While most are waiting for the new Darkthrone album to come out on May 8th, we have been more curious about the return of Lisa Johansson on Draconian’s eight full-length release “In Somnolent Ruin”. Far from disappointing, this release brings back the band to their 2000’s form, creating a very sombre and enchanting nearly 60 minutes of music with this release. We loved the band’s era with Heike Langhans on vocals as she has her own awesomely unique voice, but with Lisa, the band just gives us the same goosebumps from us back in the day.

Opening with “I Welcome Thy Arrow”, the beauty-and-the-beast duet from Anders Jacobsson and Lisa Johansson is back in business. Setting a very dark and enveloping atmosphere for this release, the band masterfully transitions into the dreary “The Monochrome Blade”, and the somber “Anima”, which features Daniel Änghede as a guest vocalist. Despondent tracks like “The Face of God” are exactly what makes Draconian one of the premiere bands of the genre as the ooze melancholy and misery.

As one of the most anticipated releases of 2026, today we have Darkthrone and their latest effort “Pre-Historic Metal”. Continuing their path in unleashing crafty and uncomplicated releases, this album delivers eight tracks of the band’s crunchy Black/Doom/Heavy Metal of late. In the same vein of their last couple of albums, the band’s sound is compact and pays homage to old-school Black/Death/Heavy/Doom Metal with a wide variety of engaging riffs and tempo changes.

Opening with the crunchy riffs of “They Found One of My Graves”, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto showcase that they will continue to de-construct the BM genre and infuse additional elements to keep unleashing crafty and enjoyable songs. The is something quite primal and raw of songs like the album title track, “Siberian Thaw”, and “Deeply Rooted” that have that Norwegian BM vibe, but with some Mercyful Fate/Celtic Frost-esque influences.

Unleashing eight tracks and nearly 40-minutes of crafty Stoner/Doom Metal, today we have Restless Spirit with their eponymous 4th full-length release. With an engaging sound similar to outfits like High on Fire, The Sword, etc., the band crafts some hard hitting riffs that keep the listener headbanging from start to finish.

Opening with the warm fuzziness of “The Burning Need”, the Stoner/Doomy vibe is instantly set as Paul Aloisio’s vocals nicely drape this opener. The riff power is strong in this release with crafty tracks like “Hallowed”, “Red in Tooth and Claw”, and “Desire Lines” further cementing a very lively atmosphere that weaves back and forth between catchiness and heaviness.

Easily standing out from the very crowded Metalcore scene, today we have VCTMS and their latest EP, “Pain Processing II”. Featuring seven short but sweet tracks, this release unleashes around 25-minutes of chaotic and crushing music. With a plethora of guest appearances, this EP keeps the band steamrolling momentum going with a hefty dose of brutality.

Setting the mood with the pummeling of “twenty/eight”, John Matalone and company unleash all hell with crafty riffs and hellish vocals. The riffs are thick, but the tempo changes are what keep the listener engaged with contrived but highly effective songs like “Victim/mentality” and “Burning Bones”. These songs feature “Austin Hays of Heavy//Hitter and Ben Hoagland of Extortionist respectively, adding that extra edge to keep things brutal and dissonant.

Unleashing one of the finest and most chaotically beautiful releases of 2026, today we have A Forest of Stars with “Stack Overflow in Corpse Pile Interface”. Eight years in the making, this release delivers six tracks and over 73 minutes of magical weirdness in the shape of Avant-garde/Progressive Black Metal, that only this British outfit could produce. Following the style of their previous release, this album is both engrossing and insane, masterfully showcasing unique craftsmanship.

Opening with the lush “Ascension of the Clowns”, the band sets a very dense atmosphere with dramatic violins alongside Mister Curse’s deranged vocals and crafty guitars. This atmosphere feels suffocating (in a good way) as the band escalates their antics with the piercing “Street Level Vertigo”. Excelling in creating slow-burning tracks that span 10+ minutes at a time, each song expertly develops around chaotic onslaughts of madness and elegant instrumentation/vocal arrangements, creating very cinematic experiences.

