German Metal

The Mountain King – Pike Dreams Review

By Thus Spoke on March 9, 2026 in Reviews, Ambient, Electronic, Not Metal, 25 comments

“My general lack of awareness and the fact that The Mountain King themselves submitted the album via contact form and didn’t give much away in their promo pack left me unprepared for Pike Dreams. In the hazy air of the promo sump, I caught the word ‘doom’, but when I hit play on Pike Dreams that’s not quite what I got. As much as the name and cover art seem to scream Sabbathian (neo-)classical heavy metal, stoner, and of course doom, Pike Dreams is ambient, synth-led post-rock, and it’s instrumental.” The hills have sighs.

Aeon Gods – Reborn to Light Review

By Killjoy on February 25, 2026 in Reviews, Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, 27 comments

“When it comes to the vast pantheons of mythological figures, Aeon Gods is clearly interested in the most powerful. Their 2024 debut album, King of Gods, expounded upon the mighty deities of Mesopotamia with plenty of power metal bombast. Now, less than 18 months later, this German five-piece turns their attention to ancient Egypt. Specifically, Reborn to Light orbits the sun god Re (more commonly known today as Ra).” Gods and Suns))).

Teutonic Slaughter – Cheap Food Review

By Andy-War-Hall on February 13, 2026 in Reviews, Thrash Metal, 13 comments

“Becoming a fully-fledged metalhead is when you stop associating German metal with Rammstein and start with Teutonic thrash. There’s something about Germany that just makes thrash metal meaner, dirtier, and nastier than anywhere else, and without Teutonic thrash, extreme metal would likely look very different from where it is today. Knowing and loving this heritage, Germany’s own Teutonic Slaughter throws their feather-capped hat into the ring with their third album, Cheap Food, brandishing both a ridiculous album cover and a conviction to maintain the glory of old school Teutonic thrash metal.” Eat, prey, leave.

Slaughterday – Dread Emperor Review

By Tyme on February 13, 2026 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 25 comments

“Longtime readers of AMG may remember the last time German OSDM stalwarts Slaughterday graced these digital pages. It was long enough ago that EPs were still getting the full-on review treatment, which enabled Slaughterday’s second release, Ravenous, to land a respectable 3.0/5.0 rating. What I was surprised to discover was the lack of any additional coverage, despite Slaughterday dropping three subsequent long players since then. Whether this fact boils down to a lack of promo or a lack of interest is irrelevant, considering I was able to wrestle Slaughterday’s newest offering of odorous offal, Dread Emperor, from the murkiest depths of the sump.” T.G.I.S.

Karloff – Revered by Death Review

By Samguineous Maximus on February 11, 2026 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Punk, 7 comments

“As a musician, sometimes you just want to blow off some steam with a fun, low-stakes side project, free from the genre trappings or expectations of your main gig. Karloff is a band born of such an impulse, serving as the vehicle for Graveyard Ghoul’s Tom “Tyrantör” Horrified to deliver some vintage metal/punk. The band’s last full-length, 2021’s The Appearing, was an enjoyable but unimpressive throwback to the halcyon days of punky heavy metal with a blackened twist. Now Mr. Horrified and his team storm back from the grave with another fist-swinging slab of tight, nostalgia-soaked riffage, built to crack open some beers and rattle your damn crypt to rubble.” Universal monsters.

Stuck in the Filter: November/December 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity on February 11, 2026 in Reviews, Stuck in the Filter, Death Metal, Deathcore, Djent, Experimental Metal, Folk Metal, Heavy Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Symphonic Metal, Synthwave, Technical Death Metal, 65 comments

2025 is fading in the rearview, but the Filters still need scrubbing. See what was left over after all the holiday debauchery.

Bloodred – Colours of Pain Review

By Mark Z. on February 10, 2026 in Reviews, Black Metal, Blackened Death Metal, Death Metal, 26 comments

“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?

The Hirsch Effekt – Der Brauch Review

By Twelve on February 9, 2026 in Reviews, Progressive Metal, 31 comments

“Motivation can be a tricky thing. Take me, for instance—it’s my first review of 2026, and I’m already starting it later in the month than I meant to. For me, motivation has been a bit lacking. Now look at the subject of my first review, Der Brauch (“The Need”) from German progressive metal act The Hirsch Effekt. This is their seventh full-length release in sixteen years of existence, a commendable testament to motivation, at the very least. And while putting pen to paper (figuratively) can be a hard thing to do, I love writing about a motivated group.” Pause and effekt.

Lone Wanderer – Exequiae Review

By ClarkKent on February 8, 2026 in Reviews, Funeral Doom, 27 comments

“It’s no secret that funeral doom is all about death, but in case you weren’t aware, Lone Wanderer hits you over the head with the fact (don’t worry, it’s not a fatal whack). The title of their latest record, Exequaie, is Latin for “funeral rites.” The album cover, from Ernst Ferdinand Oehme’s 1828 painting Procession in the Fog, depicts a ghostly funeral procession, and most song titles use death as a theme in some shape or form.” Rites and wrongs of death.

Bitterness – Hallowed Be the Game Review

By Tyme on February 6, 2026 in Reviews, Thrash Metal, 15 comments

“Thrash metal trio Bitterness has been riffing around Germany’s underground metal scene since 2002. And despite a twenty-plus-year career spent in a state of sustained anonymity, these thrashers three are ready to throw down their eighth full-length odyssey, Hallowed Be the Game. Marching under the thrash banner in a country that birthed not only the Big Teutonic 4, but some very endearing second-tier bands, takes guts and persistence. Luckily, Bitterness has a little bit of both.” In the game of German thrash, be bitter or be dead.