Weekly Spotlight, Week 27 / 2025

The releases in the spotlight this week mostly look to the past, but still sound fresh, featuring Inhuman Condition, King Witch, Fer de Lance, Ready For Death and Thanatorean.

In case you missed it, there's also some major stuff in the pipeline:

Deadguy – Near-Death Travel Services

Heaven Shall Burn – Heimat

Lord Belial – Unholy Trinity

Shadow Of Intent – Imperium Delirium

Sodom – The Arsonist

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Inhuman Condition – Mind Trap

Genre:  Death/thrash metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Country of origin: USA

Three albums in, and Inhuman Condition have proven not only their eagerness, but a highly impressive consistency of quality to go with it. In short, there's not all that much more to say about it than that it's rock solid Floridian death thrash. The surprise lies not in it being experimental, progressive or terribly distinct, but in that it manages to be so goddamn engaging despite its faithfulness to that original, Obituary-like style. The fact that it's thematically morbid and sadistic is also entirely predictable. Much of the success must be credited to the rhythm work, which is about as dynamic as can be without getting distracting or messing up the flow. It also doesn't hurt that the riff tone is awesomely vicious, the vocal style satisfyingly coarse, and the low end perfectly punchy.    

Highlights: "Face for Later" and "Severely Lifeless"

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King Witch – III

Genre: Doom metal/hard rock

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Scotland

As female-vocal doom goes, this is vibrant and powerful, without leaning too hard into nostalgia. It's groovy in a non-stoner, vital and catchy way that's more reminiscent of hard rock than classic heavy metal. Its' got traces of grunge and great crunchy heaviness paired with mildly epic, solo-prone melody, without it ever taking off and becoming too lofty. The production is punchy and modern, in stark contrast to the fuzzy, muddled style that such contemporaries as Castle Rat like to go for. In this respect, it might not be able to find a dedicated niche audience, and will perhaps fall a bit in between the mainstream and the underground. But its musical qualities - vocals, rhythms and melodies alike - deserve to be appreciated regardless of your finer points of preference.  

Highlight: "Sea Of Lies" and "Swarming Flies"

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Fer de Lance – Fires On The Mountainside

Genre: Heavy/doom metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: USA

Nailing the proper level of solemnity for an epic heavy metal sound can be crucial. Too much and it's cheesy - too little and you're achieving no immersion. Fer the Lance get it right on their sophomore LP. High-flying vocals with an above average conviction are paired with patient, doom-like tempos, laying the foundation for a journey to be savored at a fairly relaxed pace. It's adventurous far more than it's gloomy, but also not without heaviness, also including a bit of harsh vocal work and a few bitter, black metal-leaning tonal turns. It's dramatic in its own, measured way, and achieves distinction through their clearly very carefully honed instrumental finish and overall production.

Highlight: "Ravens Fly (Dreams of Daidalos)"

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Ready For Death – Pay With Your Face

Genre: Hardcore/thrash/industrial metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: USA

Combining the relative levity of punk with the ferocity of hardcore, the tempo of thrash and wrapping it in a layer of dystopian, industrial tone, theme and production, READY FOR DEATH stood out to me with their self titled 2022 release, and continue to do so with "PAY WITH YOUR FACE". This one feels like they've honed in on their crossover thrash side, but the edge is still slightly muffled and noisy, and the attitude feels very down to earth and punk-like. It's not a gut-punch of a sound, and it's not the most even thing in terms of strong songwriting, but it feels raw and free-spirited, which is just right for this particular corner of the metal spectrum.

Highlight: "SEWAGE OF THE DIVINE"

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Thanatorean – Ekstasis Of Subterranean Currents

Genre: Black metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Poland

This is Polish, abyssal black metal, but taking a fairly primitively styled, manageable shape. The feeling you're left with is one of utter evil, heading for nothing but despair where you thought there might await you unholy rapture. The force with which it lands, paired with the gravelly vocal style, brings to mind blackened death metal, but the shivering, sinister tremolo is firmly old school black metal. It's an album that both swipes right at you with a scythe as well as sneaks up on you in the shadows with a dagger. The rhythms are primal and engaging, and overall it's surprisingly varied while remaining pleasingly consistent.

Highlight: "Thrice-Hexed"