Funebrarum - Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence (2026) Review

After 17 years of anticipation, the dream has finally become reality. Among the countless bands and albums of the "cavernous" death metal movement throughout the 2010s, Funebrarum's first two albums have been endlessly cited as predecessors and essential points of reference. Their 2009 masterpiece, The Sleep of Morbid Dreams, in particular (alongside Dead Congregation's Graves of the Archangels), is so complete that it almost renders further listening of this genre unnecessary. You don't feel the need to listen to anything similar once you have consumed it. 

Nevertheless, the band's return with their long-awaited third full-length record, Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence, presents them in probably their most overwhelming form to date. Aesthetic presentation is immediately captivating, with the subtly refined logo (by Turkka G. Rantanen — RIP) and Daryl Kahan himself drawing the magnificent black metal-ish, frostbitten front cover. The production is equally impressive, to a point that I may prefer it to The Sleep of Morbid Dreams. That characteristic dusty guitar tone, the subtle echoing sound of the snare drum and the sense of space between the instruments, makes the album sound more natural in execution (even though the band's earlier work had that undeniable crushing aggression). 

Vocal work has descended into a near-constant torrent of gutturals reminiscent of Demilich, and more recently, Artificial Brain, beneath of which crawl colossal old-school death metal riffs that frequently submerge in doom-adjacent necrosis. The record is also characterized by remarkably hyperactive and expressive lead guitar work, undoubtedly aided by the contributions of Phil Tougas (Worm, Chthe'ilist, Zeicrydeus, a lot more), who clearly adds a sense of heightened guitar activity. Meanwhile, drumming by C. Koryn of Ascended Dead is phenomenal, and ex-Untergang bassist Sam Osborne is also involved in the songwriting pedigree. 

At several points, particularly within the album's interludes, Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence briefly assumes the full mantle of symphonic black metal with nightmarish keyboard melodies. More than once, I was reminded of Cruciamentum in the way track parts were built and unleashed, and the record concludes with an absolutely masterful, almost nine-minute instrumental, nothing short of a perfect closing statement. For the sake of discourse, I find myself eager to elevate this album above Funebrarum's back catalog. 

Between the exceptional quality of the music and collective death metal brainpower of the musicians involved, the expanded vision and subtle infusion of a black metal flair, Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence achieves in embodying the spirit of total death. This is what the end sounds like.

Release: May 29th, 2026 | Pulverised Records
Website: Facebook
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Grabunhold - Frostheim (2026) Review

I remember anticipating Heldentod eagerly in 2021, due to the great impression I had of German outlet Grabunhold from their 2019 EP, Unter dem Banner der Toten. The debut album proved remarkable, and the band continued on a positive note with 2023's split release with Circle of Shadows, slowly drafting their own continuous landscape of Tolkien-inspired, triumphant and vigorous black metal. Half a decade after the first album, Frostheim is still characterized by mystique of the old world, winter imagery, and a higher than average aptitude for guitar-fronted melancholy in darkness buried deep, beyond all towers strong and high, beyond all mountains steep.

As with the very first demo and all that followed since, everything is in strict black and white fashion. Frostheim has a slightly cleaner sound than its predecessor, but the general approach has not deviated much from what Grabunhold has been doing so far. The record is radiant and filled with energetic riffing in its entirety, giving out a strong feeling of pagan black metal that reminds me of other German bands like Odal, or Ulfsdalir (but quite more polished). One may ultimately find the compositional source of inspiration in older legends like Windir, and whoever enjoys this work should definitely search for Vampyric Tyrant, a project by a previous member of Grabunhold.

Frostheim opens with "Der Tod wohnt in Carn Dûm", and a wistful clean guitar melody that quickly dives into a set of boisterous riffs, the first one weirdly reminding me of a motif I still remember from Akitsa's "Espoir Vassal" from Credo (2018). Of a similar mood and sprightly character is "Grambergers Fluch", which also constantly has guitar lines in the forefront, grounded in steady tremolo that runs rampant across the whole album. Third track "Der Mondturm" starts with might and main, but then undergoes a slower, quite more woeful mid-to-end section, that stood out to me alongside the echoing clean chord middle part of the next piece, "Rerirs blauer Schatten".

