Embrace the adventurous oddity found in these releases by Februus, Green Carnation, Sigh, Sun Guts and Sworn. The major releases aren't free from weirdness either: 156/Silence – From A Distance (metalcore) Chat Pile – Who Loves The Sun (noise rock/sludge metal) Judiciary – Stalagmite Angels (EP) (metallic hardcore) A Night In Texas – The Darkest Side of Humanity (deathcore) PRESIDENT – Blood Of Your Empire (metalcore/alternative rock) Showing Teeth – A Fate Worse Than Lonelin

Watch out for the end-summer avalanche of releases, headed by Black Spikes, Ninth Realm, Static Abyss, Sunscorched and Triosphere. Try not to get too distracted, but there's great stuff up above as well: Beartooth – Pure Ecstasy (hard rock/metalcore) Code: Pandorum – Tales From The Blight (electronica/industrial metal) Exumer – Death Mask Messiah (thrash metal) Flotsam And Jetsam – Rats In The Temple (power/thrash metal) Gorod – The Ember Gone (technical/progressive death me

A combination of hooded cloak, sneakers and brass knuckles will go perfectly with these releases from Cobrafuma, Fen, The Night Eternal, Oddland and Street Tombs. The overground also offers a mix of attitude and gloom: Axty – The Pain Made Me Who I Am (metalcore/deathcore) The Barbarians Of California – Megatons (hardcore) Rising Insane – Deathrace (metalcore) Chelsea Wolfe – The Dark (folk/doom) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Fen – Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth Genre: Atmospheri

A collection of style-divergence to keep you on your toes, from The Absolution Sequence, Coyote Man, Ironflame, Living Weapon and Raunchy. Big releases? What do you mean? Well okay then, have one, at least: Marilyn Manson - One Assassination Under God - Chapter 2 (alternative metal/rock) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Coyote Man – Prosthetic Memories Genre: Progressive/sludge metal Subjective rating: 4/5 Objective rating: 4/5 Country of origin: USA This is one of those progressive albu

Give up on your high spirits and give in to the anger and gloom of these releases by Aspen Sanctum, Gravecrawler, Hulder, Saprovore and Temple of Dread. The mood is much elevated among the week's major releases: Cancer Bats – Give Me Dirt (sludge metal/hardcore) John & Cody Carpenter + Daniel Davies – Cathedral (cinematic gothic metal/synthwave) Electric Callboy – Tanzeid (industrial/pop metal) Xandria – Eclipse (symphonic metal) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Aspen Sanctum – To Withho

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) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Nothingness – Godslaughter Genre: Death metal

We're back after a short vacation break with releases from Faustian, Ripper and Sallow Moth. It's still fairly quiet in the big leagues, with a couple of notable exceptions: The Hu – Hun (folk rock/metal) Rezn – Cycles in the Infinite Dream (psychedelic stoner/doom metal) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Ripper – Towards Rebirth Genre: Thrash/death metal Subjective rating: 4/5 Objective rating: 3.5/5 Chilean band Ripper are one of those that have no problem convincing you that they do, i

Technicality and speed are the main (but not only) ingredients in these releases by Apogean, Dysgnostic, Iron Slaught and Volubilis. The big releases are more straightforward this week, but not weak: DevilDriver – Strike And Kill (groove/melodic death metal) No Cure – It Is Going To Get Dark (hardcore/death metal) The Plot In You – The Plot In You (metalcore/alternative metal) What Lies Below – I Let It Consume Me (metalcore) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Iron Slaught – Metallic Torme

I think you'll be able to find something to suit any mood among these releases by Druidess, Forsmán, Monument Of Misanthropy, Phantom and Verdun. Nothing super exciting up top, but also not to be completely ignored: Amberian Dawn – Temptation's Gate (symphonic power metal) Masterplan – Metalmorphosis (power metal) Nargaroth – Apocalyptic Steel (black metal) Siamese – Dissolution (alternative metal/hard rock/metalcore) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Phantom – Not Midnight Yet Genre: Spe

Weekly Digest, Week 25 / 2026Prepare to be crushed by the obsidian weight of this week's releases from Belarus Beaver, Inherits The Void, Mork, Saidan and Scordatura. There's hardly any big stuff out, except for: Warning – Rituals Of Shame (doom metal) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Mork – Monolitt Genre: Black metal Subjective rating: 4.5/5 Objective rating: 4/5 Country of origin: Norway Mork are back to once again prove that you can keep straight riff-and-tremolo black metal interest

