Avant-garde Metal

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    Trelldom - …by the word… (2026)

    Trelldom - …by the word… (2026)
    Trelldom - …by the word… (2026)

    After shocking their Black Metal fans in 2024 with “...by the Shadows…”, Trelldom is back with more of that enigmatic Avant-garde Metal music. Featuring seven tracks and nearly 40-minutes of highly engaging and challenging music, Gaahl unleashes a very unique and lush aural experience that will certainly be loved by the fans of their last album, but will fall flat on the crowd that would be expecting BM out of this release.

    Opening with the solemn “When This Was Young”, we instantly get those Avant-garde elements that made their 2024 so good. There are plenty of different instruments that masterfully interplay with atmospherics and Gaahl’s clean vocals and whispers. The release continues to sink its teeth into the listener with the maddening saxophones of “I Speak Forgotten Voices”, and the crafty and hectic tempo changes of “This Moment the Life of a Memory”, which features very interesting riffs and a very playful pace.

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    A Forest of Stars - Stack Overflow in Corpse Pile Interface (2026)

    A Forest of Stars - Stack Overflow in Corpse Pile Interface (2026)
    A Forest of Stars - Stack Overflow in Corpse Pile Interface (2026)

    Unleashing one of the finest and most chaotically beautiful releases of 2026, today we have A Forest of Stars with “Stack Overflow in Corpse Pile Interface”. Eight years in the making, this release delivers six tracks and over 73 minutes of magical weirdness in the shape of Avant-garde/Progressive Black Metal, that only this British outfit could produce. Following the style of their previous release, this album is both engrossing and insane, masterfully showcasing unique craftsmanship.

    Opening with the lush “Ascension of the Clowns”, the band sets a very dense atmosphere with dramatic violins alongside Mister Curse’s deranged vocals and crafty guitars. This atmosphere feels suffocating (in a good way) as the band escalates their antics with the piercing “Street Level Vertigo”. Excelling in creating slow-burning tracks that span 10+ minutes at a time, each song expertly develops around chaotic onslaughts of madness and elegant instrumentation/vocal arrangements, creating very cinematic experiences.

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    Unverkalt - Héréditaire (2026)

    Unverkalt - Héréditaire (2026)
    Unverkalt - Héréditaire (2026)

    Unleashing a very unique and disarming release, today we have Greece’s Unverkalt and their third full-length release “Héréditaire”. With a very unique blend of Post-Metal, Black Metal, Post-Rock and some Avant-garde elements, this outfit delivers nine tracks and nearly 52 minutes of soul crushing music, filled with raw emotions. Just picture Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas meets Ponte del Diavolo and Bianca, this should be enough to entice you immediately.

    Opening with the pummeling “Die Auslöschung”, a fierce piece that slowly builds up to crushing growls and blistering guitars. Besides the highly complex and layered music, Dimitra Kalavrezou’s vocals really stand out, creating an interesting contrast as we hear on tracks like “Oath ov Prometheus” and “Ænæ Lithi”, while also soothing the listener with some calm around the storm… sometimes. Far from linear, this release features highly emotional and engaging songs like the sultry “A Lullaby for the Descent”, which delivers some of the most cathartic moments in this release.

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    Slagmaur - Hulders Ritual (2026)

    Slagmaur - Hulders Ritual (2026)
    Slagmaur - Hulders Ritual (2026)

    If the great anticipation of the band’s first full-length release in nine years wasn’t enough, the band created all kinds of additional hype with their masterfully executed missing persons faux report in late 2025. For the uninitiated, Slagmaur is one of the truly weirdest and more mysterious Avant-garde Black Metal outfits to ever come out of Norway, with their intense live performances and insane music. With all the hype around “Hulders Ritual”, we can confirm that the hype is real as this release propels the band to the next level.

    Opening with the fierce “Ritual Dogs”, we quickly get that raw and cavernous Norwegian Black Metal sound of yesteryears alongside some funky atmospherics. That initial impression quickly evolves into the buzzsawing guitars of “Wildkatze”, which is less raw and more typical Slagmaur, repetitive, crafty and intense. Eliciting a visceral reaction, the opening riffs of “Huldergeist” are brutal and haunting, creating a truly immersive and ravaging experience.

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    Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons (2025)

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    The wait for one of the year’s most awaited releases is finally over. Blut Aus Nord returns with their epic “Ethereal Horizons”, unleashing over 51-minutes of nightmare inducing Atmospheric Black Metal. Constantly improving and expanding their sound over the years, from their more Industrial days, to their later Avant-garde/Atmospheric Black Metal influences, this release captures the band’s bombastic and yet hellish music in a very piercing and punishing way.

    Opening with the dreamy Atmospherics of “Shadows Breathe First”, we get an hypnotic opening that quickly transitions into intense riffing and nightmarish shrieks paired with ethereal clean vocals, creating a very unique and yet pummeling vibe. The band excels in creating unsettling music as “Seclusion” and “The Ordeal” weave back and forth between crafty drumming, dramatic atmospherics, and engaging tempo changes, keeping the listener engaged and enthralled with the proceedings.

