Death-Doom Metal

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    SolNegre - Anthems For The Grand Collapse (2026)

    SolNegre - Anthems For The Grand Collapse (2026)
    SolNegre - Anthems For The Grand Collapse (2026)

    With an ominous name like “Anthems For The Grand Collapse”, SolNegre unleashes one of the most soul-crushing Death/Doom Metal releases in 2026. Featuring five tracks and over 41-minutes of music, this release is both devastating and expertly crafted to infuse bleakness and hopelessness. Hailing from Spain, this outfit can be compared to the greats of the genre like Saturnus, October Tide, My Dying Bride, etc.

    Opening with the demoralizing atmospherics of “The Axiom - Song for the Inert Part II”, the band sets a very crushing mood with a slow tempo alongside weeping guitar leads and Ûkh’s growls. Like a funeral procession, this opener is slow and beautifully devastating. Changing things up a bit, “The Hollow Inside” picks up the pace, creating some lush transitions into heavier territories while also delivering some haunting interludes that expand the band’s range.

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    Hanging Garden - Isle of Bliss (2026)

    Hanging Garden - Isle of Bliss (2026)
    Hanging Garden - Isle of Bliss (2026)

    Keeping up with their one release a year consistency, Finland’s Hanging Garden return this time with their latest full-length “Isle of Bliss”. Featuring their usual doom and gloom sound, but this time with more fierce onslaughts, the band sets a very melancholic vibe for nearly 50-minutes of highly engaging music. Compared to outfits like Swallow the Sun, Rapture, Insomnium, etc. the band further expands their musical palette in this excellent release.

    Opening with the fierce “To Outlive the Nine Ravens”, we were caught completely by surprise on how brutal this track was. Until the layered vocal arrangements came on, we thought that we were listening to a different band. This explosivity nicely continues as “Eternal Trees of Turquoise” comes along, but progressively moves the band into their more familiar Doomy and melancholic territories. With the album title track, we are fully back to the band’s bread and butter Death/Doom/Gothic Metal with a very mellow and magical piece, thanks to Riikka Hatakka and Toni Hatakka dueting.

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    Evig Natt - Vaketimen (2026)

    Evig Natt - Vaketimen (2026)
    Evig Natt - Vaketimen (2026)

    Continuing the torch for that late 90’s, early 2000’s bombastic and explosive Gothic Doom/Death Metal style of bands like Trail of Tears, Theatre of Tragedy, Sirenia and Nox Aurea, today we have Evig Natt with “Vaketimen”. As the band’s first album in almost a decade, this release delivers ten tracks and nearly 50-minutes of high-octane music that is both expertly crafted and in your face.

    Kicking off with the dreamy arrangements and piano of “Shimmer”, the release sets a very lush and bombastic vibe as it transitions to the explosive “Last of the Light”. With fierce guitars and crafty drumming this track unravels around harsh male vocals, contrasting Kirsten Jørgensen angelic singing. The beauty-and-the-beast nature of the band’s style works wonders as songs like “Death”, “Når Lyset Svikte”, and “Sorrow My World” masterfully deliver the perfect balance of aggression and calmness, making them quite explosive and engaging.

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    Shores of Null / Convocation - Latitudes of Sorrow (2025)

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    Perfectly arriving for when the days are dark and short, today we have a split release featuring Italian Melodic Death/Doom Metal outfit, Shores of Null, and Finnish Funeral Doom duo Convocation. Splitting almost evenly the duration of this split, we get a nice mixture of more ‘upbeat’ tracks from Shores of Null to then set the backdrop to two long and punishing pieces from Convocation. Definitely a great introduction to two excellent bands for any fan of the genre.

    Opening with “An Easy Way”, Shores of Null unleashes catchy and guitar driven melodies with a nice blend of Melodic Death Metal, clean vocals (similar to old Before the Dawn), and hearty growls. The band’s style creates a very melancholic atmosphere, when combining weeping guitar riffs and very crafty tempos, as on our favorite “The White Wound”. Closing their side with “The Year Without Summer”, we get an excellent bleak atmosphere and plenty of headbanging passages.

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    1914 - Viribus Unitis (2025)

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    Hailing from Ukraine, 1914 has been unleashing their very atmospheric and emotional Blackened Death/Doom Metal for over a decade with great success. Focusing on World War I and related themes, the band’s music is piercing, emotive, and very well crafted. Delivering ten tracks and nearly 60 minutes of music, “Viribus Unitis” showcases the band’s sonic evolution, perfecting their signature Doomy style with more poignant atmospherics and craft vocal arrangements.

