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    Häxär - Teufelskult (2025)

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    One-man battalion Häxär is ready to unleash its third full-length release titled “Teufelskult”. Featuring an interesting combination of different Black Metal subgenres, like Atmospheric, Melodic to some Pagan influences, this release delivers over 36 minutes of uniquely crafted and very engaging music. With the scene releasing more than one album a day, on average, it is refreshing to find releases like this one that challenge the status quo and mark their own path.

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    Outlaw - Opus Mortis (2025)

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    Hailing from Germany, but with Brazilian members, today we have Outlaw and their late 90’s/early 2000’s inspired ravaging Black Metal onslaughts. With “Opus Mortis”, the band brings back the days of crafty BM similar to Old Man’s Child, Thulcandra, and Dissection. Featuring seven tracks and nearly 45 minutes of intricate music, the band showcases creativity and masterful execution while creating interesting atmospheres and plenty of headbanging moments.

    Blasting things wide open with the pummeling onslaughts of “Blaze of Dissolution”, we get that nice old-school BM vibe, with melody oozing from the band’s guitar attacks. There is something magical about melodic guitar driven BM, as the band showcases in “Through the Infinite Darkness”, “The Crimson Rose”, and “A Million Midnights”, creating some blistering tempos while adorning them with subtle atmospherics, bringing those Dissection vibes front and center.

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    Centinex - With Guts and Glory (2025)

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    Keeping the flame of old-school Swedish Death Metal alive, Centinex returns with their crushing latest full-length release “With Guts and Glory”. Unleashing eight tracks of chugging riffs and alongside a stern snarl and crafty drumming, the band shows no signs of aging. Recommended for the nostalgic metal head, this release brings back the days when bands like Grave and Entombed ruled the scene, with fierce guitars and plenty of headbanging.

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    Mystic Circle - Hexenbrand (2025)

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    Since their 2021 return, Germany’s Mystic Circle has come back with a vengeance, releasing several full-length albums. With “Hexenbrand”, their latest effort, the band returns with their explosive Melodic Black Metal onslaughts for over 45 minutes in ten masterful tracks. Featuring an old-school sound with modern production values, the band creates very theatrical and playful atmospheres along the way.

    The release blasts away with the superbly melodic “Luciferian”, setting a very engaging and crafty pace. Pummeling through “The Scarlet Queen of Harlots” and its lush atmospheric arrangements, “Boogeyman” with its playful interludes, and the melancholic “In the Sign of the Goat”, the band takes the listener back to the early days of the genre, when bands like (early) Cradle of Filth, Hecate Enthroned, Theatres des Vampires and Agathodaimon were starting this subgenre of Black Metal.

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    Afsky - Fællesskab (2025)

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    Having taken the Black Metal scene by storm in the last few years, Denmark’s Afsky returns with another piercing release filled with violence and oozing melancholy titled “Fællesskab”. As a one-man battalion, Ole Pedersen Luk, has managed to unleash some of the rawest and most demoralizing BM of the last couple of years and the tradition continues with this masterful release and its over 45-minutes of punishing music.

    Opening with a playful children’s song sample, “Velkommen til livet” quickly transitions into a full-on cavernous exercise of intricate riffing and unsung melancholy. The blistering guitars and melancholic tempo immediately lets the listener know they will be in for a treat. Ole’s ability to create crushing melodies is front and center as “Den der ingenting ved tvivler aldrig” and “Arveskam” continue leveling everything in their path. The band’s signature guitar driven nature is even more precise and deadly as on their previous releases.

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    Evoken - Mendacium (2025)

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    Showcasing that the USA can also unleash punishing Funeral Doom albums, today we have the legendary Evoken and their latest opus “Mendacium”. Seven years have passed since their last full-length release and the band returns with some gargantuan slabs of Doom, split in eight tracks and over 60 minutes of music. For fans of slow and painful music, this release has that grainy old-school vibe of outfits like Thergothon and Morgion, with hauntingly simple and effective atmospherics and deep growls.

