Weekly Digest, Week 18 / 2026

There's very little mercy to be had from these albums by Cognizance, Devenial Verdict, In Malice's Wake, Lair Of The Minotaur and Spell.

Here's a few bigger releases from this week, if you're interested. 

Haste The Day – Dissenter (metalcore)

Sevendust – One (alternative metal/rock)

VCTMS – pain processing II (hardcore/metalcore)

Venom – Into Oblivion (blackened heavy/speed metal)

---

TOP PICK OF THE WEEK

Devenial Verdict – Old Blood – Fresh Wounds

Genre: Death metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Finland

Each album so far by Finnish band Devenial Verdict has seen a slightly different iteration of the band, but the core ingredients of aggressive, meaty death metal still remain, and the quality has remained consistent. Sticking to the bread and butter of the genre has never been enough for these guys, and on "Old Blood - Fresh Wounds" we get a kind of groove-centric, moderately progressive iteration of their style. The production is warm and massively full, like a colossal sand dune toppling over you.

The guys like to play around with dissonance, and while it's still present, it feels scaled back in favor of head-on beastly heaviness and Gojira-like prog-groove techniques. There's a bit less melody and overall variety than on 2024's "Blessing of Despair", but it makes up for it with a touch of death doom ominousness and a never-ending supply of earth-shaking riffs.

Highlights: "Elysium" and "The Corinthian"

---

Cognizance – In Light, No Shape

Genre: Technical death metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: England

Much like on 2024's "Phantazein", which I needed a little time to let grow on me, "In Light, No Shape" is not the kind of tech death that slaps you in the face with its exuberance. Again, this is closer to melodeath and progressive death metal than the inhuman speed extremes of the likes of Archspire or The Zenith Passage. The rhythms are still complicated, but in a way that makes the average listener more able to appreciate the thinking behind it.

While it feels more organic and approachable, it also feels a bit monochromatic in terms of mood, and it's not the kind of album where you easily tell most of the tracks apart. Instead, you get moments as part of a cohesive listening experience that feels like you're following the same agile beast on its exploratory way through the gloom. There are pauses and events along the way that provide spice and variation, but it's all tackled with more or less the same demeanor. This is still a compelling and highly competent alternative to its more hyperactive subgenre peers, that rewards attention and multiple listens.

Highlight: "Witness Marks"

---

In Malice's Wake – The Profound Darkness

Genre: Thrash/death metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Australia

Sometimes you just want your thrash metal to grow spikes out of its spine and rip your head off. Australian band In Malice's Wake do indeed sound like there's been some underworldly soul bargaining going on during the recording process. "The Profound Darkness" plays very much like regular mid-to-high-tempo thrash metal, but there's a raging hellfire burning underneath it all. Every part of the performances has an extra level of infernal muscle behind it, raising the threat level far beyond your average shred fest.

This thing is all menace, almost like it delights in it. A fair bit of the time, that means it loses sight of the pedal-to-the-metal fun factor that is so important for thrash to feel vital. Instead you get growling, hellhound bloodthirst that does occasionally explode into a focused frenzy, looking to devour you with one of several snapping maws.

Highlight: "By Tongues of Demons"

---

Lair Of The Minotaur – I Hail I

Genre: Sludge/thrash metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: USA

How about some Black Label Society-like doomy groove mixed with sludge hostility and crunchy thrash riffs? On "I Hail I", Lair Of The Minotaur take on the mentality of classic Swedish death metal in their mix of pleasing, riff-driven badassery with skull-collecting monstrous malice.

It's not what you would call a dynamic record, with many of the songs sticking to the same riff-and-rhythm formula throughout their runtime. But the uncompromising, near-industrial heaviness and locked-in, murderous mood hit you so square in the face that you're left with lasting imprints of the song identities whether you like it or not. It's an album that forces you to dig it through sheer force.

Highlight: "Prowler Twin Sister"

---

Spell – Wretched Heart

Genre: Heavy/gothic metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Country of origin: Canada

Reviewing Spell's 2022 release "Tragic Magic" I likened their sound to that of early Ghost, and I'll repeat that sentiment for "Wretched Heart". What truly sets them apart is their gothic-romantic approach to melody and synth-powered atmosphere, with more than a few nods to cheeky glam ballads. They cover it with a light layer of tomb flower morbidity and mostly stay within a classic, slow-tempo heavy metal instrumental realm, which produces some delicious solos and driving riffs.

The energy you get from this iteration of Spell is all costumed charm and no heft. In fact, the whole thing feels rather feeble. But the delicate frailness is part of the album's character. It's the kind of sound you absorb for the vampiric, mansion-dwelling daydream factor. And it delivers this immersion almost impeccably.  

Highlights: "Unquiet Graves" and "Wretched Heart"

---

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Ashen Horde – The Harvest

Genre: Progressive death/black metal

Country of origin: USA

Cage Fight – Exuvia

Genre: Groove metal/hardcore

Country of origin: England

Creeping Flesh – God's Acres Rife with Flesh Adorned

Genre: Death metal

Country of origin: Sweden