The only instance of divergence comes on "Über Grat und kalten Gipfel", a straight-up magnific dungeon synth track, and a nice intimation of Grabunhold's talent in this kind of instrumental music. Frankly, if they ever decide to put their heads on a pure DS mini-album, we'd be down for it. Frostheim gets lightly more assertive on the faster and more tense parts of "Schreckenszauber", and especially "In Mordor, wo die Schatten drohn". The last track "Eärnurs Verderben" runs at eight minutes and is the longest in duration, full of radiant, just about joyful melodies that stay on repeat until the record ends.

Sticking to the German language, the band's lyrical themes remain strongly tied to the world of Tolkien, and there are Lord of the Rings references everywhere. This, combined with an engaging musical framework of aboveboard black metal, makes Frostheim a clearly admirable listen. Personally, I would have welcomed some slightly bolder drumming here and there, or a broader variation across the general arrangements, but that's just Grabunhold not overcomplicating things by choice. One of the albums I'll be returning to this year whenever in the mood for black metal of impetus and fantasy.

Release: June 5th, 2026 | Iron Bonehead Productions
Website: Facebook
Rating: 4 out of 5

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 

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.

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.

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Greetings and welcome to Arson Cafe. April’s European tour concluded just a while ago, how was the experience and what’s the aftertaste for the band currently?

 

    It was fantastic. We tend to go into these things nowadays with very low/no expectations. It’s just the way to be. So, once we touched down and had so many great shows, we just kind of tried to enjoy it as much as we could. Being home is very nice. We need a break, and we are taking one, but it was a very good way to end the touring cycle. It’s left us inspired and ready to go again. Especially back to Athens ;)

You raised hell in Athens at the last date of that tour. After passing by Greece, what’s the impression of the gig as a whole?

 

    We knew we would love Athens and its people. We have friends that have come through and they’ve all had the same experience: Warmth, excitement and passion in the scene. The gig was amazing. Couldn’t have asked for more. The food, sights, culture, all of it was just so cool. We can’t wait to be back.

I discovered Full of Hell with Trumpeting Ecstasy, which is also my favorite. The samples on it are terrifying, especially the Herzog reference on the opener “Deluminate”, now almost synonymous with the band’s work. If not then, was there ever a moment when you realized you’ve now become a “bigger” name? Did the audience grow kind of linearly?

 

    I can’t pinpoint it. I would say that it took so long that when it may have been finally “happening” to an outside observer, it didn’t feel any different to us. Honestly, the more I learned, the more I realized how small this world really was and how little that kind of standing meant in the grand scheme of things. It’s not relevant to anything we are doing either. The audience has slowly grown since inception, and my ego has been beaten down and pulled up so many times that I just don’t care about that stuff like I used to. I get what I want out of this project and it does not involve the size of the band, though it is very nice to see growth!

On your first EPs at the end of the ‘00s, you guys were in your late teens / not even ‘20s yet. When did you first develop the interest to pick an instrument up, and how did you realize what direction you were going to follow?

 

    I can speak for all of the guys when I say this, everyone was kind of submerged into music from a VERY young age. On a personal level, music was always playing in my home and my parents romanticized the medium, always. I started playing shows at age 13 and never stopped. Same story all around, pretty much. The impetus for Full of Hell was to make the band we wished we could see, the dream combination of influences, and that we carry ourselves publicly like we’d have imagined a great band would when we were young (with respect!).

Over the years, have you seen your music as something you shape, or something that circumstances let happen?

