I just wish it connected with me as well as The Prowess of Dormition did. Whereas Dormition was melodic black metal with a trip-hop undercurrent, Askdrömmar instead flirts with DSBM, rubbing shoulders with a trippier Lifelover bent. Opener “Mangata” leads off with some ambiance before a simple repeated melody takes over, followed by simplistic programmed drums, and finally other instrumentation. Vaarwel adopts more of a black metal rasp this time around, and just as the song starts to go somewhere, everything fades out, and you hear a sample of a young woman talking. Believing this would build to something, it instead leads into “Bortkastade dödsrunor,” the following track… which leads off with another sample.

The majority of what follows is a “wash-rinse-repeat” cycle among the remaining eight tracks, as they all follow a particular pattern: either a sample or piano twinkling, followed by a riff that’s more than a little reminiscent of mid-era Katatonia (“Kottkvam”), an atmospheric moment that sounds like a tremendous build-up that only goes back to the main riff, and then a sudden ending. Things start to get interesting when “Långt lopp genom mörkret” arrives, with its hyperactive keyboards and lively, energetic rhythms, but that’s track #8 of a nine-track album, and that’s just too far in the tracklisting to turn the ship around. Up until then, it’s just too formulaic and repetitive to leave a lasting mark.

The production also doesn’t help matters any, as it’s squashed and flat. The programmed drums sound like they were mixed a bit too far back, whereas the guitars, keyboards, and vocals are in-your-face, and those sound compressed within an inch of their existences. The biggest hurdle of this album lies in its conception and how it ties in with the Frozen Ocean discography. As a fan of Blut Aus Nord, I know mainman Vindsval will write whatever the fuck he feels like, and because of that, BaN’s discography runs the gamut of sounds and styles. However, the big difference is that you can still hear it’s BaN. Vaarwel doesn’t quite have that distinction when it comes to his music, as his releases are so spread out style- and quality-wise that it’s tough to find an underlying thread connecting any of it.

And that sucks to type, because I remember being impressed by The Prowess of Dormition when it released almost a decade ago. While I wasn’t expecting a repeat of that EP, I also wasn’t expecting to be bored by what’s on offer here. Vaarwel is a talented musician with great ideas, but I’m waiting for those ideas to land. With Askdrömmar, I will continue waiting.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 319 kbps mp3
Label: Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

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From the very first moment the keyboards swell in opener “Antinatalism,” you know you’re in for some fun(erally dismal) times. Creeping at the pace of a drugged-out snail in the Antarctic region, “Antinatalism” brilliantly glistens while also dragging you through the icy snow with its crashing (and crushing) riffs and methodical drumming. When founder David Unsaved growls, it’s with the force of the bear from Annihilation after freshly devouring Daniel Neagoe (Eye of Solitude and a fuckton of other bands), further throwing the listener into a pit of existential despair and woe. Most impressively, at over 10 minutes, the time flies by effortlessly, due to its ability to draw you in and keep you enthralled for the entire length.

The other four songs on this 62-minute behemoth hold up pretty damn well themselves. The album centerpiece “Decima,” which features mournful melodies from a panduri (three-stringed lute) that accentuate the sorrow midway into the song, giving the album even more breathing room to expand and envelop you in its snare. “Becoming Void” sounds like Canto III on steroids, picking a fight with Turn Loose the Swans-era My Dying Bride for lunch money, and again feels like a six-minute song at over 15 minutes due to how well-crafted it is. None of the songs overstay their welcome, but they still feel like soulful journeys to a mournful end.

Produced by Greg Chandler (Esoteric), Qroba does an amazing job of giving breathing space while also smothering the listener. The drums feel cavernous and monstrous, plodding with intent. The scant few leads² amplify the dour vibes a thousandfold, making damn sure there’s no light escaping this realm. If there was a nitpick to be had, this is the epitome of mood music. You’re not going to grab this on a warm, sunny day out in the sun with some lemonade and a book to read.³ Qroba is solemn, reflective music if there ever was some.

