It is quite impressive how far has Fallujah come, from their early Deathcore days, to their current Progressive/Technical Death Metal style. With “Xenotaph”, the band continues to polish their skills and delivers the best album to date. It is brutal, it is technical, it is fast, it is crafty, it basically has it all, and fans of the band and the genre will be blown away as to how good it really is.

Setting the mood with “In Stars We Drown”, we get a very dreamy and ethereal piece, similar to Persefone cranks out, but with the distinctive Fallujah style. From here on, the rollercoaster ride begins with the crushing “Kaleidoscopic Waves” and its intricate guitar work, “Labyrinth of Stone” and “Step Through the Portal and Breathe”, and their Death-like tempo changes and crafty melodic interludes . The band’s abilities to craft songs that perfectly blend heaviness with melody and technical prowess have greatly matured over time and are beyond masterful here.

As the first Katatonia release without Anders Nyström, “Nightmares as Extensions of the Walking State” continues the band’s moody and melancholic journey with ten emotional songs. While losing Anders was a big blow to the band, Jonas Renkse and company compensate by creating a very dreamy and crafty release that weaves back and forth between bleakness and heaviness, but at the end of the day, still feels as just a continuation of their efforts from the last few years.

The release starts heavy with powerful riffs that very quickly dissolve into the band’s weepy style. New guitarists Nico Elgstrand (ex Entombed) and Sebastian Svalland (ex In Mourning), are definitely capable musicians and imprint some of their personal styles on tracks like “The Liquid Eye”, “Lilac”, and “Departure Trails”, they still mimic some of the older ‘Katatonia-style’ riffs and arrive at a very familiar and traditional sound, which is not band for people expecting more of the same, but it does now grow the band’s musical range.

Dropping completely unexpectedly, today we have legendary Norwegian Doom Metal band Funeral with a four song EP titled “The Funereal”. Featuring a three movement song and an acoustic piece, this release continues the band’s voyage through Doom Metal territories with lush string instruments (violin) and crushingly heavy riffs. For fans of the genre, this is a nice entry in 2025, a year that has started slow with these types of releases.

This Aussie two-man band went away for over ten years and returned recently in 2021 and has dropped an album a year since 2023, making it one of the most productive in the scene. For the uninitiated, Austere was one of the originators of the Depressing Black Metal style back in the 2000’s and they continue to spew their bleakness with “The Stillness of Dissolution”. Evolving more into Atmospheric Black Metal territories, this release is engaging, catchy and yet very desolate in punishing, just what the doctor ordered for a cloudy and rainy day.

Opening with “Dissolved Exile”, the band showcases their technical chops with a very melodic and crafty piece filled with engaging guitar leads, melodic passages, and crafty drumming alongside a good dose of harsh vocals. One of the signature styles from all of Tim Yatras’ bands is the dramatic clean vocals, that gracefully add that extra level of bleakness to the very well composed and expertly layered core music. Immediately inciting the listening to headbang alongside the catchiness of the guitar work, “Rusted Veins” is one of the album’s stand-out tracks, just completely intoxicating.

As one of the main bands that got us into Symphonic Black Metal back in the late 90’s, …And Oceans has been around for a while, and even after their hiatus they continue to push the genre and deliver high-octane music. Featuring ten tracks and over 46 minutes of music, the band brings back some of their Industrial/Electronic elements into the fold, while keeping the intensity level at 11.

Opening with “Inertiae”, here we get some of the Havoc Unit side of the band with some cybergoth passages, amongst the usual fare of dramatic symphonic elements and hefty harshness. Coming back down to relentless melody and engaging atmospherics, “Förnyelse i Tre Akter”, “Chromium Lungs, Bronze Optics”, and “The Form and the Formless”, showcase the band in its most polished and vicious way. It is quite impressive that while keeping their core sound from their old days intact, the band still sounds fresh and exciting.

Creating a very unique and engaging style of Metalcore, today we have France’s Novelists and their latest opus “Coda”. Mixing elements from Progressive Metal, Post-Rock, Djent, alongside some electronic/Industrial elements, the band manages to unleash a very engaging and diverse ten tracks and over 40 minutes of music. Fronted now by Camille Contreras, the band’s sound is quite lush and crafty, providing tons of unique soundscapes along the way. Be prepared from Metalcore unlike you have never heard before.

Opening with the complete banger “Say My Name”, the band oozes melancholy alongside playful melodies. Camille’s vocals are dreamy and the perfect addition to the band’s dynamic sound, giving them a different edge. Continuing with the Djenty/Industrial antics of the album title track, the band quickly shows versatility and tons of new ideas, as well as some powerful growls. However, what hooked us is the soaring chorus sections and crafty instrumentation, creating a very hectic and yet magical pace.

Unleashing a cavernous and quite engaging Doomy Black Metal release, today we have Portland’s Drouth and their third full-length release “The Teeth of Time”. Featuring a fierce mixture of crafty melodic interludes and blistering aural onslaught, this album delivers five tracks and over 40 minutes of intense music. With a very piercing and yet balanced sound, the band’s songwriting is quite polished and intense.

Opening with the piercing “Hurl Your Thunderbolt Even Unto Death”, we get a twin guitar onslaught that unleashes harsh screams and deep growls. The song is both crafty and heavy, setting a very hectic pace for the release. This sinister atmosphere continues in the commanding “False Grail” with Doom and Crust elements thrown into the mix as the song progresses. Far from linear, the band also oozes melancholy when needed with the album title track providing crafty duality, and sustained intensity through this piece.