Pharmacist - Vertebrae After Vertebrae (2026) Review

There ain't a more entertaining early Carcass-worshipping force in the modern underground than Tokyo-based duo Pharmacist (among the many, a lesser known but totally admirable case is Finland's Galvanizer). The band has been around since 2020 and immediately made impact with the scene through the debut Medical Renditions of Grinding Decomposition, a true grindfest of grotesque medical imagery and pathological terror in the most Symphonies-of-Sickness-esque manner possible. While having been quite active until 2022 with another full-length album and several mini-releases, a four year break (an eternity in goregrind time) was taken before the release of third record, Vertebrae After Vertebrae - another round of valuing disgust as a charm.

Crisp yet crunching production with a certain appeal of analog warmth is the only source of comfort you might find on this record, as Pharmacist's world remains repellent in both music and text. From all phlegm-soaked screams to guttural lows, I fully enjoyed the Jeff Walker carbon copy execution of the vocals, and they couldn't have been otherwise. These guys enjoy sounding exactly like themselves, but there's expressly evident introduction of more dynamics to the record compared to before. While tracks like the opener "Propelling Inwards", "Lazure Sphacelation" and "Mimicking the Organics" are mostly relentless in speed and diction, one can notice more melodic the self-titled track and "Endogenica", more reminiscent of the later, melo-death era of... You know, the other band.

There is smartly placed groove across all tracks, and an almost clear breakdown section at the closer "Zenith of Mnemonic Forensication", which features a gorgeous stop-time riff over mid-tempo drums that could be the record's highlight. Vertebrae After Vertebrae feels to me as a more concentrated record from a band that now doesn't aimlessly try to shock and provoke anymore (they have already achieved it), allowing for space to be catchier and more dynamic, but always eventually within great goregrind. It's not going to convert skeptics into liking the sewage, but it surely has the grit and effectiveness of a well-done (pun intended) album of that style.

Release: May 29th, 2026 | Hells Headbangers Records
Website: Facebook
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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", highlight 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.