Weekly Digest, Week 19 / 2026
- Thomas
- 1 minute ago
- 4 min read
Get ready for a packed week of mixed flavors, with highlight releases from A Forest Of Stars, IATT, Lyrre, Restless Spirit and Voidthrone.
In case you're still starved for more, there's plenty to choose from above the underground:
Black Veil Brides – Vindicate (gothic hard rock/metalcore)
Darko US – Oni 2 (deathcore/metalcore)
Draconian – In Somnolent Ruin (doom/gothic metal)
Darkthrone – Pre-Historic Metal (heavy/black metal)
Frozen Soul – No Place Of Warmth (death metal)
Ingested – Denigration (brutal death metal)
Jungle Rot – Cruel Face Of War (death metal)
The Narrator – Phosphor (metalcore)
Panopticon – Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet (atmospheric black metal)
Yoth Iria – Gone With The Devil (melodic black/gothic metal)
TOP PICK OF THE WEEK
A Forest Of Stars – Stack Overflow In Corpse Pile Interface
Genre: Avant-garde black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5
Country of origin: England
If you've never come across this British vaguely-black-metal band before, then best prepare yourself for an experience unlike anything else. This is violin-accompanied, lightly surrealist, dark contemporary art theater in sonic form. At once manic and composed, you're presented with a rhythmically stable, beautifully melodic sound that flows steadily and shifts organically, with a half-spoken, highly dramatized vocal performance that radiates unhinged conviction.
As a black metal album, it's far from the heaviest or most aggressive. Expectations of classic, technical genre traits must be abandoned. But the misanthropic mood is certainly there, and at times you're taken aback by the unsettling force of it, not too different from that achieved by Blut Aus Nord. It doesn't always manage the big, majestic turns as well as the smaller, understated ones, and overall I'm missing a bit of hair-raising grandeur, which I'm sure it could accommodate. But take it for what it is, and it will transport you far, far off the overtrodden center path and into the rarely imagined.
Highlights: "Street Level Vertigo" and "Roots Circle Usurpers".
IATT – Etheric Realms Of The Night
Genre: Progressive extreme metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Country of origin: USA
2022's "Magnum Opus" made some waves in the prog metal community, and rightly so. But now, four years later, can the band top their self-declared masterpiece? IATT is an indulgent kind of band, hovering around the spheres of black- and death metal and going, seemingly, wherever strikes them at any given moment. This is not the kind of album where you can expect an even flow. Mood, tone and instrumental approach can shift at a moment's notice, and only a vague sense of direction is left as a guide.
This doesn't fall into the category of "unhinged" prog, but it's certainly exploratory to the degree that you feel like they're making it up as they go. For my taste it's too broken up, feeling fragmented rather than complex. But if you're happy to let your prog take you through a labyrinth of unexpected impressions, then this will likely be just the kind of challenge that will tickle your brain in all the right spots.
Highlights: "Somniphobia" and "Walk Amongst"
Lyrre – Nothing Is Promised
Genre: Folk metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Country of origin: Poland
Strongly featuring the hurdy-gurdy will earn you a "medieval" trait in most people's book, and that is certainly not to the detriment of Polish band Lyrre. Founded by ex-Eluveitie player Michalina Malisz, the band opts for an epic but fairly grounded sound, bringing to mind the perspective of a low-flying bird sweeping across misty forest landscapes.
It's a strongly melodic kind of folk metal, but quite understated in comparison to some of the more symphonic or rowdy projects out there. At times it's probably a bit too laid back, coasting on lazy rhythms and the effortless beauty of the vocals. But it's also not overstated or tacky in any way, so feels a lot more genuine than most of its peers.
Highlight: "Still Human"
Restless Spirit – Restless Spirit
Genre: Stoner/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Country of origin: USA
Let's be real, the stoner/doom niche isn't exactly one of the more innovative spheres of the metal realm. Throw on a wooly mammoth theme, crank the fuzz and set off at a lazy pace across imagined, warm-toned moonlit desert dunes while projecting psychedelic imagery, and you've pretty much nailed it. But the cool part of dealing with such obvious stereotypes is that defying them in only a few key areas will clearly set you apart. For Restless Spirit that means breaking through the smoke haze and delivering their groove with clarity and persistent energy.
On their fourth, self-titled release, we find them loaded with heavy metal adventurousness and melodic potency, while retaining classic doom heaviness and stoner cool, with a killer vocal performance. Effortlessly circumventing tropes, you still get an excellent balance of dynamic, even mildly complex rhythms, and straightforwardly engaging riffs. While not revolutionary in any way, it's going all in on what makes the band both exciting and reliable. Â
Highlights: "The Burning Need" and "Desolation's Wake"
Voidthrone – Dreaming Rat
Genre: Experimental black/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Country of origin: USA
If you ever wondered what it would feel like to have a rat burrow its way into your brain, this might be as close as you can get to the sonic equivalent. Voidthrone is one of those bands that aim for the opposite of listener friendliness, which often results in some nightmarish form of death doom. This, however, doesn't have anything near that kind of patience. What you get is a form of completely insane blackened death metal that would no doubt somehow manage to eat its way out of its padded cell.
There's a raw fury to the album that's only held back by its own, easily distracted form of madness, that has it shifting pace at a moment's notice and jumping between dissonance, unnerving atmosphere and punishing riff assaults. On top is a vocal performance straight out of Satan's mental ward, that moves between brutal-style gurgles, banshee shrieks, maniacal cackling and several other steps in between effortlessly. Boy have you got to be in the mood for this one, but if you are, then it might very well blow your mind.
Highlight: "I-I. Bergen" and "I-III. First Blood"
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Black Sea Of Trees – Cult Of The Sun
Genre: Progressive metal
Country of origin: Australia
Eradikated – Wiring Of Violence
Genre: Thrash metal
Country of origin: Sweden
Gadget – Coerced (EP)
Genre: Grindcore
Country of origin: Sweden
Trip Villain – Dose
Genre: Industrial metal
Country of origin: USA