LIK
"NECRO"
Death Metal/ Thrash
Year:11.04.2025
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

Standing loud and proud over so many imitators, Necro is the musical equivalent of a classic shock-horror movie that’s drenched in blood and gore and packed with over-the-top extremities. Delve beyond the zombified cover art created by Stockholm-based tattooist and artist Jens Olsson (Ink Fanatics), Necro serves as a reminder of just how special and exciting the genre is: packed with blood-curdling fantasy stories about war, death, zombies, world apocalypse, and murder all stacked with disgustingly-good rotten riffs. After recording and releasing their critically acclaimed third full-length, 2020’s Misanthropic Breed, during the pandemic, this time around getting back into the studio properly was paramount. And while Misanthropic Breed was recorded at the quartet’s rehear...

CRADLE OF FILTH
"THE SCREAMING OF THE VALKYRIES"
Black Metal
Year:21.03.2025
(NAPALM RECORDS)

On their 14th studio opus, CRADLE OF FILTH blend their iconic macabre sound with dark new delights!GRAMMY Award-nominated CRADLE OF FILTH reign supreme as one of the most revered, formative and notorious names in music – from the depths of the extreme metal underground to the peaks of mainstream pop culture itself, and are responsible for breaking ground for many of today’s top metal artists with their trademark mixture of blackened heaviness, macabre theatricality and scintillating gothic style. The rule of Filth began in 1991, followed by the unleashing of 1994’s The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh – humble beginnings that expanded into cinematic classics like Cruelty And The Beast and Midian, among others. Now, following the release of 2021’s Existence Is Futi...

GOTTHARD
"STEREO CRUSH"
Hard Rock/ Melodic Metal
Year:21.03.2025
(Reigning Phoenix Music)

The Gotthard towers a majestic 3192 metres above sea level. The legacy of the band Gotthard is just as gigantic and massive. Their trademark cocktail of hard rock power, passion and feeling has lost none of its power even after more than 30 years. This makes their new record ‘Stereo Crush’ seemingly effortlessly one of their best works. For Switzerland's most successful band with 16 number 1 albums and 3.5 million units sold, this is a strong statement!‘Stereo Crush’ is a celebration of life, loud music and the invisible ties that bind Gotthard together. An album for eternity, a flaming commitment to their music and to the people they have been playing it for all these years. With a contemporary production, great anthems and some surprising tricks up...

LORDI
"LIMITED DEADITION"
Melodic Power Heavy Metal
Year:21.03.2025
(Reigning Phoenix Music)

LORDI are successfully continuing to give us the creeps in their unique way that is as eerily bizarre as it is catchy. As evinced during the past decades, Mr. Lordi has made a name as director for the band's very own horror cinema ever since. Founded in 1992 by singer, songwriter and designer Mr. Lordi, the band achieved their international breakthrough after winning the Eurovision Song Contest with their hit song 'Hard Rock Hallelujah' in 2006. Since then, the unconventional troop has rocked their way into the spotlight of Europe with charm, unforgettable tunes and elaborate monster costumes. Mr. Lordi himself designs and produces LORDI’s complete wardrobe, artwork and videos. Expect the legendary monster man to once again play the leading role in this 19th...

GHOST
"SKELETA"
Hard Rock/ AOR
Year:25.04.2025
(ADA - Alternative Distribution Alliance)

Swedish occult rockers GHOST will release their new album, "Skeletá", on April 25 via Loma Vista Recordings. The official music video for the LP's first single, "Satanized", is out now. The "Satanized" music video introduces the new character who will be fronting GHOST for its 2025 touring cycle: Papa V Perpetua."Satanized" is described in a press release as "an avalanche of infectious hooks and harmonies is buoyed by a hypnotic shuffle, as the narrator succumbs to dark forces within and without, helplessly acknowledging their own blasphemy and heresy as it inexorably consumes them." By the time the song's opening lines "There is something inside me and they don't know if there is a cure" have moved from the inner monologue of the possessed to the ears of t...

