Oak of Weeping – The Grave My Father, the Worm My Sister Review By ClarkKent

When I nabbed the promo for Oak of Weeping, I had no idea what DSBM stood for. Death something black metal? It was a bit of a gut punch to learn it stands for depressive suicidal black metal. Of course, depression has been the scourge of artists from Sylvia Plath to Robin Williams. Metal serves as a musical outlet that allows artists to express their darkest thoughts through a unique means. Sure, pop musicians can sing about depression, but only metal allows one to dive into the raw ugliness of those feelings. I hope it’s a useful outlet for artists who play DSBM, and for anyone who suffers from depression, please seek help. DSBM generally distinguishes itself from other forms of black metal with pained, anguished vocals and a doomier tempo. This all serves as the backdrop for the debut record from Hungary’s Oak of Weeping, The Grave My Father, the Worm My Sister. András Lipták bases this one-man project not on his own personal life, but on scripture, pulling its lyrics straight from the Book of Job. With its colorful, poetic album and song titles, as well as a novel lens on biblical text, this is about as tempting as the fruit that doomed Adam and Eve to mortality.

Oak of Weeping builds its music upon simple yet catchy foundational riffs. Each song has as its base a single riff or trem while snappy blast beats set a mostly brisk pace. While I can’t speak for the lyrics, as they are all in Hungarian, the overall mood is certainly not depressive—at least not instrumentally. Often the opening trems or arpeggios set a mournful mood, but the blast beats convey a much more upbeat tone. In many ways, the music here reminds me of the joyous, Latin dance-inspired black metal of To Escape. By the end of the final song, “Now That My Eyes See You, I Despise Myself,” the trems are uplifting and triumphant enough to convert the non-believers.

Lipták’s vocal style, on the other hand, is like an emotional wrecking ball. On opener “Let the Day Perish on Which I Was Born,” he sounds agonized and in the painful throes of death. I understand his performance will likely turn many listeners off, but I found its raw nakedness mesmerizing. Each song brings a different side to him. “You Have Turned Cruel to Me” brings much mellower pained shouts, to the point that in the final minutes, he’s merely whispering his pain. Then on “For I Am Full of Words” he wails like an otherworldly creature, cartoonish and over the top almost to the point of parody. Lipták conveys pain and suffering on a primal, animalistic level that’s certainly not pleasant, but it is effective. His voice contrasts with the pleasant sound of the guitars and drums, as if purposely throwing the joy from the instruments off-kilter with the anguished cries from his throat.

A few issues do hold The Grave My Father, the Worm My Sister from being a better record. The major issue is the repetitive nature of the instrumentals. While Oak of Weeping play some fantastic guitar parts, the songs carry on for too long without any real variation in the riffs/trems. The unpredictable nature of Lipták’s vocals does make this somewhat less of an issue, however. Another weak link is the penultimate track, “The Gates of Deep Darkness,” which lacks the musicality of the other tunes. Harsh guitar tones serve to create noise rather than establish any sort of rhythm. There are a few other minor quibbles as well, such as the 40 seconds of silence to end the opening song. It’s the kind of thing that pulls you out of the music’s spell and makes you wonder if your app crashed.

Despite the genre, Oak of Weeping has crafted a very enjoyable and non-depressing black metal record. Fans of DSBM or atmoblack will find plenty to like, even if the vocals are rawer and more troubled than the usual fare. I suspect there’s some deeper meaning in choosing to create a DSBM album about the Book of Job, but alas, I haven’t brushed up enough on my Hungarian to read more deeply into it. Still, Oak of Weeping has a good ear for an enjoyable riff and an unconventional approach. That’s enough for me to want to hear what Lipták creates next.1

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Released
Website: Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

#2026 #30 #AtmosphericBlackMetal #BlackMetal #DSBM #HungarianMetal #May26 #OakOfWeeping #Review #Reviews #SelfReleased #TheGraveMyFatherTheWormMySister #ToEscape

Maladie – The Dance of Tragedies Review By Grin Reaper

I initially stumbled across Germany’s Maladie last year with the fifth installment of their Symptoms EP series and immediately fell for their sax-forward, avant-garde black metal. A quick glimpse through Maladie’s back catalog revealed how late I was to the game. Formed in 2009, the band has already released seven full-lengths and five EPs since 2012. Now, eighth LP The Dance of Tragedies is upon us, continuing Maladie’s magnificently nutty approach to black metal by braiding strands of diverse aural fabrics into a singular tapestry that’s far-reaching, fascinating, and fancifully fun. Yet we mustn’t take for granted that just because a band does many things well, they’ve avoided pitfalls along the way. Does Maladie juke major missteps during The Dance of Tragedies?

My first time through The Dance of Tragedies was both exactly what I anticipated from Maladie and an abrupt detonation of my expectations. The outfit’s signature sound persists, finding Hauke Peters slinging the sax with soulful swagger while the rest of the band skitters between full-on black metal fury (the end of “Vortex of Monotony”), AOR tunefulness (“Behind All Suns”), and brief flashes of electronica (“Embrace Our Curse”). The brooding intensity rife throughout Symptoms V subsides on The Dance of Tragedies, dispensing understated moments of levity that delightfully buoy the music in sharp contrast with Maladie’s typically self-serious style.1 This direction surprised me, and though it took several listens to fully digest the album, the result is beautifully refreshing.

