Hermano |Clisson, France |Ripple Music

Release Date February 6^th, 2026
Format LP/CD/Digital
Genre Stoner Metal
Country USA

Hermano formed back in 1998 in a Covington, Kentucky apartment. David Angstrom, Steve Earle, Mike Callahan, and John Garcia got together for a session set up by Dandy Brown in Cincinnati. They tracked a debut album, "Only A Suggestion", originally slated for Frank Kozik’s label, Man’s Ruin Records. The label folded, delaying the release by four years. Over the following decade, the guys dropped three studio albums and a live LP, touring the United States and Europe. Chris Leathers eventually replaced Steve Earle on drums. The guys basically operated on their own terms, putting out music and playing shows whenever they wanted.

Fast forward to the summer of 2016. Hermano booked a reunion gig at Hellfest in Clisson, France, eight years after their previous gig. They just had a couple of hours to rehearse the set. Now, that entire gig is out on Ripple Music. The audio captures the raw power of five guys getting back on stage and tearing through their catalog. The band blasts through twelve tracks, bringing heavy desert riffs to a massive festival crowd.

The audio production on this live document is thick and loud. The bass rumbles straight through the speakers, giving songs like "Cowboys Suck" and "Kentucky" a massive low-end punch. Guitars roar with heavy distortion, throwing out fuzzy riffs. John Garcia’s vocals cut right through the noise, delivering his signature melodic wails. You hear the dust and sweat in the playing. They played the songs slightly faster and rougher than the studio versions. It is a loud, uncompromising set of heavy rock.

There are rough spots, which is totally expected for a band that barely rehearsed before stepping in front of a massive audience. Sometimes the guitars drift slightly out of sync. The backup vocals get completely buried in the mix. The drums blast forward with relentless aggression, occasionally pushing the tempo a little too hard. That chaotic edge gives the performance a real garage-band vibe. You get a genuine document of a live gig, warts and all. The feedback squeals between tracks and the crowd roars in the background.

This live release delivers what a Hermano fan wants from a reunion show. It gives you raw riffs, loud amps, and a band having a blast on stage. The audio mix might be a bit rough around the edges. The playing gets sloppy in a few places. That just adds to the charm of a live gig. Ripple Music put together a cool package for anyone wanting to hear pure desert rock aggression.

Score: 7.5

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/

Circular Ruin |A Sermon In Tongues |Vendetta Records

Release Date January 30^th, 2026
Format Digital/LP/CD
Genre Black Metal
Country Sweden

Formed in Uppsala, Sweden back in 2019, Circular Ruin crawled out of the underground scene. The quintet dropped the EP "Future Graves" in 2023, priming the underground for this new full-length assault. Fronted by vocalist Oscar Tornborg of Wormwood and Withershin fame, the five-piece crew unleashes total sonic warfare. The band crosses heavily into black metal, death metal, thrash, and post-hardcore territories, ripping through genre borders whenever the songs demand absolute destruction.

"A Sermon In Tongues" delivers thirty-seven minutes of absolute hostility. The guitar work from Daniel Johansson and Henrik Löfgren creates a freezing, abrasive storm of riffs. They summon a grim, dissonant assault inspired by legendary Swedish acts like Dissection, and Unanimated. Mathias Rask-Andersen and Christian Thunarf maintain a punishing rhythm section, driving every song forward with relentless battery. The production keeps the venom intact, letting the hostility bleed through the speakers.

Oscar Tornborg unleashes an absolute torment of shrieks across the album. His vocal delivery drips with pure malice. On "The Altering Altar", David Sandström from Refused steps in to provide ferocious backup vocals, adding another layer of aggression to the sonic violence. The guitars weave vicious tremolo picking with crushing breakdowns. The band executes their vision with total brutality, tearing through their thirty-seven-minute runtime with zero hesitation.

Circular Ruin brings severe devastation to the extreme metal table. They merge cold black metal fury with thrashing death metal elements into a lethal attack. Fans of hostile, atmospheric dissonance will consume this release instantly. "A Sermon In Tongues" stands as a killer, ruthless addition to the Swedish black metal arsenal.

