Oct 292026
 

(written by Islander)

We’re about to take you off of most (but not all) of our well-beaten musical paths through a track that deploys sonic ingredients we don’t often display but which shares a certain evil kinship with some of the more deranged expressions of extreme metal we focus on.

This track, “VOID_//EXE“, is the work of Above & Below, which is the Industrial solo project of Ohio-based Bryce Seditz, who’s better known to our visitors for his roles in Plaguewielder and Horse Drawn, and we’re presenting it through a visualizer video that’s the work of Mourning Shroud (another one of Bryce’s endeavors). Continue reading »

Oct 292026
 

(written by Islander)

It’s highly likely that scrolling metal lovers will freeze in place when they see the painting up above. It’s a ghastly and frightening vision, and one that suits the name of the band whose debut album it adorns: Eyes of Agony.

Yes, When They Return is a debut album, but it was created by experienced hands. Eyes of Agony was established by Danny Cinicolo, founder of such old-school Italian death metal bands as Excidium and Maleficarum, whose histories stretch back to the ‘90s and even into the mid ‘80s. After sharing some of his new songs via YouTube and receiving enthusiastic responses, he enlisted his old friend and bandmate in Maleficarum, Andrea Zanetti, whose experience has included roles in Iconoclast, Schizo, Monumentum, Sinoath, and the aforementioned Maleficarum.

With Zanetti in place as vocalist, the two of them then recruited drummer Davide Billia (whose credits include Beheaded, Hour of Penance, Antropofagus, Putridity, and Septycal Gorge, among many others), guitarist Massimo Boffa (whose resume includes Mind Control and Halley), and bassist Fabrizio Biondi (Jesus) (who was part of Mechanical God Creation).

Their work together resulted in an album of nine tracks and 36 minutes that will be released in November by Awakening Records, and today we’re premiering one of those — the song that shares the name of the band itself. Continue reading »

Oct 292026
 

(Andy Synn, ahem, extols the virtues of the band’s new album, out next week)

Let’s address the elephant in the room immediately, shall we?

Yes, Extol‘s long-awaited sixth album – coming some thirteen years after their seminal (and almost equally long gestating) self-titled record – deserves much, much better artwork, as it’s become painfully clear that Hugh Syme (famous for his work with Rush, Dream Theatre, and even Extol themselves) has been phoning it in for quite some time now.

Thankfully, however, this is one of those times when it’s worth remembering that you can’t always judge a book (or an album) by its cover, as there’s nothing half-assed about the band’s own work on Aura of Decay.

Continue reading »

Oct 292026
 

(written by Islander)

Deciduous Forest is the solo project of Brisbane-based Snjór, guitarist with Graveir and live guitarist for Hebephrenique, Brimstone, and Bruxa. Deciduous Forest drew its inspirations from terrains of atmospheric black metal, neofolk, and blackgaze and announced itself last year with the debut album Fields Of Yore. Now a second album has been prepared, one named Hymns of Time. The Apocalyptic Witchcraft label, which will release the album in January, has described it as “both a continuation of Fields Of Yore and an evolution of Deciduous Forest as a whole, revealing more of its sylvan landscape and haunted spirit of betrayal, regret and loss.”

The album unfolds like a journey through a vast and daunting primeval realm of light and shade, and as a traversing of harrowing and haunting internal realms as well. It is five songs long, and what we have for you today is the premiere of the fourth of those, “Celestial Forests“. Continue reading »

Oct 282026
 

(written by Islander)

SSMMÜTT (please pay careful attention to the umlaut as you sound out the name) is the experimental musical project of Irish producer and illustrator Robert Mirolo, accompanied by a changing cast of supporting characters.

The music has rightly been called “shape-shifting”, further described by the label that’s releasing their new album (Cursed Monk Records) as “a visceral alchemy of Doom, Kosmische, and Ambient textures, often collapsing into the crushing weight of blackened sludge” — and that’s not an exhaustive description.

The name of the album, which will be released on October 30th, is A Blight on the Perfect Organism of Death. We are premiering a full stream of it today, all nine songs and 31 minutes of it, preceded by a likely futile attempt to prepare you for the often vicious, often captivating, and constantly surprising carnival that’s now arrived in your neighborhood. Continue reading »

Oct 282026
 

(Andy Synn doesn’t do many interviews any more, but made an exception for this one)

The main reason I don’t do many interviews any more is due to the fact that I feel like a good interview – not just one that regurgitates the same old boring, boilerplate questions that you can find anywwhere else – is one that you dedicate a bit of time to, and time is something I’m almost always in short supply of these days.

