Weekly Spotlight, Week 22 / 2025

A week that won't leave you relaxed, nor indifferent, courtesy of Poison the Preacher, Chepang, Animalize, Balmog, and Ossuary.

First though, a handful of releases from some slightly loftier names:

...And Oceans - The Regeneration Itinerary

Midnight – Steel, Rust And Disgust (mostly covers)

Moonlight Haze – Beyond

Witchcraft – IDAG

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Poison The Preacher – Vs The World

Genre: Thrash metal/hardcore

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Country of origin: Colombia

Been a little while since I've had some quality crossover thrash come across my radar. This stuff is from Colombia, and they do let in just enough local flavor to clearly distinguish it from the typical North American street rascal sound. What they do serve up plenty of is that Power Trip-style, old school death metal-derived raspy brutality, and coupled with the fired-up, no-way-but-forward mentality of eager, short-form thrash, it sets off like a Mad Max-styled monster truck, mowing down everything in its path. There's plenty of groove, squealy guitar antics and the occasional hardcore stomp section, and it all fits very well together. 

Highlights: "Dying Every Day" and "Congelado en el Tiempo"

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Chepang – Jhyappa

Genre: Grindcore

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Nepal

Nepali(!) grindcore that mixes short-form, groove-laden death metal fury with unhinged dissonance and just enough folk elements to give it a distinct character. The riff tone reminds me a bit of Alien Weaponry, but the muddled production and undeniable ferocity of the thing clearly separates it from anything approaching listener-friendly. It serves up some truly killer, primal riff sections though, not terribly unlike something you'd expect from Soulfly. At 17 min 31 sec, it doesn't overstay its welcome, and crucially doesn't sound like the same couple of tracks on repeat. 

Highlights: "Gatichad" and "Nirnaya"

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Animalize – Verminateur

Genre: Heavy metal 

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: France

I gotta say, it's pretty damn refreshing to hear clean-sung metal in a language other than English every now and then. Regardless of this, French band Animalize nail the 80s glam-infused, melodic heavy metal sound, without resorting to tired clichés. It's mostly a mid-tempo affair, but they shake it up with a few speed metal racers, which is where I find them at their best. They sound confident, and very comfortable with their chosen style, loading on the tropes in a way that keeps all the fun and none of the cringe. The melodies are strong, and most of the tracks build to memorable choruses.

Highlight: "Verminateur"

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Balmog – Laio

Genre: Black metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Spain

This is stripped back black metal just the way I like it. Not reduced to a "listening to a broken toy speaker" experience by a low-fi production, but simply consisting of the necessary elements to shape their sound, and nothing else. It sounds malign, raw and genuinely like the work of devil worshippers, but with a snap to the rhythms and a hint of groove to the riffs and tremolo melodies. It's honestly very close to a higher rating, just missing one or two songs that really stand out. Overall, it's quality, evil black metal all the way, that can be appreciated for its individual style rather than it desperately trying to emulate the Scandinavian origin.

Highlight: "Tongue in pieces"

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Ossuary – Abhorrent Worship

Genre: Death/doom metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: USA

If you're up to utterly soiling your earholes, then let's take this plunge into the suffocating deep and face the cruel, ponderous terrors that lurk in the earthy darkness. Ossuary offer up an intentionally painful listening experience, with the highlight being the ghoulish vocals, that manage to convey hate, revulsion, agony and a dark, threatening hunger through only slight variations in the same, gurgling vocal style. There is just enough reverb to create the sense of cavernous terror, and nothing but towering darkness to the tone. You don't get more than a handful of standout moments, with some sections getting slightly repetitive, but stylistically they hit the target dead center. 

Highlight: "The Undrownable Howl of Evil"