Unleashing over 44-minutes of highly melancholic Black Metal, today we have France’s Möhrkvlth with their sophomore release “Gwenojennoù An Ankounac’h”. Being eight years in the making, this album showcases a very mature band creating a very organic sound that is both melodic and quite intense at times. Reminding us of older Empyrium and bands like Enid, this release has a very regal and lush atmospheric component to it.

Opening with the fierceness of “Dindan gouloù ar c'hroajoù mein”, the band masterfully transitions between hectic aggressive sections to lush melancholic passages with ethereal clean vocals. The band’s ability to change tempos and deliver relentless brutality alongside dreamy atmospherics is one of their best capabilities as tracks like “Va c'heriadenn” and “Pour une couronne de chrysanthèmes”, showcase and masterfully contrast other pieces like the lush instrumental “ Recueillement”.

After a busy few years of touring with Firewind, multi instrumentalist and shredder-extraordinaire Gus G returns with his fifth solo album, titled “Steel Burner . Featuring ten tracks and nearly 40 minutes of music, we get a very solid balance of virtuosity, composition skills, and guest vocal appearances. This makes up for a very engaging release that is a varied and highly energetic album that will have people headbanging and singing along.

Right after opening with masterfully crafted futuristic instrumental opener, Doro Pesch lends her signature vocals to the powerful Heavy Metal anthem “Nothing Can Break Me”. On tracks like “Dancing with Death”, we get an excellent interplay between Gus’s guitars and composition skills with the guest vocalist, which in turn is Matt Barlow of Ashes of Ares/Iced Earth fame. For those of us looking for the instrumental stuff, “Advent” and “What If” are some killer tracks.

Staying truly underground for over 20 years, Germany’s Werwolf is finally unleashing their debut full-length release, aptly titled “Satanic Terror”. Keep the old-school raw and ugly Black Metal alive, this release unleashes blasphemy and hell through seven tracks. Featuring over 30-minutes of music, this release will transport the listener to simpler times in the genre, and will hit them like a bag of bricks with sheer ferocity and foulness.

Opening with the blistering album title track, we get a massive dose of vicious riffs alongside crafty drums and that frostiness of old-school Black Metal that relied on simple rhythms and engaging tempo changes to keep the listener engaged. The sickness quickly spread with tracks like “Shrine of Fate”, “…of Cursed Places and Desecrated Graves”, and “Temple of No Light” unraveling the band’s uncompromisingly raw and punishing sound.

Being one of the few bands that are decently known outside of Indonesia that do not play Gore/Grind Metal, Pure Wrath as always impressed listeners with their raw and visceral Atmospheric Black Metal. After loving their first release through Debemur Morti, “Hymn to the Woeful Hearts”, this release unleashes over 40 minutes of even more refined music that takes a few spins to fully digest.

Opening with the blistering two parts of “Bleak Days Ahead”, Ryo, the band’s single member, unleashes vicious onslaughts of misery inducing riffs that perfectly blend with his harsh screams. However, the subtle atmospherics is what gets the listener as the slowly creep on you and build up some intense momentum. Adding extra elements like sax, piano, organ, and mellotron, the music is quite varied and creates very profound passages thanks to this wider pallet of sounds.

Unleashing vicious exercise in brutality, today we have Spain’s Aversio Humanitatis and their latest opus “To Become The Endless Ecstatic”. In six years since their last effort, the band has managed to expand and make their sound even more crushing, thing of Ulcerate but with a Black Metal edge. Delivering almost 35 minutes of music, this release will certainly grab you by surprise thanks to its incisive and primeval nature.

Opening with blistering “Long Stretch the Shadows”, the band sets an impossible pace with pummeling drumming and hellish riffing. Not holding off on anything, this outfit quickly sets a decadent atmosphere. The album title track continues the nightmare with A.M’s vocals piercing through to the chaotic and powerful instrumentation. This track is pure brutality, and sets nicely the transition to ‘calmer’ territories with “Blackened Mold Marrow”.