    Opening with the cavernous explorations of “Matins”, the band sets a glacial pace with distorted riffs and subtle atmospherics. As the release progresses to the chugging Death Metal riffs of tracks like “Lauds”, and “Terce”, the listener can appreciate the band’s core influences in a slow and demoralizing way, creating a bleak atmosphere while providing rays of light through crafty guitar leads or instrumental passages. The band has perfected their tempo switching, to combine superbly slow parts with some hellish onslaughts of speed and punishment.

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    Mors Principium Est - Darkness Invisible (2025)

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    There is normal Melodic Death Metal, and then there is Finnish Melodic Death Metal, while being the same genre, there is just a certain signature style to the latter. Mors Principium Est is one of the most underrated Finnish Melodic Death Metal bands from the scene, having been putting out excellent releases since 2000, this band seems to fall under the radar to some of its most popular counterparts like Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, and early Amorphis. With “Darkness Invisible”, the band throws in some additional orchestral arrangements around their very cohesive and precise sound.

    Opening with the high-octane “Of Death”, we are treated to a blistering pace filled with dramatic arrangements and intricate guitar melodies and leads. Ville Viljanen continued the band’s legacy by bringing back some of its original members Jarkko Kokko and Jori Haukio for the previous release of re-recording of old songs., but it is not until this studio album that we can hear the band’s original ferocity and technically, paired with some extra maturity and musical proficiency gained over the years, as songs like "Venerator", “Monuments” and “Beyond the Horizon” showcase.

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    President - King Of Terrors (2025)

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    Coming in hot with tons of hype and mystery, UK’s President has made more than enough waves with their mystique. In their first EP release, “King of Terrors”, the band easily substantiates with hype with six piercing tracks that masterfully combine Metal elements with a plethora of more mainstream influences, and a hefty dose of catchiness. This mysterious outfit manages to craft tracks that are a great balance of heaviness and melody, creating some truly memorable soaring vocal arrangements and masterful instrumentation.

    Opening with “In The Name Of The Father”, the EP sets a very high bar with its relentless aggression, Djent-y elements, and their transition to soaring clean vocals and subtle electronics. While definitely not your regular Metal track, it certainly has its merits. Things quickly escalate as “Fearless” continues with its distorted guitars and some of the catchiest percussion and chorus sections that we have heard in quite a while.

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    Amorphis - Borderland (2025)

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    Just when you think that Amorphis can’t get any better, the band gives us “Borderland”. In this release, the band unleashes almost 50-minutes of high-octane Melodic Metal, with their signature style and a few surprises. Constantly refining and improving their sound, the band manages to sound as epic and melodic as always, with a hearty mixture of catchiness and heaviness, creating another astounding release filled with bangers.

    Opening with “The Circle”, we immediately get that magical Amorphis atmosphere thanks to crafty synths and guitar work. Via Santeri Kallio, the band’s signature vibes are set in motion, as clear and well crafted instrumentation come together to create tracks like “Bones”, “Dancing Shadow”, and “Fog to Fog”, where Tomi Joutsen’s dual vocal attack is just the cherry on top of the cake.

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    Wolfheart - Draconian Darkness II (2025)

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    The masters of Finnish Melodic Death Metal melancholy return with a short but sweet EP, as a continuation to their 2024 “Draconian Darkness” full-length. In this EP, Wolfheart showcases two new tracks, a live song, an acoustic track, and a very powerful orchestral track. Further consolidating the band’s status, this EP showcases the versatility of their sound, both live and in different lights.

    Opening with the powerful “Carnivore”, the band picks up where they left off last year, and deliver a crafty melodic onslaught filled with intricate riffs and engaging drumming. The song while oozing melancholy, it also delivers a good heft thanks to its growls and distorted guitars. One interesting thing is that this and “Forefathers” focus a bit more on atmospheric arrangements with a dramatic orchestral edge, that expands the band’s style and gives it more grandeur.

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