As usual, performances across The Dance of Tragedies captivate with titillating zeal. The multi-pronged vocal attack cuts with a serrated edge via emotive cleans, dry barks, and some of the phlegmiest rasps I’ve heard this side of Stenched (“Vortex of Monotony”). Shared by Alexander Wenz and Déhà, the primary vocals inhabit unconventional stylings alongside traditional ones. “Vortex of Monotony” features several variants, including a hip-hop flavored spoken word in the latter half, while “The Dance of Tragedies” runs a marathon of deliveries that keeps The Dance of Tragedies handsomely off-kilter. Björn Köppler plays jack-of-all-trades, supplying chameleonic drums alongside sundry keys and strings, while Déhà contributes even more keys in addition to singing.2 Köppler and Alex Spalvieri share guitar duties, mostly strumming in tasteful restraint while sporadically unfettering a few bars of unbridled shredding (“Too Old to Die”) before yielding the spotlight to other instruments. In totality, The Dance of Tragedies enthralls with an assortment of performances that pulse with intrigue and vivacity, transporting listeners to a vibrant world all Maladie’s own.

Not uncommon for Maladie, The Dance of Tragedies clears the seventy-minute mark without feeling overlong. Sections of lengthier tracks, particularly “The Unknowable” and “On Inaccessible Paths, Pt. II,” dabble in passages that extend to the brink of their charm, yet never run out of gas. I credit this to Maladie’s exploration of atmosphere as they allow rippling riffs and melodies to play out like a stone cast into the middle of a lake, where the ensuing furrows stretch across the smooth horizon until they run their course. Bolstering the momentum of The Dance of Tragedies is the vast array of sounds the band conjures. The refrain played midway through “The Unknowable” reminds me of Mossgiver’s “The Cleansing Waters,” “Behind All Suns” summons comparisons to Hail Spirit Noir, and “Embrace Our Curse” and “On Inaccessible Paths, Pt. I” recall Pensées Nocturnes and Arcturus. Through it all, Maladie never ceases to sound like themselves, grazing other bands as reference points while never jeopardizing their own unmistakable identity.

There’s something about The Dance of Tragedies that ineffably connects with me on an emotional level. Despite the gravity Maladie typically instills in their compositions, The Dance frolics in the face of Tragedies and injects a dimension of playfulness and hope that leaves me spellbound each and every spin. This is an album that works best when absorbed in a single session, and though time is precious, Maladie rewards listeners with utter diversity, meticulously crafting a vibrant musical experience. Swelling strings, electrifying sax, dynamic pacing, and stirring songwriting unite for an absolute blast of avant-garde metal. While it might be weird enough not to appeal to everyone, when it hits, The Dance of Tragedies shakes the room with thunderous abandon. So break out your dancing shoes and get ready to boogie—Maladie has the cure for what ails you.

Rating: Great
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Apostasy Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

#2026 #40 #ApostasyRecords #Arcturus #AvantGardeBlackMetal #BlackMetal #GermanMetal #HailSpiritNoir #Maladie #May26 #Mossgiver #PenseesNocturne #ProgressiveBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #Stenched #TheDanceOfTragedies

Goddess – Ritual of the Cloven Hoof Review By Killjoy

For the second time this month, I seem to have selected a band for review that was born from the ashes of another. Goddess, a stoner doom collective from Stockholm, Sweden, was formerly known as Goatess. Purgatory Under New Management and Blood and Wine were both warmly received by Saunders in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Following the departure of founding guitarist Niklas Jones afterwards, the remaining members decided to rebrand as Goddess. Does the debut Ritual of the Cloven Hoof herald a divine ascension for these horned disciples?

By and large, Goddess doesn’t sound all that different from Goatess. The core songwriting pillars are still the lumbering, looping grooves of Electric Wizard and the swaggering, bluesy stoner riffs of Sleep. Karl-Martin Bruhe, who was also the vocalist on Blood and Wine, has a gravelly, smoky edge to his voice that adds a good amount of pep. He reminds me a bit of Aganoor’s Dan Ghostrider, albeit in a less grungy, more chilled-out environment. These building blocks, which form the backbone of Ritual of the Cloven Hoof, may seem simple on the surface, but they are arranged in different combinations to produce an impressive variety of power levels as the record unfolds.

Goddess is at their best when they play at either extreme of this spectrum of intensity. My favorite moment in “Inquisition” occurs midway through when they take a break from the traditional licks and grooves, switching to hypnotic tom rhythms which combine perfectly with the psyched-out guitars. This style is also used to great effect in the intro of “To Be King,” which gradually ramps up and culminates with some unexpectedly vicious growls and snarls in the final verse. Ritual of the Cloven Hoof would have benefitted from more of this aggression, which is otherwise absent outside of a brief moment towards the end of “Blood Fever.” Drummer Kenta Karlblom is perhaps the most important influence, making the ebb and flow feel natural, with subtle yet satisfying fills and transitions.

As I spent more time with Ritual of the Cloven Hoof, I noticed an inverse relationship between song length and song quality. “Godless” and “Born Again Heathen” are solid enough slabs of doom metal, but they spread too few riffs over too many minutes. The latter feels especially plodding and could have done without the spoken word segment or such a long psychedelic jam in the middle. The upbeat hard rock riffs that open the next (and shortest overall) track “Devil’s Reef,” are like a breath of fresh air afterward. That said, the total runtime is a tight 38 minutes, which is much more digestible compared with the hour-plus runtimes of all three Goatess records.

