2025

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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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    Bianca - Bianca (2025)

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    Creating a very unique blend of Black Metal with Doom Metal and a heavy emphasis on atmospherics, today we have Italy’s Bianca and their self-titled debut release. With a very unique sound that could be considered adjacent to bands like Ponte del Diavolo, this release unleashes eight tracks and over 43 minutes of captivating music that is both hypnotic and punishing.

    After the atmospheric opener “The Dawn”, the release fully unravels with Doomy riffs and dreamy clean female vocal antics of “Abysmal”. However, it's the fierce Black Metal onslaughts that provide a brilliant contrast to a very sultry atmosphere. Keeping the vibes quite sultry and ethereal, “Somniloquies” continues to build the album’s atmosphere as the ravaging BM shrieks, blistering riffs, and crafty drumming keep things weaving back and forth from aggressive to melancholic.

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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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    Carach Angren - The Cult of Kariba (2025)

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    Delivering a very cinematic and elegant Symphonic Black Metal release, today we have Dutch duo Carach Angren and their EP “The Cult of Kariba”. Keeping up with their very elaborate and lush style, for over 20 minutes and five tracks, the band fully immerses the listener in their own horror-themed world thanks to powerful arrangements and crafty progressions. It has been five years since “Franckensteina Strataemontanus”, and the band showcases they were just getting started with their intricate and highly elaborate music.

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    Remina - The Silver Sea (2025)

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    Unleashing one of the most dreamy and otherworldly releases of 2025, today we have Remina with their sophomore release “The Silver Sea”. Formed by Heike Langhans and Mike Lamb, and now with Shayne Roos on drums, this outfit delivers one hell of an Atmospheric Gothic/Doom Metal release that will send shivers down your spine. For seven tracks and nearly 45-minutes of music, the band creates some of the most atmospheric and haunting music ever created, so be prepared to be blown away.

    Opening with the sidereal dreaminess of “Trust No One”, Heike’s solemn and charismatic vocals are perfectly embraced by trippy and crafty atmospherics alongside powerful riffs. Featuring a more prominent Doom vibe, “Algol” has Mick Moss (Antimatter) in an amazingly engaging duet with Heike. The second guest appearance comes under “Vanta Ray”, a very lively piece featuring Tony Dunn of Sgàile and very crafty guitar work, alongside playful drumming and a very melancholic vibe.

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    Battle Beast - Steelbound (2025)

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    Becoming one of the premier Heavy/Power Metal bands in the scene has been no small feat for Finland’s Battle Beast. With “Steelbound” the band showcases their sheer power and catchiness with nearly 40-minutes of high-octane music. Noora Louhimo signature vocals have made the band shine from the rest, and with this release she is ready to propel her band to new heights.

    Opening with the ridiculously catchy and speedy “The Burning Within”, the band makes a strong statement with crafty instrumentation and soaring vocal melodies. Giving some Nightwish-meets-Sonata Arctica vibes, songs like “Here We Are”, “Steelbound”, and “Twilight Cabaret” feature extremely engaging chorus sections and very engaging atmospheric elements, giving the band a mixture of epicness and playfulness that almost nobody else has.

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    Testament - Para Bellum (2025)

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    There are only a handful of bands in Thrash Metal that have legendary status and have continued to push the envelope with their music. Testament is definitely one of them as with each release they come refreshed and improved, never staying static and constantly evolving. With “Para Bellum”, the band continues to spread their devastating sound while trying new things and inducing massive amounts of headbanging.

    Opening with the brutal “For the Love of Pain”, we immediately had to make sure we were listening to Testament as this track is vicious and crushing thanks to its aggressive guitars and massive drumming. However, it’s the harsh vocals that got us confused, in a good way. Things come back to the band’s more ‘normal’ thrashing ways with “Infanticide A.I”, “Shadow People”, and “Meant to Be”, were Chuck Billy’s snarls come center stage alongside the vicious riffing of Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick.

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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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