Nargaroth--Apocalyptic Steel (CD/LP) (2026 Season of Mist Underground Activists)

Nargaroth has changed a lot in the years since their formation in the 1990s, and are now at the speartip of the more popular black metal acts in existence, and they deserve to be, as this album shows. This album is incredibly well-recorded but still has a proper black metal feel to it, especially where the drumming is concerned, with tight, fast blasts and quick-as-lightning fills and rolls. The riffing is powerful and fully black metal in its attack, a bulldozing display of notes and chords. I do wish there was a hint of rawness left in this band, but they've been elevated to a level where that may not be ideal for them anymore. With playing like this a clean recording is probably best anyway, so every little thing can be heard. I'm just pining for the old days again, don't mind me. They do play with other genres a little bit on this release, too, like the folky clean vocals in "Dresden," and the death metal riffing in "Shatter the Faithless." Everything else is proper black metal, however. So, gone are the days of  Black Metal Ist Krieg, but now we have Apocalyptic Steel, and I welcome the change.

www.season-of-mist.com

Finngalkn--Svartrokk AF Upsastrond{digital}{Independent}

 

Finngalkn is a four man  band coming out of Iceland's raw black metal scene and this is a review of their newest EP.Svartrokk AF Upsastrond contains four songs of aggressive and primitive black metal.The guitars are played with a mix of  fast,crazed guitar passages that are intense.Throughout the songs their are some slower,mid paced guitars that are just as good as the more aggressive fast paced patterns.The drumming is done in the same vein with some hyper fast blast beats and some controlled mid paced drums  both drums styles are done with power.The vocals are raw,grim black metal screams and some gruff growls are also used throughout the songs.Svartrokk AF Upsastrond is a really well performed EP of raw,primitive black metal if this is a style of metal you like i highly recomend chcking the band out today.                                                                                                                                        Finngalkn                                                                                                                                                      https://finngalkn.bandcamp.com/album/svartrokk-af-upsastr-nd

Hegony--Deviations CD&digital{Independent}

 

Hegony is a band that comes out of Poland's brutal death metal scene.Deviations is the bands latest EP that came out at the end of 2025 featuring four songs of well written and performed death metal.The guitars are played with some extremly fast paced guitar patterns that are well performed.The guitarist does write some memorable passages and has some well performed solo's added into the music.The drums are a mix of extremly fast blast beats that are pummeling in their delievery.The drummer does slow to a more controlled paced throughout a few of the songs.The vocals are powerful death metal growls and some gruff screams are also used in a few songs.Deviations is a solid death metal release for those who love there death metal aggressive and powerful check this band out today.                               Hegony                                                                                                                                                          https://hegony.bandcamp.com/album/deviations                                                                                         https://www.facebook.com/hegony/                                                                                                              https://www.instagram.com/hegonyofficial/

Temple Of The Beast---Geminian Arcana CD{Humanity's Plague Prod.}

 

Originally released by Iron Bonehead Prod on vinyl the EP is now getting a cd version through Humanity's Plague Prod.Geminian Arcana is the debut EP from Texas solo project Temple Of The Beast.The five  songs presented here are raw black and death metal that is brutal and relentless in it's delievery.The guitars are performed with heavy fast paced patterns that are well performed with a mix of heavy and fast paced passages.The drums are in the same vein with extremely fast chaotic patterns that are well executed.Their are some heavier and slower mid paced drums that are equally as devestating.The vocals are inhuman death metal vocals that are powerful and brutal.Geminian Arcana is a must have for those who love early 90's raw black death metal that doesn't copy any certain band but instead makes his own vision.                                                                                                                    Temple Of The Beast                                                                                                                                  https://templeofthebeast.bandcamp.com/                                                                                                    https://www.facebook.com/people/Temple-of-the-Beast/100083836998301/                                              Humanity's Plague Prod.                                                                                                                              https://www.discogs.com/seller/humanitysplagueprod/profile                                                                  https://www.facebook.com/HumanitysPlagueProdBlackMetal                                                                    https://www.instagram.com/humanitysplagueprod                  

Eternal Sword--Valorous CD&LP{Humanity's Plague Prod.)

