Godless - Adversus Parousia (2026) Review

For me, absence never killed momentum. Despite being active since the late '90s, Chile's Godless released their debut full-length album in 2010, and circle back to studio action 16 years later with the second album, Adversus Parousia, having sparsely released only a handful of EPs and demos in between these three decades. My first experience with the band was on the Omega Omnipotens EP (2017), which left me an impression good enough to explore previous material, but I still almost didn't recognize it's the same band when I glanced at the news of Adversus Parousia earlier this year. The record's kernel, if you haven't already guessed, is one of archaic death metal, with a bombastic delivery and an undeniable South American harshness embedded to it.

Minimal but compelling art done by Fenomeno Design (also responsible for Barshashketh, Blut Aus Nord and Merrimack covers) alongside an excellent production is what immediately leaves the first positive feedback. Godless understands that clarity and filth aren't mutually exclusive, sounding massive on Adversus Parousia without it being overproduced or too loud. The crispiness feels organic, all instruments retain their definition and front-end presence yet the band gives the impression of still operating within a larger structure of darkness. 

Musically, the strongest influence here is Incantation, both on structure and riff variety, but the band's far from a passive imitator, keeping an abrasive intensity hardly contained across eight tracks and a total of 40 minutes of antediluvian death metal. The curtain-raiser, "Ingenitus-Ekstasis", is also the longest piece on the album, and throws caution at the wind with violent tremolo riffing, persistent tension and controlled tempo switches throughout. It's also perfectly linked with the second track, "Omega Omnipotens: Hosanna in Nullificatio", which underlines how Godless excel at flow and pacing all across Adversus Parousia. The record's brutality rotates between fast-paced hysteria and slower, doom-heavy stomping that creates regular passages of transitional heaviness through naturally emerging shifts. 

Some tracks work more in favor of these unhurried sections, such as on "Pneuma-Khaos", "Ekstasis-Cosmogravis" and the gloomy closer, "Et Verbum Nihil Factum Est". On the other side, the band turns totally furious on "Plaga Vobiscum (Et Cum Spirit)" and "Numenlagneia", hightlight tracks that capture the album at its best. Apart from the thunderous guitar lines, the bass work is also remarkable, as well as the grotesque vocal delivery (listen to the voice twists and rumbling bass on "Pneuma-Khaos" to feel this at its clearest). In total, the undertaking is deeply indebted to the classic pillars of the genre, and remains unique among kindred bands. Highly recommended.

Release: June 6th, 2026 | Nuclear Winter Records
Website: Facebook
Rating: 4 out of 5 

Ivory Altar - Of the Land and the Woodman (2026)

 

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Mansvara - Sable Odes to Nihility (2026) Review

Since the earliest days, Polish black metal has maintained a firm presence in the underground scene and has notably evolved its psychological darkness over the years. What once was an obscure force of paganism and profanity later gauged interest into the avant-garde, the melodic and the theatrical, with a few names eventually landing their feet well into the mainstream. The younger generation of bands has a lot to absorb from their national markers, but it would be a mistake to assume you know what to expect. Fresh blood Mansvara formed last year and have already garnered enough firepower for their debut full-length album, Sable Odes to Nihility, a carefully organized black / death metal acrimony doused in the 

The band draws its inspiration from two main sources for its own approach on black metal, characterized by heightened melodies and Icelandic impulses. Not only the name reminds me of Sinmara, the particularized logo (by Entitatem.Null.Arts) also bears some resemblance, as the band's visuals invite engagement even before the listening starts. The record's fantastic cover, courtesy of Patrycja Wrona, and the clean-cut production, both show the additional professionalism on how the release is treated. On "Deathsentence", Mansvara introduces open note melodies, comfortable middle-paced semi-dissonance and a triumphal ending, showing a rich song writing attitude already from the get go.

It's hard not to notice the apparent Mgła influence in various riff progressions and especially at these middle-paced sections, most clearly to me at the soaring guitar lines of the second part of "Lingering Void's Echo" and the two final tracks, "Ephemeral Winds" and "Sable Ode to Nihility". Thankfully, Mansvara are not too self-limited on that distinctive but effective play style, and are driven by other compositional elements, like the quasi-distorted post metal passages in various pieces, e.g. in "Grief Doctrine" and "Consigned Doom". One of the record's heaviest moments is at the end of the shortest track, "Obsidianize", where a tremendous guitar line lifts it to an irresistible headbanging moment.

