Thou Shalt Suffer |Into The Woods Of Belial |Darkness Shall Rise Productions (Reissue, Remastered)

Release Date March 13^th, 2026
Format 2CD/3LP/2MC
Genre Death Metal
Country Norway

Before they were the symphonic gods of the Norwegian scene, the masterminds behind Emperor were busy rotting in the underground with Thou Shalt Suffer. Formed in 1991 by Samoth and Ihsahn, this wasn't the high-brow, orchestral black metal that made them famous. This was filthy, primitive death metal. While the duo eventually pivoted to the frozen landscapes of black metal, Thou Shalt Suffer remains the raw, skeletal foundation of their legacy. This collection, "Into The Woods Of Belial", gathers every scrap of their early desecrations, including material from their pre-history as Embryonic and Xerasia.

Forget the keyboards and the royal posturing. This is old-school death metal that smells like a fresh grave. Tracks like "Into The Woods Of Belial" and "I Seek The Path Of Obscurity" are disgusting in the best way possible. The riffs are thick and suffocating, dragging you through the mud before exploding into these chaotic, Carcass-inspired blasts. Ihsahn sounds like he’s coughing up dirt, trading his later high-pitched shrieks for a guttural, cavernous growl that fits this grime perfectly. It’s got that classic early 90s atmosphere, raw, honest, and completely lethal.

What really kills here is the sheer darkness. You can hear the transition from the primitive thud of the Embryonic demo "The Land Of The Lost Souls" into the more complex, morbid arrangements of the main Thou Shalt Suffer era. "The Goat Of A Thousand Young" has this unsettling vibe that proves these guys were always lightyears ahead of their peers, even when they were just kids. It’s not about technical wankery; it’s about creating a suffocating wall of noise that actually has some soul behind it.

Darkness Shall Rise Productions really outdid themselves with this package. Having the Xerasia and Embryonic rehearsals next to the 7" tracks gives you the full, bloody history of how these legends started. The remastering by Patrick W. Engel keeps the punch and the filth without making it sound like a modern, plastic production. It’s loud, it’s heavy, and it sounds like it’s coming for your throat. If you want to know where the real Norwegian darkness began, this is the only document that matters.

Score: 9.0

https://darknessshallrise.de/product/thou-shalt-suffer-nor-into-the-woods-of-belial-3lp/?v=d692bc40d834

https://darknessshallrise.de/product/thou-shalt-suffer-nor-into-the-woods-of-belial-2cd/?v=d692bc40d834

https://darknessshallrise.de/product/thou-shalt-suffer-nor-into-the-woods-of-belial-2mc/?v=d692bc40d834

Egregore |It Echoes In The Wild |20 Buck Spin

Release Date 20.03.2026
Format CD/LP/Digital
Genre Black/Death Metal
Country Canada

Egregore hails from Canada, forming a catastrophic alliance that includes members of Mitochondrian. "It Echoes In The Wild" marks the second album from these unholy miscreants, released through 20 Buck Spin. Arthur Rizk took charge of the mixing and mastering for this auditory assault. They drink from the same occult well as Nocturnus, Morbid Angel, Mortuary Drape, and The Chasm.

The music takes their early occult black/death metal lunacy and drags it kicking and screaming into wild, untamed territories. You get blasted with primitive force colliding with expansive, terrifying atmospheres. This material summons chaotic energy straight from cursed forests, fens, and forgotten caves. "It Echoes In The Wild" sounds malicious and entirely unhinged. The riffs slice through the speakers, fueled by a primal, sardonic menace that infects the brain immediately.

Songs like "Craven Acts Of Desperate Men" and "Corsairs Of The Daath Gulf" unleash total auditory destruction. Guitars spiral into absolute insanity, conjuring dark invocations and ancient, secret tongues. The vocals sound totally possessed, echoing from the absolute edge of the abyss. The rhythm section batters the skull mercilessly, driving the listener straight into an esoteric wasteland at the edge of madness.

