May is now two days out the door, so jsut catching up on this as I was trying to get ahead of kicking off June's Death Metal month, and life was being life, so now I am getting caught up, so let's get you abreast of new releases. This might help you, casual readers, with what you might have missed. I am not doing little blurbs on them, just linking the reviews. This helps me organize my lists for the end of the year by listing the album's genre. This does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most. I have albums in my in-box that won't come out until August, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of how much I have listened to them. This month, leaned more on heavy stuff ranging from New Wave to Doom, so perhaps you will find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for May of 2026.
This American band is a staple of the extreme metal scene; they are an aggressive yet dynamic blend of black metal and death metal. The vocal raps are really the only black metal element. As far as the satanic elements, they are pretty much just lyrical. I am not sensing they are darker than any other death metal band of this type, with Deicide and Archgoat being the unholy standards here. A song like "Jesus Fucking Dies" is fun, but on the thrash side of death metal. There is some tremolo-picked guitar in places that blur the lines a little here and there. They are very good at placing the vocals in the right places for maximum effect, as they are spit out as an accent to the faster guitar flowing under what they do.
"Christian Ruse" has more of a groove to its chug, though the vocals are not as memorable in their marginally lower snarl. They do throw in a cool moshy riff for a few measures, but it is not allowed to flourish long enough to get a pit going. You can hear more Slayer influence on this one. The first really blasty moment comes on "Die Your Own Death," which is balanced out by their more thrashing side. There is a more punk feel to "Rotten Messiah" that really lies in the drumming and the loose song structure.
The bass sound, being very prominent in the mix, creates a heavier sound than most bands of this kind. The deliberate nature of "Peukarist" gives the vocals more purpose and makes this one of the album's best songs so far. "In the Flames of Inferno" raced along a more predictable course. A song like "Heavenless" feels darker, which gets the message across more effectively. Though their frontman, Don of the Dead claims that they view Satan as just a philosophical symbol of rebellion, that being actually theistic Satanists, giving them more of a Laveyean stance if they are even into that much. They do branch out enough to delve into the Lucifer mythos on "Lucifer the Light' which is a pretty effective song.
"Cathedral of Stench" hammers at you with a more Morbid Angel-like feel. Then they go full speed thrashing with the feral attack of "Listen to the Lies". They also keep things to a raging one-minute time limit on "Infernal Reign." They end the album with another minute and a half blast of speed with "Spear of Satan". I have heard grindcore bands use this time more effectively than just thrashing at you with their foot on the gas. I will give this album an 8.5; these guys stay true to who they are and do it with some songwriting sensibilities, even as rabidly furious as this album is.
This band from Chicago is bringing it in a very legit fashion. They are dense and hammering with melodic bass playing and riffs that are hooky, not just beating your brains in. The technical aspects are kept in check, and what is impressive is how they pack what they do into three and four-minute songs. "Kill the Priest' does bring more of a full blasting Deicide-inspired decimation to your ears. But they leave room for the vocals. It is not as strong as the first two songs, but it still works for what it is.
"Nyarlathotep" dabbles in the Morbid Angel mythos of Sumerian magic, while offering a thundering double bass undercurrent to the very purposeful riffing. "Apoplectic Delirium" is a denser chug that features a wildly chaotic guitar solo being wanked over it. The first song that holds any trace of a black metal influence is "Covenant of Hate," and that is really only in the beginning. It is a more deliberate song than jsut a blast fest. Though midway through the song, the double bass does speed things up some. But there is a hooky thrash-like riff they return to that gives you something to latch onto.
"Mouth to Hell," however, does find them racing off to give into the need for speed. The vocals croak in a way that brings Immortal to mind. It does drop down into a more convincing groove in the song's third act. "Singularity" rumbles along at your typical death metal chug that is middle of the road for death metal. I will give this album a 9, as it gets the job done more often than not when it comes to the aggressive nature of the genre, while bringing you the riffs that hook you in and vocals that have form and function rather than jsut being an afterthought.
These guys have been working overtime as it's their second album of the year. From what I heard about this album going in, the buzz seemed to be it was going to be their noise rock albun, but I am not hearing that on the opening track, which might find the feral speed dialed down a bit but is pretty metallic otherwise, just more deliberate and not as chaotic. Jacob's vocals are not as snarled on "Doom in Bloom". They pretty much pick up where they left off on the "Love is Not Enough" album with "It Only Gets Worse." Production-wise, it sounds like it was recorded in the same sessions.
"Detonator" carries a steadier groove as the riffs flow with a more organic intention. Jacob is exclaiming the vocals in a pained spoken tone that he tenses up into his trademark bark here. There is a post-hardcore feel to some of the space and atmosphere here, rather than the type of barrage they normally hit you with."I Won't You Go" has a more Black Flag era hardcore sound to it, but there are more rabid, rapid-fire injections of blasts forced into the transitions. There is more tension built into these songs thanks to the bass being more of the backbone, but on a song like "It's Not Up to Us," this is continued to be tempered by wrathful sonic indulgence. I can appreciate the increased levels of dynamics here, and Jacob is using more vocal colors.
At six minutes, "Dream Debris' is the longest song, but it's also the darkest and most brooding, with the rumbling bass line coming further to the forefront yet. When the vocals come in, they are low and spoken at almsot a whisper. It builds up into a sludgey roar. The two-and-a-half-minute instrumental."It Used to Matter showcases creepy guitar tones, but it seems like an intro to the more caustic title track. The opening riff is the most metal part of this album so far, and adheres closer to what you expect from the band. The last song is the album's second longest. It has a crushing, heavy riff that powers it and gives you the kind of punch you want these guys to pack as it ebbs back into weirdness. I will give this album a 10 as it might even be better than the year's previous release from them.