Score: 8.0

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/circularruin/

https://circularruin.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/intl-pt/artist/3ql8ZyPJQiE26jfPlWEEUt

https://linktr.ee/vendettarecs

Superior Rage |In Memoriam |Wormholedeath Records

Release Date January 23^rd, 2026
Format Digital
Genre Black Metal
Country Italy

Superior Rage started the madness back in 2006, pushing raw black metal poisoned with atmospheric and symphonic elements. The early days saw the sole creator handling vocals and synths, backed by session allies for the self-titled 2008 demo and the 2010 full length "Through Infinity". The project went through live gigs and lineup shifts, dropping "Iii" in 2011 and diving deeper into the symphonic side of the abyss. A massive hiatus hit in 2014. The resurrection kicked off in 2022 and gained serious momentum in 2024 with the "Anthology" collection. Now, we arrive at the "In Memoriam" EP, bringing back classic anthems and new assaults tracked with a full session crew.

"In Memoriam" gathers the best of the Superior Rage arsenal and injects it with serious venom. Having actual musicians stepping in changes the whole dynamic of the execution. The black metal assault here comes across highly atmospheric and completely cloaked in darkness. "Indecent Condition" and "Asmodeus Bacchic" deliver that traditional, hateful frostbite, driving the old-school aggression straight through the speakers. The guitars, handled by Nemorion and Hrafnagud across different songs, weave a freezing, sinister web over the entire runtime.

The addition of new material gives this EP serious teeth. "Soleright" and "The Death Of The Red Dragon" plunge the listener into undiscovered, freezing territories. Baelithiel handles the vocal duties here, spewing out venomous rasps over the aggressive riffage. Maikon’s drumming holds the chaos together, pounding away with relentless hostility. Having Superior Rage handling the synths and bass ensures the dark, symphonic foundation remains intact, constantly brooding beneath the distortion.

The mix and master by Harpag Karnik gives the whole release a harsh, piercing edge. The instruments punch through the grim production, allowing the sinister melodies and fast tremolo picking to inflict maximum damage. It is a harsh, uncompromising dive into freezing, symphonic darkness. Superior Rage unleashes a very strong, highly aggressive attack of traditional black metal fury.

Score: 7.5

Links:

https://superior-rage-raw.bandcamp.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@SuperiorRageRawchannel/videos

https://www.facebook.com/rawsuperiorrage/

Hating Life |Revenge From Beyond |Pulverised Records

Release Date 27.02.2026
Format MCD/MLP/Digital
Genre Death Metal
Country Spain

Hating Life is a Spanish death metal duo featuring Santiago Cavero handling the instruments and Javier Manzano on vocals. These two are already active in the underground scene for their work in Ataraxy. They formed this new entity to play straightforward, primitive death metal heavily inspired by the early Swedish scene. The band name itself pays homage to old Grave material. Their debut release, "Revenge From Beyond", comes courtesy of Pulverised Records.

The guys deliver totally raw and putrid death metal. The buzzsaw guitar tone dominates the speakers, ripping through the mix with massive HM-2 distortion. Cavero throws down savage riffs and crushing drum beats, keeping the music incredibly primitive and aggressive. Manzano unleashes a vocal performance full of absolute sickness, barking out lyrics about human barbarism and death. It is purely vicious metal, meant to snap necks in the pit.

You know what you are getting with "Revenge From Beyond". The aggression stays consistently high across the tracklist. "The Eternal Embrace" and "Rebellion Against The Vile" provide heavy, headbanging grooves and chaotic speed. The production is totally stripped-down and rough around the edges. This underground approach adds to the savage atmosphere. Sometimes the songwriting runs together, causing some riffs to blur into one another. The execution is lethal, even if it occasionally lacks variation.

This MCD is a total skull-crusher for maniacs who worship Autopsy, Entombed, and Tormented. Hating Life completely destroys the place with relentless energy and pure sonic violence. It is dirty, old-school death metal played by guys who live for the extreme underground. Turn up the volume and let the buzzsaw tear you apart.

Score: 7.5

https://www.pulverised.net

https://pulverised.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/pulverisedrecords

https://www.instagram.com/pulverised

Dwellnought |Monolith Of Ephemerality |Caligari Records

Release Date February 20^th, 2026
Format CD
Genre Blackened Doom Metal
Country Italy

Dwellnought crawled out of Varese, Italy back in 2023, dragging a metric ton of auditory filth with them. They spawned in the shadows, crafting a vile concoction of devastating doom foundations rotting beneath bleak, blackened skies. "Monolith Of Ephemerality" is their debut full-length offering via Caligari Records, serving as an immense, suffocating plunge into cosmic terror. These Italians bring an archaic, ruinous rumble to the table, expanding into horrifying auditory territories akin to the most depraved underground acts roaming the abyss.