Surrendering to this album means stepping into a lawless dominion. The band channels raw, unbridled forces of nature into pure musical perversion. They plunge forward into complete geographical and psychological wilderness, dragging everyone down with them. This offering absolutely rips, demanding repeated listens at maximum volume.

Score: 8.3

https://www.20buckspin.com

https://www.facebook.com/20buckspin

https://www.instagram.com/20buckspinlabel

https://20buckspin.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/Egregore137

https://www.instagram.com/egregore137

Barbaric Oath |Sword, Sorcery, Vengeance |Caligari Records

Release Date March 27^th, 2026
Format CD/Cassette
Genre Death Metal
Country Germany

Hailing from Germany, Barbaric Oath consists of the duo G. And L., individuals who have operated in the underground trenches alongside Into Coffin, Nekus, and Putridarium. They fired their first shot in 2024 with a demo named "Attack! Attack! Attack!". Fast forward to now, they arrive with their debut mini-album via Caligari Records, bearing the title "Sword, Sorcery, Vengeance".

This release channels a specific kind of old-school fantasy destruction. You get twenty-one minutes of audio violence heavily inspired by vintage role-playing games like Heroquest alongside bloody fantasy movies from the seventies and eighties. The guitars churn out massive, primitive riffs recalling the early days of Bolt Thrower, mixed with the hostility of Finnish acts like Belial and Mythos.

"Sword, Sorcery, Vengeance" unleashes five songs of absolute sonic warfare. The drums pound relentlessly, driving the momentum forward like a spiked club to the skull. The duo pile on the distorted tremolo picking and monstrous guttural vocals, building a totally brutal and vicious soundscape. "Crom Cult" and "Bestial Witchery" deliver prime examples of this skull-battering hostility. The songwriting stays totally focused on aggression, serving up heavy blows and ignoring any technical wankery.

The production comes off suitably raw, matching the caveman aesthetic perfectly. The mix favors the low end, keeping the guitars thick and the bass booming. "Sword, Sorcery, Vengeance" brings a highly satisfying dose of fantasy death metal to the table. It provides enough skull-crushing material to keep headbangers returning to the bloody battlefield for another round.

Score: 7.5

www.instagram.com/barbaricoath.dm

www.caligarirecords.com

www.caligarirecords.bandcamp.com

www.facebook.com/caligarirecords

Crème Flesh |For Your Ass Only |Comatose Music

Release Date: April 3rd, 2026
Format: CD/Digital
Genre: Brutal Slam Death Metal
Country: Canada

Crème Flesh operates out of Canada as a quartet of brutal death metal maniacs. Matt Hilden handles vocals, Rory Kennedy plays bass, Sophokles Theodoru brings the guitar riffs, and Allen L. destroys the drums. These dudes dropped "Casablumpkin" in 2023, grabbing attention with ridiculous pornographic puns and extreme audio violence. Now they return under Comatose Music with "For Your Ass Only". Behind the joke titles, these guys deliver serious musicianship and extreme heaviness.

The comedic track names act as a trojan horse for an absolute beating. "Field Of Creams" kicks things off with rapid-fire drumming and monstrous gutturals, proving the execution is strictly business. "Lake Flaccid" starts with a movie quote before plunging into pure sonic destruction. The band unleashes insane tempo changes, going from grinding speed to mid-paced grooves. "Sleepless On Cialis" acts as a massive pit instigator designed for absolute crowd violence.

The brutality never stops across the entire tracklist. "Jagged Little Penis" and "The Gapes Of Wrath" provide pure auditory warfare. "Whores Of Perception" closes the campaign with massive, infectious rhythms and sick guitar work. Geoff Hodsman handled the production, giving the mix heavy muscle and sonic punch. Krag provided the insane cover art, matching the sonic destruction perfectly.

"For Your Ass Only" delivers heavy, punishing extreme metal. The relentless speed occasionally blurs the riffs together, making a few sections blend into one another. The jokes pull you in, and the crushing execution keeps you listening. You get ten tracks of head-caving brutality delivered with intense precision. It offers fans loud, fast, and aggressive destruction.

