Weekly Spotlight, Week 31 / 2025

Be it an expansive journey or a punch in the face, you can get both from these releases by Atomic Witch, Azure Emote, Beheaded, Black Magnet, Hemelbestormer, Jordfäst and Kontusion.

The underground is mightier, but not completely overshadowing these major releases:

Gwar – The Return Of Gor Gor (EP)

Psycho-Frame – Salvation Laughs In The Face Of A Grieving Mother

Scalp – Not Worthy Of Human Compassion

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Hemelbestormer – The Radiant Veil

Genre: Atmospheric/progressive doom metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Country of origin: Belgium

It's the band's fourth full-length, and for those unfamiliar, this is Belgian, mostly instrumental, atmospheric, exploratory doom metal that's traditionally incorporated some black metal elements, but those are way scaled back on this release. This is doom that only partially sticks to the formula. Sure, there are prolonged head-down, eyes-closed, morose, dreaming-of-better-times parts all over the album, and there are tracks that are all-ponderous, but you also get rushes of excited rhythms and hopeful, energetic melodies. And these are all welcome detours - nothing really ever pulls you out of the flow or feels like it doesn't belong. Once you're in, it's all part of the same other-world, taking the shape of barren-yet-dramatic landscapes both over and under ground, through day and night, light and shade.  

Highlights: "Satre" and "Usil"

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Beheaded – Għadam

Genre: Blackened death metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Malta

On their seventh full-length, this long-going Maltese death metal band has taken a step away from their earlier crisp, technical-brutal style to don the unholy cloak of blackening. That's not to say that this isn't still a hard-hitting, riff-focused, rhythmically pummeling sound, but the production is now on the muted side, and the tone has crept all the way down into the musty, plague-infested cellar. What you get is a potent mix of ceremonial, underworld evil and proper, red-hot death metal fury with a healthy touch of groove. There's perhaps a bit of dynamism lost in the band's stylistic shift, but it certainly doesn't feel like a half-effort, landing somewhere roughly in between Rotting Christ and Behemoth. Not too morose, not too savage, this is a solid, well-balanced effort.

Highlights: "Għadam" and "Iljieli bla qamar"

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Black Magnet – Megamantra

Genre: Industrial/alternative metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Country of origin: USA

Behind the screen of distortion coating Black Magnet's sound you will find clear nods to alternative greats like Nine Inch Nails and Deftones, as well as a dash of psychedelia like that of White Zombie and straightforward aggression in the style of Ministry. In short, it makes for a punchy sound that still has layers, depth and decent variety. Whether it be manic electronica or club-beat-riffs, menacing noise or riotous hardcore energy, the band makes it work for them. It sounds confident, like a solid base that I'd like to hear them branch even a little bit more out from. It feels like the only significant thing the album lacks is a massive, furious, thorny anthem to make the crowd lose their shit. For now, it's almost low key, which might be where they prefer to be for the moment, but still hits plenty hard.

Highlights: "Endless" and "Coming Back Again"

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Jordfäst – Blodsdåd och hor

Genre: Black metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Sweden

I caught onto Swedish black metal band Jordfäst on their excellent debut, which consisted of only two long tracks. Since then they have stuck to the two-song-approach, but taken to splitting up each song into four parts, making each section of the experience a bit more manageable. Personally I preferred the original approach, as it felt a tad more coherent and thematically confident. But if you don't actually look at the progress bar as "Blodsdåd och hor" plays, then the experience is fairly seamless, with unbroken track transitions between the four parts of each song. The production is noticeably improved from the last two releases, with more punch and detail in both highs and lows, while still allowing for a simplistic sound free of fuss. It's chillingly melodic, and utterly saturated with Scandinavian folk elements, as is the band's style. It's more aggressive than the debut album, and doesn't quite capture the same epic, haunting grandeur, but pleases in pretty much every other aspect.

Highlights: "Ett altare av skärvor, Pt. 1" and "Dit gudarna trälar är, Pt. 2"

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Atomic Witch – Death Etiquette

Genre: Thrash/death metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: USA

This is a tasty sampling of classic elements from old school thrash and death metal, without having to shift completely into a retro mindset. On their second full-length, the band constantly tugs at the reigns, refusing to relax into predictable patterns, delivering vocals that go from high pitched shrieking to throat-clearing snarls, and rhythms that both float and sting like a determined boxer. There's both dissonance, heft and melody, showcasing the heaviness of death as well as a certain epic, NWOBHM-like flair. It might not land quite enough satisfying, headbanging grooves for some, and is perhaps more eager than stylistically confident, but overall it's a riot of a listen.  

Highlight: "Of Flesh & Chrome"

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Azure Emote – Cryptic Aura

Genre: Avant-garde death/folk metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: USA

Think a progressively minded Fleshgod Apocalypse with a nod to the symphonic approach of Dimmu Borgir and then mix in a few different acoustic folk instruments and matching atmosphere, not unlike the style of Thy Catafalque, and you should be on to what this band's like. If definitely feels more avant-garde and experimental than theatrical, but it's not a "difficult" sound to get into. In fact, it could probably benefit from an even fuller, detail-minded production to really land the force of the death metal fury, as an even stronger contrast to the mythical, solemn atmospheric parts. It's a bit lacking in outstanding, true highlight-tracks, but it's got a really distinct flavor that offers plenty of ear candy throughout.  

Highlight: "Feast of Leeches"

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Kontusion – Insatiable Lust For Death

Genre: Death metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: USA

Get ready to be chased through dead, jagged woods by a hungry, grind-structured death metal beast. Old-school in both instrumental and vocal approach, it's got a nice crunch to it, a bit of hardcore simplicity and feedback-squealing, and has been moderately dulled by a reverb-favoring production, increasing the feeling of being stuck in a cavern with some multi-eyed abomination. The tone is full-on terrifying, without resorting to horror gimmicks. A fair bit of the time there is little to differentiate it from a host of its peers, but it has a knack for always presenting at least two different faces of its personality during each song, giving you both relentless trotting, blast beats and groove-forward riffs.

Highlight: "Throne of Skulls"