Unverkalt :"Héréditaire"

 

Only missed this one by a week it's been on my radar, but jsut now catching up with Germany's Unverkalt. Setting the stage with a deceptive sense of melody before blasting into you. The melodic vocals are perhaps more intersting, but they work a delicate balance of playing to both sides of the band's dynamic range. Depressive more than it's blackened, the sonic weight of their songwriting impresses right from the first song, but can this band uphold the expectations set here?  

"Oath of Prometheus" finds the drums blasting in as the undercurrent trying to take control. The harsher vocals are more focused on chaos, as the sung vocals wander. I am obviously the audience these guys are looking for, but it also means I am more well versed in this sort of thing, so I can hear the influences a mile away on the second, but it still works well enough for me. The more they blast, the less impressed I am by the storm of sound, and I want to hear more melody. "Anae Lithi" finds the melodies winning out and giving this more depth than the more feral strains of black metal.

The sense of melody leans it away from black metal altogether on "A Lullabye for the Descent", but it's dark and moody enough to still win me over despite all the layers of vocals wrestling against one another. It makes me think of 90s bands like Crisis. There is a more black metal tension to "Prenumbrian Lament". One vocal color Dimitra often uses is a whisper little girl like voice. It's creepy enough to work. Often these are given a roaring death metal male counterpoint thanks to their guitarist Eli. 

With "Introjects," things begin to move in a more accessible metal direction, which carries over into "I, the Deciet," which features Sakis Tolis from Rotting Christ. "Death is Forever" finds some intersting sound layered in a more intense black metal manner, but without some of hte structure of the previous songs.  The last song works off more of an emotional atmosphere, which is more dramatic than depressive. Overall, this album is an impressive marriage of sound into well balaned songs I will give this a 9.5.Out on Season of Mist. 

pst91

Morrissey : "Make Up is a Lie"

 

There is a reason Morrissey has a fanatical cult following outside of the Smiths. He is one of my favorite singers, even as his croon has aged. It's been six years since "I am Not a Dog on a Chain." Even then, I will split the difference and not use the Smiths as the bar I judge him against in 2026 and use  2017's"Low In High School" as the bar. Granted, now 9 years later, Moz is almost 67 rather than the 58 years he was when he recorded that album. He keeps things at more of a reserved croon, which is pushed up further in the mix than the 2017 album, which sounded that more like he does live. 

When it comes to the percussion, there are more electronic elements in play, though the opener "You're Right It's Time" feels pretty organic with its casual, lounged-out croon. By the time we get to the lead single, Alain Whyte's guitar tone reminds me of the tones Stevie Ray Vaughn used on Bowie's "Let's Dance" album. He covers Roxy Music's 1973 penned"Amazona."  It was a quirky song for the band back then. Moz's version finds the guitar sounding brighter, and rather than go into the falsetto of Bryan Ferry, he shifts the dynamics of his voice to a softer tone to get the point across, showing he still possesses a fluid control of his voice. They even nail Phil Manzanera's solo. 

The tempo shifts for " Headache" that finds him writing with his former touring multi-instrumentalist Gustavo Manzur, which is odd considering Morrissey is supposed to be such a racist that half of his band is Hispanic. Manzur collapsed at a Colorado show and was replaced by Camila Gray, who also aided in writing for this album. While it sounds great, the song , is a ballad that drags a bit and is the first moment that feels like filler to me. "Boulevard" is also a ballad, but his voice does most of the heavy lifting as the accompaniment is sparse and takes time to come to a boil. Lyrically, it's more interesting than the previous song. 

Thi highlights that, lyrically, he is one of the heaviest writers in the game; he goes harder than most metal bands when it comes to the venom he infuses his sardonic poetry with. He also proves he can still belt it out to keep up with the dynamics. "Zoom Zoom the Little Boy" has a very 60s feel, which takes us back to the "California Son" album. Lyrically, he is back to saving animals. It almost sounds like he wrote it for "Yo, Gabba Gabba". Things get pretty fucking funky for " the Night Pop Dropped". 

