Weekly Digest, Week 31 / 2026

Get back into the everyday rhythm with these releases by Complexant, Finsterforst, Fractal Sun, Lipoma and Nothingness.

The overground offers both surprises and... well... the opposite:

Allt – Ataraxia (progressive metalcore)

Disfiguring the Goddess – Bloom (brutal death metal/deathcore)

Five Finger Death Punch – Legacy (alternative metal/hard rock)

Bear McCreary – The Singularity: Eklepsis (progressive metal)

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TOP PICK OF THE WEEK

Nothingness – Godslaughter

Genre: Death metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Country of origin: USA

This summer hasn't seen much in the way of quality death doom (that I've noticed, anyway), and this isn't exactly that, but for those starved of riffs that sound like collapsing cave systems, this will most likely do the trick and then some. Nothingness is a Minnesotan band that play mid-tempo, old-school-leaning, sky-darkening, happiness-crushing death metal. While far from what I'd call "technical" or "progressive", there's an insidious ingenuity to the rhythms that has the beast that is the album regularly shifting its strategy, never letting you get quite comfortable with its approach to chasing and stalking you.

Tonally it's pretty even-tempered, and while matched with the awesome combined force of drums, guitars and bass it becomes a horrifying spectacle, it can also get a bit tiresome in its lack of variation. There's not much in the way of shock factor, and it doesn't unsettle quite like the unhinged evil of a Veilburner album, but it certainly does impress with its sheer weight and relentlessness.

Highlights: "Skull Evulsion" and "Incinerated Immediately"

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Complexant – Apex

Genre: Blackened deathcore/death metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3/5

Country of origin: Australia

You could tack on a fair bit of labels to the sound of the debut album by Australian band Complexant. Deathcore. Tech death. Melodic black metal. Long story short though: it's heavy, fast and aggressive. The band seem to have picked out some of their favorite ingredients from modern black- and death metal and mashed them together into their own brand of monstrosity. You get chugs and breakdowns, blast beats, dark majesty and technical complexity.

The important part to note is that the entertainment factor is high, and it doesn't feel overly bound by tropes. There's plenty of energy and measured brutality. It's also a mixed bag. Some of the songs feel rushed, like they're very nearly stumbling over their own strings as they hurl themselves onto the attack. The clean-ish vocals feel underdeveloped, and too few of the melodies truly land for me. But at its best it's quite the beast, reminding me of such acts as the UK's Viscera.

Highlight: "Cyclops"

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Finsterforst – Still

Genre: Folk metal

Subjective rating: 3/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Germany

If you're new to German band Finsterforst's current sound, you need to disconnect your expectations from the atmospheric nuance of such bands as Panopticon, but also the rowdy irreverence of a band like Korpiklaani, and the live-oriented simplicity of the likes of Feuerschwantz. This is folk metal that's big, fairly uncomplicated and punchy, but that also carries the rasp and venom of black metal, with big, lofty visions leading to epic scope and extended song lengths. It certainly doesn't make you forget that it's nearly 80 minutes long, but if you find yourself connecting with the vibe, then you'll enjoy all of it.  

Highlight: "Im Wind"

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Fractal Sun – Divergent Paradox

Genre: Progressive metal

Subjective rating: 3/5

Objective rating: 3/5

Country of origin: Costa Rica

This Costa Rican band play a sci-fi-conceptual, melodic and modern variant of progressive metal, not quite managing the impact of such acts as Spiritbox, but utilizing some of the same traits. There are djent-y guitars and snarling vocals to go with the gentle and lofty stuff, and some effort has clearly been put into joining the two extremes as seamlessly as possible. While the complex rhythm work gets somewhat jittery at times, and some of the mixing throws off the balance a little, the best of what's on offer flows really well, managing unpredictable, mind-tickling progressions that feel purposefully intricate.

Highlight: "Trail of Pain"

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Lipoma – Infernal Wounds of Ravenous Flesh

Genre: Goregrind/melodic death metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3/5

Country of origin: USA

If you're questioning how a goregrind and melodic death/black metal mashup might make sense, then look no further than to New York band Lipoma for a fully functioning example. It's all the blood-crazed aggression and swamp-guttural vocals you'd expect, but all of a sudden you find yourself nodding along to vintage Dark Tranquillity riff-carried melodies on steady, marching rhythms. There's a definite chill and solemnity to the sound that sort of works and sort of doesn't, as it's matched up with horror samples and abattoir morbidity.

I will admit that it's not the most inventive, neither as a genre blend, nor in any one of its different styles isolated, but personally I find more than enough entertainment value and brutal groove on here to keep me engaged for its sub-35 minute runtime.  

Highlight: "Teratoma in the Putrid Womb"

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HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Hexorcist – Crucificial Imprecations

Genre: Death/speed metal

Country of origin: USA

Tabernakel – Scheintaufe

Genre: Black metal

Country of origin: Germany

Viande – Monument aux morts

Genre: Death/black metal

Country of origin: France