Napalm Records

  • Jinjer - Duél (2025)

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    Continuing their meteoric rise, today we have Ukraine’s Jinjer and their latest opus “Duél”. Adding some extra polish and flair to their Djenty Progressive Groove/’Modern’ Metal, the band unleashes eleven crafty tracks that perfectly balance their technical proficiency, aggression, and mellowness. Fronted by the talented Tatiana Shmayluk, this outfit continues to improve their sound by creating intricate songs filled with brilliant moshing passages and sultriness.

    Wasting no time, “Tantrum” fully explodes in the listener’s ears with a pummeling start, mixing harsh vocals and a playful bass guitar line. The band’s melodic nature follows suit with nice tempo changes and a barrage of alternating passages, showing the band’s proggy side and versatile nature. Cruising along with Djenty tracks “Hedonist”, “Rouge”, and “Tumbleweed”, we get the band's signature style of intricate transitions and alternating clean and harsh vocals, creating a very deadly and efficient combination.

  • Патриархь - Пророк Илия (2025)

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    Finally putting all their legal messes behind,Bartłomiej Krysiuk’s Batushka is now Патриархь or Patriarch, and they are back with an impressive release titled “Пророк Илия”. Keeping some of their ‘old’ stylistic themes and sound, but also adding some extra layers and new dimensions, this release unleashes over 40 minutes of highly ritualistic and hypnotic music, that while not close to “Литоургиiа”, it does show the band in a new light and with a unique identity.

    The release kicks off with an atmospheric piece that slowly transitions into the chilling “Вершалин II”. This track perfectly exploits the band’s eerie choir arrangements alongside a good dose of Black Metal harshness and some new string instruments. The full effect is quite cinematic, unveiling new layers to the band’s sound while keeping their own uniqueness. This bleeds into “Вершалин III”, another engaging ritualistic track that masterfully incorporates some haunting female vocals.

  • Delain - Dance with the Devil (2024)

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    Continuing the momentum gained with their 2023 release “Dark waters”, Delain is back with a bombastic EP, titled “Dance with the Devil”. Showcasing the new incarnation of the band’s synth driven sound, this EP is far from a regular one as it delivers two brand new tracks, two reworked fan-favorites, nine live tracks, and two instrumentals. Packing plenty of bang for your buck, this release also foreshadows the band’s return to North America with Xandria in 2025, so be prepared for a party.

    Opening with “Dance with the Devil”, we get the new bombastic and playful Delain with the charismatic Diana Leah settling into the band’s sound with her talented vocals and Martijn Westerholt really going wild with the synths. The lush “The Reaping” continues with a very crafty Synth-wave vibe alongside a hefty dose of distorted guitars and a good amount of catchiness. The band’s sound in these two new songs is quite explosive and leverages Diana’s vocals even better, creating masterful Symphonic Metal music.

  • Nile - The Underworld Awaits Us All (2024)

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    Everybody’s favorite Egyptian-inspired Brutal/Technical Death Metal outfit is finally back with another high-octane release titled “The Underworld Awaits Us All”. Featuring eleven tracks and nearly 55-minutes of music, the band returns with masterful incisive onslaughts of brutality, perfectly paired with crafty atmospheric elements and crushing tempo changes. If you are a fan of the band’s earlier work, you will love this album as it keeps things hectic and punishing from start to end.

    Blasting away with “Stelae of Vultures”, we get those sweet chuggy Death Metal riffs the band is known for alongside the crushing drumming of George Kollias. Pummeling through blistering fast tracks like “To Strike with Secret Fang” and “Naqada II Enter the Golden Age”, to the traditional instrumental pieces like “The Pentagrammathion of Nephren-Ka”, Nile continues to polish their style while delivering intense pieces of music, only getting better with time.

  • Evergrey - Theories of Emptiness (2024)

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    Long running Progressive/Power Metal outfit Evergrey is one of the most recognized names in the scene and with “Theories of Emptiness”, the band keeps their momentum going with eleven epic tracks. Totaling over 45 minutes of music, this release continues the band’s highly melancholic journey with well crafted songs that perfectly show the band’s excellent songwriting skills and atmospheric prowess.

