Ocinn |Nebelgeister |Self-Release

Release Date: November 6^th, 2025

Format: Digital/LP

Genre: Dark Piano

Country: Germany

Ocinn is a solo project from southern Germany, active since 2007. Working at the crossroads of dark piano and black metal atmosphere, Ocinn has built a quiet but consistent catalog shaped by melancholy, mythology, and personal heritage. After the debut “L” in 2020, followed by “The Forest” and the trilogy “Songs From The Past,” the project reaches its fourth full length with “Nebelgeister,” released in 2025 as a tribute to German roots and folklore.

With “Nebelgeister,” Ocinn deepens her established world rather than shifting direction. The album draws heavily from German mythology, especially the idea of mist spirits, and this concept shapes the overall atmosphere. The piano writing stays dark and restrained, leaning into sorrow and solitude instead of dramatic swings. Black metal influence remains present through harmony and phrasing, not through aggression. The result is introspective, shadowed, and patient.

The album keeps a strong connection to Ocinn’s earlier work, especially the cold romanticism of “L” and the woodland melancholy of “The Forest.” Here, the focus turns inward and folkloric. The two German language tracks add another layer of intimacy and cultural grounding, supported by guest vocals from John Never and W.K. These moments blend naturally into the album’s flow and reinforce its regional identity without breaking its quiet intensity.

“Nebelgeister” values atmosphere over variety. Themes return in different shapes, reinforcing a steady emotional space built on grief, memory, and isolation. This consistency helps the album remain immersive, though it also asks patience from the listener. Changes are subtle, details emerge slowly, and the emotional palette stays narrow by design.

As a whole, “Nebelgeister” stands as a focused and honest release within Ocinn’s discography. It does not aim for dramatic contrast or expansion, instead refining a familiar language into something more personal and culturally rooted. Fans of dark piano with black metal spirit will recognize the vision immediately and appreciate its disciplined execution.

Score: 7.0

Links:

https://ocinn.de

https://www.instagram.com/ocinn_official/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7KYA5La0uCWWUF66015CgM

https://ocinn.bandcamp.com/album/nebelgeister

https://music.apple.com/de/album/nebelgeister/1836319277

https://www.amazon.de/music/player/albums/B0FNXC5LYT

Disaffected |Spiritual Humanized Technology |Larvae Records/Firecum Records

Release Date: November 10, 2025

Format: CD/Vinyl

Genre: Progressive Death Metal

Country: Portugal

Disaffected was formed in 1991 in Portugal, starting as a death/thrash metal band before moving toward a more progressive and demanding direction. Their debut album “Vast” in 1995 became a landmark of the Portuguese underground, even gaining exposure through MTV. After “Rebirth” in 2012 and “The Trinity Threshold” in 2017, the band returns with their fourth full length, “Spiritual Humanized Technology”, released through Larvae Records and Firecum Records.

“Spiritual Humanized Technology” works as a conceptual album, focused on the tension between humanity and technology, life and renewal. The music follows a progressive death metal path, marked by long compositions, shifting structures and a strong sense of atmosphere. Darkness is always present, but it is balanced by groove and space, giving the album an expansive character that fits its thematic scope.

The writing favors evolution over immediacy. Songs such as “Soul And Words”, “The Stream We Abide” and “Here In Alpha” unfold gradually, allowing ideas to develop and return in altered forms. This approach gives the album a thoughtful pace and a clear internal logic, making the listening experience immersive without becoming confusing. The band’s past in death metal remains visible, though it is filtered through a more reflective and exploratory lens.

Lyrically, Disaffected step away from narrow extremes and focus on broader questions. Topics like existence, decay, rebirth and the role of technology in human identity appear throughout the album. This gives “Spiritual Humanized Technology” a philosophical edge that matches the layered songwriting, reinforcing the progressive character not only in sound, but also in meaning.

Production is solid and detailed, allowing the music’s darker tones and rhythmic depth to come through clearly. The album demands attention and patience, rewarding repeated listens with new connections and nuances. Taken as a whole, “Spiritual Humanized Technology” stands as a strong and mature chapter in Disaffected’s discography.

Score: 8.0

Links:

https://disaffectedmetal.bandcamp.com/music

https://www.facebook.com/disaffectedmetal

https://www.instagram.com/disaffected_official/

Total Annihilation |Mountains Of Madness |Testimony Records

Release Date: 16.01.2026

Format: CD/LP/MC/Digital

Genre: Thrash Metal, Death Metal

Country: Switzerland

Total Annihilation was formed in Basel in 2006 with a clear aim, to create extreme metal rooted in aggression, speed and precision. Over the years, the band sharpened its identity through releases like “84”, “Extinction” and “…On Chains Of Doom”, while enduring several line up changes. Vocalist Daniel Altwegg remains the driving force, guiding the band through two decades of steady growth and constant live activity across Europe.