The noise puked up on "Monolith Of Ephemerality" is pure, unadulterated annihilation. Gigantic, punishing riffs violently crash into venomous undercurrents, constructing an overwhelmingly hostile hellscape. Towering waves of sonic terror smash against agonizingly slow tempos. Dwellnought orchestrates a terrifying vortex of sound that systematically erodes sanity. It operates as a harrowing descent into absolute darkness, dragging the listener down a bottomless, horrifying void of total destruction.

Songs like "The Final Desire Is Unbeing" and "Crystalized Flesh Identities Condensed Into Wombs Of Matter" drag the listener through a horrific marriage of audio obliteration and cosmic dread. Guitars violently drone and wail, while the percussion constantly pounds like rusty nails into a wooden coffin. Vicious snarls echo from the abyss, completing the traumatic ordeal. Dwellnought delivers a thoroughly crushing execution of extreme metal. They pummel the skull with relentless hostility.

"Monolith Of Ephemerality" delivers pure, unfiltered auditory violence. Dwellnought executes their vision with total brutality and relentless aggression, hammering a singular, rusted nail into your skull. The album demands attention through sheer sonic force and total malice. It is a harsh, uncompromising trip into madness.

Score: 7.0

https://www.instagram.com/dwellnought______/

www.dwellnought.bandcamp.com

www.caligarirecords.com

www.caligarirecords.bandcamp.com

www.facebook.com/caligarirecords

Templar |Conquering Swords |Jawbreaker Records

Release Date 27.02.2026
Format LP/CD/Cassette/Digital
Genre Heavy Metal
Country Sweden

Sweden’s heavy metal warriors Templar smashed onto the scene with their "Black Knight" demo and the "Treacherous Beast" single. Now, these metalheads finally unleash their debut full-length, "Conquering Swords". The album arrives via Jawbreaker Records. The quartet brings Isak Neffling on vocals and bass, Gustav Harrysson and Teddy Edoff providing the dual guitar attack, and Mille Lundström hammering the drums. They play straight-up traditional heavy metal heavily inspired by the Swedish legends of the early eighties.

Staffan Tengnér from Century handled the recording process. The sound on "Conquering Swords" comes across warm and completely authentic. The production gives the soaring twin guitar harmonies massive space. The pounding bass lines thunder right alongside the massive drum beats. Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony handled the final mastering. He gave the entire audio profile a massive punch. Every instrument blasts through the speakers with serious power. The vocal delivery cuts right down the middle with pure heavy metal aggression.

The songs plunge straight into realms of medieval battles, magic, and total fantasy chaos. Tracks like "Witchking" and "Excalibur" deliver those classic galloping rhythms metal maniacs always crave. The choruses demand massive fist-pumping action. Templar unleashes ripping solos and traditional metal riffing throughout the entire running time. The dual guitars duel constantly. You get stories of ancient sorcery and steel clashing on the battlefield. The entire package bleeds true heavy metal devotion.

"Conquering Swords" delivers a highly entertaining forty minutes of traditional heavy metal. The band writes cool anthems. Sometimes a few riffs blend together across the tracklist. The execution remains fierce. Templar delivers what they promise on the killer cover artwork. Fans of Heavy Load, Mercyful Fate, and Axewitch will totally bang their heads to this. The album provides a strong foundation for their future battles.

Score: 8.0

https://www.jawbreaker.se

https://jawbreakerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/conquering-swords

https://www.facebook.com/JawbreakerRecords

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

https://www.facebook.com/templarsweden

https://www.instagram.com/templar.band

Bethesda | Bethesda |Roxx Records

Release Date January 30^th, 2026
Format Vinyl/CD
Genre Christian Metal, Heavy Metal
Country Sweden

Bethesda brings together some serious Swedish heavy hitters. Conceived back in 2014, the project finally laid down tracks in 2022. You get Germán Pascual from Narnia and Essence Of Sorrow handling the vocals, teaming up with a massive Veni Domine reunion section. Torbjörn Weinesjö shreds on guitar, his brother Thomas Weinesjö smashes the drums, and Gabriel Ingemarson locks down the bass. These guys have deep roots in the Christian metal scene, and they finally forged a complete album together under the name Bethesda.