"Kerching Kerching" finds Moz getting lyrically punchy even when casually crooning. It's a pretty intersting song with fun lyrics. "Lester Bangs" finds his pipes supple and a more lingering rock tone to the introspective nature of the song. His musing about a rock critic he grew up reading is endearing. "Many Icebergs" casts a darker reflection with its haunting folk feel. The kind of languid Brit pop Moz is known for closes things well with "the Monsters of Pig Alley." Overall, this album holds up his legacy in the manner expected. I will give it a 10. 

pst90

Fotocrime : "Security"

 

Things continue to evolve for Fotocrime. My first impression of the first couple of songs is that I get they are going for a more Killing Joke sound, but when it comes to Killing Joke, there are so many sides of that band it could mean anything. They have chosen the earlier, more punk side with a bit of rock n roll swagger. "Shockwave" works the best of the first three songs as it has more of a groove and room for the guitars to be more melodic and places for the vocals to sit in a more intersting fashion. "Unthinkable" to me sounds more like New Model Army, which is fine as it means a more organic sense of brooding melody, but with a bit of punk in its step. 

"Disharmonizer" carries a darker, more post-punk tension, which brings to mind something closer to what you expcet from Patterson. Granted, you have to consider my personal tastes, but I feel the moodier moments are the strongest. This is run through a more rock n roll filter for "Intimidation."But this also works for me as the intersection of where punk and goth meet is one of my favorite eras of music. I suppose you could draw similarities to Killing Joke's "Night Time" album in this regard, but this is far more rock-minded. 

"Dreamstate" has that weird right turn some punk bands took, which places it closer to Husker Du. "Cautious" carries a little more bounce thanks to the buoyant bass-line, but I prefer the more sullen musing of "Grifter," which might be the album's best song. There is a slight new-wave anxiety to the vocals. The title track that closes the album is not a ballad but works off a more introspective tension. It works for what they are doing this time around. Overall, I enjoyed the album it sounds likea last classic from the late 80s, so I will give it a 9.5. 

pst89

Relic : "Crown of Flies"

Whatever happened to Satanic death metal? I was pondering if, in 2026, it just became labelled "blackened death metal"? This Wisconsin band certainly seems to make an argument for this theory. There is a little chaos involved that could be thought of as a "black" element, but it could also be heard as grindcore. The second song, "Filth of Rebirth' is more like 90s death metal. Lyrically, things are much more vague than Deicide. The vocals are also lower and more gurgled, less articulated than the hymns to Satan that came out of Tampa in the 90s. 

Granted, how many of those bands were sincere? Trey might have taken too much acid while reading the "Necronomicon." Even Glen Benton has said something that led me to believe he was more about giving the middle finger to God than about that infernal life. "Scavenger's Daughter' blasts by in a manner that is almost too fast to really put an ear to what is going on, but it also tells me it was nothing that hooked me in with the initial listen. These guys are brutal as hell and are comprised of members of Jungle Rot, Emblazoned, and Slam Pig. You hear more of Slam Pig and Jungle Rot, even though it only accounts for the two guitarists. 

The last song, "Iron Sacrament," is more deliberate. The vocals have more purpose , in their snarled rasp and grunts, as the guitar allows for them the space to do that in rather than just forcing the vocals to be an afterthought. I appreciate the brutality, though I could use a little more darkness and dynamics, but it's great for what it is, so I will give this one an  8.5. 

pst88

Void of Light : "Asymmetries"

 

Scottish sludgesters Void of Light try to label themselves as being on the more post side of things, but the vocals betray them. The band's debut full-length finds the vocals being howled with a throaty anger that overpowers some of the more ambient underpinings. But it works well for them, creating a layered approach not unlike what latter-day Neurosis used to do, but with some more overt metal riffing. With three guitars involved, there are more layers than most bands can summon. I have always stood by the fact that sludge is what happens when punks try to play metal, and this album is not proving me wrong. For an almost 11-minute opening track, they just sprawl things out , so one might surmise that punks who started smoking weed more than they drank is what fueled this genre of music. 