And this fits in quite well with other solemn, reflection-time music from the likes of Skepticism and Shape of Despair. Qroba came at a time when I didn’t know I needed it, with all the chaos going on around the world as well as in my own circle, but I’m glad it did, as this has been playing non-stop since I first laid ears upon it. If you’ve never taken to funeral doom ever, Ennui won’t change your mind, as this is sorrow personified and exponentially amplified. However, if you need a severe purging, welcome to your new favorite band.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 319 kbps mp3
Label: Meuse Music Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 27th, 2026

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You probably scrolled down to the tags section and decided to nope out in record time, especially at the sight of the “Not Metal” tag, and that’s entirely your loss. What guitarist Patriec Ahlström and vocalist Sara Mehner crafted in Meadowlands is nothing short of breathtaking, and their usage of negative space to allow for Ahlström’s melodies and gentle strums to reverberate and roll through the sleepy landscape they’ve crafted. “Wilderness,” with its finger-plucked strings and gentle electric guitar hums, is a class example of what you can build with only what you’ve got. It’s not the high production values or expensive instruments that carry you through. Rather, it’s knowing what to say, how to say it, and when not to say anything at all.

And Mehner’s angelic voice is the perfect complimentary component. Whether it’s her powerful howling (opener “High Houses”), somber melodies (closer “Windhover”), or her achingly beautiful near-yodels (“Wilderness”, the awesome “Be a Forest, Child!”), Mehner’s ability to wring out the most emotion out of a song or melody rivals that of Chelsea Wolfe or Emma Ruth Rundle in terms of performance and power. The way her gentle wailing closes out the title track stirs up so many raw emotions that will have you feeling both heartbreak and catharsis, no matter how it manifests within you. Singling out certain moments on Meadowlands proved difficult because, in reality, her standout performance, coupled with Ahlström’s musical backdrop, is best enjoyed in a single, uninterrupted, and fully focused listening experience.

If there was a bone to pick with Meadowlands, it’s in the production, and even then, it’s not a dealbreaker. Meadowlands is drenched in reverb, and I mean drenched in reverb. Coupled with the compressed mix, it makes it a bit busy, especially during the second half of “High Houses.” That, and the album is loaded with cathartic moments in the album’s second half, almost to the point of being overwhelmingly so. But the last time I’ve been hit this hard, this potently, by a doom/folk hybrid was with Darkher’s debut album. That is some absolutely stellar company to be with, and Meadowlands connects viscerally on that level.

Sure, I know what the name of the website is, and Meadowlands is a colossal anomaly in that aspect. And yes, I’m sure my colleagues will give me a reasonable (re: absurdly high) amount of shit for giving it the score it’s getting, but Moon Mother crafted an album that’s simultaneously the perfect album to purge your emotions, and an album you can use as a backdrop for a dew-filled foggy morning with a mug of your favorite heated beverage of choice. In creating an album to signify grief and hope, they gained my attention and my adoration. Give it your time, and it most certainly will do the same for you.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format: WAV
Label: Independent/Self-Release
Websites: Official | Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: February 6th, 2026

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If you’re looking for psychedelic embellishments to channel your inner third eye, or are yearning for creative interpretations of scales and modes in a dizzying array of progressive dalliances, Sounds of Malice is not for you. This is as meat-and-potatoes death metal as it gets, with emphasis on the meat, because hoo-boy, there are riffs aplenty. Guitarists Jake Atha and Paul Nunavath stuff every one of the seven tracks full of chunky riffing and squealy pinch-harmonics that look back to the likes of Immolation and Cannibal Corpse while slamming shit up. Opener “Quartered & Devoured” and the title track deliver that head-caving one-two punch combo that sets a brutal stage for a rightful trouncing.

That one-two punch, however, reveals all of Redivider’s tools early on. While none of the songs on Sounds of Malice are bad, it does blur with repeated listens as the album continues. “Shackled to Existence” feels like a continuation of the opening two-song salvo, and the fake-out ending doesn’t help matters when the song “ended” just fine without it. When a song does possess a solo, such as the Morbid Angelic closer “Left to Rot,” it acts as a breath of fresh air amongst the (cannibal) corpses, a moment you can latch on to and recall. Jacob Spencer’s sub-guttural growls and wretched pig squeals do an effective job at amplifying the brutality, but even they begin to blend into one another with each passing song.

The Dan Swanö mastering helps each instrument to breathe, which is remarkable given the lack of dynamic range. I appreciate being able to hear bass in my death metal, and Xander Farrington is no slouch as a bassist, so hearing his bass among the riffs and James Goetz’s pummeling is a welcome treat. For as heavy as the riffs and production are, however, there needs to be a tightening of the song structure and writing. Even though Sounds of Malice is a brisk sub-thirty-minute album, it does feel like it drags in certain areas. Not enough to kill the vibe, but it’s definitely noticeable.