 

Eternal Sword is a solo project that plays a very good style of Atmospheric and Epic black metal that is raw but well performed musicial passages.Starting off with a short intro that is instrumental the music starts off with some memorable melodic passages.The guitars are performed with some memorable mid paced guitars that are performed with intensity and well delievered.The guitars do speed to a faster pace throughout a couple of the songs for a nice mix of the two styles.The vocals are grim raw black metal screams that fit the music perfectly.I have not heard the debut release so i can not compare the two but if you are a fan of raw,epic atmospheric black metal then defintly pick this up today.                    Humanity's Plague Prod.

https://www.discogs.com/seller/humanitysplagueprod/profile

https://www.facebook.com/HumanitysPlagueProdBlackMetal

https://www.instagram.com/humanitysplagueprod

Iron Kobra--Eternal Dagger (CD/LP/CS) (2026 Dying Victims Productions)

The fantastically absurd science fiction cover of this record caught my attention immediately. A woman with a laser gun riding a tiger on a mountain with a spaceship in orbit above her, at night, no less. I just hoped the music was that awesome. And it's not too far off. Germany's Iron Kobra play an excellent hybrid of heavy metal and speed metal that reminds me of Thor and Running Wild. I was surprised to see this is their first full length in eleven years. I'll have to seek out their back catalog and investigate those albums as well. The vocalist isn't especially gifted with range, but he makes up for this by using what he's got smartly, emphasizing his unique tone and ability to craft a decent melody. He turns in an excellent performance overall. The rest of the band is equally talented, and the songs are well-crafted and catchy, which is quite important for traditional metal. More so than other forms of this music, even. Dying Victims is another one of those labels that seems to release killer after killer, and I applaud their efforts in finding all these great bands. It's remarkable to me how some labels just seem to have my musical tastes in mind when it comes to their releases.

www.dying-victims.de

Cemetery Echo--Civitas Lacrimarum (CD/LP) (2026 Seeing Red Records)

Here's something I don't review all the time - gothic metal. The reason I chose this to review is that this isn't a typical gothic metal record at all. It has a lot of classic metal elements and presents like a true metal record, not a rock record. There are also influences from black metal that creep into the miasmic mixture in the form of both riffs and vocals. The main vocal style is a gothic rock-styled sung vocal, but growls back it up, especially in more aggressive songs. This is truly an original sounding record these guys have cobbled together. Perhaps the closest I could come to comparing it to anything would be Sentenced and Bauhaus playing Watain's instruments on stage with Savage Master? It's addictive listening and every song is loaded with hooks and memorable riffs, even the more straight gothic songs. It's not a record that every metalist would enjoy, but I suspect a great many would, and I urge you, fine readers, to give it a shot. I did and I count myself as a new fan.

www.seeingredrecords.com

Ripper--Towards Rebirth CD&LP{Dark Descent Rec.}

 

Chile's Ripper return with a new assult of razor sharp thrashing death metal mayhem.The guitars are played with fast paced guitars that are relentless in their delievery.The guitarist does write and perform some memorable passages and adds some well performed solo's throughout the songs.The drums are equally as violent with some extremly fast and chaotic drum passages.Like the guitars the drummer does execute some memorable well performed drum passages.The vocals are old school death metals and some gruff growls and screams for a nice mix of the two vocal styles.If you are looking for a violent and lethal thrashing death metal release then do not  miss out on Ripper's newest release and pick it up today.                                                                                                                                              Ripper                                                                                                                                                          https://ripperdeathrashchile.bandcamp.com/                                                                                                https://www.facebook.com/ripperchileoficial/                                                                                            https://www.instagram.com/ripper.chile?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D                                                Dark Descent Rec.                                                                                                                                    https://www.darkdescentrecords.com/shop/                                                                                                  https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/towards-rebirth                                                              https://www.facebook.com/DarkDescentRecords                                                                                    https://www.instagram.com/darkdescentrecords/                                                                                    https://www.youtube.com/user/darkdescentrecords                                                                                          