With Ritual of the Cloven Hoof, Goddess picks up right where Goatess left off without missing a beat. Prior fans will not be disappointed by this new incarnation. Goddess continues to traverse a wide swath within classic doom and stoner rock, at times thick and weighty and others mesmerizing and easygoing. Ritual of the Cloven Hoof resolves prior issues of overall bloat, although some of the longer tracks overstay their welcome. Slower stretches notwithstanding, stoner doom enthusiasts willing to undertake this pilgrimage will uncover ample rewards from this ritual.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Majestic Mountain Records
Websites: goddessbandofficial.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/baldersounds
Releases Worldwide: May 22nd, 2026

#2026 #30 #Aganoor #DoomMetal #ElectricWizard #Goatess #Goddess #HardRock #MajesticMountainRecords #May26 #PsychedelicRock #Review #Reviews #RitualOfTheClovenHoof #Sleep #StonerMetal #SwedishMetal

Witching Hour – Descending… Where Time Has Ceased to Exist Review By Kenstrosity

German black/thrash/heavy metal trio Witching Hour return for your soul, eight long years since their last outburst ...and Silent Grief Shadows the Passing Moon. Alongside contemporaries like Nocturnal, Cruel Force, and Manzer, Witching Hour’s recent output has been well-received by critics and audiences alike. This puts the upcoming Decending… Where Time Has Ceased to Exist, Witching Hour’s fourth release in 20 years, in a prime position to compete well in its field. Will Descent… lead to greatness or will Witching Hour fumble the landing?

In some ways, they’ve threatened both. Witching Hour are an incredibly talented bunch, deftly straddling fences between black metal char, heavy metal righteousness, and thrash metal vitriol. Descending…’s warm and natural tones enhance these qualities, presenting a product that is easy on the ear while deadly to the spine. Songs build around long-form structures, with the shortest cut measuring over six minutes (not counting the fluffy instrumental intro), but overall runtime slots in at a tight 43 minutes. This makes repeat listens easy to approach. Sounds like everything is in place to secure a high score on the board, right?

Unfortunately, the songwriting lets Descending… down. Witching Hour’s latest epic suffers the same flaw as its predecessor: a lack of compositional dynamics and an overabundance of recycled parts. Each song taken out of the whole makes a compelling case. “Where Time Has Ceased to Exist” sets the bar quite high for the rest of the record, churning with a heavy metal swagger and roaring with spirit through epic leads, scorching tremolos, and thrashy switch-ups. Similarly, “Profane Resurrection of a Presumed Dead” hooks its claws into the brain with an insidious chorus bark and fiery guitar and percussion work. However, when unified as a whole, it’s all too easy to interchange phrases and measures between songs without fragmenting the experience. I can place my mark on two opposite sides—and stick a couple more pins in the center—and the same riffing motif, similar leads and flourishes, suspiciously familiar vocal runs, and the exact same bass-snare alternation greet me.

Doubly damning, epic 11-minute closer “…and Then Came the Flames” showcases all of these issues in a microcosm, establishing a concise summary of everything heard thus far. And just like the others, taken out of the album context, the song rocks. Reminiscent of the same kind of grand, hellish adventure that Bütcher so gloriously captures on 666 Goats Carry My Chariot, “…and Then Came the Flames” feels complete, exciting, and wild, at least at first. As the track progresses, recycled parts and pieces cheapen the experience until I’m desperate to jump off the boat as it reaches shore. This mirrors my experience with the album as a whole. Fun and entertaining in the initial throes, it becomes a slog to get through in remarkably short order. By the time the closer wraps up, I’ve heard multiple iterations of the same ideas, spliced and arranged to deceive me into believing, if only for a moment, that I could pick any of these songs (minus the opener proper) out of a lineup without a cheat sheet.

Confounding as it is, Witching Hour represents a clash between having great ideas and writing songs that don’t adequately support or develop them. Instead, Descending… drops their best work into a sea of repetitive structures and monotonous bloat in the hopes that observers might then discern and appreciate them. With at least a half dozen spins under my belt at the time of writing, I did indeed find worthy gems to take home—and when isolated from the collection, those gems really sparkle. However, those rewards don’t quite justify the expanse of fluff and drag that bog Descending… down. In another world where Witching Hour invoked a greater variety of techniques, tempos, and textures to fortify their compositions and bring reliability to excitement, this record would’ve been a barnburner. As it is, it never truly catches fire, and leaves me wanting.

Rating: Disappointing…
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: May 22nd, 2026

#20 #2026 #BlackMetal #BlackThrash #Bütcher #CruelForce #DecendingWhereTimeHasCeasedToExist #DyingVictimsProductions #GermanMetal #HeavyMetal #Manzer #May26 #Nocturnal #Review #Reviews #ThrashMetal #WitchingHour

Sarcasm – Lifeforce Omnibound Review By Alekhines Gun

We get a lot of bold claims in the promo pit. It’s understandable; writing advertisements for music sounds like a thankless task, and no one is going to submit an album telling us that it’s a smidgen above mediocrity.1 No, everything death has to be the most moldy, blackened, the most evil, stoner the most groovy, and power the most disposable and ignored album we’ve ever heard in our life. Imagine my eyebrows raising, then, to discover a new offering from Swedish mainstays Sarcasm, who simply described themselves as being more than just Swedeath. Few genres in metal have such imposed and strict limitations, from guitar tones to riff stylings, and one second sampling Feral or Lik and their ilk make the expected sound clear from the get-go. Consequently, such a bold claim of genre transcendence stands out in the face of a sea of self-aggrandizement, and all I could think was the most un-sarcastic “Sold.”