    Opening with the banger, “Falling From the Sun”, we get Tom S. Englund’s signature vocals perfectly surrounded by subtle atmospherics and crafty instrumentation. We particularly love how the keyboards crafty dark vibes on songs like “Misfortune” and “To Become Someone Else”, giving the band’s sound that extra edge. However, the guitar work is also top notch, with a good amount of engaging solos and a mixture of powerful riffs with melodic passages, as heard on “Say” and “Ghost of My Hero”, our personal favorite song of the release.

  • Alestorm - Voyage of the Dead Marauder (2024)

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    There is nothing like starting the day with some lighthearted and silly Pirate Metal, thankfully, Alestorm has been feeding our cravings for over 15 years. With “Voyage of the Dead Merauder”, the band unleashes five extremely playful and hilarious tracks of their signature music. The band has constantly polished their sound over the years and have gotten their craziness to a science, with all tracks being funky, funny, and expertly crafted and executed.

    Opening with the EP title track, we get a very lively Folky piece, featuring Patty Gurdy on the hurdy-gurdy and vocals. This track has a big Eluveitie vibe, however, the band’s pirateness is nicely embedded into the piece. Up next we have the superbly silly “Uzbekistan”, a tale of pirates in a landlocked country. This is a quite hilarious and well crafted piece with the band’s signature tempo changes and crazy festive heabanging/moshing passages.

  • Dragonforce - Warp Speed Warriors (2024)

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    Needing no introduction, Dragonforce has been delivering waves of high-octane Power Metal over the years with a high emphasis on flair and technical brilliance. With “Warp Speed Warriors”, the band returns with their playful and superbly catchy style to deliver ten tracks and nearly 50 minutes of expertly crafted epic music filled with soaring vocal arrangements and technical wizardry.

    Opening with the engaging “Astro Warrior Anthem”, we quickly get Herman Li and Sam Totman racing off with soaring guitar leads alongside Gee Anzalone’s tight drumming. Thanks to Marc Hudson’s soaring lead vocals, tracks like “Power of the Triforce”, “Kingdom of Steel”, and “Burning Heart”, nicely have that superbly epic and intense vibe that is the signature style of the band. Filled with intricate details and a crystal clear production, all songs in this release are an aural experience on their own.

  • Suldusk - Anthesis (2024)

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    Hailing from Australia, today we have Suldusk and their sophomore release “Anthesis”. Marking a transition from a Folk sound to Dark Folk with Blackgaze, Progressive and even some Doom influences, this release unleashes nine tracks of sublime music filled with raw emotion and mystery. For fans of more modern Post-Black Metal releases with a melancholic edge, this release will certainly catch many by surprise and take the scene by storm.

    Opening with the solemn “Astraeus”, the band quickly changes gears with the brutal initial onslaughts of “Verdalet”. Once the band settles in more melancholic territories, their stylistic duality is masterfully revealed. Emily Highfield’s vocals are just the right amount of sweet and mysterious to carry a very lush instrumentation including dramatic violins and intricate guitar melodies.

  • Persefone - Lingua Ignota: Part I (2024)

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    After their very impressive 2022 release “Metanoia”, expectations were sky-high from Andorra’s Persefone. Since that release, the band went through a major change, losing vocalist Marc Martins Pia. However, one would imagine with the main core of the band that this EP, “Lingua Ignota: Part I” wouldn’t be too far from a departure from their original style.

  • Exit Eden - Femmes Fatales (2024)

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    Oozing catchines and Symphonic power, today we have Exit Eden and their sophomore release “Femmes Fatales”. Being seven years in the making, this release delivers twelve tracks, six originals and six covers, all spanning almost one hour of superb music. Particularly catered for fans of Female-fronted Symphonic Metal, this release showcases the vocal talents of Clémentine Develay Thieux (Visions of Atlantis), Marina La Torraca (Phantom Elite), and Anna Brunner. With each one bringing their own uniqueness to highly dynamic and engaging music.

    Alternating one original song and one cover song, the release opens with the captivating energy of “Femme Fatale” and as it blends into the brilliant Pet Shop Boys cover of “It's a Sin”. While Amanda Sommerville is no longer with the band, Clémentine, Marina, and Anna do a great job in keeping things quite diverse and engaging and it also allows the listener to focus even more on what each brings to the table.

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