Ah, the pungent stench of autumnal Filters. Forget pumpkin spice and get you some Filter droppings from September!
Melodic Death Metal
![Citadel – Descension [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Citadel_Descension_01.jpg.webp)
Citadel – Descension [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]
“2025 has been a banner year for the long form in my book. With such high-ranking triumphs from Tómarúm, An Abstract Illusion, and Flummox in rotation, you’d think there wouldn’t be any time left for another. Yet, New Jersey trio Citadel dropped the lush and dramatic Descension upon the Earth back in late March, and it’s never left my rotation since.” Fortress of goodness.
Burned in Effigy – Tyrannus Aeternum Review
“On their debut, Rex Mortem, the king was dead, but on Burned in Effigy’s sophomore effort, Tyrannus Aeternum, the king is now eternal. Their brand of neo-classical melodeath impressed Holdeneye three years ago—he hailed the debut as a mix of “brutal and beautiful.” However, he showed a rare moment of restraint in scoring Rex Mortem just shy of the vaunted 4.0, and plenty of commenters felt it should have earned that extra notch. Melodeath acts are a dime a dozen, and they don’t always successfully elevate themselves above the generic. So when Burned in Effigy infused their songs with virtuoso-level guitar melodies that emulated classical compositions, they quickly rose above the pack.” Burning up the rankings.
Omnium Gatherum – May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way Review
“Finland’s Omnium Gatherum have tinkered with their sound regularly over their career, ranging from rough Gothenburg-infected melodeath, to more melancholic and gloomy environs on career high points like New World Shadows and Beyond, and on to a more direct and modern style on The Burning Cold. 2021s Origin further simplified and smoothed out their sound into what could be described as melodeath-lite, and while some loved the new approach, it left me flat and felt forced and somewhat soulless. On 10th album, May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way, they change colors again.” Bonfire of the Omnis.
Cemican – U k’u’uk’ankil Mayakaaj Review
“Hailing from Guadalajara, Mexico, folk-death septet Cemican caught my attention way back in 2019 with their third record, In Ohtli Teoyohtica In Miquiztli. Boasting strong riffcraft and a penchant for chimeric songwriting, Cemican’s unique style and compelling subject matter challenged what I expected from the death metal scene at the time. Focused on bringing to the fore the sounds, rhythms, and even the language of pre-Mexican indigenous peoples (specifically, Mayan), Cemican’s mission serves a cultural spirit lost to time and colonialism.” Fallen empires and death.
Wretched – Decay Review
“Wretched has always been a strange beast, incorporating the heft of deathcore with the technicality and atmosphere of more progressive acts. While breakout album (and my introduction to the band) Beyond the Gate was an elegantly elegiac deathcore album, swaying between the patient sprawls of “Birthing Sloth” and the bouncy chugs of “My Carrion,” follow-ups Sons of Perdition and Cannibal reflected the changing of the guard at vocals, as Glass Casket frontman Adam Cody injected an unhinged frenetic energy that had the band flirting with grind and thrash. Decay is an important album, released eleven years after its predecessor and existing as a return to form for a band that never had a slump.” Time, decay, and wretchedness.
Orbit Culture – Death Above Life Review
“Orbit Culture is a stellar band, so 2023’s Descent should have been an AOTY contender. An all-killer, no-filler blend of melodeath and thrash with a dark industrial edge sounds like a hodge-podge in the worst ways, but the Swedes have made it their brand with a fluidity that has defined them from the beginning. In this way, the quartet showed their songwriting prowess, with tracks like “Black Mountain” and “The Aisle of Fire” leading the charge in the death/thrash riffage that we’ve all come to know and love. But while the claustrophobic mix provided 2020’s Nija a bloodthirsty darkness, it made Descent impenetrable in its compressed muck – sinking it from formidable to forgettable.” From orbit to stuck in the mud.
Lightchapter – Where All Hope Begins Review
“Death metal generally dabbles in the dark, the grisly, the violent, and the brutal. With the aid of ’80s-style synths, Lightchapter plays a version with a lighter, more hopeful touch. The aptly-named Where All Hope Begins marks album number two for this quartet out of Denmark. The band’s mission is to merge “despair and hope” and also “pain and joy” through not only their sound but their lyrics. Even on a blog that celebrates the angry and still makes fun of the brief Happy Metal Guy stint, I imagine something that infuses joy and lightness would find a welcoming audience.” Joy in the metalverse??
Mors Principium Est – Darkness Invisible Review
Since 2003, Mors Principium Est has released eight full-length albums of top-notch melodic death metal. Most people agree, however, they really took flight in 2012, which coincidentally is a year after Andy Gillion joined the band. Gillion was fired, however, in 2021. So, with the re-entry of the original guitarists and a new creative engine, I’ve been dying to know how Mors would navigate album number nine. And now it’s here…
Amorphis – Borderland Review
“I’ve been an Amorphis fanboy since I first heard Tales from the Thousand Lakes. That album captured a special kind of magic, and to this day it remains a “desert island” release for Yours Steely. I loved them through their early days of perpetual evolution and was thrilled when Tomi Joutsen brought them new fire and force when he joined for 2006s Eclipse. Tomi’s first 3 albums with Amorphis resulted in what is perhaps one of the most potent trilogies in metal history, and though their output has been less consistently amazing since then, it’s hard to dislike anything they do. That said, I liked but didn’t love 2022s Halo effort despite really wanting to.” Black Swan event at the border?