“Mountains Of Madness” arrives as the fourth full length and marks the band’s 20th anniversary year. The album is deeply tied to the cosmic horror world of H. P. Lovecraft, not as a decorative concept, but as a mirror held up to human destruction and moral decay. This thematic darkness runs through the entire album, turning the Lovecraftian imagery into a broader commentary on collapse, decay and self inflicted ruin.

Musically, the album expands on Total Annihilation’s established blend of thrash and death metal. The songs push high speed passages, heavy riff patterns and sharp rhythmic shifts, while melodic lines and harmonized sections add extra depth. The writing balances aggression with structure, allowing the songs to remain clear and memorable without losing intensity. The production supports this approach with a solid and powerful sound that keeps everything defined.

The vocal delivery stays harsh and commanding throughout, reinforcing the album’s hostile atmosphere. Lyrically, “Mountains Of Madness” channels anger and disgust toward violence, exploitation and environmental destruction. This gives the album a serious tone that fits well with its dark aesthetic and brutal musical direction, avoiding empty shock value in favor of substance driven extremity.

“Mountains Of Madness” stands as a strong chapter in Total Annihilation’s catalog, showing a band that has refined its sound through experience and persistence. It offers a focused and intense listen that aligns with its themes and anniversary status, delivering a complete and heavy statement without excess.

Score: 8.0

https://spkr.store/collections/total-annihilation

https://www.facebook.com/testimonyrecords

https://www.instagram.com/testimony_records

https://total-annihilation.bandcamp.com/album/mountains-of-madness

https://www.facebook.com/Total.Annihilation.thrash

https://www.instagram.com/total_annihilation_official

Parásito |Despoblador II |Signal Rex/Vertebrae Records

Release Date: 12 December 2025
Format: CD/LP
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Spain

Parásito is a one man black metal project formed in 2016 by MM. Built in isolation and away from trends, the project focuses on a personal reading of black metal, anchored in existential collapse and daily inner erosion. For “Despoblador II”, MM handles all instruments, with vocals performed by The Troll as a session member.

“Despoblador II” stands as the second chapter of a trilogy that circles inner despair and the quiet violence of everyday existence. The album works with restraint and tension, avoiding excess and keeping its focus narrow. The atmosphere is oppressive in a human way, less about grand imagery and more about psychological erosion. The writing stays loyal to classic black metal language while allowing space for personal expression, shaped by repetition and endurance rather than shock value.

The album unfolds at a deliberate pace, with long passages that stretch ideas instead of stacking them. Themes of entrapment and survival through self deception appear again and again, creating a closed environment with no relief offered. The sound favors austerity and persistence, drawing the listener into a slow spiral that mirrors the album’s concept of living inside an inescapable mental structure.

Vocals sit as another layer of abrasion, not dominant, not decorative, but woven into the overall pressure. The interaction between voice and music reinforces the album’s emotional gravity without drifting into dramatization. Everything remains grounded in a bleak realism, where repetition serves the narrative of stagnation and quiet collapse.

“Despoblador II” reaches its impact through consistency and focus rather than dramatic peaks. It may test patience, but that tension fits the album’s worldview. As a continuation of Parásito’s conceptual path, it delivers a solid and coherent chapter that deepens the project’s identity without excess.

Score: 7.0

www.parasitobm.bandcamp.com

www.signalrex.com

www.signalrex.bandcamp.com

Blackbraid |III |Independent

Release Date: August 8^th, 2025

Format: LP/CD/Digital

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal

Country: USA

Blackbraid is a solo black metal project led by Sgah’gahsowáh, rooted in Native American history, spirituality, and resistance. Formed in the United States, the project has built a strong identity through raw atmosphere, sharp songwriting, and a clear thematic focus tied to land, ancestry, and memory. “III” is the third full length release, fully independent, and continues this path with expanded scope and stronger emotional reach.

“III” unfolds as a long, cohesive narrative shaped by grief, reverence, and endurance. The album balances harsh black metal traditions with wide, open melodic passages that mirror forests, wind, and distance. The pacing allows ideas to develop naturally, giving space to long compositions without dragging them down. The vocal delivery stays intense and personal, sitting high in the mix and guiding the album’s emotional direction without overpowering it.