In order to be “more” than Swedeath, you still need the foundation to build on, and Sarcasm drapes their meat and lifeblood on the bones of great fossils of olde. Lifeforce Omnibound kicks off with a balls-out assault sounding composed by Vomitory but with a grasp of leads that seek to Dismember listeners far and wide. The path of the album is one that unfurls its more progressive tendencies the deeper you go, starting like a high-grade tribute to their 90s selves but getting more curious as it unfolds. “Altering the Perception” is a key example; starting off like a cut off of At the Gate’s At War With Reality, and featuring vibrant leads and a Gothenburg flavored stomp in its perpetual revolving assault. Suddenly, bursts of color reminiscent of Dark Tranquility emphasize transitional passages, and an overreliance on the stereotypical snare-and-bass drumbeat plaguing much of Swedeath is mercifully absent, instead featuring sudden aggressive riffing styles more reminiscent of New York-style brawl.

The whole of Lifeforce Omnibound is riddled with such flourishes, working hard to buck genre expectations. “The Reward of Adversity” offers listeners a relaxing Wombbath with a full piano and violin break, which slots excellently between the 6/8 violence, while “Plunged Into a Paradox” channels the more progressive melodic tremolos from Analepsy’s Quiescence.2 Speaking of tremolos, much of the album comes with a distinctly blackened edge, especially with Jesper Ojala’s Watain-influenced drumming style, and vocalist Heval Bozarslan features a much higher range and sneering shriek compared to the genre’s usual guttural fare. “Wayward Fragments of Infinite Divisibility” flirts briefly with slam tendencies before collapsing into an absolute BOP of a china-and-high-hat centric dissonant riff modern Pestilence would be proud to sign their name to, only to rush into well executed melo-death shred prowess. Sarcasm have offered up an album which is loyal to its genre roots, but under no circumstances allows itself to sit still and be confined to its labels.

All of these names and influences sound like this album could be an unfocused disaster, but nothing could be further from the truth. Compositional excellence allows Sarcasm to slide between moods like they were headbanging between the raindrops, and few elements detract from the overall experience. True, Lifeforce Omnibound does have more than a few spoken word sections, which halt the momentum as all spoken word sections in albums do. Regretfully, it also sounds like Sarcasm ran out of different ideas near the end, coasting to the finish line with a concluding track which is the most traditional sounding song on the album, albeit a quality one. Still, there’s always room for MOAR Swedeath in life, and for an ending to be merely anticlimactic is hardly the worst sin an album can commit.

To my delighted surprise, Sarcasm did it. Lifeforce Omnibound is nominally Swedeath, and yet the sheer glut of sounds I hear pouring through my headphones shows a band not content to spin their wheels and live on the laurels of vintage sounds of yore. An excellent approach to disparaging elements and a seamless fusion of neighboring ones, Sarcasm have created an album that transcends the sum of its parts to be something truly enjoyable. If you’re one of those who have turned away from Swedeath due to a lack of growth in the sound, hop on this immediately. Yes, really.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Hammerheart Records
Website: Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

#2026 #35 #Analepsy #AtTheGates #DarkTranquility #Dismember #Feral #HammerheartRecords #LifeforceOmnibound #LIK #May26 #Pestilence #Review #Reviews #Sarcasm #SwedishDeathMetal #Vomitory #Watain #Wommbath

Hecate Enthroned – The Corpse of a Titan, a Lament Long Buried Review By Owlswald

Black metal veterans Hecate Enthroned have spent decades trying to step out of Cradle of Filth’s shadow—and not without reason. The two are widely credited with helping shape the UK black metal scene, sharing close stylistic similarities and even swapping a member or two at various points. In the late ’90s, they were nearly as inseparable as a pair of sultry vampiric twins until Cradle of Filth’s theatrical bombast launched them into the mainstream, landing their merch in Hot Topic stores and on the backs of angsty teenagers everywhere. Meanwhile, Hecate Enthroned remained largely underground. Over the course of six albums, they’ve largely stayed true to their sound, and while consistent, their discography has often felt average. 2019’s Embrace of the Godless Aeon was no different, receiving a modest rating from these hallowed halls. Their seventh effort, The Corpse of a Titan, A Lament Long Buried, harkens the return of these blackened aficionados after a seven-year break, and given these lads’ history, curiosity led me to snag Corpse from the promo bin.

Continuing the trajectory set by its predecessor, Corpse pushes Hecate Enthroned further into Emperor’s nocturnal, foreboding soundscapes rather than Cradle of Filth’s, injecting some fresh touches that come as a pleasant surprise. Tracks like “Steed of the Still Water,” “Spirits Stir Within Our Ancestors Tombs” and “The Arcane Golem” elicit solid songwriting and build on the same orchestral arrangements Lord Doom previously deemed gutless. This time, however, the symphonics feel more varied, robust, and commanding, often drawing my attention amid the group’s tight and confident performances. Corpse also ventures into atmo-black territory on songs like “Deathless in the Dryad Glade” and “Steed of the Still Water,” while vocalist Joe Stamps adds welcome variety to the classic Dani Filth-esque shrieks of albums past with a smattering of demonic growls and coarse shouts that lend a sharper edge previously missing.

