HATE
"BELLUM REGIIS"
Blackened Death Metal
Year:02.05.2025
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

With a dozen ferocious and lauded albums since 1996’s Daemon Qui Fecit Terra, HATE’s lucky thirteenth album, Bellum Regiis, sees the unrelenting Polish quartet forging a bolder and more aggressive style than ever. Bellum Regiis’ nine songs see vocalist/guitarist ATF Sinner, guitarist Domin, drummer Nar-Sil, and bassist Tiermes honing a modern sound rife with eerie atmosphere and depth. Produced by David Castillo (Candlemass, Carcass, Dark Tranquillity, Katatonia) at Stockholm's Grondahl Studio, Bellum Regiis is lyrically a more “humanity focused and personal” album than 2021’s Rugia while its songs are timely aural and visual exploration of, according to the vocalist, “a struggle for power and everything that comes with it.”CD/...

KARDASHEV
"ALUNEA"
Deathgaze/ Progressive Dark Metal
Year:25.04.2025
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

The eight sonically and lyrically immersive songs on Alunea have set yet another high-water mark for the dynamic lineup. Known as the progenitors of the “deathgaze” genre, that descriptor is evolving as KARDASHEV continually explores and pushes boundaries. “Words you could use to describe our music are ‘atmospheric, progressive, emotional, dynamic, and contrast,” explains drummer Sean Lang. “Our music attempts to sonically portray the emotions of anger and sorrow which creates a palpable but natural dynamic contrast.” Music has always been a universal language, but KARDASHEV creates their own lyrical language, adding depth and meaning.Alunea is a direct sequel to the events of The Almanac and picks up right where the song "Beyond Sun And Moon" leav...

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...

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...

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...

ENTRAILS
"GRIP OF ETERNAL EVIL"
Death Metal
Year:18.07.2025
(HAMMERHEART RECORDS)

Entrails are back with their 8th album and the 90´s soul is brought back for the massive HM-2 sound and their passion for classic old school Death Metal!Swedish Death Metal attack Entrails are back with their new album “Grip of Ancient Evil”! No trends. No polish. Just the purest form of old school DeathMetal: HM-2 buzzsaw guitars, bludgeoning rhythms and horror drenched lyrics! Following the critically acclaimed “An Eternal Time of Decay”, Entrails digs deeper into the grave, delivering some of their darkest and most savage material to date.Tracks like “Wings of Death”, “Untreatable Decay” and “Skin ‘em All” hit with relentless force! It’s the sound of tombs cracking open, of ancient evil rising once a...

...AND OCEANS
"THE REGENERATION ITINERARY"
Black Metal
Year:23.05.2025
(SEASON OF MIST)

In the frozen depths of Finland's iciest lakes, …and Oceans emerged, fusing symphonic black metal with avant-garde twists and splashes of industrial chaos. For decades, they've been the torchbearers of a genre that defies boundaries - constantly reinventing their sound with each new album.Their latest full-length, "The Regeneration Itinerary," is a transcendent expedition into the duality of light and dark. Recorded in the halls of SoundSpiral Audio and mixed to perfection at Necromorbus Studio, this album weaves a tale as old as time yet refreshingly modern. With tracks like the ethereal, techno-laden "Inertiae" and the haunting "Förnyelse i Tre Akter," Mathias Lillmåns' lyrical prowess unfurls across Timo Kontio's and Antti Simonen's ...

GAAHLS WYRD
"BRAIDING THE STORIES"
Black Metal
Year:06.06.2025
(SEASON OF MIST)

•    Norwegian Grammy-winning metal maestros Gaahls Wyrd present their mesmerizing sophomore album, Braiding the Stories. This introspective and ethereal venture bridges the realms of consciousness and dreams through a potent blend of philosophical introspection and audacious musical composition.•    Led by the commanding presence of legendary vocalist Gaahl (Kristian Espedal) and supported by guitarist Lust Kilman (Ole Walaunet), bassist Nekroman (Andreas Salbu), and drummer Spektre (Kevin Kvåle), the band artfully merges chaos and beauty, resonating deeply within the esoteric extreme/black metal genre.•    Produced at Solslottet Studio and featuring the sophisticated cover art of Øivind Myksvoll, Braiding the Storie...

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...

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 ...

CIRITH UNGOL
"LIVE AT THE ROXY"
Heavy Metal
Year:25.04.2025
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

One of the world's most iconic music venues - the Sunset Strip's Roxy Theatre- hosted a legendary 2024 gig by one of the world's most iconic metal bands, CIRITH UNGOL. The one-night-only performance was an album release show for the band's 2023 Dark Parade LP. It captured the lineup at the height of its considerable powers, performing Dark Parade in its entirety, along with a set of classic songs including "Join The Legion," "Frost And Fire," "Black Machine," and "Atom Smasher." The end result is a stellar live album and DVD.There was no choice other than the Roxy for CIRITH UNGOL to record this momentous live collection. "It's owned by a Hollywood music legend, Lou Adler," notes cofounding drummer Rob Garven, "and is next door to the famous Rainbow Bar a...

MIDNIGHT
"STEEL, RUST AND DISGUST"
Black Metal
Year:23.05.2025
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

One-man-army, Athenar, has been spewing out an ungodly racket, dropping countless demos, splits, EPs, and LPs and ultimately slaying the metal/punk underground with his own addictive brand of lust, grime, and sleaze for over two decades. The Steel, Rust And Disgust collective follows last year’s chart topping Hellish Expectations full-length and features ten unique cover tracks alongside two new cuts.Athenar comments, “The idea to record an album of all cover jams with a certain theme is nothing quite new. The original title for this album was gonna be Throw Ups as an homage to the David Bowie’s Pin Ups album, also of covers. Although Throw Ups is only two syllables and I need six. I guess I could've called it Throw Downs Throw Outs Throw Ups, but that woul...

CREMATORY
"DESTINATION"
Melodic Death/ Gothic Metal
Year:02.05.2025
(Reigning Phoenix Music)

The CREMATORY hit factory opens its doors for the 17th time with its new studio album “Destination” and reaches a new, even higher level than before! It's an album that literally combines all the strengths and phases of the gothic metal pioneers, going back to their melodic death metal roots in places, then diving deep into the gothic realm again and surprising with some electro dancefloor bangers.CD/ 2LP:01.     Destination 02.     The Future Is a Lonely Place03.     Welt Aus Glas     04.     My Girlfriend's Girlfriend (Type O Negative cover)     05.     After Isolation 06.     My Own Private God  &n...

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...

MACHINE HEAD
"UNATONED"
Prog Death Metal
Year:25.04.2025
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

For over three decades, the personification of determination, founder/vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn, has led Bay Area icons MACHINE HEAD on an uncompromising path – one fueled by defiance, reinvention, and a relentless pursuit of evolution. Now, Machine Head announce their new album, UNATØNED. UNATØNED is a testament to momentum, an album honed to its sharpest edge, forged on creative discipline and the hunger to push forward. To mark the announcement, the band reveals the first single, 'UNBØUND'. Experience the raw energy and watch the electrifying music video directed by Mike Sloat below!CD/ LP:        1. Landscape of Thorns        2. Atomic Revelations   ...