When you spin "Bethesda", you get a massive dose of classic metal thunder. They blend the doom-laden riffs of Black Sabbath with the hard rock swagger of Led Zeppelin. Add the epic scale of Veni Domine and the melodic power of Narnia, and you have their core sound. The music is heavy, straightforward, and driven by massive guitar work. Germán brings an absolute powerhouse vocal delivery that cuts right through the distortion. The rhythm section keeps things locked in, generating heavy grooves that demand immediate headbanging.

The songs on "Bethesda" deliver crushing riffs and soaring choruses. Tunes like "Power" and "This Is The End" strike forcefully with aggressive tempos and blazing solos. Then you get massive epics like "I Will Return" that slow things down, dragging you through heavy doom passages. The production is loud and raw, giving the drums a massive punch. Every instrument blasts through the speakers distinctly. You can hear the bass rattling the floorboards alongside the crunching guitars.

The album absolutely rules, even if a few minor flaws pop up. Sometimes the mid-tempo tracks blend together, making the middle section of the tracklist drag a tiny bit. The bonus tracks on the CD version, especially "As The Time Goes By", add some excellent extra minutes to the playtime. It is a very cool debut from a band of veterans who clearly know how to play real heavy metal. Grab the blood red vinyl, turn up the volume, and let these Swedish metalheads ruin your hearing in the best way possible.

Score: 7.5

The Magus |Daemonosophia |The Circle Music

Release Date February 20^th, 2026
Format CD/Vinyl/Digital
Genre Black Metal
Country Greece

The Magus rose from the ashes of the legendary Greek black metal entity Necromantia in 2022. Following the tragic passing of Baron Blood in 2019 and a final tribute album in 2021, frontman The Magus closed that chapter entirely to forge a different left-hand path. Teaming up with long-time conspirators El on guitars and Maelstrom on drums, this trinity birthed a venomous project. Now, they unleash their second full-length manifestation, "Daemonosophia", delivering a relentless and aggressive assault on the senses.

"Daemonosophia" brings an intense and vicious brand of black metal to the table. The music is an absolute storm of chaotic riffs and punishing drum blasts, wrapped in a suffocating dark atmosphere. There are unexpected, sinister turns hidden inside the arrangements, keeping the listener constantly on edge. Songs like "Pseudoprophetae" and "The Chapel Of Iniquities" tear through the speakers with absolute malice. The entire album operates as a furious attack, driven by venom and darkness.

The guitar work by El slices through the chaos, delivering freezing tremolo picking alongside punishing heavy chords. Maelstrom batters his drum kit into dust, driving the tempo into extreme territories while maintaining absolute precision. The Magus spews his vocals with pure hatred, sounding completely possessed. Tracks such as "The Six In Three Is All One" and "Magia Obscura" maintain this violent trajectory. The sinister interlacing of these elements results in a truly vicious audio violence.

Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Pentagram Studio by George Emmanuel, the production sounds massive and devastating. Everything strikes the ear with absolute hostility. The majestic cover painting by Nestor Avalos perfectly mirrors the audio destruction inside. Featuring an intricate infernal triptych, the visual art aligns flawlessly with the satanic madness happening on the disc. This visual and auditory assault works together seamlessly to drag the listener straight into the abyss.

Score: 8.5

The Magus online:

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/themagus666

Website: https://www.themagus666.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themagus666

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themagus_666/

Bandcamp: https://necromantiathemagus.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/03nL7JCSHJeOEl9uBHXGK3?nd=1&si=1OVkdbGhTPiRx0iQ779Gzg

The Circle Music online:

Website: https://thecirclemusic.gr/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thecirclemusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Circle-Music-109161897443413/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_circle_music/

Bandcamp: https://thecirclemusicfamily.bandcamp.com/

Domhain |In Perfect Stillness |These Hands Melt

Release Date February 20^th, 2026
Format CD/LP/Digital
Genre Post Atmospheric Black Metal
Country Northern Ireland, UK

Northern Ireland’s Domhain emerged from the Irish metal scene as a quartet of seasoned musicians who clearly skipped the beginner phase and went straight for the jugular. After dropping their debut EP “Nimue” in 2023 and a split with Ephemeral in 2025, they spent their time building a reputation for live shows that are reportedly massive enough to drown a crowd. They’ve traded the standard four-four grit for a blend of post-black metal and atmospheric layers, dragging a cello into the mix to make sure the misery has some class.

