) or breakneck (“Hypochristianity”), and his vocals—a hybrid blend of Petrozza (Kreator), Souza (Exodus), and Ellsworth (Overkill)—fit what Bitterness is doing well. Andreas Kiechle blisters the skins effectively enough to keep things on track, while Marcel Konz’s prominently plucked bass lines round out the rhythm section. Thrash’s status quo and the AMG safety counter have nothing to fear from Bitterness. And yet Hallowed Be the Game isn’t completely devoid of enjoyable moments, despite being weighed down by bloat and victimized by its own overt juvenilia.

I respect that Bitterness seems content to exist on the fringe of its chosen scene, with the very front half heavy Hallowed Be the Game—as any eighth offering might—standing as proof they’ll not go gently into any good night. With the very Kreatoric one-two punch of the opening salvo (“WWH8,” “AMOK:KOMA”), Bitterness proves that well-executed riffage can still overcome a dearth of originality: this is also where I find Urschler vocalizing at his most Petrozza-like. And then, in an attempt to bring Teutonic legitimacy to these proceedings, I appreciated the vocal contributions of Tankard’s very own Andreas “Gerre” Geremia to “High Sobriety” about as much as “Hypochristianity” took me back to Pleasures of the Flesh-era Exodus. To be certain, Urschler and company execute their ABC’s and capably deliver on the fundamental tenets of thrash: crack beer, bang head. Despite this, a couple of things really held the album back for me.

Hallowed Be the Game loses most of its muscle mass from fatty back half disease and a we-tried-too-hard style of juvenile delinquency. With a runtime exceeding forty-three minutes, Bitterness could have easily cut the last 10 and left us with a more manageable slab of pseudo-enjoyable, albeit pedestrian, thrash metal. Instead, the nearly eight-minute instrumental “Magnum Innominandum,” its leaden pace and lack of dynamic variability rendering it perfunctory and the even more unnecessary cover of the Graves-era Misfits song “Scream!” remained almost as padding, bringing Hallowed Be the Game to a very underwhelming close. Combine those two, parting flop shots alongside the fact that nearly every song title is a somewhat childish play on words, and the whole Game just felt silly. And not in a good way, as I’d expect from more light-hearted bands like Tankard, Municipal Waste, and others of that ilk.

Neither particularly good nor bad, Hallowed Be the Game is one of those albums that just is, and assuredly isn’t the breakthrough Bitterness may have been hoping for. It’s like that girl you met at Niagara Falls one weekend in college, fun to hang with for a few days, but definitely nothing serious. Ultimately, Bitterness failed to pique my interest beyond writing this review. Die-hard thrashers may get a few miles out of Hallowed Be the Game, but as for me, I’m going to spin Kreator again.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: G.U.C.
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: February 6th, 2026

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