MESSA
"THE SPIN"
Doom Heavy Metal
Year:11.04.2025
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

Sailing past their tenth anniversary in 2024, MESSA takes another step towards legendary status with their majestic fourth album The Spin, which takes its listeners on a breathtaking journey across the wide-open skies of their creative imagination and over a compelling landscape of moods, twists, and styles. Based in the band's eclectic, self-defined “scarlet doom” sound, The Spin rises, falls, broods, bites, comforts, and destroys, all the while resounding with both instinctive magic and obsessive, concerted hard work. After lighting up the underground with a triptych of increasingly distinctive and wondrous records – 2016's Belfry, 2018's Feast For Water, and 2022's Close – MESSA is audibly equipped for the proverbial big leagues.CD/ LP:1. Void...

GHOST BATH
"ROSE THORN NECKLACE"
Black Metal
Year:08.05.2025
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

Depressive black metallers GHOST BATH have emerged from beyond the veil with their new album, Rose Thorn Necklace.Free from the Moonlover-Starmourner-Self Loather conceptual trilogy, sole proprietor Nameless (aka Dennis Mikula) explores the most intense and introspective GHOST BATH’s oeuvre, advancing with blackened blasts and melancholic movements while moving his only child forward into the unknownGHOST BATH comments:"Rose Thorn Necklace is both beautiful and grotesque. It blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, exploring the contrast of something gorgeous and disgusting. I tried my best to not hold myself back - both musically and lyrically - and this is the result; depressive black metal with raw emotion, unique melodies, and textured synths."Rose Thorn Necklace was recorded...

NIGHTFALL
"CHILDREN OF EVE"
Blackened Death Metal
Year:02.05.2025
(SEASON OF MIST)

Since their formation in 1991, Nightfall have stood alongside Rotting Christ and Septicflesh as the pioneering trinity of Greek metal. The legendary Athenian death metal band sound as vengeful as ever. But backed by monumental production and a powerful message, their eleventh studio album stands as their darkest and most epic creation yet.   Like their contemporaries, Nightfall weave gothic melodies into blackened death metal. Children of Eve features the most infections collection of hooks that the band has ever created thanks to the mixing and mastering of Jacob Hansen. Armed with cloak and dagger, masked frontman Efthimis Karadimas commands lead single “I Hate” behind blast beats that fly like a swarm of arrows.But Children of Eve wouldn’t bear the ...

DIRKSCHNEIDER
"BALLS TO THE WALL RELOADED"
Heavy Metal
Year:28.02.2025
(Reigning Phoenix Music)

•    The cult Accept Album Balls To The Wall Rerecorded with guests on each song!•    Guest vocals by Danko Jones, Ylva Eriksson (Brothers Of Metal), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Tim Ripper Owens (KK's Priest, ex-Judas Priest). 40 years after the original release of the legendary classic album Balls To The Wall by the German Heavy Metal sensation Accept, Udo Dirkschneider (former voice of Accept) started working on reviving this classic. "Balls To The Wall Reloaded" features some of Heavy Metal's most famous voices as guests: Joakim Broden (Sabaton), Biff Byford (Saxon), Mille Petrozza (Kreator), Nils Molin (Amaranthe & Dynazty), Michael Kiske (Helloween), Ylva Eriksson (Brothers Of Metal), Danko Jones, Dee Snider (Twiste...

ALLEGAEON
"THE OSSUARY LENS"
Death Metal
Year:04.04.2025
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

For ALLEGAEON, sitting still is not an option. The Fort Collins, Colorado-based group has never allowed itself to stagnate, prefering to thrive on chaos, change and evolution. Their latest offering, The Ossuary Lens, is their seventh full-length overall but it’s the first with original vocalist Ezra Haynes since his 2015 departure following the Elements Of The Infinite album. Replacing a singer is no easy task, so the fact that Haynes was in a place to rejoin is something to celebrate. The cleaner vocal approach on the last three albums was a fascinating artistic maneuver, one that refreshed ALLEGAEON, but it’s undeniably thrilling to hear Haynes’ graveled larynx back in the fold on this inarguably brutal and technically dazzling slab of work. The science-based...