Here we are bringing things to a boil as the heat of another June shifts the focus to death metal. The genre has made great gains in popularity, with a band like Amon Amarth playing arenas, and enough wars popping off around the globe to set the stage for it.' continues to leap in popularity with each passing year, with all the wars simmering around the world setting the stage for it. I
As a fan of the genre since the 80s, the things I ask of my death metal is not unlike what I want from most music... first and foremost, darkness and moodiness to it. This means death metal that is just straightforward and heavy on the part of the snare is more than likely going to bore me. Looking for bands doing their own thing, who are not solely tributes to Morbid Angel, Incantation, or Entombed. The 90s were an important time for death metal, so leaning into that sound is ok, as long as you are doing your own thing with it.
Going to cover death metal adjacent genres like death-core, grind-core, metalcore, and even thrash, if they are more metal than whatever core they wish to imply. One thing I am big on after hearing too many death metal musicians complain about the death toll of COVID or lamenting the death toll in Palestine, is, are these guys legit? Are they having doubts about worshipping death? Death is a sure outcome; there is no running from it. Everyone is going to die; this should be embraced and celebrated. If the band is not ready to embrace that kind of darkness, I do not want to hear them. With that said, let us enter the month of death metal for Death is June.
This is a concept album in which Tori uses allegory to convey a political message. Nothing new for her, but it's done in an even more deliberate fashion. "Shush" feels likea Nine Inch Nails ballad, another not surprising element when you consider the crossover in their respective fan bases. For 62, her voice has held up really well, though her feminist coded lyrics can't be taken all that seriously, given her Botox addiction, so we are just going to focus on the music. 18 albums in, we are not getting a ton of surprises as the opener carries the 90s brooding we might want from her.
The title track gives her voice center stage. I always preferred how she works in the context of a band, though I prefer just a bass player and drummer to accompany her, rather than a guitar player crowding her, but it works on this song. "Provincetown" finds the drums giving her more momentum, and this sense of movement makes the song more effective, though Tori is no slouch on the melodies. She has a sweet spot where her voice sits in her alto range. So dynamically speaking, the vocals are not what they once were. But between her being a total pro and the production, she makes the msot of what she still has.
In many ways, this album reminds me of "Under the Pink," though the instrumentation is more layered. Despite her vocals all sitting in the same place, she manages to make what she is doing keep working, as heard on "St. Teresa". Though this also sounds like it could have come from Kate Bush's "Sensual World " album. She starts to reach up higher on "Gasoline Girls' which has too much skip in its steps and is the first song that sounds like filler as it does carry the "Cornflake Girl' type skip. "Ode to Minnesota' is more introspective, despite being more obviously about external stimuli. It feels like her brand of melancholy, so it works for me. "Fanny Faudrey" carries more of a ragtime swing to it. This works better than "Gasoline Girls."
"Veins" is darker, so I enjoy that; it drones with its own hypnotic flow. There is an interesting shift in the chorus. "Strawberry Moon" is one of her wandering ballads that still manages to hold itself together. The somber mood of "Song of Sorrow" works really well with where her voice is at and creates a subtle dynamic shift in the composition. "Flood" meanders a bit too much in its own ambiance. Then, at the other end of the spectrum, she is much more focused on "Pyrite." The drums work really well on this. "Tempest" finds her trademark flowing piano lines doing what you want her to do. However, I think that "Angelshark" is a more interesting song. It's moodier and works of a droning beat that finds layers of piano added to.
"Blue Lotus " is a little more laid back, though this is generally a pretty chill album even by Tori's standards. There is a cool piano, but her vocals lurk around the same style that has dominated the album.t "Stronger Together" finds her not budging much from the breathy alot that has been the centerpiece of her vocals on this album. It song does finds it's groove, which works well. The last song is almost just a wash of ambient sound that she is singing over. I will give this album a 9.5. This is a double album and she manages to be very consistent when it comes to songwriting, leaving little filler, so the sound of Tori aging gracefully and not fading away.
The Danish punks are back to rock n roll after 5 years. Elias's voice is not as sullen, and the more Rolling Stones direction they were heading in is more subtle on some songs than others with a rowdy jangle possessing songs like "Match Head Girl" that feels like it escaped from 90s college radio with a weird twinge of Bright Eyes to the vocal phrasing. There is almost a country twang to "the Weak' that brings the Violent Femmes to mind. It's has a carefree recklessness to it that is punk in it's own way, even if it's not the best display of their songwriting. They find a better balance on "No Fear" though the bass line keeps it from strolling away with the strum of the guitar leaving the attitude of the vocals as the most punk element.
"Salve For Every Sore" deviates from the formula they have been using up to this point, but it also less focused. "Mother of Pearl" is carried by an angular jangling, that works similar to 'Lust For Life" era Iggy Pop. "Tender Blades" is one of the best songs so far as it carries the kind of strut and hooks that I want from them. "1835" benefits from a bass line grounding it ,as Elias' vocal style this time around is not as slurred but it also skips around the instrumentation with a similar cadence. His vocals seem more improvisational and not as deliberate. His approach works much better on " Star" . Lyrically, some morose sentiments are being expressed, but in a more hopeful manner than the post-punkish band I first got into.
"Lifetime" is another very strong song on this album, so the changes that brought them to where they are now have not tarnished who they are as a band or what they are capable of, as they shine on this one. "Holy Water" is more recognizable when weighed against their earlier work and touches more on the post-punk side I missed. "True Blue" is a more interesting side step from the expectations, as it is somewhat of a ballad. It helps recapture who they are as a band. I will give this album a 9.5; there are some pretty great songs on this album amid this more upbeat 90s indie rock vibe, when I prefer them a little more downtrodden, but their talent still shines through.
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