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    Azure Emote - Cryptic Aura (2025)

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    Delivering one of the craftiest and weirdest Death Metal releases of 2025, today we have Azure Emote with their fourth full-length release “Cryptic Aura”. Featuring ten tracks and over 42 minutes of madness, this release combines lush instrumentation with pummeling drumming and playful riffing. Led by Mike Hrubovcak (vocalist of Imperial Crystalline Entombment), and featuring Mike Heller on drums and Pete Johansen (ex Sins of Thy Beloved) in violins, the band’s music is quite diverse and very engaging, with plenty of interesting details to discover in subsequent spins.

    Blasting away with “Into Abysmal Oblivion”, the band’s monster drumming leads the way into crafty tempo changes with masterful guitar leads from Ryan Moll and the lush violins of Pete Johansen, creating a very unique atmosphere. Slowly building up the madness, tracks like “Insomnia Nervosa”, and “Aeons Adrift” perfectly balance some crunch Death Metal antics with over the top atmospherics, all while creating a very chaotic and consuming vibe. The band excels in creating very busy soundscapes that are cohesive and engaging, while being very exploratory as well.

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    Sarmat - Upgrade (2025)

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    Always pushing the boundaries of Metal, bands on I, Voidhanger Records constantly challenge the status quo with intense releases. Today we have Sarmat and their insane Jazzy/Proggy Metal release titled “Upgrade”. Featuring two tracks and over 22 minutes of crazy music, this release has a very free-flowing vibe that is both aurally pleasing and yet very chaotic and contrived. If you like the more Jazzy side of Ihsahn with a splash of Maudlin of the Well and Dysrhythmia, do not miss out on the madness.

    Opening with the playful album title track, we get a blistering start with a crafty bass guitar line and intricate drumming. This quickly transforms into engaging riffs and funky tempo changes as the song transitions into more experimental territories with trumpets and some sparse vocals. The band’s sound is definitely quite unique and engaging as it keeps changing and leaving the listener always guessing what is around the corner for this 14-minute piece. Closing with a wall of dissonance, this track definitely gets the point of the band across.

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    Thy Catafalque - XII: A gyönyörü álmok ezután jönnek (2024)

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    Always pushing the envelope and creating some truly unique releases, Tamás Kátai’s Thy Catafalque returns with their latest opus “XII: A gyönyörü álmok ezután jönnek”. Featuring eleven tracks and over 50 minutes of very diverse and dynamic music, this release is truly an Avant-garde music lover paradise. With each track, the album explores a wide palette of sounds ranging from crafty folky elements to traditional Death/Black Metal, to more atmospheric and explorative pieces.

    The release opens with the playful and dreamy “Piros kocsi, fekete éj”, which features live vocalist Martina Horváth alongside Attila Bakos, creating a dynamic and yet somewhat folky vibe. Shifting gears into heavier territories, “Mindenevö” delivers powerful guitars and harsh vocals, providing a nice contrast to the first track while keeping the band’s dynamic sound thanks to lush choir arrangements. This playfulness and exploratory nature continues as “Vasgyár” delivers more heaviness with some weirdness, “Világnak világa” keeps things atmospheric, and “Nyárfa, nyírfa” unravels that Folky catchiness that the band always exploits.

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    Doedsmaghird - Omniverse Consciousness (2024)

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    Not satisfied after releasing the best album of 2023 (“Black Medium Current”) with DHG last year, Vicotnik returns with Camille Giradeau under the moniker Doedsmaghird, to push things even further and weirder. With a more raw and less bounded perspective “Omniverse Consciousness” unleashes nine tracks and over 50 minutes of Avant-garde Black Metal madness that is chilling, trippy, and extremely awesome.

    Setting a very tormentous mood, “Heart of Hell” delivers harsh riffing, funky atmospherics, and the unique vocal antics of Vicotnik. Of course there are some inevitable DHG elements in this release, however they are merely components to a more complex and chaotic palette of sounds that tracks like “Sparker Inn Apne Dorer” and “Then, to Darkness return” showcase. With some songs being as fierce as they can, to others exploring weirder and more psychedelic territories, like “Endless Distance”, this release features a bit of everything for everybody.

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    Zeal & Ardor - GREIF (2024)

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    Returning with another very interesting and totally intoxicating release, today we have Manuel Gagneux and Zeal & Ardor with their latest opus “GREIF”. Featuring fourteen tracks of pure genius, this release feels more chaotic and yet more raw than their previous ones, thanks to the full incorporation of the band’s live members into songwriting and recording roles. With a very unique and hard to pin down style, the band presents a very diverse and dynamic palette of sound, ranging from completely wild experimental pieces to your ‘standard’ Black Metal-infused heaviness.

    Opening with the solemn “the Bird, the Lion and the Wildkin”, we get a nice warm-up featuring crafty atmospherics and Manuel’s Signature vocals, preparing us for the madness that is to come. With a more epic feel, “Fend You Off” we get the band’s multi layered vocal approach that creates such epic soaring melodies, alongside a hefty dose of heaviness. With a great knack for catchiness, “Kilonova” creates a very lively and engaging atmosphere, with an excellent chorus section and highly addictive percussions.

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