Only two of the five songs are not 10-minutes long. With that said, "Silver Mask" is 9 minutes long. It is also driven by a pretty mean chug. Moving with more locomotion than doom, the momentum breeds tension, and they have the riffs ready for the payoff. Cleanly sung vocals fly up in the background, but the coarse bark is the narrative at the forefront. The softer vocals shift position midway through the song when it descends into a more melancholy atmosphere. "Ends" is a more aggressive shift to an in-your-face hardcore assault. Which tracks, as there is a great deal of crossover in the early sludge scene with hardcore bands.  Miway into the song, things ebb down into a more melodic brooding, before hurling into a more blackened section. 

"Still Night Skies" is darker, with the heavier sections being pretty catchy, though the song rides a stormy tension. The song touches on a great deal of different dynamic places over the course of its ten minutes, which I appreciate, as they at least use the time wisely if they are going to sprawl things out. The last song almost has a more Tool-like hypnotic slither that captures you with its serpentine groove. The vocals take on a more baritone croon midway through the song.This touches on the more progressive side of the band.I will give this one a 9.5, and see how it grows on me while it is a bit on the longwinded side when it comes to the songwriting style , there is enough going on to remain engaging, fans of sludge metal should make this a priority. Out April 3rd on Ripcord Records.

pst87

False Figure : "Incarnate"

 

This band made the top 5 of our top 10 Post-punk albums of 2022, so I am going into this album with high expectations. This time, there seems to be a somewhat less aggressive, more introspective vibe, so much so that I had to go back and listen to the previous album to make sure it was the same band. The mix is different, though a similar reverb-tinged haze lingers over both albums. It is a cleaner mix this time around, even when the vocals lie further back in the mix on "Favorite Game" as they subtly flirt with a more goth sound at times. Which is why I don't mind the changes. 

By the third song, I had to break it up and start giving the song a more careful listen to differentiate some moments. Some of this lies in the hazier fashion in which this album is recorded. There are some great guitar tones on this album. They obscure the vocala tad on a few songs; it's just a juggling act of compromises. Despite sounding like a different band, I like the more new wave vibes of "Flowers in Bloom". Which makes sense as that is where the actual bands from this era went, we were jsut discussing this on our podcast episode about Killing Joke. This sort of thing is not really riffy music like rock or metal. Yet the guitar parts are more defined for "Say Nothing." It does carry that more Killing Joke-like new wave edge post- "Night Time".

"Hand of Malice" has more punch to the bass line, almost recapturing the feel of the previous album, but the vocals are more shrouded in atmosphere and a more cautious croon. In this case, it creates a mood clsoer to the Smiths, so it's hard for me complain about it. "Fields of Woe" has a cool, melancholy sound, but not long enough of a sound to dynamically shift them. Their cover of Asylum Party's "Julia" works, but the vocals sit too far back in the mix. But it's cool to hear a more obscure cover like this. The last song has some cool 80s-sounding drums. There is a glum vibe to the song, not unlike early Cure. Though it's possessed by more layers of guitar to bury the vocals in. I will give this album a 9, as it really depends on how attached you were to the more punk side of the last album to embrace this one, but it's a logially step of growth for this band. 

pst86

February's Top 10 Albums

Another February is done, 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 are not coming out til June, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month, there is a wide variety from pagan folk pop to grind-core to black metal, so perhaps you will find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for February of 2026.

10-Mothica- "Somewhere In Between." 

Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/mothica-somewhere-in-between.html

9-Final Gasp -"New Day Symptoms." 

Dark Hardcore 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/final-gasp-new-day-symptoms.html

,

 8-KMFDM-"ENEMY" 

Electro / EBM

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/kmfdm-enemy.html

7-lights,-"A6EXTENDED" 

Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/lights-a6extended.html

 6-Puscifer, -"Normal Isn't" 

Alternative Rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/puscifer-normal-isnt.html

5-Worm- "Necropalace"

 

Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/karnivool-in-verses.html

4-Joji-"Piss in the Wind" 

Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/joji-piss-in-wind.html

3-Karnivool-"In Verses." 

Prog Rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/karnivool-in-verses.html

2-Converge-"We Were Never the Same." 

Hardcore

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/converge-love-is-not-enough.html

1-Rob Zombie- "The Great Satan." 

Industrial 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/rob-zombie-great-satan.html

pst85