The songwriting focuses on repetition used as emphasis, not filler. Themes of loss and remembrance surface repeatedly, especially in longer tracks like “The Dying Breath Of A Sacred Stag”, “Tears Of The Dawn”, and “And He Became The Burning Stars…”. These songs rely on gradual build ups and recurring melodic lines that circle back like memory itself. The cover of “Fleshbound” fits smoothly into the album’s world, adapted to Blackbraid’s aesthetic without breaking immersion.

Production favors atmosphere over polish. The sound remains raw but articulate, allowing melodies to stay clear while maintaining a harsh edge. Drums are steady and forceful, and the overall mix supports the album’s meditative and solemn character. “III” presents Blackbraid at a mature stage, focused and emotionally grounded, offering a deep listen that rewards patience and attention.

Score: 9.0

https://blackbraid.bandcamp.com/album/blackbraid-iii

https://www.instagram.com/blackbraid_kvlt/

https://blackbraid.us/

https://www.youtube.com/@blackbraid_kvlt

Thumbsucker/Atomçk |Split |Road To Masochist

Release Date: November 14^th, 2025

Format: CD/10” Vinyl

Genre: Hardcore Punk, Grindcore

Country: United Kingdom

Thumbsucker and Atomçk come from the UK underground, operating far from trends and comfort zones. Thumbsucker work within raw hardcore punk, short, hostile, and confrontational. Atomçk represent grindcore at its most abrasive, active for many years and shaped by a long stretch of silence before returning with renewed hostility. This split brings together two bands with a shared appetite for confrontation and refusal to soften their message.

The split arrives as a blunt response to social rot, moral collapse, and everyday hypocrisy. The writing focuses on anger that is pointed outward, not abstract or decorative. Thumbsucker open the release with a sequence of short, violent statements built around social disgust, personal rage, and public apathy. The pacing stays aggressive and compressed, keeping pressure high without drifting into excess. The material sounds urgent and uncomfortable, rooted in hardcore tradition without drifting into nostalgia or polish.

Atomçk take over with a harsher and more chaotic presence. Their material leans into hostility and confrontation, built around relentless speed and abrasive vocal delivery. Lyrical themes attack urban decay, political emptiness, and cultural stagnation. The songs hit fast and disappear just as quickly, leaving little space for reflection. Atomçk sound angrier and more feral than before, channeling years of frustration into short explosions of noise and intent.

As a full release, this split works as a unified outburst rather than two disconnected halves. Thumbsucker and Atomçk share a similar worldview, and the transition between the two sides feels natural in spirit, even as the approaches differ. The release does not chase variety or accessibility, it exists to confront and provoke. For listeners drawn to extreme underground music rooted in anger and refusal, this split delivers a clear and uncompromising statement.

Score: 6.5

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553346392588

https://www.facebook.com/atomckgrind

https://roadtomasochist.co.uk/

Dark Divination |Liitto Hengen Ja Veren |Signal Rex

Release Date: 12 December 2025

Format: CD/LP

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Finland

Dark Divination is a Finnish black metal project formed in 2022 by Dark Divinator. In a short time, the project built momentum through EPs, demos and singles, leading to its first full length release. Rooted in the Finnish underground, Dark Divination focuses on personal themes tied to spirituality, inner conflict and the pull between light and shadow.

“Liitto Hengen Ja Veren” arrives as Dark Divination’s debut album and shows a clear devotion to traditional Finnish black metal language. The sound draws strongly from the early 2000s lineage, where melody plays a central role and emotional tension stays constant. The album speaks through a cold and melancholic tone, paired with moments of uplift that never drift into triumph. The overall atmosphere stays consistent and serious, focusing on inner struggle and spiritual tension.

The album’s melodic approach shifts between sorrowful lines and harsher passages, creating a steady emotional pull. These melodies often linger, giving the songs identity without pushing into excess. The pacing remains measured, allowing themes to unfold naturally. A mystical layer runs throughout the album, adding depth and a sense of ritualistic presence tied to the Finnish scene’s more esoteric side.

Lyrically and conceptually, “Liitto Hengen Ja Veren” reflects a personal journey shaped by conflict, hatred and spirituality. The album title, translated as a path from light to shadows, mirrors this progression. The material stays focused on these ideas without distraction, giving the album a unified direction. The expression remains raw and introspective, rooted firmly in underground black metal tradition.

As a debut, “Liitto Hengen Ja Veren” shows a solid understanding of atmosphere, melody and thematic focus. The album offers a reliable and honest black metal experience grounded in Finnish heritage. It may not surprise seasoned listeners, though it delivers consistent quality and commitment throughout its runtime.

Score: 7.0

www.darkdivination.bandcamp.com

www.signalrex.com

www.signalrex.bandcamp.com