Hecate Enthroned’s sharp performances, well-executed melodic passages, and occasional bursts of groove and heaviness reinforce that these are seasoned veterans who understand their craft. Throughout Corpse—especially in its first half—there are numerous moments that suggest a more focused version of the group is finally emerging. “The Arcane Golem” and “Spirits Stir Within Our Ancestors Tombs” pair incisive tremolos with hooky riffing and cinematic orchestral flourishes, while Stamps’ rasp and growl attack cuts through the mix with authority. Similarly, “Deathless in the Dryad Glade” and “Steed of the Still Water” highlight the sextet’s melodic instincts and sense of dynamics, weaving vulnerable, atmo-black-inspired intros into blazing tremolos, acoustic and violin textures, and piano accents that coalesce into some of the album’s best moments. The latter’s opening groove and added vocal heft make it one of the record’s most complete cuts, standing out clearly from the rest.

While Hecate Enthroned’s musicianship is rarely in doubt, the record’s high points constantly clash with its more persistent shortcomings. Long runtimes, abrupt transitions, and questionable structural choices—like the six‑minute interlude “Pwca,” which builds to nothing, or the jarring segue that kills the momentum of “A Gallery of Rotting Portraits”—are frustrating because they erode Corpse’s potential. And at 53-minutes, the album’s songwriting is often too bloated for the material it contains. Several tracks stretch past seven minutes despite having ideas suited for far shorter runtimes, resulting in repetition and stagnation. Mid-song atmospheric interludes also routinely overstay their welcome and muddled thematic and structural decisions only compound things. The outcome is a record where the standout moments feel like exceptions rather than the rule and where uneven, overextended songwriting undermines Hecate Enthroned’s skill.

The phrase “what you see is what you get” applies perfectly here, as Corpse largely walks the well-trodden path Hecate Enthroned have been treading for over twenty years. A great record has long eluded these Brits, and the streak continues with Corpse. I enjoyed several cuts on this record, and it was close to coalescing into something greater, but inconsistent songwriting, structural missteps, and homogeneity limit its upside. Corpse’s strengths prove Hecate Enthroned still have the technical ability and atmospheric instincts to craft compelling symphonic black metal, even if they appear too sporadically to define Corpse as a whole. Longtime fans will certainly find lots to be excited about here and likely appreciate how faithfully they’ve stayed true to their roots while pushing other aspects forward. For listeners like me, however, Hecate Enthroned remain adrift in a crowded black sea of similarly minded bands that are competent, occasionally compelling, but far from essential.

Rating: Mixed
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: M-Theory
Websites: Bandcamp | hecateenthroned.com | facebook.com/HecateEnthroned
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

#25 #2026 #AtmosphericBlackMetal #BlackMetal #BritishMetal #CradleOfFilth #Emperor #HecateEnthroned #MTheory #May26 #Review #Reviews #TheCorpseOfATitanALamentLongBuried

Gozu – Gozu VI Review By Creeping Ivy

In my continuing exploration of Boston bands, the promo pit exhaled the latest from a stoner stalwart. Gozu have been dispensing their hybrid strain of stoner rock/metal since 2007, with riffmeisters Marc Gaffney (vocals, guitar) and Doug Sherman (lead guitar) serving as the only consistent members. Current bassist Joseph Grotto joined Gozu for Revival (2016), and Seth Botos began helming the drums on Remedy (2023), the band’s most recent output. Since their move to Metal Blade Records for Equilibrium (2018), Gozu have increasingly poppified their sound as Gaffney grows into a more versatile vocalist. Still, these Boston veterans haven’t abandoned their identity; catchy choruses sweeten a familiar beanpot of droney riffs. Also intact is their tongue-in-cheek humor; this is a band that named a song “Charles Bronson Pinchot” in 2012 and another “Tom Cruise Control” in 2023. As the first Gozu album to be covered on AMG, Gozu VI will achieve ‘wicked pissah’ status by continuing the band’s trend of refining their sound while maintaining their signature charm.

On the stoner continuum, Gozu veers closer to rock than metal while straddling the line. Indeed, this Boston quartet pack Clutch’s shuffling grooves (“Corinthian Leatherface”), Corrosion of Conformity’s bluesy dirges (“Midnight Express”), and Motörhead’s straight-ahead speed (“Banacek”) into their musical chamber. Gaffney and Sherman’s simple yet satisfying riffs hit listeners by way of production as warm and fuzzy as a Bay State bruin. Sometimes, the riffing is just as ferocious. On the excellently titled (and almost certainly referential) “Gimme the Lute,” fretboard gymnastics mingle with driving chugs and soupy sludge that feels more metallic than geological. Though new to the Gozu crew, Grotto and Botos form a serviceable rhythm section that doesn’t necessarily shine, but that understands the assignment: let the riffs (and vocals) pop. Avoiding the monotony of stoner metal and the banality of stoner rock, Gozu VI strikes a salutary balance.

