Poison Ruin : "Hymns From the Hills"

 

Philly punks Poison Run continue to improve with each album. This one finds them settling into some of their catchiest and most melodic songwriting yet. This does not make them any less punk; in fact, it connects them more closely to the classic punk of the late 70s. The vocals show the most improvement. Despite theming the songs around the Middle Ages, there is an almsot more Western feel to the rambling title track. It is more straightforward and less nuanced than the opening track, but it works for what they are doing, though I hope there are more moments like the opening song.

Things embrace a more punk attack for "Eidolon" though the guitar parts are more intricate and ring out in more of a Brian May fashion, bringing a song like "Tie Your Mother Down" to mind. "Howls From the Citadel" is almsot a folkish ballad that feels more like an interlude. They carry a more Motorhead like charge with the commanding metal-tinged riffs of " Pilgrimage." Even a song like the more punk "Guts" is allowed a middle section where it gets to breathe a bit, showing the maturity of their songwriting this time around. 

They hit you with their older style of gritty punk with "Turn to Dust". He howls with a throatier tone. A punk tone rumbles into the more thoughtful chords of "Puzzle Box" which are given more dissonant accents, showcasing the level of songwriting on this album, you don't always hear from punk. Even with the vocals of "Serpent's Curse" more spoken for the verses, the song works well. 

"Sleeping Giant" is pretty majestic sounding, but it's more of an intro into the rowdy gallop of "Crescent Sun" which is likea rust punk version of Motorhead. Much of this is due to the big sound of the bass driving it. Despite the more blackened feel of the bombast leading into the last song, it's just your typical punk song leading into it, though a second listen shows the vocals are more subtle than you might expect, and once again they are writing songs rather than jsut bashing it out. Almost more like Social Distortion.  I will give this album a 10 as it' one of the best punk albums I've heard in some time, this is the album to beat this year for sure.Drops April 3rd on Relapse Records.  

Intoxicated : "the Dome"

Florida thrashers Intoxicated, despite being from Orlando, were influenced by the Tampa scene and about an hour and a half south of them, which of course leaned towards the more death metal side of the genre, and that can be heard even in 2026. They have been around since the mid-90s, but this is only the band's third full-length. They still retain their knack for writing hooky riffs. The vocals are in a raspy, almost spoken style, making them more articulated, which reminds me a little of Coroner. The title track has less groove than the previous song, as the double bass keeps it more in your face. 

These guys are certainly on the heavier side of thrash. "War Club" is a little more mosh-inducing until it reaches a more death metal speed. Guitar solos fire out from the corners of the song, though not handled as gracefully as the last Coroner album. But more purpose to them than Slayer's guitar chaos. The songs are tight three-minute bursts of old school aggression. There is more ominous intent behind "Tighten Your Eyes". I like the effects they use on the vocals , which gives some kind of variance. alomng with the slower pacing. They do throw in a pretty mean riff to give it more dynamics, making it one of the album's best songs. 

"Unescaped" is more hammering. It's also a little straightforward in terms of dynamics and sonic colors. The same could be said for "It's Dead," which glides on a tauntly picked riff. You can hear a touch of death in the verses. Some riffs have a hookier punch than others. "Shifted Cross" finds the guitar twisting and turning over the double bass's flow, continuing to pour on the death metal influence. "Rake the Grate" has a more Slayer-esque riff, with its pummelling groove. The last song has more groove but feels like it is riding the momentum of the previous song. 

The Verdict

Since I listen to hundreds of new metal albums every year and have been listening to thrash like this since the 80s, it is clear they are good at what they do, but if feels like they are just maintaining their vigor, which is impressive considering how far they go back but not experimenting with the formula enough to break new ground. I will give thi album a 9, meaning it's at the top of the game when it comes to bringing what you want from thrash, but offers nothing new to put it in the top tier of all new metal coming out, but thrash fans will find this worth their time.

 It drops March 27th on Redefining Darkness

TRAITRS : "POSSESSOR

The Canadian post-punks are back. They open their newest album with the lead single "Burn in Heaven," which is grooving and dark enough to be in regular rotation at goth clubs everywhere.  It bridges the organic guitar focus of post-punk with the slinking slither of dark-wave to fit nicely into the goth paradigm. Synths play a larger role in setting up." I Was Ill, You Were Wrong".  It falls back into a mood rather than a groove, like the previous song, though it grows on me with each listen. The hook is subtle when he announces it's a sea of sadness. 

