Sallow Moth - Hydrophilous Brood (2026) Review

I discovered Sallow Moth through last year's Mossbane Lantern, a truly captivating exercise in tech and prog death metal whose complex songwriting set it apart from the genre's overcrowded landscape. It also somehow marked a rebirth for the project, which had limited its activity between 2022 and 2024, but since then Garry Brents has been quite active. Hydrophilous Brood arrives less than a year after its predecessor, a short turnaround considering the ambition of both records. Sallow Moth consists of Brents, also the driving force behind Gonemage, Demon Sluice, and formerly Cara Neir, joined by Hypaethral / Sanguinary Consummation drummer, Alen Gingerich. Two minds are better than one.

Nargaroth - Apocalyptic Steel (2026) Review

Believe it or not, one of the defining moments in my relationship with black metal came the first time I heard Nargaroth's Jahreszeiten, and specifically the repetitive riffing on the last track, "Winter". This was my introduction to this band, before I knew of their earlier, more notorious records, as well as before many of the genre's foundational names. This kind of monotonous melodic austerity captured what I found to be essential in black metal, and shaped how I continue to appreciate it today. 

Vafurlogi - Gneisti af eldi Guðs (2026) Review

We're no strangers to the glory of the Icelandic black scene, which has always aimed for production of music with ever-present ferocity, and continental significance. Most of the bands active during the previous decade dominated my playlists of favorites, some of which I still consider recordings or such magnitude that elevates the whole genre. 

One could argue that one of the perpetrators of the movement was Svartidauði with their earliest demos in the mid 00s, then continued by numerous impressive bands, such as Sinmara and their 2014 debut, Aphotic Womb, as well as the more well-rounded continuation, Hvísl stjarnanna (2019).

Saidan - Fangdriller: Scars Beneath Memory's Wrist (2026) Review

This act has caused significant turbulence within the scene since its formation only a few years ago, yet in that short span it has already assembled a quite formidable catalogue of full-length albums. Saidan's frenetic brand of black metal, amplified by overwhelming melodicism and blended with the dismal aura of Japanese horror, has grown a large audience through the effectiveness of its riffing and mercurial style of songwriting. Evolution has been evident throughout their entire discography, with each release surpassing the last.

Devourment - Pious Impiety (EP, 2026) Review

After a seven-year void, Texas pioneers of brutal death metal, Devourment, have returned with a surprise new 12-minute EP that emphatically proves they haven't diminished an ounce of their purpose: absolute heaviness. The '10s saw the band releasing two albums with fairly different responses from the audience, yet I fully enjoyed both Conceived In Sewage (2013) and Obscene Majesty (2019), the latter being of course better.

 As with everyone else, I didn't see Pious Impiety coming, a three-track 7" of the band's relentless, trademark slabs of slam death, heavy in a way that suggests the band can take any kind of hiatus they want and still remain on point afterwards.