Mordant Rhed/Lord Humongous--Bonded By the Bomb (LP) (2026 Jems Label)

This record has two of the most important black metal bands from the US on its two sides. No other black metal bands sound like these two bands, and it speaks to their originality and songcraft that this is so. Hopefully this will be repressed, as I am sure availability is low. You can always get this digitally if you have to, I recommend getting it however you can. Side A contains Lord Humongous' offerings, and we get three originals and a cover of Exodus' "And Then There Were None" for good measure (which Mordant Rhed helps out on). Their thrash-based black metal assault is as it ever was - intense, evil, and nuclear-obsessed, with the usual bit of influence from war metal in their sound. They're deceptively skilled musicians, delivering some wild time shifts and changes in what at first seem to be simpler songs. Side B has the sick dreamings of Mordant Rhed, one of my personal favorites. They start strong, blasting like Blasphemy, but tempered by their hardcore punk influences into something more. Their songs are short, sharp, black metal shocks, the way it ought to be. They're barbaric, by far the more uncontrolled of the two bands, and they just sound dangerous. The material here is their best yet, and catchiest by far. Depending on if your tastes are like mine, they're the best band on the split. Mark my words - these two bands will be legends in the US underground, and they're well on their way to notoriety.

mordantrhed.bandcamp.com

From Distant Hills--...and Whispering Trees (CD) (2026 Purity Through Fire Records)

Here we have some nature-worshipping black metal from Greece from a member of Sad, as well as a bunch of other bands. How does this material differ? Well, for one thing it's a mostly mid-paced effort with a lot of melodic tremolo-picked riffs that soar like the mountains and forests they write about. They absolutely nail the imagery-to-music ideas, and you can almost "see" these riffs. I'd call that a success. The vocals are absolutely wild, high pitched wails that reek of insanity and pain, almost literally. It sounds like he's being stabbed while singing, or maybe his nuts are caught in something. Either thing would cause a scream like this, honestly. All jokes aside, they're unique vocals that take a second or two to digest and to become accustomed. The band is quite good at building textures in their songs, often with one guitar doing something completely different as an overlaid melody, and they build up these textures slowly over the length of the songs. This isn't my favorite style of black metal, but I recognize talent where I see it, and these guys have it. Worth a listen.

www.purity-through-fire.com

Axe--Autogeddon (CS) (2026 Caligari Records)

Black thrash bands tend to be a dime a dozen, and they're often fairly interchangeable. Enter Axe with their Autogeddon demo, a solid slab of blackness that just sounds honest and unpretentious. Not only do they bring their thrash with excellent raw sound, with true black metal spirit (especially in the vocals), the musicianship is excellent. Everything is properly tight and audible. These guys can play as well as look the part. I honestly place this band more in the black metal camp than the thrash camp just due to the seriously dark atmosphere this stuff has. It's less about style and more about ripping your head off. You can't listen to this and say it's not black as fuck. That said, the thrashier riffs do remind me a bit of Razor, and that's a good thing. They have a frenetic approach that most black thrash bands don't, a dark energy that suffuses their work, that certain intangible "something" we all crave in black metal. This is a truly exciting demo and I'll be quite interested to hear what they do next, whether EP or LP. I am sure it will be good. I hope they keep it raw.

www.caligarirecords.com

Scordatura--Led Into Oblivion CD&LP and CS{Everlasting Spew Rec.)