In his role as vocalist, Gaffney elevates Gozu by displaying a varied arsenal of skills. His voice recalls Neil Fallon of Clutch but with a grunge coloring that’s more nose than chin (think Weiland, not Vedder). Gaffney’s choruses shift between nimble croons suiting the livelier tracks (“Corinthian Leatherface”) and diaphragm-ed belts fitting the doomier cuts (“Midnight Express”). Throughout the album, he tucks falsetto harmonies into his main lines, blending major and minor tonality in a manner akin to Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots. ”Corner Lariat” stands as Gaffney’s most ambitious and arresting performance, threading tender verses through a big, wistful chorus, broaching power ballad territory. Not every verse and chorus on Gozu VI knocks it out of Fenway, but enough do to give Gozu a pure listenability that most stoner acts do not possess.

At 8 tracks in 46 minutes, Gozu VI mostly delivers a cohesive album experience. “Corinthian Leatherface” gets this Boston Tea Party started strong, effortlessly tossing energetic riffs and sugary hooks off the side of the Stoner Ship in a rebellious yet controlled demonstration.1 From there, the album intermittently slows down, culminating with the pensive power of “Corner Lariat.” This is a solid run of tracks, though “Killer Khan” comes off as a bit redundant (and has some ham-fisted profanities). “Banacek” picks the pace back up, adding a unique freneticism to the album via interplay between Gaffney’s chunky power chords and Sherman’s wild shredding. Closing out the album is a scattershot three-track run. “Gimme the Lute” doles out some of the finest riffwork on Gozu VI, but “They Did Know Karate”2 suffers from bloat, while closer “Corvette Summer” anticlimactically fades out.

Gozu VI is, undoubtedly, a pissah. Gaffney, Sherman, and crew are pros who know how to produce high-quality jams built around strong riffs and vocal hooks. Stoner rock/metal proves a challenging paradigm within which to produce truly standout material, but Gozu come as close as I could imagine with their sixth LP. There’s nothing really innovative about Gozu VI, but there’s also nothing terribly wrong with it, and a lot to enjoy. While I hesitate to qualify their latest offering as ‘wicked,’ I don’t at all hesitate to recommend Gozu VI to anyone looking for a familiar, fun time.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Metal Blade Records | Blacklight Media Records
Websites: Official | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: May 15th, 2026

#2026 #30 #BlacklightMediaRecords #Clutch #CorrosionOfConformity #Gozu #GozuVI #May26 #MetalBladeRecords #Motörhead #Review #Reviews #Soundgarden #StoneTemplePilots #StonerMetal #StonerRock #USMetal

Ana – Motivated by Death Review By Andy-War-Hall

So, what’s happening here is Australian symphonic metalers Ana and their debut record, Motivated by Death are set on pioneering a new sub-sub-genre. “Couture metal.” For the blue-jeans-and-band-tees wearers among us, couture fashion is all about expressive, customized statements in clothing, often expensive and always personalized. This is an evident visual influence for Ana, and musically the band cites their style as “a sophisticated, upscale evolution of the craft that prioritizes high-fashion theatricality alongside punishing sonic precision.” Fewer corsets, more spandex. One thing’s for sure, Ana have bought into themselves: they have a series of comics in the works written in tandem with their music,1 as well as a documentary film titled Watch Me as I Rise.2 But what about Motivated by Death? Their album, for their music band? Does it live up to the hoo-ha, or is Ana’s rising star a premature liftoff?

Ana are banking on the power of Y2K nostalgia on Motivated by Death. Early-aughts goth, symphonic, and nü metals comprise the core of Ana’s sound, with choruses sounding like Nightwish taking on Evanescence and Evanescence taking on Powerman 5000. Guitarist Josh Mak’s riffs shift between metalcore chugs, nü/alt-rock power chords, and gallops while drummer Andres Osorio and bassist Cody Lamb keep Motivated by Death consistently groovy and moving. There’s a smörgåsbord of synth sounds at keyboardist Mark Shi’s disposal, and when shredding alongside Mak Ana have a surprising knack for showy solos (“Shadow of Life,” “Papa”). Vocalist Anna Hristenko is, predictably, the crux of Ana’s sound, layering Motivated by Death with sultry, classically-inspired but pop-informed bars. She brings gravity to Ana along with unquestionable showmanship, and when Motivated by Death is kicking it recalls not only this millennium’s early rock/metal scene but a time when pop music was more audacious and bombastic.

But Motivated by Death often feels too overly calculated for its own good. Ana make sure to hit all of the beats of a radio hit on Motivated by Death. There’s the booming opener with “Hate Me” followed by the cyber goth panache of “Shadow of Life,” its one-two punch showing listeners that they got both the riffs and hooks they crave. There are two ballads, one power in “You Loved Me More than I Loved Myself” and one Evanescence’s “My Immortal” in “Sick Love” so radio has a choice in what they want play to death. Ana even outsourced a closer by covering System of a Down’s “Aerials,” safely assuring Motivated by Death ends well (in theory). What makes this mathematical approach especially jarring is that Motivated by Death is a very short album, barely hitting thirty-five minutes. Ana just fly through the motions, the listener’s every emotion carefully road-mapped along the way. Motivated by Death feels like a proof-of-concept for Ana, not their debut.