Score: 7.5

https://www.facebook.com/Cremeflesh

https://www.comatosemusic.com/

Kate's Acid |Hellbender |High Roller Records

Release Date 20.03.2026
Format CD/LP/MC/Digital
Genre Speed Metal
Country Belgium

Acid started tearing up Bruges in 1980 and helped write the rulebook for European speed metal. They pumped out essential full-lengths like "Acid" and "Maniac" before packing it in during the mid-80s. Fast forward to 2019, and vocalist Kate De Lombaert decided it was time to bash some skulls again. She rounded up a new gang under the Kate's Acid banner. After dropping a live tape a couple of years back, the crew finally unleashed "Hellbender" via High Roller Records.

The current line-up brings some serious fire to the table. Geert Annys throws down frantic guitar solos that shred through the speakers. The rhythm section consisting of drummer Ash and bassist Camilo Ortega lays down a thunderous, head-banging groove. "Hellbender" is loaded with fast-paced thrashers and heavy metal anthems. "The Lightning Conductor" is an absolute scorcher that demands furious moshing. "Riding Out" acts as a total biker anthem built for highway speeding and spilling cheap beer.

Kate's voice is totally savage and rules the entire album. She howls over the distortion and proves she has not lost a single step since the early days. "Do Not Burn The Witch" delivers killer riffs and a huge chorus destined for rowdy crowd sing-alongs. The band even threw in a slower song called "Air Raid" at the end of the tracklist. This ballad goes deep into heavy emotion and breaks up the fast pace, offering a gloomy change of scenery.

"Hellbender" brings the noise and gives old school headbangers what they crave. It is a raging speed metal attack with plenty of dirt under its fingernails. Kate's Acid delivered a badass comeback album that absolutely shreds. Play it loud and break your neck in the pit.

Score: 8.3

https://www.hrrecords.de

https://www.facebook.com/hrrecords

https://www.instagram.com/highrollerrecordsofficial

https://www.facebook.com/KatesACID

Calvana |Sub Janus |Adirondack Black Mass

Release Date 20.03.2026
Format CD
Genre Black Metal
Country Italy

Italy’s Calvana crawled out from the base of their namesake mountains back in 2015, and they’ve been acting like a bunch of anonymous hermits ever since. They don’t want you to know who they are; they just want you to hear the sound of a giant rock slab crushing your skull. After dropping two cryptic records in 2020 and 2022, these mountain dwellers have returned with their third offering, "Sub Janus", through Adirondack Black Mass.

This album is a total middle finger to anyone looking for a clean, modern experience. It sounds like it was recorded in a cave using gear found in a dumpster behind a 1992 rehearsal space. The production is rough and nasty, giving every instrument a fair shake in the mix. Surprisingly, you can actually hear the bass guitar, which provides a thick, vibrating layer of filth beneath the guitars. It’s a raw, analog mess that actually sounds like real humans playing instruments in a room, not some computer-generated garbage.

The songwriting on "Sub Janus" moves between fast, violent bursts and slow, grim marches that feel like trudging through waist-deep snow. Tracks like "Twilight Song" and "Fear Makes You Tame" are cold and desolate, stripped of any flashy nonsense. There aren't any bright spots or melodic breaks here to save you. It's just a relentless, lightless slog through a frozen landscape. If you've heard Altar Of Perversion, you’ll recognize some of that same Italian weirdness and hypnotic aggression.

By the time you get to "Carnivore" and "Death Of Pan", the atmosphere is suffocating. The vocals are a persistent, wretched howling that matches the primitive rage of the music perfectly. It’s a specialized kind of noise for people who want their metal to sound ancient and weathered. "Sub Janus" is a bleak, expansive piece of work that stays focused on its goal of sounding as miserable as a mountain winter. It’s a strong, focused effort for anyone who hates the sun.