On "Seven Fictions," the bass line steers the track toward a more Cure-like direction, with his emotive vocals adding a whine that only deepens this comparison. But it works well as a song, though I am not sure I want the album to only relentlessly pursue this kind of tribute moving forward. \"Cold Skin" is more of an atmospheric ballad, that finds the overwrought plea of the vocals the only thing anchoring them to Robert Smith's zipcode as it drifts toward shoegazing. 

It might be due to the fact I am such a huge fan of the Cure, but I hear "The Hanging Garden" a little too much in "Selfish Hunger". Things move in a more Cold Cave-like direction for "Prayertaker". It's more like older Cold Cave, which works well enough for me.  I can also hear a little Clan of Xymox in the overall mood at times. "Dream Drowning" fassked me out as the intro made it sound like they were going for something that sounded too much like "A Forest," but once the song kicks in, there is a dancier feel that reminds me of the early 2000s brand of post-punk revivalism that kept the dark flame burning, bringing us to where we are today. 

The last three songs ran together after a casual listen, forcing me to go back and listen with a clsoer ear to sort out what was going on. "Mourn" is more of a brief ballad. It carries a great deal of desperation in its plea, but is subtle in its minimalistic pout. The beat to "Japanese Picture Pony" picks up the pace ajnd add more dance in the step of the otherwise thickly introspective languishing the album does. "Crawl" is a depressive ballad that finds its joy in wallowing. I will give this album a 9.5, even for all its Cure worship and ballads halting the momentum, it sounds great, and there is a depth to the melodies that make you a believer in the moping going down here. 

 

Exodus : "Goliath"

I liked the band's 2021 album, but I have not given Rob Dukes much of a chance, despite having worn out the band's first three albums during high school. On the opening track, he is going for the higher snarl that is what helps defines this band's sound then on the second song, he begins to do his own thing a little more, and the song it self is not as inspired as the first track which was such ripping thrash that it caught be by surprised while raising the bar for this album. This is recaptured on "The Changing Me," which chugs along in a more compelling manner. 

Between the sometimes harsher vocals and the nature of the guitar harmonies, they have managed to gracefully update their sound for 2026. This is a little less carried over into "Promise You This," which has a more rock n roll feel. The title track works, but is not what I expect from these guys. It slows down to a doomier pace and has cascades of guitar arpeggios flowing over it. As a contrast, "Beyond the Event Horizon" is a more rapid fire thrashing, in fat it's the fastest song so far. Which I prefer more of a groove, but understand why some fans might seek this out. 

 Dukes sings more than screams on "2 Minutes Hate". This adds to the overall dynamics and makes it the album's second-best song, with the opener still holding the lead for that title. They start "Violence Works" off with more groove. The one thing Gary Holty has brought over from Slayer is the need for a killer guitar tone. Given the Slayer connection, I am surprised they are not bigger than they are, even for a thrash band that was not big on compromise. The first album, they have refined their sound in a more accessible direction with each album until "Fabulous Diseaster".

"Summon of the God Unknown"  opens with the album's most Slayer-like track, resembling the early years very little. In fact, it reminds me more of Pantera, who are playing stadiums, so they obviously have an effective formula. But this is an Exodus album, so  I want things to sound like Exodus, which they have already shown me on this album that they are capable of doing. That is not to say the song is not full of killer riffs, but I listen to Exodus to hear killer Exodus riffs.It is impressive that Tom Hunting is bringing it like this after all these years. Dukes is a pretty good metal vocalist who gets the job done, I jsut wish he retained a more Exodus-like style. The last song finds them locked into a more rapid fire thrashing. Maybe what I am looking for is balance, as they do sound more like Exodus here. I will give this album a 9, as they are bringing it in a way that works in 2026, if you asked me if I thought I was going to get more mileage out of this album or the new Megadeth, the answer would be Megadeth, but if yo uare an Exodus fan this is going to bring you what you want even with the curve balls includes which at least prove it's not a total nostalgia fest. Dropping on Napalm Records. 

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Lungburner : "Dogma"

 

This industrial-strength death metal band comes from Atlanta. They hammer into things with some thoughtful melodic layering of the guitars. The vocals are a little more of an afterthought as they are buried in the mix. The mix is weird on this album and plays as both a weakness and a strength. It leaves space for an atmospheric feel, but since it buries the vocals makes it less song-focused and more about their sound.

