A progressive metal opus spanning varied influences with a strong melodic and heavy delivery! I stumbled upon Swedish progressive metal band Servitude and their brand new full length “Smoke & Mirrors,” independently released earlier in January. I was not familiar with the band at all, but they apparently released 5 singles in 2020 and 2021, […]
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Frosty post metal from the frozen tundra of…Rochester, NY! Pâro hails from Rochester, New York, but I would have thought they were from the frozen lands of Scandinavia after an initial listen. Post metal is a genre that always intrigues me but, like many genres these days, isn’t necessarily prescriptive enough on what to actually
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Symphonic technical blackened death metal that will crush and immerse you! I am kicking off my 2026 reviews with something quite a bit heavier than I usually review, but this album caught me by surprise and wouldn’t let me go. I wasn’t familiar with US-based Null Existence prior to an Instagram ad letting me know
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Killer dystopian progressive melodeath from Italy! There are times when I hear about a band, add it to my “to be listened” list, and then accidentally forget about it. This is the case with Italy’s Obsidian Fall, who released their debut album, “Elegy from a Dying World,” back in March. I recently rediscovered it on
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Speedy melodic symphonic power metal with progressive fabric! I love discovering new bands, particularly smaller bands that should be more known. Such is the case with Madison, Wisconsin, symphonic power metal band Queen of Dreams, who released their latest full length, “Subnivium,” back in January of this year. Melodic, powerful, heavy, technical, and with some
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Progressive & technical science fiction themed death metal! British Columbia, Canada, sci-fi tech deathers Exterminatus, released their latest, “Echoes from a Distant Star: Part I,” in April of this year. This album is an absolute onslaught of brutal and highly technical death metal, with lots of variety that rarely strays from warp speed. Their name
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Proggy blackened melodeath with Middle Eastern flair! I love discovering new music, especially bands that are not as big or well known, and extra special when they are practically in my backyard! I don’t exactly remember how I discovered Bellingham’s Inpathos, but I found them right after they released their latest full length, “Apparitions,” last month.
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Ludicrous speed power metal marries melodeath in expert fashion! Imagine an alternate timeline where Dragonforce grew up in Gothenburg and decided to emphasize extreme vocals while still maintaining some cleans, particularly on the choruses, while reveling (and even amping up) the long drawn out guitar virtuoso solos, but then ultimately decided to move to Canada.
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Haunting gothic death doom with blackened edges! My love for the recent Tribunal album has IG recommending more doom to me, helping discover Aeonian Sorrow, a collaboration between Greek and Finnish musicians (including members from Red Moon Architect). The band recently released a 4-song EP, “From the Shadows,” but at 31 minutes and only one
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HEAVY progressive metal with great melodies and insane technical prowess! I was first introduced to Charlotte, NC, progressive metal band Nospūn at ProgPower last year, and I was blown away by their live performance and their incredible debut album, “Opus.” Rewind 11 years, and they were going by the name Ozai and recorded 5 songs with
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