“Something must be in the water over in Poland, because the country churns out quality death metal like few others. The phrase ‘Polish death metal’ always grabs my attention, whether it’s technical like early Decapitated, thrashy à la Vader, or as blackened as Behemoth. Such was the case when I espied Shine’s Wrathcult lying unclaimed in the promo bin.” Hiding light under a cult bushel.
“In case you’re unfamiliar, The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamian poetic narrative, whose first complete form is dated to approximately 1800 BCE. It follows a story of King Gilgamesh and his dealings with gods and other mythic monsters, culminating in a journey for the secret of immortality. What better way could there be to consume this rich, literary epic than have it interpreted by the collection of artists behind From the Waters of Death? Obscure black/doom duo Swords of Dis; death metal veteran and experimenter Serpent Ascending; Neptunian Maximalism’s darker, heavier incarnation Ôros Kaù; and ambient-black dreamer Midnight Odyssey.” Gil Ga Mesh, the perverted son, the holy man!
“Seeing an album described as “blackened death metal” almost always gets my juices flowing. The problem with that tag, however, is that it can mean anything from weird avant-garde blackened dissodeath (yuck) to Christcrushing necronuclear Blasphemy-worshipping goat metal (fukk yeah!!). But Bloodred are neither of those things. This German band is technically a duo but is really more like the solo project of vocalist, guitarist, and bassist Ron Merz, who’s been enlisting the talents of drummer Joris Nijenhuis (ex-Atrocity, ex-Leaves’ Eyes) since the band’s first releases back in the mid-2010s. I admittedly hadn’t heard of these guys when I saw their name crop up in our promo bin, but I decided to give their back catalog a whirl when I saw Amon Amarth was tagged as a similar artist on Encyclopedia Metallum. MOAR blood for the Blood Gods?
“Herezjarcha—Arch-Heretic—is the sophomore of Pennsylvania-based Profane Elegy, who are determined to escape genre boundaries. Following the trajectory set by 2023’s When All is Nothing, it sees the co-existence if not coalescence of black and death metal, but also an atmospheric, ambient kind of doom, and only doubles down on each aspect. It’s not the first time a metal artist has claimed to eschew categorization, and many, if not most, modern artists in extreme subgenres borrow from less-extreme ones, and incorporate generous reverb. Profane Elegy’s claims, therefore, don’t excite special interest whether you’ve heard the debut or not; listeners dis/like their sound on its own terms.” Knowing profanity when you hear it.
“Fromsoftware’s behemoth action-RPG Elden Ring is an enigma. How a game so obtuse, difficult, and uniquely itself in its visuals and storytelling became the blockbuster that it is baffles me, and it’s one of those precious pieces of art that simply makes me happy to live in the same world as it. It’s also metal as anything can be. Bands like Fell Omen have tapped into the game’s mythology for inspiration before and, now, the international blackened death duo Starscourge enter the fray with their debut Conqueror of the Stars – Betwixt Sundered Seraphim, the Lands Between Bleed.” Star power.
“A Polish, blackened death metal record a day keeps the doctor away, or so I have heard. If so, Insidius (so tired of mispelled band names that make things impossible to search for) is your latest shot of hyper technical, searingly fast loud noises from the Poles. Quietly chugging along in the background, this Olsztyn-based fivesome has been producing solid blackened death since their debut, Shadows of Humanity, in 2016. While the album cover for Vulgus Illustrata may look like it contains some atmospheric depressive black metal, the eight tracks inside are nonstop meat grinders of chainsaw riffing with thick bass, otherworldly drumming, and pure rage.” Poles armed.
“Sometimes, you catch a glint from deep within the festering promo heap and you know exactly what kind of beast you’re about to prod. Strigiform’s debut, Aconite, radiates the unmistakable stench of “I, Voidhanger-core”—that wonderfully cursed strain of aural decimation that critics slobber over while normal metalheads back away slowly, usually on smaller wierdo labels like I, Voidhanger or Transcending Obscurity. Think along the lines of AMG darlings from this year like Hexrot, Patristic and Ritual Ascension.” Voidbanger.
![Citadel – Descension [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Citadel_Descension_01.jpg.webp)
“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.
“Boasting one of the most consistent discographies in the world of weird modern metal, Pennsylvania’s Veilburner toy with the boundaries between the strange, the twisted, and the accessible. From my introduction to their work, A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy, to their high-water mark Lurkers in the Capsule of Skull, and through The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom, Veilburner defied Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™.” Veil fought the Law.
August is but a warm, sunny memory and All Hallows Eve is upon us. Good thing we finally de-gunkified those August Filters to avoid tricks.