 

    I think that when it began, there was a lot of temptation to control it entirely. The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized that it is quite circumstantial and much like an author feels like he’s “finding” the story rather than making it up, I’ve come around to the idea of listening to what the band is, not what I want it to be. This really started to be the mode of thinking when we were finishing up Trumpeting Ecstasy, at least for me.

 

 

While the main lineage is always the thread of full-length albums, Full of Hell have multiple major releases with other artists. At the top might be the stunning two-album collaboration with noise demigod Masami Akita, a.k.a. Merzbow (honestly, the transition from “Mute” to “High Fells” is a transcendental occurrence). A decade later, how do you look back to these releases and are you still in touch with him?

 

    It feels like another life to look back. It’s also always hard to look back and think of what you would have done differently. However, that is such a fruitless venture that I don’t do it anymore. I only listen to our old records if we are putting old songs back into the set list that I need to remember. There are so many now, sometimes it takes a good amount of practice to dredge up those old lyrics haha. We are not often in touch with Masami, but there is nothing but good will. We played together twice and as I see it, that’s enough for us. He’s a legend!

 

I imagined the FOH Noise sessions were concluded with the 2014 compilation, but then you released Part V as an EP in 2020. Is there a plan for another purely noise release, maybe working with another noise artist as before?

 

    It’s safe to say that the FOH NOISE series is no more. It was a fun small way to release little side demos when we had downtime, and that’s about it. I’m not sure we ever had proper perspective on whether or not it should be considered in the full discography, because the ideas were always half incubated. I appreciate them as far as lore goes, since they are hard to find.

Amidst several notable releases, one might miss out on the powerful split with GASP, a name that’s an underground ultra-must of experimental hardcore / powerviolence. Were they familiar with Full of Hell beforehand, and are the tracks there actually the longest you’ve ever made under a non-collab environment?

 

    I think that Gasp became aware of FOH over the years simply through friends, particularly through Cynthia who also sings in the great Despise You. I always assumed she took the good word back to her bandmates. When the time eventually came to do a split, they were the best people to work with. We self released it, as a labor of love. I was very happy to see people receive it well.

 

 

The band takes a clearer turn from a grind / powerviolence basis towards metal-adjacent songwriting around 2016 - 2017, and that expands loosely until Garden of Burning Apparitions in 2021, during the transition to Relapse Records. How conscious was that decision across that distinct era of the band?

 

    Very conscious decision on our part, especially with Spencer and Dave. I think they were just having a moment where they wanted to challenge themselves a bit more and the death metal riffing was a fitting way to go about that. We were feeling a darker sound, one which I think we are turning back to with the new material we are working on now. It’s one of those things that you can’t identify with objectivity in the moment. I didn’t think of it as a closed era when we were making those albums, but it did end up being that way. Even with the art, it was the McCoy era.

 

 

Is it more challenging for you when you cross paths with bands fundamentally slower than Full of Hell, like for example, the massive record (review here) with Primitive Man?

    No, it’s actually the best possible combo in my opinion. I think that touring with a low BPM band is a really complementary move. Especially when you consider the experience of the live listener. The swing between slow and fast is so crucial, kind of like Chiaroscuro, the light and dark emphasize each other and it makes for a really potent combination.

Considerably more colour is introduced in the aesthetics of your latest full-length album, Coagulated Bliss, which also has a somewhat more rounded musical palette. Did you push for as much creative autonomy as possible on this one?

    I think we just all came in on the same wavelength and wanted something that felt like a clear departure from the McCoy era of records. The painter is an old friend of ours and involving him felt really fitting. We wanted something lurid and colorful and we got it. As far as creative autonomy, that is always maxed out, we never limit that.

One of the trickiest albums to get into for me was the collaboration with Andrew Nolan, “Gradual Timeslip” is a really unsettling opening track. How did that record come about to fruition and what’s the concept behind it? Or is it literally, scraping the divine?