Score: 7.0

www.facebook.com/calvana

www.calvana.bandcamp.com

www.adirondackblackmass.com

www.adirondackblackmass.bandcamp.com

Evermore |Mournbraid |Scarlet Records

Release Date 20.03.2026
Format CD/Digital/Vinyl
Genre Power Metal
Country Sweden

Sweden’s power metal scene is usually a coin toss between over-produced pop masquerading as metal or genuine, fire-breathing anthems. With their third outing, "Evermore", the trio known as Mournbraid firmly plants their boots in the latter camp. This isn't some basement project; the production is massive and gives the aggressive riffs the space to actually sting. Johan Haraldsson possesses a set of pipes that can hit those soaring heights without sounding like he’s stepped on a Lego, providing a serious backbone to the melodic chaos unfolding behind him.

The guitar work on tracks like "Underdark" and "Nightstar Odyssey" is where the dirt lives. Johan Karlsson isn't just noodling around but layering thick, crunchy rhythms against orchestrations that actually add muscle instead of just fluff. It’s got that classic Judas Priest or Helloween DNA but stripped of the cheesier tropes that usually plague the genre. The drums from Andreas Viklands are relentless, driving "Titans" and "Armored Will" with a mechanical precision that keeps the energy from dipping into boring territory.

What actually works here is the songwriting. "Mournbraid" moves away from singing about dragons and wizards to focus on the grit of human struggle and personal hells. You can hear the bite in "Oath Of Apathy" and the haunting atmosphere of "Ravens At The Gates". It’s heavy, it’s melodic, and it’s catchy enough to get stuck in your head after one spin. They’ve refined the formula to a point where the hooks in "The Illusionist (Raise The Curtain)" feel like a punch to the jaw rather than a polite suggestion.

Is it the most revolutionary thing to ever come out of Scandinavia? No, but it’s a damn fine display of how power metal should be played in 2026. It’s loud, it’s proud, and it’s got enough attitude to satisfy anyone who misses when this genre had some actual teeth. If you want soaring vocals and riffs that demand a speeding ticket, Evermore delivers the goods without any unnecessary filler or pretentious nonsense.

Score: 7.5

https://www.facebook.com/EvermoreMetal

https://www.instagram.com/evermore_metal

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO9CfLI2m-xTreCuRvCOj8g

Cryptworm |Infectious Pathological Waste |Me Saco Un Ojo/Extremely Rotten Records

Release Date 27.03.2026
Format CD/Vinyl/Cassette
Genre Grindcore/Death Metal
Country USA

Cryptworm started out in the underground trenches, dropping a steady stream of EPs and full-lengths to infect the extreme music scene. Operating as a three-man wrecking crew, they return with their third full-length album, "Infectious Pathological Waste". Handled by Me Saco Un Ojo Records and Extremely Rotten Productions, this new offering delivers massive amounts of audio butchery. The band provides relentless death metal violence for extreme music maniacs.

The riffs bounce and groove in the most repulsive ways possible. "Infectious Pathological Waste" runs entirely on blunt trauma and putrid speed. Guitars churn out toxic, thrashing madness. Drums smash skulls with constant fills and heavy pounding. The vocals gurgle and spew disgusting noises over the chaos. Everything crashes together into a fast-paced assault that bashes your brain in.

These maniacs lock into their vile sound and hammer it home. Massive, stomping hooks rip through the speed. It takes 35 minutes to crush through the eight tracks. You get attacked with intense fury, followed instantly by slower, flesh-tearing grooves. They deliver standard, old-school sadism. Cryptworm provides a sick beating, delivering the gross noises you expect. Tracks like "Gallons Of Molten Hominal Goo" and "Drowning In Purulent Excrementia" bring the rotting goods straight to your speakers.

"Infectious Pathological Waste" packs plenty of meat on its bones. It provides a completely sick listen for anyone craving gross, primitive death metal. Cryptworm keeps the sickness spreading and the maggots swarming. The album hits the mark for a punishing death metal assault.