But don’t let this deter you from checking out Sounds of Malice on your own. It’s not often we get a strong debut in the beginning of the year, but this is a fun romp that respects your time while it plays out. Sometimes, no-frills death metal does the job just fine, and there are far worse bands doing it than Redivider are, and this is only their debut. If they keep at it, things will look bright indeed for these guys, or my name isn’t Tacocat. Wait…

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Unsigned/Independent
Websites: redividerdeathmetal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/redivider.louisville
Releases Worldwide: January 9th, 2026

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What Sigh mainman/bassist/vocalist Mirai Kawashima possessed in 2007 was a plethora of ideas and a hunger to see them to fruition. The Mirai of 2025 still possesses those qualities, but also now has a backing band to see them come to life, and the results are a jaw-dropping improvement. Former guitarist Shinichi Ishikawa and former drummer Junichi Harashima weren’t slouches when Hangman’s Hymn was originally released, but current guitarist Nozomu Wakai and session drummer Mike Heller (Malignancy, ex-Fear Factory) bring so much more to the table creatively. The revamp of “Me-Devil” sees Wakai turn the chorus from a straight-ahead thrash riff to a near-blackened assault. His solos are also a massive departure over Ishikawa’s, soaring as opposed to just being a placeholder.

And Heller? Seriously, just listen to “Introitus/Kyrie” of 2025 and compare that to the original. While the original kept a straight-ahead marching attack, Heller’s variety, speed, and skill elevate the song, with rolling tom flourishes, blasts, and fill after glorious fill highlighting Kawashima’s songwriting genius. Elsewhere, his near-militaristic take on “The Memories as a Sinner,” combined with Wakai’s shred-tastic soloing, turns the song into a much meaner tune. In fact, what both men bring to the reworking of Hangman’s Hymn is such a vastly superior improvement that showcasing a few examples was difficult, when they’re all impressive.

It doesn’t hurt that the Lasse Lammert production cleans things up where they’re needed (especially in the bass and live brass instrumentation), and beefs things up where necessary (the drums and guitars). The vocals of Kawashima and his wife, Dr. Mikannibal (who joined just after the original was released), also cut through with alarming clarity and focus, often playing off each other’s delivery. Sure, some of the original’s hiccups remain (I’m still trying to wrap my head around Kawashima’s impish Baby Ms. Piggy-like vocals in the choruses of “Inked in Blood,” but I recognize that that’s a Me Thing), but everything else answers why Kawashima would choose to rework an album that’s already a classic in many people’s eyes. While I loved the original, I Saw the World’s End is several notches above it; it’s frightening. After all, I would take this over a poorly-produced, massively downgraded redux any day of the week.¹

Tracks to Check Out: This really is a “sit and absorb” kind of album, so sit and absorb it, will ya?

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It turns out, just even more honesty and passion, but at least there are a few wrinkles thrown in for good measure. Sure, the songs are longer, and the orchestral openings to most of the songs on here take their sweet-ass time to set up, but once they do, the music once again blisters and burns with raging intensity. “Oblivion” and “Lionheart” will definitely be pit favorites, with Austin Archey proving, once again, to be an absolute beast behind the kit, blasting and grinding away while guitarists Andrew O’Connor and Adam DeMicco riff and shred (respectively) away. With DeMicco, his leads continue to improve on each release, and on here, he takes flight on numerous occasions.

Once again, though, it’s Ramos who steals the spotlight. His passionate screams, not to mention the various times he switches them up at the drop of a hat, continue to impress and amaze. Whether it’s the wild guttural-scream-singing during the chorus of “Death Can Take Me,” or his heartfelt purging on both “Glenwood”¹ and “Forevermore,”² Ramos’ ability to veer between sounding maniacally animalistic, wailing in an all-too-human fashion, and everywhere within those parameters instantaneously floors me still.

I’m sure several of you have backed out of reading once you saw the topic of today’s article, and that’s fine. There are several pages of reviews and whatnot to tickle your fancy, and I respect that. However, for those of you who continue to be impressed by one of modern deathcore’s shining bright lights, this is a welcome continuation of a band that’s still not hit their climax yet. Big things are still ahead for these guys, and I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me is a great glimpse of what’s to come.