"The Sin of Defiance" leaves some room open for melody from the guitars to set the mood. This is more effective than when they are just hammering you, as it shows they care about the songs by creating dynamics. This is something it is easy to take for granted in the larger world of metal, though something I place great emphasis on here.  This is a guitar band, as they are first and foremost when it comes to where the spotlight falls. The vocals are a rather one-dimensional growl, so no big loss that they fall into the guitars. To their credit, they are articulate enough to discern a lyric here and there. 

"The Fall" basks in its own ambiance until they are ready to lay the smack down in a sludged-out manner.  "Apostasy" is more deliberate. The electronic sounds and samples seem to bookend the meat of the music and are not as large a factor as I expected them to be, with some just regular metal riffs dominating a song like "Misery." This could be your average death metal band with an ear for sludgey sounds. I think more variance from the vocals could be useful for them to consider in the future. 

The last song just kinda of feels like your average death doom band with a little more of a stomp to the riff. works for what it is , but is not blowing me away either or demanding me to headbang, perhaps it might if you like your death doom on the dense and dirty side. I really liked how the guitar melodies were layered on the first few songs so it raised my expectations. I will give this one an 8.5, as the melodies the guitar does employ show they care enough about songwriting to put them at the head of the pack when it comes to bands rising from the underground of the Atlanta Metal scene to the world stage, where they we be appreciated by metal heads with more bong-laden eardrums. Being released on Terminus Hate City.

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Moodring : "death fetish"

Moodring is a one-man project that bridges the gap between metalcore and nu-metal. Granted, it is not a big gap given the poppy nature of most modern metalcore. He is a little more intentional in his pop hooks, and there are plenty of electronic flourishes to give things some depth. More emotionally nuanced than, say, Falling in Verse, but not as darkly atmospheric as the more recent Bad Omens, I could see these songs working well with the Welcome to Rockville crowd. 

"Masochistic Machine" is energetic, but the songwriting is less focused. "Gunplay" works a little in this regard, though it brings Korn to mind/ "Anywhere But Here" has a more Deftones feel. If you were to take a section from almsot every big nu-metal song and put them in the blender, the results would be like "STFA" which, thanks to a strong chorus, might be the album's best song. 

"Oxidized' finds them back with a taunt vocal melody for the verses, and a pretty solid groove. If this came out in the late 90s, it would have been next-level shit, and to think it used to take four meth heads at a time to come up with this sort of thing. Taking a nod from pop, the songs are all around the three-minute mark. "Bleed Enough?" is more typical of the metal of the genre despite the Deftones-like chorus. A similar thing can be said for "Sickfuck". 

"Die Slow"  finds the vocals doing most of the heavy lifting to elevate otherwise generic riffs, with a more thoughtful melodic space created in places; it all comes together to make the song work. The last song is poppier, but it is well-written. I will give this album a 9, and see how it grows on me, one of the better new school nu-metal albums I have heard this year. 

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Jarboe : "Sightings"

Jarboe's solo work continues to reach out further into avant-garde sound, more abstract and ambient than her work in Swans. Percussionist Thor Harris from Swans joins her. Textures of strings aid in creating the waves of sound unfolding here. Both Jarbo and Gira have ventured out into sonic regions beyond the outskirts of conventional songwriting, which almost share more in common with free jazz. Here, there is even a more classical feel if we are talking about composers like Johan Adams or Philip Glass. "Francesa Sun" is haunted by a longing. Sparse droning arrangement floating as lightly as her voice carries its almost chanted melody. 

The eerie layering of sounds is not as depressive in its introspection as Swans, but there is a similar sound bath feel as "Soundtracks for the Blind" just achieved through different methods. "The Choir and the Nightfox" is a little darker. It is more of a trance-inducing pulse of sound wrapped into a simple droning melody. "Breathe" is highly meditative, but musically not much, as it consists of bells ringing over ambient synth sounds. This sprawls out for nine mintues. 

"Vireo Seranade" touches on the bird theme that provided the inspiration for this album. It feels like it might be an intro for a Swans song rather than the meat of it. The Sangha mix of the first song comes next, it feels a little more intense in its droning layers, almsot a post-rock vibe. I have enjoyed this album. I got a new puppy and it helps him relax when I put it on. It often reminds me more of what Swans did sonically than some of the Swans post-reunion work. But it is not song-oriented, so I will round it down to a 9, which is still better than what most albums get.

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