 

    Andrew Nolan is an old friend and big influence on us as musicians. That was a long time in the making. We always discussed letting him reanimate Full of Hell stems into something vaguely resembling a dub record. It’s up to the listener to decide whether they deem it as a dub record or not, of course haha. Thematically, the record examines themes of faith, gnosticism, and purpose of prayer. “Scraping the Divine” is a quote from a gnostic author that Nolan is a fan of, referring to dub as the closest one can get to “God” and divinity. Kind of the rhythm of the universe, so to speak.

 

 

There are hidden gems hard to find all over your discography, only recently I came across that Full of Health track. Is there any interesting inside info from that recording?

 

    I’m not sure if there’s any particularly interesting info about that release. HEALTH are friends of ours, very talented and great collaborators. It was pretty straight forward though, it came together very easily. We provided stems and they chopped em up. I love hidden gems! The nuance in the layers is the best part of a big discography.

I sense there is a fantasy-related overlay on the latest EP Broken Sword, Rotten Shield, and the main armored characters on the cover are animals. Can you share a bit more information on the conceptual approach on this one?

 

    This record was a quick one, because Spencer had some material he wanted to commit to tape. He had this art concept in mind after losing one of his dogs, a struggle I think everyone can universally relate to. The art was very fantasy inspired, and that is my zone of interest, so it was very easy to base the entire concept around high fantasy and the idea of the dog as a guardian against a cruel world, and the vacuum that that kind of selfless love can leave behind. The feeling of defenselessness in heartbreak.

 

 

It’s not the first time such thematics are employed, when contemplating song titles like “Silmaril” (Lord of the Rings) and “Ygramul the Many” (The Never-Ending Story) from Weeping Choir, even though Full of Hell’s lyrics are always open to deliberation. How easy is it to insert text on an often highly diverse compositional rug?

 

    I find it to be really easy, because it’s just the way I write. I try to be more of a descriptive writer than a literal one. There’s clear meaning there, but I feel like the magic would be spoiled slightly by spelling it out and leaving no stone unturned. My favorite writers and artists across mediums always leave a level of interpretation open to the consumer. It’s so important, in my opinion. Intention is everything during the creation but once it’s out in the world, I want it to connect with people, however it may. It’s not mine anymore once it’s out.

 

 

With two consecutive releases with The Body some years ago, it seems like your visions dovetail perfectly. Has the close interaction with such a band, or any other artist you have worked with so far, affected your own songwriting process in a more permanent way?

 

    Oh, absolutely. Honestly every collaborative project we’ve ever had has influenced me in some way and changed how I write. The Body is a special example, not only because we did 2 albums, but because they are some of my best friends on the planet. I love them as brothers and they’ve opened many doors in my mind in terms of what’s possible and how to do this whole dumb band thing. Ideally, every collaboration should both humble and embolden everyone in the room when it’s made. The entire purpose is shared perspective, collective creativity. It requires you to be malleable and you should grow from it.

 

 

Have you ever thought of releasing a record just with covers? Listening to your version of Joy Division’s “Atmosphere”, the Melvins track from the Amber Mote EP, or “The Butcher” (Leonard Cohen), I feel both song choices and recordings would be really interesting.

 

    I’ve personally never considered it, but I do enjoy playing covers live. I think it’s very unlikely that we’d take time to do a covers record, but much more likely that we will record more covers over the years that might make their way onto EPs or compilations.

 

 

Any chance for another batch of Isolation Man merch?

 

    You know your shit! I think we will try and do an Isolation Man drop with FOH every year or so. It’s a really basic and powerful DIY tool to print your own merch, and we are after all, a DIY band forever. It’s quite expensive to do anything anymore, so the work I can put in on a printing press keeps all of this moving. Blood and sweat!

 

 

Final comments are yours, close the interview as you like!