Score: 7.0

www.facebook.com/cryptworm

www.mesacounojo.com

www.mesacounojo.bandcamp.com

www.facebook.com/mesacounojo

www.extremelyrottenprod.com

Midnatt |Skräckfylld Förtjusning |Jawbreaker Records

Release Date 27.03.2026
Format LP/CD/Cassette/Digital
Genre Heavy Metal
Country Sweden

Midnatt comes crashing out of Sweden's frozen woods, ready to claim territory in the underground metal scene. They dropped the "Metallisk Hetta" demo in 2022, turning heads among metal maniacs worldwide looking for maximum volume. Armed with new guitarist Edward Pancetti alongside Eric Björklung, the band unleashes their debut album "Skräckfylld Förtjusning" via Jawbreaker Records. The lineup brings a massive, street-fighting mentality to the stage.

"Skräckfylld Förtjusning" translates to terrifying delight, delivering a feral, analog punch. The production captures a completely stripped-down, primitive heavy metal assault. Guitars crash and thunder through these tracks, trading melodies and aggressive riffs guaranteed to cause severe neck damage. Aron Torstensson screams with a maniacal edge over his own rumbling bass lines, channeling the wild energy of Heavy Load, Axe Witch, Gotham City, and Jonah Quizz. Robin Bidgoli batters his drums into absolute dust, keeping the pacing chaotic and relentless.

The album unleashes pure heavy metal anthems alongside strange, melancholic eastern block tributes. Tracks like "Marken Brinner" and "Transylmani" offer a primitive fire wrapped in darkness and steel. The guitars trade off scorching leads and menacing rhythms without adding any unnecessary studio tricks. Every song runs on pure adrenaline and rough energy. There are zero frills here, just ripping riffs, smashing cymbals, and harsh screams about death and destruction.

Midnatt strikes hard on their debut. The analog production keeps the energy completely untamed. Sometimes the raw execution creates a slight chaotic blur, keeping this release from reaching absolute perfection. Despite those minor flaws, the riffs rule supreme. "Skräckfylld Förtjusning" is loud and fully loaded with genuine Swedish steel. It delivers a serious thrashing for any headbanger seeking raw power.

Score: 7.8

https://www.jawbreaker.se

https://jawbreakerrecords.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/JawbreakerRecords

https://www.instagram.com/jawbreaker.se

https://www.instagram.com/midnattswe

Stainless |Lady Of Lust & Steel |High Roller Records

Release Date 20.03.2026
Format CD/LP/MC/Digital
Genre Heavy Metal
Country USA

Stainless fired up their amps in Portland, Oregon, back in 2022. The members come straight out of the Pacific Northwest underground, having spent time playing in Black Breath, Long Knife, Nightfell, and Ripper. Their first strike was the "Snakebite"/"Too Hot To Steal" single, which led to the "Nocturnal Racer" mini-album on High Roller Records. Now, they return with a full-length attack titled "Lady Of Lust & Steel", tracked at Red Lantern Studios by Evan Mersky.

This album brings a massive dose of 70s hard rock smashed into 80s metal aggression. You hear a huge AC/DC and Accept influence roaring out of the speakers. Larissa Cavacece sings with a raspy, ferocious voice, bringing a savage energy similar to Wendy O. Williams and Leather Leone. She fires off the lyrics with total malice over the loud guitars. Jamie Byrum provides massive riffs and wild solos to keep the adrenaline pumping.

"Restless An' Ready" kicks things off with blazing distortion and a killer chorus made for banging heads in the front row. Songs like "(Don't Cross Me) Fool" and "Take A Listen Mama" throw some serious rock and roll swagger into the mix. The rhythm section provides a heavy, driving foundation, pounding the drums and bass to back up the main riffs. The production from Jamie Byrum and Evan Mersky works perfectly for the music, keeping the instruments loud and in your face.

Stainless gives us a fun, loud heavy metal album to blast out of the car windows. "Lady Of Lust & Steel" provides plenty of fist-pumping moments and fast riffs. The songs are catchy and easy to get into, making you want to turn the volume up to maximum. It is a good, straightforward rocking trip for anyone wanting some aggressive guitars and raspy vocals.

Score: 7.3

https://www.hrrecords.de

https://www.facebook.com/hrrecords

https://www.instagram.com/highrollerrecordsofficial

https://www.instagram.com/stainlesspdx