Album Reviews

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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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    Year of the Cobra - Year of the Cobra (2025)

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    Unleashing a barrage of fuzzy distorted guitars and heaps of catchiness, Year of the Cobra returns with their eponymous third full-length release. Keeping to their heavy Psychedelic infused Doom Metal/Rock sound, this North American duo crafts eight tracks that are vibrant and quite dynamic, showcasing their maturity while delivering some truly memorable and engaging songs. If you like bands like Purson, YOB, Jex Thoth and Sabbath Assembly, this is right down your alley.

    Opening with the ripping “Full Sails”, we get the band’s fierce and in-your-face stripped down power of crushing bass guitar and crafty drumming. The album keeps the momentum going with the additional catchiness of “War Drop” as the pulsating bass guitar line perfectly balances Amy Tung Barrysmith’s charismatic vocals. The band’s catchier side comes out with the insanely fun “Daemonium” and its hard rocking nature.

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    Avantasia - Here Be Dragons (2025)

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    Returning for their first release through Napalm Records, today we have Avantasia and their 10th full-length album “Here Be Dragons”. Continuing their bombastic and catchy Heavy/Power Metal explorations, Tobias Sammet and company are set to unleash another superbly crafted release with plenty of guest singers and bombastic explorations. With over 50 minutes of music, this release continues the band’s legacy and injects a heavy dose of catchiness to your day.

    Opening with the addictive “Creepshow”, we get a Scorpions-esque bombastic piece with a masterful chorus line and a high level of energy to set the pace for this album. With Geoff Tate, Michael Kiske and Tommy Karevik, featuring on “Here Be Dragons”, “The Moorlands at Twilight”, and “The Witch” respectively, the band showcases their dynamic nature with a mixture of Power Metal anthems, alongside crafty atmospheric arrangements, and a heavy dose of catchy distorted guitars to keep things very energetic and quite epic with some lush choir arrangements thrown into the mix.

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    Grima - Nightside (2025)

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    Enigmatic Russian outfit Grima are finally back with their ravaging Atmospheric Black Metal with “Nightside”. Featuring a very bombastic and lush sound filled with raw and powerful emotion, this band manages to shine from the rest thanks to their unique atmospheric sound and fierce brutality. Carving their own name and path in a very crowded scene, this outfit delivers nearly 50 minutes of magical ritualistic music that is hypnotic and captivating.

    After the folky intro, “Beyond the Dark Horizon” quickly sets a hypnotic pace with crafty melodic guitars, an engaging tempo, and majestic keyboards that create a very immersive atmosphere as Vilhelm’s shrieks and growls keep things dynamic. Far from linear, songs like “Flight of the Silver Storm”, “Impending Death Premonition”, and “Skull Gatherers” explore mysterious atmospheric depths that feel very unique and enchanting, taking the listener into dark paths in the woods.

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    Havukruunu - Tavastland (2025)

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    Quickly taking the Pagan Metal Scene by storm, Finland’s Havukruunu have graciously evolved their sound in the last couple of years and with “Tavastland” they almost achieve perfection. With a very regal and explosive nature, the band’s fourth full-length release features eight tracks and over 53 minutes of lush and dynamic music that will have you marching towards battle while also headbanging until your neck hurts.

    Starting with the ravaging “Kuolematon laulunhenki”, the band creates a very effusive atmosphere with crafty guitar work, captivating vocal arrangements and an overall very explosive and engaging vibe. The band continues to showcase their masterful songwriting skills as “Yönsynty”, “Havukruunu ja talvenvarjo”, and “Tavastland” roll around with excellent melodic passages, an hypnotic tempo, and a plethora of epic atmospheric elements, just think of Ensiferum-meets-Thyrfing with some Bathory sprinkles.