With Sable Odes to Nihility, Mansvara demonstrates control over the album's volatility in a way new bands sometimes are totally oblivious of. There are numerous velocity and mood changes across the tracks, remaining within the lines of modern black metal that could musically and stylistically be described as a half-Icelandic, half-more hostile version of Mgła kind of soundscape. As much as I have been a fan of the aphoristic scene of these Northern countries over the last few years, I miss the activity of multiple artists that we experienced in the mid '10s until about 2021. Mansvara, out of their own accord, make a really good case for claiming piece of that land with this debut.

Release: May 22nd, 2026 | Godz Ov War Productions
Website: Facebook
Rating: 4 out of 5 

Eyes leering inward - Interview with Full of Hell

Watching Full of Hell continuously pile up on their fierce catalog has been a fascinating evolution to track. Over the last 15 years or so, the band has gone through the phases by always willingly re-structuring pieces of a large, fragmented grindcore / death metal / noise palette, as it seems they feed off the endorphins of bashing harder when the everyman would ease up. 

While laughing in the face of rigid genre categorization, their discography is rich as it is diverse, manipulating sounds that often saturate in volatility and suffocation. Older followers may remember our endearment for Trumpeting Ecstasy, and we've gone a long way since then in appreciating both their early, grind-driven first records, and their later more diverse and acknowledged works. 

On a talk with frontman Dylan Walker, we looked a little bit more into the details of creativity, collaborative appetite and the mindset behind one of extreme music's most hardworking bands.

Frozen Soul - No Place for Warmth (2026) Review

I've been really eager to listen to this album from the moment I saw this fantastic front cover: a step further than just encouraging your fans to play MTG during your live show is to adopt the aesthetics of the legendary game. The art of third full-length album No Place of Warmth by Fort Worth, Texas mammoths Frozen Soul features a fantasy-drifting art by James Bousema, who has a stunning RPG-inspired portfolio and has also designed actual MTG cards. As per proper promotion strategy, a few singles dropped before the release date and mistakes were made, in the sense of, checking a track before the album's out (something I usually never do). Then and there, I turned doubtful.

Looking at a band with a rather clear intent for larger and larger reception, choosing a weirdly murky production that is hard to appreciate if you don't have high-end equipment is an debatable decision. Instruments sound far from each other and the guitar tone is sort of a slapstick, revealing more of itself only under perfect conditions, while otherwise being too rough around the edges. This perception is boosted by how simplistic the compositions are, and essentially left out there exposed by the record's mixing. To me, No Place for Warmth sounds like what musicians and producers think old school death metal with a radically natural production would sound like. If you have the chance, choose best headset possible to listen and enjoy it.

The album's eleven tracks barrel through in about 36 minutes of direct, mostly middle-paced death metal that's effective at a handful of moments, never unforeseen and often indolent due to a familiarity that's more to its detriment than credit. One of its most engaging moments immediately hits with the opening, self-titled track and the wonderful vocal addition of My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way (yes), who offers legitimate higher-pitched lines along Chad Green's usual inhuman growls. Tracks like "Ethereal Dreams" and "DEATHWEAVER" also succeed at feigning menace, adopting a cogent Bolt Thrower stance that Frozen Soul have re-iterated only that much across their whole discography. 

Even the presence of Robb Flynn (Machine Head) does little to salvage a track as generic as "Invoke War", and yet the rampaging bass and snare tone (again, remember to get a peak sound system) that erupts at the beginning of "Dreadnought" (with Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg) are impactful enough to distract the listener from the otherwise substandard response of these compositions. Elsewhere, the slower tempos between "Chaos Will Reign" and "Eyes of Despair" tend to blur into indistinction if one excludes the hackneyed solo of the latter. Here, direct comparisons to previous efforts sadly favor the band's past. The penultimate piece, "Frost Forged", is a great example of a track aspiring for impactful conclusion, but frustratingly wears out halfway through and resorts to stereotypical one-note groove dragging.

Lastly, I am sure crowds will enthusiastically chant along the shouted lines of "Killin Time (Until It’s Time to Kill)" in concerts, but really this last track lands with a hook as thorough as the title's Scary Movie-level word play. For its guest appearances, guitar solos or extra little elements, previous albums had a punch I didn't find on No Place for Warmth, which often exalts hardcore grooves in a way that is meant to appeal to the hardcore sphere rather than to death metal fans. Time will tell, but this might be one of the most accessible death metal albums of the recent years and a possibly excellent entry listen for people unaware of the genre's dismal depths. With its real dungeon-crawl, dragons-and-sorcery vibe, and the neat pulp-fantasy sensibility, it is however worth to have a go with No Place for Warmth, which lands at a sweet spot that somehow doesn't let you be that mad at Frozen Soul in the end. 

Release: May 8th, 2026 | Century Media Records
Rating: 3 out of 5

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