Tracks to Check Out: “Oblivion,” “Lionheart,” “Unbreakable,” “Glenwood,” “Death Can Take Me,” “Forevermore”

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And before I continue, I just want to toss out a major caveat to those who’ve already made up their minds about the band. Never Give In isn’t going to change your mind if you haven’t connected with Austin or his band before, or if you just flat-out fucking hate their music. Today is the Day has been and always will be operating from a place of sincerity as told through the eyes and throat of its creator without any regard to the listener. Whether it’s the two-plus-hour double album Sadness Will Prevail or the all-out assault of In the Eyes of God or Temple of the Morning Star, Austin’s unflinching vision and honesty isn’t for everyone, as it’s told using what he feels is best for his message, not what others expect from him.

Now with that out of the way, Never Give In, much like its predecessor, sees Austin and company throwing even more curveballs and moods your way, but still retaining the viciousness and transparency of their best work. Opener “Divide and Conquer” comes closest to the industrialized grindcore of their early days, and even then, Austin keeps to a croon throughout, save for the backing screams. Outside of that, though, there are some eyebrow-raisers. “Secret Police,” another grindy slab of punked-out riffage, features a horn section that reminds me of Cake in an odd-but-good way.¹ Closer “The Cleansing” channels Austin’s inner Neil Young, pulling his love of Americana into a tale of a love gone wrong.

With all that said, not all of Never Give In sticks its landing. “I Got Nothin'” meanders a bit too long in one spot until the song’s final third, which is when Austin switches things up a little. “Pain and Frustration,” while featuring some phenomenal drumming by Colin Frecknall, also gets a bit stagnant as the song wears on. In fact, looking over my notes, it’s when Austin goes outside of his (and the listeners’) comfort zones that yield the best results on Never Give In. Going a bit further, I can say the same with Today is the Day’s collective output: the more daring the approach and delivery, the more visceral the result.

But at the end of the day, I’m but a witness to the storytelling of someone who’s not afraid to share his experiences in all their glories and ugliness, and the fact that we have yet more Today is the Day, given all that Austin’s had to endure, between loss, homelessness, and car crashes, is to be celebrated. It takes guts to paint an honest picture, and no one is as unflinching at it as Steve Austin. Like Chat Pile, Never Give In (and Today is the Day in general) may not be for everyone, but for those who appreciate it, they will have a lot to look forward to.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: SuperNova Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: October 3rd, 2025

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On a couple of songs, they do the trick. “Morning XTC” gives off a Host-era Paradise Lost vibe, with its somewhat upbeat, danceable rhythms and simple-yet-catchy riffs. Elsewhere, “Mind Over Body” could slot itself alongside Katatonia’s Night is the New Day in both atmosphere and performance, but with Meester aiming for Peter Steele instead of Jonas Renkse vocally. Their influences are sound, and their passions are in the right places when it comes to capturing a particular snapshot of a lifestyle of non-stop partying, and the grotesque, inevitable come-down afterwards.

So why doesn’t this land as well as it should? In their one-sheet, they’re aiming for a sound that’s equal parts Type O Negative, Rammstein, and Alice in Chains with electronic and synthwave vibes. Instead, what this reminds me of are the Century Media bands of the late 90s and early 2000s that decided they weren’t metal anymore: Morgoth, Moonspell, and Tiamat. Not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but Hungry for Life sounds exactly like those aforementioned bands that were once inspirational, but had gone pedestrian with their sound, and this album captures that complacency a bit too well.

For example, opener “Sustain Me” crawls along at a snail’s pace and doesn’t move the needle much in terms of melody or memorability. “Lost at Sea” could have been a strong single, but it drags out for too long, all while being a scant four-and-a-half minutes, due to its repetitive nature. “Methmouth” and “Liquid Courage” both aim for lyrical grossness, especially in the former (“You’re lips are locked/’Round my member/Yet your breath still fills the air”), yet don’t really go anywhere of note musically to back it up. Granted, the last band to impress me going this direction lyrically and stylistically was Voices, but London was released a long time ago at this point, and that band backed it up with chilling performances, compelling songwriting, and tight musicianship, all things that Hungry for Life lacks.

I wanted to like Hungry for Life more than I did. It had all the ingredients in place to make for a fantastic album. Sadly, other than a scant few moments, it did little to quell my thirst for music in the vein of New York’s sorely missed goth overlords. I can only recommend this album for those that really, really miss Type of Negative, and even then, it’s not going to hit the same way as the originals did, and the end result yields an aggressively okay album. It’s a shame, because it feels like it could be a whole lot more.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Independent/Unsigned
Websites: Facebook¹
Releases Worldwide: June 6th, 2025

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Thankfully, Damage Done was a damn riffy, heavier beast. I remember picking up Character at my local Newbury Comics, right up the street from the Staples where I worked during a lunch break on a particularly bad day, and I was blown away by how “The New Build” didn’t mess around at all. With Anders Jivarp blasting away, and both Niklas Sundin and Martin Henriksson hurling riffs and melodies at you at lightning speed, “The New Build” would set the tone straight away that sure, this is like its predecessor, but it was far nastier and uglier. Well, at least from the first couple of songs, anyway.

