Death is June - The Top 10 Death Metal Albums of 2026... so far

Death metal is even more important as the Doomsday Clock races; time speeds up with 2026 at its midpoint. These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they are really going to need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. No matter the genre,  darkness trumps speed when it comes to heavy, so these bands reflect that sentiment. These albums provide a fitting soundtrack to the demise of the US.  I have included links to full reviews if you want to check these out, and with all that said, here are the top 10 Death Metal albums of 2026 so far. 

10-Six Feet Under- 'Next to Die"

I go into Chris Barnes' albums with low expectations, switching things up worked out well for them, and this is the best album I have reviewed yet by them, on par with the first few albums from the 90s

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/04/six-feet-under-next-to-die.html

 

 

9-Left to Die- "Initium Mortis"

Two original Death members, Rick Rozz and Terry Butler, are joined by members of Gruesome, Matty Harvey and Gus Rios, who have been performing in this project as a tribute to the band's early "Leprosy" and "Spiritual Healing" days of the band, which are my favorite. This album does not try to have its own identity as it's clearly a tribute to a specific era, but it works well, and they nailed what they wanted to do. Death fans dying for new music should be appeased.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/death-is-june-left-to-die-initium-mortis.html

  

8-VOIDHAMMER - "Noxious Emissions"

Not knowing what to expect from this California trio, I got comfy with the opening riff that felt like crusty old school death metal, before things went into a blur of blast beats. They found their way back to more memorable riffing, so that plays in their favor. The vocals are a low death metal growl that is typically buried. There is also some punk-tinged thrash in the mix that leans in the direction of what we call crust now.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/voidhammer-noxious-emissions.html

 

7-Stabbing-"Eon of Obscuirty"

The first death metal album I reviewed this year. The  Texas foursome follows the path first tread by Cannibal Corpse when it comes to brutal death metal with low gurgling vocals and grinding guitar that conjures images of gore within the dense riffage. This comes with some of the raw production trademarks of this brand of death metal, like the flat smack of the snare, which was something that took me a while to get used to in the early Cannibal Corpse albums when they were released. When you compare this to an album like the new Sanguisugabogg, it is clearly outclassed, but if you are just looking for brutal death metal that still cares about songwriting, then these guys are worth your time.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/stabbing-eon-of-obscurity.html

 

 

6-Temple of the Void -"the Crawl"

Temple of the Void's album "Summoning the Slayer" made the 4th spot of our Top 10 Death Metal albums of 2022. Four years later, we are seeing if the band can still bring it like that against the death metal competition of 2026, which is still awaiting releases from Frozen Soul and 200 Stab Wounds. The kick things off with guitar solos blazing. It moves fast when called for to get your attention, but they are not about to sacrifice the song for the sake of speed. They no longer feel the need to prove who they are. The vocals are growled in a purposeful manner that is articulated enough to get the point across. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/03/temple-of-void-crawl.html

5-Immolation-"Descent"

Not sure why I never really gave these guys a shot, I'm sure they have played with bands like Morbid Angel, who I have seen countless times over the years, and they did not make that much of an impression on me or become background music. Perhaps it is because they are a New York band instead of a Tampa band. Whatever the case, I am impressed. It is so near perfect for what they do, and better than expected. I gained a great deal of respect for them here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/death-is-june-immolation-descent.html

4-Monstrosity--" Screams From Beneath the Surface"

The 7th album from this long-running Floridian death metal band finds a blend of brutality and technical prowess balanced. They are not just looking for the best riffs to solo over, but care about the songs. The riffs are ever-shifting, but not so much that the hooks get lost in the shuffle. The vocal apporach is very simple, but articulated. They are not so technical that things get lost in the ever-changing time signature, but are driven by an extensive riff arsenal. They know when to lock into a chug. The bass player is the secret weapon here as the bass lines are ever-flowing, but not technical for the sake of being so. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/monstrosity-screams-from-beneath-surface.html

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3-100 Demons-"Embrace the Black Light"

Not all metalcore is as bad as you assume it might be; in fact, some of it is much more metal than core, to the point that you can't tell the difference between something like the opening track from this band's album and the bulk of death metal that came out in the early 2000s. They have no shortage of ripping riffs to balance out the harsh bark of their vocals. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/death-is-june-100-demons-embrace-black.html

2-Jungle Rot- " Cruel Face of War"