SANHEDRIN
"HEAT LIGHTNING"
Heavy Metal
Year:14.03.2025
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

New York trio Sanhedrin have spent the last decade at the forefront of the American heavy metal scene. Their blend of traditional metal and hard rock sounds combine with a fresh modern energy and perspective. With 2022’s release Lights On, the band had created their most complete work to date. Now they follow it up with Heat Lightning, a diverse collection of songs that capture the band’s wide array of influences with an elevated level of production. When asked how this new album compares to the band’s previous efforts, drummer Nathan Honor explains: “Sonically there’s no comparison. Heat Lightning is the fullest representation of the power of this band. When you take three seasoned musicians with their favorite hand picked instruments, put them in front of tw...

BEHEMOTH
"THE SHIT OV GOD"
Blackened Death Metal
Year:09.05.2025
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

Extreme Metal giants BEHEMOTH have revealed the title, cover artwork, and release date (09.05) of their 13th studio album The Shit Ov God. This new album promises to be the most provocative and extreme work of their 34-year-long career. Featuring eight tracks, it dives deep into the abyss of humanity, divinity, and rebellion - in a time when individuality is celebrated, yet many still cling to their saviors, whether musical, political, or otherwise.BEHEMOTH frontman Nergal says about the album:"The number thirteen - so magical and significant. If this were to be our final album, I could say I die a proud man. Without a shadow of a doubt, this is the most refined, purest representation of Behemoth. No filler, no excess - just the very best we have to offer, handed to you."CD/ LP:1...

ULVER
"LIMINAL ANIMALS"
Dark Pop/ Progressive/ EBM
Year:07.03.2025
(PROPHECY PRODUCTIONS)

At the end of the roughest year in their history, Ulver is proud to release their thirteenth studio album, titled Liminal Animals. Liminal Animals is permeated by the smell of disaster and documents, with deep concern, a dark and troubled place in a dark and troubled time. The cover art features The Senseless Seven, a 1911 drawing by Austin Osman Spare.

CD/ LP:

1. Ghost Entry
2. A City in the Skies
3. Forgive Us (feat. Nils Petter Molvær)
4. Nocturne #1
5. Locusts
6. Hollywood Babylon
7. The Red Light
8. Nocturne #2
9. Helian (Trakl)

WHITECHAPEL
"HYMNS IN DISSONANCE"
Death Metal/ Metalcore
Year:07.03.2025
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

WHITECHAPEL, who formed in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2006, has seen the core lineup - vocalist Phill Bozeman, guitarists Ben Savage, Zach Householder, and Alex Wade, and bassist Gabe Crisp - intact since 2007, with the exception of drummer Brandon Zackey, who has been playing with the band since 2022. While Hymns In Dissonance follows 2021’s Kin chronologically, the new album is actually somewhat of a sequel to This Is Exile thematically, the three-word title Hymns In Dissonance representing that correlation.The band’s dynamic, brutal musicality serves as a soundtrack to the compelling lyrical story that vocalist Phil Bozeman vividly imagines. “Hymns In Dissonance is a mockery of the true nature of what hymns are,” Bozeman explains. “Hymns are melodious and har...

MANTAR
"POST APOCALYPTIC DEPRESSION"
Black Metal
Year:14.02.2025
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

MANTAR's new album, Post Apocalyptic Depression, is a raw, stripped-back response to their previous, highly produced work. Guitarist Hanno Klänhardt describes it as a return to their punk roots with a "quick and dirty" recording process using minimal gear and little planning. Embracing the beauty in defying expectations, the album’s opener, “Absolute Ghost,” embodies their energetic, visceral punk 'n' roll sound, perfect for live performances. The album’s haunting cover by Aron Wiesenfeld links back to their debut Death By Burning, symbolizing a full-circle moment for the band. The title captures the exhaustion and disillusionment after mass hysteria - a sense of burnout that’s both deeply relatable and darkly catchy.CD/ LP:01 Absolute Ghos...