I’d also say that a good interview should be a form of dialogue, one where you get a sense of the personality of the interviewer through the questions they ask, which in turn leads to a more natural and (hopefully) illuminating interaction with the interviewee… which also takes a lot of time to get right.

And did I mention that I don’t really have that much time to spare at the moment?

That being said, when the opportunity fell into my lap to interview the one and only Candace Buckingham (née Kucsulain), formidable frontwoman of Metallic Hardcore legends Walls of Jericho (a band I’ve been a huge fan of for a long, long time, and whose upcoming new album is the sort of record which tempts me to dip back into my big bag of clichés for terms like “comeback”, “revival”, and “renaissance”) I knew I couldn’t turn it down.

So, without further ado, let’s see if I still remember how to converse with another human being, shall we?

Continue reading »

Oct 272026
 

(written by Islander)

In last Sunday’s edition of this column I only wrote about one album (by Glorior Belli). It deserved the exclusive attention, but I had planned to write about more releases until some life events got in the way. With today’s album premiere being handled by Daniel Barkasi, I decided to use my time to cover a couple more of the releases I’d intended to include in the Sunday column — two exceptionally good EPs released earlier this month. Continue reading »

Oct 272026
 

(Andy Synn stands up to be counted alongside Washington D.C. Hardcore crew NØ MAN)

People sometimes (and by “sometimes” I mean “frequently”) get very mad at the assertion that all music is, in some way, political.

And I get why, to an extent.

After all, for a lot of people the use of the term “political” is a negative thing… they think of it as being lectured, being told what to think, who to vote for, etc.

But that’s not really what it means.

In fact it’s the very act of making music that’s an inherently political statement, especially when it comes to Metal/Punk/Hardcore… genres that various government and regimes around the world have frequently decried as decadent, degenerate, and a threat to the youth.

That’s what we really mean when we say that it’s “political”, because by picking up that guitar, screaming into that microphone, bashing away at those drums, what you’re doing is taking a stand and asserting yourself, creating art that is for yourself, not to serve the state or the economy but to express something freely and openly and – perhaps most importantly – loudly.

And, on their new album (out this Friday), Washington D.C. quartet NØ MAN are as loud, as proud, and as in-your-face about who they are as they’ve ever been.

Continue reading »

Oct 272026
 

(On October 30th Ardua Music will release Heirloom, the third album by the Florida melodic doom/death metal band Somnent. Two weeks ago we presented Daniel Barkasi’s very good interview of the band’s founder Giovanni A. Vigliotti, and today we’re premiering a full stream of the entire album — preceded by Dan’s review.)

Within the halls of the doom genre, it’s not as easy to stand out and grab attention as it is in more bombastic styles such as death, thrash, and black metal. The best acts all contain significant depth in their music, emotively and within the often layered and complex compositions. Mother of Graves has accomplished this, and no doubt will continue to do so, along with Fires in the Distance, Tribunal, and a couple of others.

Today, we want to discuss Somnent, a band who no doubt currently has an underground following, but is on the precipice of something more. You can feel the hunger in their live performances, as well as within the steady progression of their music with each subsequent release. If you haven’t yet, check out our interview to learn more about the project’s origins and its creator and songwriter, Giovanni A. Vigliotti, which partners well with this review and full streaming premiere of the album. Continue reading »

Oct 262026
 

(Andy Synn presents his thoughts on one of the best debut albums of 2026)

A couple of months back I took a quick jaunt back up to my old stomping grounds to catch Metallic Hardcore legends Merauder play a killer show at The Bread Shed in Manchester.

What made the show even better was the fact that, in response to the fact that two different – and potentially competing – tours were in town the same night, the promoters decided to combine forces in a laudable display of both scene solidarity and business savvy, meaning I got even more bang for my buck with the inclusion of a whole other roster of bands on the bill.

And the one that really stood out was that of New York Thrash-core thrillsters New World Man, who made sure that eveyone there would remember their name with an absolutely electrifying, ass-kicking performance that recalled the likes of Power Trip, Drain, and Enforced at their very best.

Which is why I made a mental note to check out their new album (just released on Closed Casket Activities) as soon as it came out, because I knew that if they managed to capture even half of the energy and intensity of their live show on record they would be in line to make a major impact.

So grab your helmets and your elbow pads and prepare to get absolutely wrecked by I Am the Machine.

Continue reading »