Dave Matrise is the sole original member of this 90s death metal act. He has put together a denser, more modern-sounding band that still gets what he was doing in the band's earlier days. His growl still carries heft and resonance. He also benefits from excellent production, with effects and layering that fall in all the right places. This album delivers 90s death metal in a more meaningful way than even the new Six Feet Under.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/05/jungle-rot-cruel-face-of-war.html

1-Frozen Soul_ " A Place of No Warmth"

Frozen Soul's new album starts off with a bigger, and marginally darker though things are mixed in a manner that does not convey the cavernous cold of the last album, but you can't fault them for growing, and they are not making the same album twice, which is more than you can say for most, This grew on me and the rest of their fanbase gets another dose of the heavy slabs of sound that have been refined by staying on the road.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/05/frozen-soul-place-of-no-warmth.html

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Stabbing : "Eon of Obscurity"

 

The first death metal album I am reviewing in 2026 comes from this Texas foursome, which follows the path first tread by Cannibal Corpse when it comes to brutal death metal with low gurgling vocals, and grinding guitar that conjures images of gore within the dense riffage. This comes with some of the raw production trademarks of this brand of death metal, like the flat smack of the snare, which was something that took me a while to get used to in the early Cannibal Corpse albums when they were released. There is less about." Massticate the Subdued" as they employ blast beat to turn the dynamic around in a rather predictable fashion. 

The title track kind of blasts by, then "Reborn to Kill Once More" crosses the margin to bring the nuance to accent and grooves that make this memorable. Alot of these brutal death metal bands have more technical aptitude than you might expect, with some of the tight passages that might sound like chaos to a casual listener. "Ruiminations" is more deliberate in its dark grinding groove and works well. It might be the best song so far. It's also an instrumental, so the grunted vocals are just a vibratory frequency that serves as a bottom end. Ricky Myers appears on "Nauseating Composition". The lyrics are a moot point, as none of them can be understood, as articulation is less of a thought here. The chugs that lock in with purpose here are pretty powerful. 

"Their Melted Remains" almost felt likea continuation of the previous song until right before the chaotic guitar solo. This is followed by more brutal moments backed by intentionally chugged grooves. They capitalize on this with "Symphony of Absurdity' It is bound to get a few pits churning. The last song does not sound that different from the previous song, as it also has the slow chug, mixed with some blasts to break things up, so they could've ended it more memorably, but this works well enough for what they are doing. When you compare this to an album like the new Sanguisugabogg, it is clearly outclassed, but if you are just looking for brutal death metal that still cares about songwriting, then these guys are worth your time. I will give it a 9. Out on Century Media. 

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Stabbing : "Extirpated Mortal Process"

 

Gore grind that is very derivative of Cannibal Corpse and is normally not my things, but this band from Texas, injects enough groove into their vision of it to make it click for me. They have a sense about break downs and prove themselves capable of whipping out a decent solo. With most extreme metal bands, the sheer heaviness of what they do often wins me over, then when we get to the second song and that novelty wears off the question poised is then is.." Ok I get you are heavy, but can you actually write a song?"

"Razor Wire Strangulation" does not offer me a clear answer to this question. By the time I get to "Southern Hacksaw Exectuion" it becomes clearer. They can write songs; the vocals are just their weak spot as the low gurgle makes every song sound the same and lacks any kind of enunciation that might make the lyrics discernible. 

The drummer and guitarists are the most skilled members of this band as their interplay finds redemption amid the senseless spew of the vocals that are a one trick pony rotting behind every riff, they throw at you. There are some decent riffs buried under all of this. The bass player is even doing some interesting stuff under the razor-sharp guitars. By the time I get to "Visions of Eternal Suffering" thanks to the vocals everything has begun to sound the same.  Thankfully all of these songs are around the three-minute mark, so the ears do not have to take too much a beating at once. The blast beats of "Final Flesh Feast' rush the song by you, until they dig into the cadaverous verses. They pour the speed on for the eponymous song. 

"Visceral Liquid Terror" is more deliberate which works better than when they try to grind their way through things at a more thrashing speed. "Slashed Throat Awakening" is just more of the same which finds this album falling flat when it comes to dynamics. When they revert to speed things become a mush of muddy riffing. There is a cool riff that emerges from "It Ends with Flames"., but the rule here is cool riffs alone does not a good song make, Some the more rushed, faster playing comes across as sloppy.  I will give this album a 7.5, it delivers in terms of heavy, but not the most memorable collection of songs, so if brutality alone is your thing, then this will work for you.