As one of the most anticipated releases of 2024, today we have Italy’s Fleshgod Apocalypse marking their return with the impressive “Opera”. As their first full length release in five years, this album delivers ten tracks and nearly 45 minutes of high-octane Orchestral arrangements paired with crafty Technical Death Metal and lush vocals. With a very lively pace and masterful arrangements, this release is definitely one of the best that the band has ever released.

Setting the mood with a very operatic opener, “I Can Never Die” opens this release with pummeling drumming alongside dramatic orchestrations and the super vocals of Veronica Bordacchini. Francesco Paoli handles the growls quite well, providing masterful contrast between the female counterparts. Aside from being explosive and crafty, the band’s music perfectly exploits catchy and cinematic elements to keep this release rolling with excellent songs like “Pendulum”, “Bloodclock”, and the Omen-esque “At War With My Soul”.

As one of our favorite bands of all time, Dark Tranquillity has always consistently delivered high quality releases and “Endtime Signals” is not the exception. After shedding a few members since their 2020 release, the band returns with fourteen tracks of signature DT music, filled with dynamic guitars, immersive keyboards and Mikael Stanne’s characteristic snarl. There are definitely some minor noticeable adjustments as now Martin Brändström and Johan Reinholdz have taken over the songwriting from departed drummer Anders Jivarp.

Opening with “Shivers and Voids”, we get the traditional guitar driven DT music that we all love, full of highly melodic passages and subtle keyboards to keep things smooth and enjoyable. On “Unforgivable” we have a more dynamic style of guitar leads that have a different but still well crafted and blistering style. Johan Reinholdz is a good guitarist, but certainly not at the level of Christopher Amott, who did the leads on 2020 “Moment”.

Unleashing nearly 45 minutes of lively Melodic Death Metal, today we have Germany’s Robse and their debut release “Harlekin & Krieger”. With an old-school European Melodic DM style, this outfit delivers eleven tracks of high-octane moments filled with crafty melodic onslaughts and engaging vocals. If you are a fan of bands like Crematory, Dawn of Disease, and Night in Gales, this is another outfit that will satisfy your headbanging cravings.

After a cinematic intro, the release kicks into full gear with the crafty album title track. Paired with engaging melodic riffs, intense drumming and Robert-Martin Dahn’s harsh vocals, this track sets a very lively and engaging tone. Short, catchy, and full of melody, songs like “Hey Sturm”, “Amenthes”, and our favorite “Aus dem Gleichgewicht”, create a very seamless and enjoyable experience as the album plays. We particularly enjoy the additional elements thrown into the mix like subtle keyboards, different vocal styles, and engaging tempo changes.

Today we have a very pleasant surprise from Austria’s Ellende, a re-recorded and reinterpreted version of their amazing second release “Todbringer”. With “Todbringerin”, the band takes control of the music behind this release by re-recording it (no studio masters from the original exist) and making it available in all formats for listeners. We are huge fans of the original, and have a physical copy of that release as one of our treasured items on our collection, so we were psyched to hear how the band, eight years after, would take on such an excellent release.

Finally! After an eight year wait, True Black Dawn is back with another incisive Black Metal release titled “Of Thick-circling Shadows”. Led by Wrath (Ex-Enochian Crescent), this outfit continues to push the boundaries of the genre, creating a very thick and enveloping atmosphere while keeping things raw and quite brutal for over 45 minutes. If you are a fan of BM that is forward thinking and incorporates interesting tempo changes, and a very sickening atmosphere.

Opening with the vicious “Algol”, the band quickly sets a furious mood of harsh aggression with some restraints. After the opener, “The Depths of the Looking Glass”, “Night and Names”, and “The Wind from the Red Cloud” really show the band’s strengths in creating unique rhythmic patterns that go beyond your super repetitive tremolo-picking that is a staple of the genre. This allows for the music to be more sinister and incisive, and perfectly sets up Wrath to change the mood through his versatile vocals.

Spawned as a side project from Jan van Berlekom mastermind of Waldgeflüster, this release delivers a swift and brutal onslaught of fierce Black Metal. With over 40 minutes of music, “III” unleashes six tracks of fierce music with a certain Uada/Mgła edge and crafty atmospherics. If you are a fan of uncompromising and yet well crafted and melodic BM, this is an interesting release to check out.

Opening the release we have the oppressive guitar of “Eternal Mantra”, a fierce track that sets the tone for this high-octane and engaging release. As the crafty drums weave intricate patterns within the songs, we noticed that Austin Lunn (Panopticon) is actually performing them in this release, with tracks like “Uprise III” and “Raise a Glass” having interesting and engaging tempos. We appreciate that while the music is well polished, there are some experimental elements and melodic passages thrown into the mix to keep things interesting.

Punishing the listener with a gargantuan slab of Doom, today we have Death/Doom outfit Mourners Lament, all the way from Chile, with their latest full-length release “A Grey Farewell”. With over 64 minutes of soul crushing music, this release delivers six tracks filled with ravaging riffs, inhuman growls, and a very mournful pace. For fans of Mourning Beloveth, Shape of Despair, Skepticism, My Dying Bride, this release is packed with sorrow and melody from start to finish.

Opening with the moody “Towards Abandonment”, we get mournful guitars alongside solemn keyboards building up a very fragile and engaging momentum. With some solid slower interludes, weeping guitar leads, and excellent clean vocals, we got a nice vibe of early Lacrimas Profundere. Next up, we have a 13-minute onslaught of even more melancholy and elegant atmospheric arrangements, perfectly paired with pummeling harsh vocals and masterful tempo changes.

Unleashing an excruciatingly atmospheric release, today we have Occulta Veritas and their full-length “Irreducible Fear of the Sublime”. With a highly dissonant style, this outfit delivers six tracks and over 33 minutes of chaotic Black Metal with tense atmospherics and ravaging brutality. Like a mixture of NONE with Déhà and Acathexis, this release is violent, contrived, and yet extremely punishing and brilliant.

Opening with the dissonance of “The Mirror Stage”, the mood is set with chaotic guitar work alongside furiously aggressive harrowing vocals. The song instantly creates a sense of desperation and uneasiness that is nicely flanked with a hefty dose of melancholy. The madness continues with piercing tracks like “The Sacred Horizons of Totality” and “Metonimia”, two songs that deliver intense guitar work alongside crafty drumming and hellish vocals.

Unleashing their signature electrifying Power/Heavy Metal, today we have legendary HammerFall and their latest opus “Avenge the Fallen”. Featuring ten superbly catchy tracks and nearly 50 minutes of music, this release reinstates the fact that the band shows no signs of slowing down and they can still put out some killer songs and create epic headbanging moments.

Coming out of the gates with guns blazing, the album title track creates a very Epic vibe with crafty vocal arrangements perfectly supporting Pontus Norgren’s classic guitars and Joacim Cans signature vocals. With a very stripped down and ‘old-school’ sound, the band continues to deliver hits like “Freedom” and “Hail to the King”. We love that they don’t rely on synths or gimmicks to create their engaging and timeless music.

Returning after a 10 year hiatus, Axamenta is a very unique Belgian band that combines cinematic elements with a well polished dose of Melodic Death/Black Metal. In this return EP, the band delivers a 23-minute track that is divided in seven acts, creating a very immersive and engaging experience. Recommended for fans of Fleshgod Apocalypse and Septicflesh, this release is both explosive and bombastic.