Motivated by Death is also just messy. Ana’s core symphonic sound is imbued with so many Y2K-era rock stylings that there’s hardly enough time spent on one thing to figure out what Motivated by Death is. Its diversity works against memorability; “Eyes of a Child” features a sitar riff in its bridge, and Hristenko breaks out her operatic chops on “Papa,” and yet I forget these things even happen every time. Hristenko is a powerful singer, but clumsy phrasings in the verses of “Sick Love” and “Aerials” leave them feeling awkward, while her declaration of “Listen up you motha fuckeeeeeers!” in “Following the Wind” isn’t aggressive or cheeky enough to land convincingly. Motivated by Death is not helped by Ana’s insistence on loudness and its radio-made production that makes the drums sound like plastic cans and robs any of the dynamics songs like “You Loved Me More than I Loved Myself” and “Aerials” need.3 Motivated by Death sounds like Ana were throwing things at the wall and seeing what stuck. Not enough stuck, and what did doesn’t work too well together.

I fear that Motivated by Death isn’t the statement Ana were hoping for. Ana are a talented, driven bunch, and there’s no doubt there’s a market for what they do. It’s not all bad—”Shadow of Life” slaps and “Sick Love” can be pretty moving at times4—but both playing it safe and half-baking your album is a bad combo. Despite its truncated runtime Motivated by Death proves a slog to get through. I could see a world where I stick up for Ana, one where they’re more bold-faced and adventurous, and I’m getting wedgied for liking “couture metal.” Right now, that’s not this one.

Rating: Bad
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Eclipse Records
Websites: anaband.com.au | facebook.com/ana.band.0fficial
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

Show 4 footnotes

Funnily enough, just like Psyclops and their album I reviewed not long ago. Ana didn’t send me a link to theirs and I’m taking that personally. It looks cool, though! ↩

Which I can’t find anywhere. ↩

It’s taken a great effort from myself to not spend half of this review complaining about the “Aerials” cover. It feels like one of those YouTube “EPIC Orchestral” remixes I can’t stand. Omitting the vocal harmonies in the chorus, putting plastic drum fills all over it, and making the ending climactic misses what makes “Aerials” marvelous. However, it’s still not the worst cover out there. ↩

The line “No, I don’t believe in God, but still I want to pray” rings sincere, man. ↩

#15 #2026 #AltMetal #Ana #AustralianMetal #Evanescence #May26 #MotivatedByDeath #Nightwish #Powerman5000 #Psyclops #Review #Reviews #SymphonicMetal #SystemOfADown

The Scalar Process – Agnomysticism Review By ClarkKent

Though my first published review here at Angry Metal Guy was back in September 2024, it was on May 30, 2025, that I officially escaped n00bdom with my review of Rivers of Nihil’s self-titled album. As I approach my one-year anniversary, it seems appropriate to grab a promo that styles itself after the progressive tech-death of Rivers of Nihil. Thus, enter The Scalar Process with their sophomore outing, Agnomysticism. Not only do they sound kind of like Rivers of Nihil, but they even borrow Andy Thomas for a guest spot on one song. The Scalar Process formed in 2016, but didn’t release any material until 2021’s Coagulative Matter. It took another five years to release the follow-up, with a new drummer, additional guitarist and bassist. Having never heard these guys before, I picked up Agnomysticism in the hope of it being closer in quality to Xenotaph than Rivers of Nihil. Have the metal gods blessed these guys with supreme musical talent?

On Agnomysticism, The Scalar Process plays a synth-heavy tech death that blends speedy precision with calm ambiance. They have much in common with Fallujah and The Zenith Passage, though not the technicality in their riffs. The riffs featured here are largely of the bland chugging Rivers of Nihil variety, though with a few neat arpeggiated segments and solos here and there. Synths are omnipresent, adding a general atmospheric quality rather than hooks. Songs frequently begin with light atmospherics such as synths, trems, or arpeggios before diving into the heavy stuff. There’s less interest in creating original, catchy riffs of the kind you hear on Xenotaph or Datalysium. When songs get speedy and loud, they just sound flat—bland blast beats with non-descript riffs and Mathieu Lefevre’s monotone growls. Honestly, if it weren’t for the tempo changes, you’d hardly notice the passage from track to track.

Agnomysticism contains a collection of songs that are clean, clinical, and cold. With tech-death you expect to feel something of the sublime—the awe and wonder of musical passages (Stortregn’s Impermanence) or something that compels your body to move (Archspire). Yet, The Scalar Process appears content to emotionally distance themselves from their musical creation. The main ingredient in this distance is an apparent allergy to hooks. Any time a promising riff starts up, such as on “A Breathing Moment,” it just as quickly dissipates. The Scalar Process take their progressive structure and turn it into a sort of improvisational free-for-all where passages just don’t have room to develop. “A Breathing Moment” perfectly encapsulates this, as it ends on a disappointing fade-out just as it appears on the verge of going somewhere interesting. The Scalar Process do play some neat riffs now and then, with a solo on “Illness” from Justin McKinney (The Zenith Passage) being the best. But other attempts at hooks don’t work, such as a 30-second guest spot from Andy Thomas, whose cleans fall flat.

Could this just be another The Flesh Prevails? The compression on Agnomysticism is so crushed that the music—riffs, synths, drums, vocals—all become an indistinguishable mishmash until the quieter ambient segments. Where many times bands use these quieter moments to help build tension before a release of intense music, here the passages largely serve to give your ears a rest. Even on the lowest possible volume on my headphones, I found the loudness unbearable. The best-sounding songs are the full-length ambient instrumental interludes, “Affluent Marea” and “Sigil.” However, though they serve as a welcome rest for the ears, they sound more at home on an elevator than on a tech-death record. A better production would make this a more tolerable listen, but it would hardly fix all the issues plaguing Agnomysticism.