 

    The only thing I ever have to say at the end of these is this: If you are reading this and want to start a band and go on tour like we do, go do it now.  We had no business doing this and had NO connections or friends when we started. We lived in our van for years because we believed in it, and now we are just so lucky to be here. The door is open. Pour your entire self into your work. Self-destruct for what you believe in. Thank you for the interview! - Dylan

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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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Immolation - Descent (2026) Review

Instances of monumental awe are so rare, that they remain unforgettable. Only at a handful of cases have I had so rapid a transition from analytical to overwhelmed when first listening to an album, one of them being my introduction to Immolation and their 1996 masterpiece, Here In After. For a band of this magnitude and everyone else, time has carried with it no small measure of change. To fast forward to the twelfth full-length album, Descent, bypasses a lot of context. Related at least to most recent affairs, it's the third installment in a loose thematic arc following Atonement (2017) and Acts of God (2022), in what seems to be a period of growth and opulence under the wings of Nuclear Blast Records. 

Everything about Descent is as formidable as the circumstances demand. Stunning artwork by Eliran Kantor reflects the album's hellish plunge into the complex of spiritual degradation and anti-religious sentiment, which Immolation discuss as adroitly as ever. The production sets the bar for modern crystalline extreme metal, and the record's duration has been adjusted to the algorithm-favored perfect ballpark of around 40 minutes, something I am sure they noticed and fixed compared to the slightly excessive length of Acts of God. Staggering precision in delivery and bona fide metaphysical suffocation by the band that itself shaped these landscapes of death metal.

I still find myself confronting a familiar paradox, listening to another admirable work by one of the genre's most meaningfully successful names ever, that somehow stops just short of arete. Immolation moves efficiently with a lean but expressive album that directly presents the rather specific elements that make them great, spearheaded by the idiosyncratic and dominating compositional style of guitarist Rob Vigna and the frightful growls of leader Ross Dolan. The band has never quite fitted the Tampa mold or the Stockholm royalty, and Descent is full of both aggressive and mournful guitar lines alongside marvelous solos on a multiplex of tempos, bending death metal's common sense with great aplomb.

Scanning through the tracks of the album, as systematically tailored for impact as they are, makes me miss the infernal darkness I was forced into with past releases. Descent gives me an impression that not an extreme amount of effort is required from Immolation to amaze the audience (including me), who now follow a familiar immediacy that forcefully works. The ominous clean guitar notes of the opening piece "These Vengeful Winds" rapidly announce the tone, as the track soon unleashes the first salvo of ferocious riffs and dissonant contours you know and love Immolation for. The tension of the album's first half speaks more to me, as both the notable "The Ephemeral Curse" and "God's Last Breath", or even more so the clearest highlight "Adversary", are the ones that tend to speed alterations and unfolding melodies the best.

For these standards, the mid-paced main guitar lines of "Attrition" are so catchy that you might miss just how stripped down to the basics the track is, and I felt the same for "False Ascent" as well as Descent's weakest, "Host". That's where Immolation is at their slowest, where they almost narrate the album's topics rather than fluently communicating them with kinetic energy through the tracks - it works only if I shut down part of my brain that tries to break each second of the composition down to its decisions. "Bend Towards the Dark" is still limited, but commendably more epic than adjacent tracks, while the highly discussed piano / guitar instrumental "Banished", is to me just a filler. 

Thankfully, Descent ends with the compulsive, punishing self-titled rocker and not only leaves a sweet aftertaste, it magically achieves what Immolation always does for me: whole fully enjoying the album despite the criticism. I have returned to it repeatedly these weeks with a feeling of certainty and comfort, proving it quite possibly may be one of my most-listened releases for the year. I don't even know what I think I expect from the band, if not a polished and potent record as this, maybe a little bit more uniform nerve, surprise, or a challenge. Taking into account the fantastic aesthetics, lyrical direction and their attachment to a cathartic presentation of worldview, it all ultimately coalesces into substance.

Raise these walls
Of blood and stone
This Kingdom you've built
Becomes our tomb

Release: April 10th, 2026 | Nuclear Blast Records
Rating: 3.5 out of 5