 

Scordatura are a four man band  coming out of the U.K'S brutal death metal scene.Led Into Oblivion is the  bands  newest full length featuring nine tracks  of solid brutal death metal at it's  finest.The guitars range from extremely fast paced patterns.The guitars do slow to a more controlled mid paced in a few of the songs.The guitarist does write and execute some well performed solo's and passages.The drums are a mix of extremly fast chaotic drum passages that are brutal in the delievery.Like the guitars the drums do slow to a more heavier mid paced range in a few of the songs.The vocals are brutal death metal growls that are powerful in their delievery.This is my first encounter with Scordatura but this is a top notch death metal band and release.If you are a fan of well written and performed death metal then defintly  give this band a chance and pick this up today.                                                                            Scordatura                                                                                                                                                    https://scordatura.bandcamp.com/                                                                                                                https://www.facebook.com/Scordaturaofficial                                                                                        https://www.instagram.com/scordatura__/                                                                                                    Everlasting Spew Rec.                                                                                                                                  https://everlastingspew.com/                                                                                                                    https://everlastingspew.bandcamp.com/album/led-into-oblivion                                                                https://www.facebook.com/everlastingspew/                                                                                          https://www.instagram.com/everlastingspew/                                                                                              https://www.youtube.com/@EverlastingSpew/featured

Khemmis--Khemmis (CD/LP) (2026 Nuclear Blast Records)

It's uncommon for a band to name their fifth album after themselves - it's usually a statement made earlier in a band's career, typically on the first or third record. This time, however, Khemmis have turned in an album sufficiently impressive to deserve that eponymous treatment. Their hybrid heavy/doom metal is much as it ever was, except perhaps more polished and focused with intent than ever. I am completely floored with just how good this album is - it transcends their previous work. The vocals remain haunting, somber, and smooth. If only every doom metal band had a vocalist like this I would probably listen to so much more of it. Not to mention the inventiveness of the riffing, which is masterful. The whole album is a heavy metal masterclass of melody and malevolence. The production is natural-sounding and pristine, a top notch recording and engineering job by someone who clearly understands the band and its sound. I can't say enough how great the melodies themselves are on this record. They're sublime and emotional and transcendent, and fully metal. I'll be picking this album up for sure, and I'll be spinning it often.

www.nuclearblast.de

Sardonic Order--By Doom Of Battle {digital}{Independent}

 

Sardonic Order is a duo who comes out of Canada's black metal scene and this is a review of their new EP.By Doom Of Battle is a two song EP that features some very well performed black metal that is mainly played with mid paced passages and even has some melodic influences mixed into the raw delievery.The first song is By Doom Of Battle and starts off with some very well executed fast guitars that are played with intensity.The guitars and music does slow to a more mid paced range.The drums are played in the same vein with ssome mid paced drums that are performed with skill.The vocals are raw black metal metal screams that are powerful.The second song is  Enthralling Ancestral Void starts off with some fast paced drums and guitars that are well performed with skill.The music does slow to a more controlled pace with some well composed music.Both the guitars and drums are performed with memorable passages that played with intensity.The music does speed up to a faster pace halfway through the song for a nice mix of fast paced and mid paced black metal.Sardonic Order has crafted a raw black metal release with some melodic touches throughout both songs for a good release worth checking out.                                                                                                                                              Sardonic Order                                                                                                                                              https://sardonicorder.bandcamp.com/                                                                                                          https://www.instagram.com/sardonicorder                                                                                                  https://www.youtube.com/@SardonicOrder

Ymberophilia--Vegletek {digital}{Independent}

 

Ymberophilia is a solo project  coming out of Hungary who plays a good style of black and death metal.Vegletek is the newest five tracks of well played black death metal.Musically it has a good mix of mid paced and faster passages. The guitars are played with some fast paced guitars that are well executed even adding in some solo's and patterns.Their are some slower and heavier mid paced guitars used in a few of the songs The vocals are a mix of  raw black metal screams and some deeper death metal growls are used in a few of the songs.Ymberophilia has some  good musicial idea's on the debut so if you are looking for a new band that blends black and death metal influences totgether then be sure to check this band out today.                                                                                                                          Ymberophilia                                                                                                                                                https://ymberophilia.bandcamp.com/music                                                                                                https://www.instagram.com/ymberophilia                                                                                                     https://www.youtube.com/@Ymberophilia