    After a mood setting atmospheric, “1914 (The Siege of Przemyśl)” blows open this release with fierce riffing and blistering drumming. The mood setting intros on each song perfectly frame the stories the band portrays providing context to tracks like “1915 (Easter Battle for the Zwinin Ridge)”, “1916 (The Südtirol Offensive)”, and “1917 (The Isonzo Front)”. Blending punishing onslaughts with more melancholic sections and great guest appearances like Aaron Stainthorpe (ex-My Dying Bride) on “1918 Pt 3: ADE (A Duty to Escape)”

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    Novembre - Words of Indigo (2025)

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    Hailing from Italy, Novembre was one of those early bands with a strong melancholic Death/Doom sound when Katatonia, Anathema, My Dying Bride were rising up. Over the years, the band shifted into more Progressive and even Gothic Metal territories with excellent releases filled with emotions and intricately crafted music. With a very melancholic sound, Carmelo Orlando returns with a brand new cast of musicians to deliver eleven tracks and over 60 minutes of dreamy and highly emotive music, with some of their best songs to date.

    Not a very constant presence in the scene, the band after their 2007 release, dropped off the radar, in terms of releases, for nine years, and then after their 2016 release, dropped off again for another nine years. That being said, once “Sun Magenta” opened this release, we were instantly cured of missing the band’s signature ‘mopey’ sound. Being a mixture of mid-stage Katatonia with older Anathema and some sprinkles of Fall of the Leaf, songs like “Statua”, “ Neptunian Hearts”, and our favorite “House of Rain”, are very dreamy and engaging pieces full of atmosphere and craftiness.

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    Paradise Lost - Ascension (2025)

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    Further going back into their earlier days, Paradise Lost returns with a hefty Doomy release that nicely balances their Gothic Rock/Metal side with their crushing earlier Death Doom days. Nick Holmes and company have mostly stayed with the same line-up (sans their drummer) since 1988, allowing them to reach back into their old bag of tricks and deliver one of their most (recently) heavy and misery-induced releases in a while.

    Opening with the piercing “Serpent on the Cross”, we kick off with Greg Mackintosh melancholic guitar leads, Holmes signature growl, alongside a heavy dose of catchiness and heaviness. Setting a very dark and moody vibe, “Tyrants Serenade" continues the band’s despondent journey with a more Gothic Doom edge thanks to the soaring clean vocals, and crafty bass and rhythm guitar lines. As one of our favorite tracks from the band in more than ten years, “Salvation” is definitely one gargantuan Doomy piece filled with desolate guitars and vocal melodies.

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    Shadecrown - 0 (2025)

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    Since it seems to be a requirement in Finland to play in a Metal band, there are countless excellent bands in that country. While we all know the big names, it is always interesting to find outfits like Shadecrown, which have a killer and very refined sound and yet they are not as big as others. With “0”, the band delivers over 44 minutes of highly melancholic, expertly crafted Melodic Death/Doom Metal, similar to outfits like Before the Dawn, Swallow the Sun, Insomnium, Hanging Garden, but with their own particular style.

    Opening with the high-octane “The Art of Grieving”, the band sets a very melancholic and melodic mood with crafty riffs, engaging atmospherics and a solid blend of weeping lead guitars alongside your traditional growls. There are definitely some similarities to bands like Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum, but the band managed to carve out their own signature style while unleashing excellent head-banging inducing pieces like “In A State of Agony”, “Fragile Chapters” and “Gone”.

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    Obsidian Scapes - Obsidian Scapes (2025)

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    Unleashing waves of downright filthy old-school Doom Metal, today we have Germany’s Obsidian Scapes and their self-titled EP. With two tracks in this release, the band showcases their raw and punishing power, bringing back memories of the early days of the genre. Highly recommended for those that like grimy and raw music, this EP brilliantly introduces the band to the scene.

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    Swallow the Sun - Shining (2024)

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    Always consistently good over the years, Swallow the Sun has constantly strived to deliver some of the most melancholic and depressing Death/Doom Metal music. With “Shining”, the band shakes things up and infuses more Gothic Metal elements to their original sound, creating a very interesting and different aural experience. With a ‘livelier’ sound, this release unravels ten tracks and around 49 minutes of crafty music that will certainly turn some heads. When something is labeled as the “Black Album” of Death Doom, you know there will be some controversy around it.

    Opening with “Innocence Was Long Forgotten”, we instantly get a very distinctive difference in the band’s traditional style. While you still have the bleakness of Swallow the Sun, you also get some softer touches, making the song sound like Lacrimas Profundere, Beseech, To/Die/For, etc. There are definitely some vintage STS elements on songs like “What I Have Become”, at least in some parts, perfectly blending new elements with the old. Mikko Kotamäki does a great job mixing up his traditional snarls and growls with more emotive clean vocal sections.

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