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    Bong-Ra - Black Noise (2025)

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    With some Godflesh/Ministry industrial vibes, today we have Bong-Ra and their latest exercise in dissonance “Black Noise”. Featuring nine tracks of aural abuse, this release takes the band to its roots while still unleashing Doomy and Industrial craftiness. Masterminded by Jason Köhnen, this outfit always pushed the boundaries of music, and the listener’s comfort levels, so make sure to strap in for this one.

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    Gràb - Kremess (2025)

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    Unleashing an elegant and masterful piece of Black Metal, today we have Germany’s Gràb and their sophomore release “Kremess”. Clocking in at nearly one hour of music, this release is full of excellent details that ooze melancholy and somberness alongside traditional BM elements, making each one of its eight tracks a true listening experience. If you like bands like Agalloch, (old) Ulver, Winterfylleth, and Empyrium, this is one release you should not miss.

    Opening with “Waidler” the band sets a very raw and yet atmospheric tone with harsh shrieks and ravaging guitar riffs that suddenly transport the listener to the early, and fiercest, days of Black Metal. However, there is always a melancholy infusion into the band’s music that keeps things far from ‘standard’ and provides them a signature style. On the album’s title track, we get a more somber approach with haunting atmospherics and dulcimer action, while the track quickly transforms with magical keyboards and a solemn pace that feels very visceral.

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    Malacath - Eternal Roar of the Thunder and Rain (2025)

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    Unleashing waves of old-school Black Metal, today we have Malacath and their latest offering “Eternal Roar of the Thunder and Rain”. Featuring a timeless and quite raw sound, this band delivers incisive BM for over 53 minutes with a few surprises. For fans of early Ulver and similar outfits, this release packs a mean punch while satiating primal urges.

    Opening with the album title track, the band unleashes its fury after an atmospheric build up. We instantly got 90’s BM vibes from this outfit thanks to the razor sharp guitar tones and the simplistic and yet effective structure. However, not all is as it seems as after a while this track suddenly transforms into Ulver’s “Bergtatt” with lush acoustic guitars thrown into the mix. The tempo is again picked up on “Call of the Specter”, a ravaging piece full of ferocity and enigmatic melody.

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    Ofnus - Valediction (2025)

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    Hailing from Cardiff, Wales, today we have Ofnus and their majestic blend of Melodic and Atmospheric Black Metal. With “Valediction”, their sophomore full-length release, the band takes their sound to a whole new level, blending elements from bands like Saor, Winterfylleth, to more craft influences of Enslaved, Agalloch, to create a very dreamy and yet pummeling style that is hard to come by these days. Treating the listener to almost one hour of music, this release packs a mean punch.

    Opening with the ravaging “The Shattering”, we get a taste of the band’s perfect balance of punishing aggression with fierce riffs, vocals, and drumming, alongside elegant atmospheric and some crafty proggy tempo changes. Taking a more dramatic turn, “Reflections of Delusion” starts with an enigmatic opening that slowly escalates into aggressive onslaughts and elegant atmospheric passages. The band does a great job in creating tracks that quickly change directions while always maintaining a high degree of atmosphere, as the stunning “Throes of Agony” delivers.

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    Bleeding Through - Nine (2025)

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    Unleashing their first full-length release since the band’s return, today we have Bleeding Through and their crushing album “Nine”. Featuring their signature Metalcore sound that was always above the norm, this release delivers over 40 minutes of punishing and yet catchy music, filled with atmospheric keyboards and crafty breakdowns. Keeping a relevant and fresh sound, this band is ready to show the scene who is king.

    Opening with the pummeling “Gallows”, we get a very Symphonic Black/Death Metal vibe that slowly transitions into their Metalcore roots. The band’s sound has always been very ‘in your face’ and this is not the exception as tracks like “Our Brand Is Chaos”, “Dead, But so Alive”, steamroll through the listener with their dynamic tempo changes, multi-pronged vocal onslaughts and massive atmospherics. The band’s sound back in the day was ahead of its time, and heavily copied, but still manages to be relevant and masterful.

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