Death metal dominates this week, but stays flexible enough to offer some variety, featuring Fires In The Distance, Fleshcrawl, Goetia, Goreworm and Thorium. If you want to escape the morbidity, head for higher ground: Khemmis – Khemmis (heavy/doom metal) Stitched Up Heart – Medusa (alternative metal) Tarja – Frisson Noir (symphonic metal/rock) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Fires In The Distance – Circadian Promise Genre: Melodic death/doom metal Subjective rating: 4/5 Objective rating

Some big surprises flying under the radar this week, mainly from 100 Demons, Horn, Pharmacist, Shroud and Üga Büga. The overground has some heft to it as well, just more predictably so: August Burns Red – Season Of Surrender (metalcore) Converge – Hum Of Hurt (hardcore/mathcore) Evanescence – Sanctuary (alternative metal/rock) Evergrey – Architects Of A New Weave (progressive/power metal) Guilt Trip – Armour Of Angels (hardcore/groove metal) Voivod – Symphonique (Live album)

Evil is certainly the sentiment of the week, with nefarious intent all around from Eternal Evil, Funebrarum, Hecate Enthroned, Serpent Lord and Trelldom. The big prog names of the week try their best to steal the show: Balmora – These Graven Halls (metalcore/melodic death metal) Elder – Through Zero (progressive/psychedelic rock/metal) Monolord – Neverending (stoner/doom metal) Devin Townsend – The Moth (progressive/symphonic metal) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Trelldom – …by the wor

Some great prog, grind and folk coming your way from As The Sun Falls, Blindead 23, Makkmat, Noituma and Psyclops. And here are a few bigger things coming out this week: Armored Saint – Emotion Factory Reset (heavy metal) Dimmu Borgir – Grand Serpent Rising (symphonic black metal) Moonlight Haze – Interstellar Madness (EP) (symphonic/power metal) XCOMM – Time To Burn (hardcore) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Blindead 23 – Deuterium Genre: Progressive extreme metal Subjective rating: 4/

Some smaller names are really stepping up to the plate this week, among them Atavistia, Defect Designer, Desiccation, Gozu and Tyrannus. Big releases are almost non-existent this week, with a couple of notable exceptions: Periphery – A Pale White Dot (progressive extreme metal/metalcore) Pro-Pain – Stone Cold Anger (hardcore/groove metal) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Tyrannus – Mournhold Genre: Black/thrash metal Subjective rating: 4/5 Objective rating: 4/5 Country of origin: Scotlan

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) In

There's very little mercy to be had from these albums by Cognizance, Devenial Verdict, In Malice's Wake, Lair Of The Minotaur and Spell. Here's a few bigger releases from this week, if you're interested. Haste The Day – Dissenter (metalcore) Sevendust – One (alternative metal/rock) VCTMS – pain processing II (hardcore/metalcore) Venom – Into Oblivion (blackened heavy/speed metal) TOP PICK OF THE WEEK Devenial Verdict – Old Blood – Fresh Wounds Genre: Death metal Subjective r

It's up to the underground to convince us that the world of metal will go on after the monumental goodbyes happening among the big names, and a laudable effort is made by Armed For Apocalypse, Aversio Humanitatis, Cnoc An Tursa, Scimitar and Volcandra. Here are the mentioned goodbyes, and some other stuff that's not quite as notable in comparison: The Amity Affliction – House Of Cards (metalcore) At The Gates – The Ghost Of A Future Dead (melodic death metal) Atreyu – The En

The time has come for some exciting up-and-comers to show their quality, and their names are Doodswens, Draken, The Moon And The Nightspirit, Ordh and Reeking Aura. Above the underground it's really all just a big random heap: Crimson Glory – Chasing The Hydra (heavy/progressive metal) From Ashes To New – Reflections (nu metal/metalcore) Holywatr – Deo Gratias (alternative rock/metal) The Last Ten Seconds Of Life – The Dead Ones (deathcore) Nekrogoblikon – The Boiling Sea (EP

It's a week for hellos and goodbyes, with the most extreme stuff elevated beyond the murky depths, leaving releases by Battlegrave, Nukem, Skaphos, Spirit Adrift and Witch Ripper. Have you ever seen this much death metal in the "overground"? Will we ever again? Archspire – Too Fast To Die (technical death metal) Bodysnatcher – Hell Is Here, Hell Is Home (deathcore/hardcore) Immolation – Descent (death metal) Inferi – Heaven Wept (technical death metal) Lord Of The Los