It’s rare that an album leaves me feeling so cold as Agnomysticism. It flies by in 45 minutes and leaves no real impression. I’ll give credit for a few impressive technical passages here and there, but otherwise, I’m not sure what The Scalar Process accomplishes. Where’s the passion? It just feels so aloof and meandering without purpose, and the mixing ensures you can’t properly hear it anyway. In the end, it’s a record you’ll struggle to recall as soon as you finish listening to it.

Rating: 1.5/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Site
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

#15 #2026 #Agnomysticism #Archspire #Fallujah #FrenchMetal #May26 #ProgressiveDeath #ProgressiveTechnicalDeathMetal #Review #Reviews #RiversOfNihil #Stortregn #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheScalarProcess #TheZenithPassage #TranscendingObscurityRecords

Leatherwitch – First Spell Review By Grin Reaper

When Crystal Viper disbanded last August, the Polish power metallers left behind a consistent catalogue of (mostly) good-to-great albums. Shuttering the project left me with pangs of sorrow for what might have been and closed the chapter on a band I’ve followed since Queen of the Witches. In his review of that album, Grier loosed one of his most lucid and succinct observations to date: ‘Marta Gabriel kicks ass.’ That was true throughout Crystal Viper’s discography, and I’m happy to report it remains true on First Spell—Gabriel’s solo debut under the Leatherwitch banner. Yet it takes more than kicking ass to deliver great tunes. Shed of her former band, we must judge whether this Leatherwitch ensorcels with her First Spell, or if the incantation leaves us thinking, ‘Witch, please.’

Fans of Crystal Viper will find the transition to Leatherwitch as smooth as changing lanes on the open freeway, and just as inviting. First Spell boasts a slew of tracks that ache to be played at volumes unsafe for car stereos and eardrums, and that’s repeatedly how I engaged with it. Compared to Gabriel’s former band, Leatherwitch conjures a more stripped-down heavy metal mostly divested of power trappings. Just don’t mistake streamlined for simplistic—First Spell enchants with hook-studded earworms and invokes the likes of Running Wild, Iron Maiden and Warlock. In total, Leatherwitch’s debut punches with the force of a semi at cruising speed, and throughout First Spell Gabriel casts beguiling heavy metal moxie.

Crystal Viper ended on a tremendous burst of heavy power, and given how many responsibilities Marta Gabriel shouldered on their swan song,1 Leatherwitch feels like a natural progression. First and foremost, Gabriel is the consummate frontwoman, flaunting charismatic vocals that spellbind with might and conviction. Songs “Heroes and the Dice,” “Living in the Fast Lane,” and “The New Beginning” showcase her vocal range and grit, establishing her magnetic presence. Unsatisfied to limit her performance to vocals, Gabriel lays down memorable leads (“Living in the Fast Lane”), classic heavy metal riffcraft (“Two Tons of Steel”) and brawny low-end heft (“Silver Stallions,” where the bass tone immediately evokes Seventh Son) across First Spell’s runtime. The only aspect where Leatherwitch falls short is the drumming. It’s perfectly serviceable, but compared to other performances, the kit-work remains conspicuously tucked in the shadows.

Evaluated as a whole, Leatherwitch delivers a catchy album that never errs, yet takes few risks. The strengths of First Spell stem from Gabriel’s vocals and winsome songwriting, a consistent thread carried over from Crystal Viper. While I’m unsure why she made the decision to pursue a solo venture, Marta proves that she more than meets the challenge with Leatherwitch. Across forty-three minutes of unpretentious heavy metal, songs entice me to repeat them immediately (particularly “Heroes and the Dice” and “Living in the Fast Lane”), their melodies firmly lodged in my gray matter. The production aids Leatherwitch’s uncomplicated approach, granting plenty of room for the instrumentation and vocals to stake their claim in the mix without stepping on toes. The only interruption to First Spell’s summoning comes from “The New Beginning,” which offers a reprieve from the album’s otherwise aggressive pacing. While slower songs can mitigate otherwise homogenous tempos, just because a song is slow doesn’t mean it has to be long. At over seven-and-a-half minutes, “The New Beginning” could be trimmed and be more effective for it. Otherwise, Leatherwitch crafts chest-thumping, fist-pumping anthems for metalheads of any stripe.2

First Spell doesn’t change the course of metal, but with it Leatherwitch bestows a worthy entry into the annals of classic heavy metal thunder. First Spell supplies a welcome respite from life’s burdens—music you can get lost in, especially with the windows down and an open stretch of road ahead. Though I was initially disheartened by Crystal Viper’s demise, Leatherwitch renews my hope and convinces me that Gabriel’s vision hasn’t dulled for the change. Whatever hex comes next for Leatherwitch, I’ll be ready for Marta’s magic.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 11 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Listenable Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026

#2026 #35 #CrystalViper #FirstSpell #HeavyMetal #IronMaiden #Leatherwitch #ListenableRecords #May26 #PolishMetal #QueenOfTheWitches #Review #Reviews #RunningWild #Warlock