Release
Date
January 23rd, 2026 Format LP/CD/Digital Genre Doom/Drone/Post Rock Country USA
Dallas-based
trio Temptress isn't interested in playing by
the rules of any single subgenre. Founded in 2019 by road-tested veterans Andi Cuba, Kelsey Wilson,
and Christian Wright, the band bypassed the usual
growing pains, dropping their debut EP just five months after their first jam.
Since then, they've been relentless, racking up over 200 shows alongside heavy
hitters like Eyehategod and Khemmis. After a solid full-length debut in 2023,
they’ve joined the Blues Funeral Recordings
roster to drop their latest evolution, "Hear".
"Hear" is a weird, loud
beast that mashes together drone, noise, and grunge without sounding like a
mess. It’s got that "Tripolar" energy the band talked about, where
everyone throws their soul into the pot. You get these massive hooks that
actually stick, paired with grooves that sound like they’re trying to tear
themselves apart. It’s a step up in terms of songwriting, keeping that raw
power they developed on the road while letting the melodies actually do some
damage.
The vocal trade-offs between Andi, Kelsey, and Christian give the songs a layer of dirt that most
three-pieces lack. When "Narrows" or "These Walls" get
going, the chemistry is obvious. They aren’t just playing over each other,
they’re locked into a specific kind of chaos. It’s got a bit of that Heavy Temple or Hippie Death
Cult vibe, but with a meaner, dissonant edge that keeps things from
getting too predictable or pretty.
There are moments where the drone
elements take over, and you just have to sink into the noise.
"Downfall" and "Now Or Never" are prime examples of how
they use volume to create an atmosphere that isn't just about being the loudest
person in the room. It’s a solid, heavy-as-hell offering that proves Temptress is one of the most hardworking acts in the
underground right now. If you want something that bridges the gap between a
garage jam and a massive doom session, this is it.
Genre: Dark Ambient, Experimental, Dark Hardcore, Avant Jazz, Black Metal,
Drone
Country: USA
Born from the New York underground, Gridfailure is the solo project of David Brenner, an artist known for his chaotic
blend of post-industrial soundscapes, experimental noise, and pitch-black
atmosphere. Since its inception in 2016, Gridfailure
has operated as a shifting entity, pulling together collaborators from
across the extreme music spectrum. Brenner’s
project thrives on unpredictability and raw tension, merging elements from
jazz, drone, ambient, and metal into something entirely alien. “Sixth
Mass-Extinction Skulduggery III” marks the third installment in an ambitious
five-part conceptual series chronicling humanity’s downfall, a grotesque and
theatrical vision of a world devouring itself.
The concept
here continues a saga of environmental collapse and moral decay. Brenner presents a brutal sonic depiction of the
Anthropocene, painting scenes of cannibalistic societies, collapsing
ecosystems, and self-inflicted ruin. The album’s subtitle, “Acquiring A Taste,”
suggests a civilization not only dying but celebrating its destruction. It’s as
bleak as it sounds, an eighty-minute descent through suffocating electronics,
percussive chaos, and nightmarish textures.
Musically,
the album shifts unpredictably, crossing through distorted soundscapes,
ritualistic noise, and moments of eerie calm. There’s a cinematic sense of
decay running through it, as if the entire world is collapsing in slow motion.
Guest appearances from figures like Steve Austin of
Today Is The Day, Leila
Abdul-Rauf of Vastum, and Mac Gollehon (whose trumpet once graced sessions
for David Bowie) add even more layers to the
madness. Their presence doesn’t lighten the tone; it only deepens the sense of
suffocation and unpredictability.
Brenner’s
approach is uncompromising. He works with sounds gathered from years of field
recordings, weather events, and countless improvised sessions, resulting in an
album that’s both vast and claustrophobic. The production stays raw and
unfiltered, perfectly suited to the theme of environmental and human
disintegration. The use of multiple genres, industrial, black metal, ambient,
and avant jazz, is less like fusion and more like collision, a sonic disaster
unfolding in real time.
“Sixth
Mass-Extinction Skulduggery III” isn’t meant for casual listening. It demands
patience, even endurance. It’s a sound experiment that drags the listener
through rust, static, and screams from an earth in its death throes. It’s
chaotic and overwhelming, but that chaos has a strange magnetism. Beneath all
the noise lies a kind of order, the grim logic of collapse.
For fans of
Gnaw Their Tongues, The
Body, and T.O.M.B., this album offers
a journey into the extreme end of experimental music, ugly, fascinating, and
thoroughly human in its depiction of destruction. An absorbing but punishing
listen, “Sixth Mass-Extinction Skulduggery III” expands the boundaries of Gridfailure’s vision without losing its raw,
corrosive edge. It’s not meant to entertain, but to unsettle, and in that, it
succeeds completely.
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