From “The Endless Feed” on forward, the moodiness that perpetuated 1999’s dark horse Projector would make its reappearance, but rather than dwelling in sorrow and despair, it would instead converge with the band’s refound ferocity, channeling a completely different animal altogether that would later become a Dark Tranquillity trademark. From there, future live classics like “Lost to Apathy” and album closer (and the only “ballad” on here) “My Negation” would further cement Sundin and Henriksson as a guitar duo just as worthy of praise as the classic duos before them. There’s not a bad moment on Character, with each song making a strong case for a live appearance, and the knowledge that no matter what the band chooses for their live set, it’s a surefire bet that anything from Character would go down swimmingly.

And a giant part of that is due to how Character manages to tie up everything that Dark Tranquillity created up to that point into a tidy, neat bow. While it lacked Mikael Stanne’s moody crooning, the intensity of his growls was never in question, and his savage performance acts as a thread throughout the album. Otherwise, the blazing melodies that were captured during Skydancer, fellow YMIO inductee The Gallery, and The Mind’s I were honed to an impeccable sharpness while the moodier vibes from Projector and Haven blended better than before, especially with a much heavier backdrop. This was a culmination of what made Dark Tranquillity great.

And I could say that about any of DT’s mid-period. Damage Done was the about-face return from more gothic wanderings, and Character’s immediate follow-up Fiction would further tinker with the winning formula, with a welcome return of Stanne’s singing voice. But Character… well, Character hit just right, during the right time, and at the right intensity. It was the perfect storm of melodic precision, death metal heft, and electronic experimentation that was the ultimate soundtrack to long work nights, eager drives home, and repeated listens with friends. Character was, and still is, something special, and now it’s rightfully in the Halls of the Olde, where it belongs.

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Melodeath. It sounds like melodeath. Mind you, that’s not a bad thing at all, especially considering that it sounds a great deal like Andy Gillion-era Mors Principium Est in many ways, right down to the incredible guitar and keyboard leads that Byrne lays down throughout the album. His screams also recall Matt Moss of the dormant-but-much-missed Slugdge, hissing about drones (“Eyes in the Sky”) and the modern working wage (the title track) with venomous intent. Byrne’s got the musical chops to carry his vision to fruition, raging against literal machines and reigniting the passion to win one’s humanity back against technological oligarchies and the need for systemic control.

I just wish the same could be said for the songwriting. One of the complaints I have against modern melodeath rests in the fact that if you’ve heard one song on an average melodeath album, you’ve pretty much heard the whole damn thing. Sadly, it applies here, as Synapse suffers from the songs almost using identical tempos, motifs, and patterns from each other. Listening to the whole album in one sitting just feels like a well-practiced and impressively-performed blur of leads and atmosphere, making it hard to differentiate from one song to the next without making a lasting impact. Due to this familiarity and extreme deja vu, 50% of the album’s problems exist here.

The other 50% rests in Byrne’s singing voice, which can best be described as an acquired taste. His screams and growls are on-point, and get the blood pumping just right. His cleans, however, do not fit the music at all, either trying for James Hetfield-esque melodrama, complete with Hetfield’s “YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!!!” inflections that pull me out of the game entirely (opener “Biomechanical Horrors”), or aiming to dethrone Mikael Stanne’s haunting croons but whiffing it (the title track and “The Perfect Host”)² they act as a stark reminder that if you can’t perform a certain way, you can always seek help from the outside. There’s no shame in doing so.

One final bit of advice, and I experienced this personally all-too-recently: the grind mindset. I respect the hustle, I really do. Eight albums in twelve years sounds impressive (and it is), but the factory-like churning of albums causes a negative impact on your art. Slow it down a bit, take time away from what you’re working on (if you can manage), and let your piece breathe a bit. Assess what can be added. What can be taken away? What can be improved upon? Because all these things will benefit not only your music, but you personally. Because while Synapse the Hivemind has some cool ideas and amazing musicianship trapped behind okayish songwriting, I know Byrne and Sonus Mortis are capable of much, much more.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 192 kbps mp3
Label: Unsigned/Independent
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: March 27th, 2025

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