Domhain has finally dropped "In Perfect Stillness", and it’s a massive, soul-crushing journey that actually lives up to the underground hype. This isn't just another generic black metal album. The band fuses that cold, harsh blackgaze aesthetic with rich cello layers and vocal harmonies that actually have some guts. It sounds like they took the raw energy of their live shows, which have been killing it lately, and managed to trap that intensity inside the studio walls without losing the edge.

The guitar work on tracks like "Talamh Lom" and "My Tomb Beneath The Tide" is absolutely relentless. It oscillates between freezing tremolo picking and these massive, open chords that make you feel like you’re standing on a cliffside in a storm. The addition of guest spots on "Footsteps Ii", including piano and extra cello, adds a layer of class that most bands in this genre are too scared to touch. It’s heavy, it’s depressing, and it’s exactly the kind of misery I want to hear.

The production handled by Chris Fielding at Foel Studio is top-tier. It captures the drums with a natural, thumping resonance while letting the bass guitar actually exist in the mix, a rarity in black metal. "In Perfect Stillness" is a grim, beautiful piece of work that proves these guys are ready to dominate. If you want something that sounds like the Irish wilderness turning into a nightmare, this is it.

Score: 8.0

Domhain online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Domhain.band/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/domhain_band/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5LLcGMtOdgLhqrvrF6prnG

Bandcamp: https://domhain-band.bandcamp.com

These Hands Melt online:

Website / shop: https://thesehandsmelt.shop/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/these.hands.melt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/these.hands.melt

Bandcamp: https://thesehandsmelt.bandcamp.com/music

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheseHandsMeltOfficial

Pungent Stench |For God Your Soul...For Me Your Flesh |Hammerheart Records (Reissue/Remastered)

Release Date  March 20^th, 2026
Format CD/LP
Genre Death Metal
Country Austria

Before the world knew what hit it, these Austrian freaks were busy dragging the genre through a sewer. Formed in the late 80s, Pungent Stench became the ultimate black sheep of the extreme scene. While everyone else was obsessing over surgical precision or occult nonsense, this trio was focused on filth, perversion, and a massive dose of pitch-black humor. They didn't just play death metal; they made it crawl. By the time 1990 rolled around, they were already local legends of the obscene, ready to drop a debut that would make even the toughest metalheads want to take a bleach shower.

"For God Your Soul... For Me Your Flesh" landed right as the Florida and Swedish scenes were peaking, but it didn't sound like anything from those camps. This is a savage blend of early grindcore speed and a disgusting, slow-motion sludge that echoes the heaviest parts of Obituary. It’s a hostile, primitive racket that ignores technical flash in favor of a raw, churning energy. This remaster by Erwin Hermsen at Toneshed Studio gives the bass a monstrous rumble, making the whole experience feel like being trapped in a collapsing morgue.

The riffs on "A Small Lunch" and "Blood, Pus & Gastric Juice" are absolute filth. They lurch with a d-beat swagger before diving back into a sickening, mid-paced crawl. The guitar tone is thick and crusty, stripped of any fake gloss, delivering a relentless assault that sticks in your brain. It’s got that classic thrashy undercurrent, but warped into something far more depraved. This reissue is packed with ten bonus tracks including "Dead Body Love" and "In The Vault," making it an essential hoard of sickness for anyone who misses when metal actually smelled like death.

Visually, these guys always had the most beautiful, sick frontcovers in the history of death metal along with "Been Caught Buttering." They understood that the art needs to be as repulsive and provocative as the music. The aesthetics of this era are legendary, perfectly capturing the sick vibe of the songs. This isn't for the weak or those looking for pretty melodies. It’s a masterpiece of gore that stands sick as one of the most twisted debuts ever recorded. If you want your extreme metal to actually sound dangerous, this is the gold standard.

Score: 8.5

https://www.facebook.com/pungentstench.official

https://www.pungentstench.org/

https://pungentstench.lnk.to/forgodyoursoul