Top 10 Extreme Metal Albums of 2026 ...so far

Extreme Metal is even more important as the Doomsday Clock races; time speeds up with 2026 at its midpoint. Extreme metal is anything too heavy for the other sub-genres, with an emphasis on crust and grind, but we also have a few blackened bands who are too heavy for the normal black metal list.   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 heaviness, 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 Extreme Metal albums of 2026 so far. 

10-Nunslaughter-"Satanic Chaos Legions"

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 rasps 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.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/death-is-june-nunslaughter-satanic.html

9-Reverse-SUFFER & REMEMBER" 

This Los Angeles-based noise punk band gets things off to an interesting start with a dissonant clamour that still carries a great deal of atmosphere even amid its hazy attack. It's an intersting approach to crust punk that goes toward the blasting end ofthe spectrum 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/recvrse-suffer-remember.html

 

8-Harms-"Rebirth of the Cold"

This band from Finland plays a hyper-aggressive blend of metal and hardcore that is in-your-face when it wants to be, without forsaking melody. When they kick back into things after wandering into more atmospheric places, they kick back in with full-on anthemic gang vocals. Then you begin to hear the touches of black metal perhaps in their DNA, jsut from the geography. Granted, there is also a great deal of goth metal in Finland, but darker music seems to be the vibe. It is more aggressive in a hardcore sense than a death metal one, so perhaps atmospheric blackened hardcore might be your best category for these guys, which at this point, we are making this shit up as we go.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/black-metal-history-month-harms-rebirth.html

7-Anti-Sapien-"At The Mercy Of The Merciless"

Brooklyn-based ANTI-SAPIEN drops some filthy, crusty, death metal that carries the aggression of Deicide in its angry churn forward. They are capable of shredding when it is called for, but prefer staying locked into the locomotive charge. The kind of hyper-aggression that Nails blurs the genre lines with. When they slow down and lock into a chug, the results are powerful

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/anti-sapien-at-mercy-of-merciless.html

6- World Peace- "For No Man Shall See Me and Live"

What this San Francisco-based band does it pretty interesting as it has groove to it.  But the songs stay true to grindcore and are clocking in at 30 seconds apiece, meaning they lock into these, and then it is over. . If you like your grindcore short and to the point, then this album is worth your time. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/world-peace-for-no-man-shall-see-me-and.html

5-Fistula-"Galaxies of Disappointment"

The joking is over on the opening track to Fistula's new album. They go for the throat with the momentum of death metal behind them. The barrage is a powerful sonic force that goes for heft over some of the songwriting smarts they have shown in the past, but it works for what it is. They continue to flex their raw sonic power

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/03/fistula-galaxies-of-disappointment.html

4-Balmora-"These Graven Halls"

Here is another album that blurs the lines between metalcore and death metal. I suspect these kinds of kids feel cooler by having a label for themselves that is not just death metal, since that has become, in some circles, like thinking of it as dad rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/death-is-june-balmora-these-graven-halls.html

3-Lair of the Minotaur-"I Hail I "

These bruisers are back with more hardcore grit to their attack. The vocals come across as being less growled and more of a burly command. The grooves are as dense as you might want them. There is almost a sludge weight. The aggression is not a full-speed-ahead charge but a massive grind of distraction chugged with malicious intent. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/03/lair-of-minotaur-i-hail-i.html

2-No/Mas -"No Peace"

On the more punk side of grind-core, NO/MAS are angry as fuck. They have a dialed-in guitar sound rather than just a raw outburst, and just because they play grind-core does not mean they have not refined their attack on their instruments. At times, even grooves slide into the riffs, which is an ear for detail,l considering that these songs clock in at two minutes more often than not. They are certainly influenced by Slayer in how some of the riffs are nuanced. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/nomas-no-peace.html

1-Portrayal of Guilt ="...Beginning of the End..."

 "We Are Always Alone" stands as a masterpiece against which this band's work is to be measured. Up to this point, they have not met that head-on, but played around with more extreme and experimental sounds at various genre crossroads in heavy music. Grindcore being one of the more frequent ones, hardcore is another more notable sonic flavor they have painted their compositions with. This album finds them expanding their arsenal to include a wider range of sounds, while tightening the songwriting to craft songs that are digestible for broader metal audiences without compromising their unsettling, confrontational style. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/04/portrayal-of-guilt-beginning-of-end.html

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Death is June -World Peace : "FOR NO MAN SHALL SEE ME AND LIVE '

 

What this San Francisco-based band does it pretty interesting as it has groove to it.  But the songs stay true to grindcore and are clocking in at 30 seconds apiece, meaning they lock into these, and then it is over. By the time it gets to "Land of Plenty," we are beginning to hear a pattern. Blown-out sludge-infested riffs move with a nu metal bounce and then spasm into blast beats, with coarse vocals barking in a similar style as they ride the beat. 

When they slow down for "Lesser Miracle," you can hear the weight of how heavy they are. Even with the squealing feedback it comes closer to being a real song. "Staggering Vanity' feels like it is a section from another song.. To some extent, the song after it does as well, though marginally more complete, though not as much of a Tourette 's-ridden spasm as "In Anticipation of the Final Reward. "

The last song, "Shock and Awe," makes more sense, even with the simple, abrupt ending, it is based off.  At hte end of the day, the limited attention span of the genre plays against what I think they are capable of doing, but what they did here was make the most of the limited time they gave themselves, so I will give this album a 9. . If you like your grindcore short and to the point, then this album is worth your time. 

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Portrayal of Guilt : "... Beginning of the End"

 "We Are Always Alone" stands as a masterpiece that this band's work is to be measured against. Up to this point, they have not met that head-on, but played around with more extreme and experimental sounds at various genre crossroads in heavy music. Grindcore being one of the more frequent ones, hardcore is another more notable sonic flavor they have painted their compositions with. This album finds them opening their arsenal to include a greater range of sounds, while tightening the songwriting to make songs that are digestible to broader metal audiences without compromising their unsettling, confrontational style. The opening track is more of a David Lynchian guitar piece that sets the stage before they launch into a darker and more melodic mood while still packing a punch that hits more like sludge.

"Heaven's Gate" is more explosive, but anchored by a beefy bassline. Ambience still haunts the corners of the song, creating dynamics rather than just bashing your ears out. "Under Siege" has more hardcore in its punk-driven charge. They show you can be hooked into music this abrasive by providing hooks even amid the unhinged fury. The vocals bark with purpose. The songs have something to say. The album is well broken up with the more experimental forays into things falling outside of the bounds of metal, breaking it up and giving the listener room to breathe. "Ectasy' was one of the lead singles, so I was prepared for its brand of weird that draws from 90s alternative while not forsaking the rough edges. 

"Death From Above" takes a turn down a darker alley. More metallic stomps accent the shadows here. The vocals drop into a more resonant death-metal growl. "God Will Never Hear Me" is another beautifully brooding song that is not dark in a post-punk or goth manner, but effective at introspective self-loathing. The counterpoint is a more dissonant, sludged-out, clanging. A more unexpected direction is Texas rapper Slim Guerilla appearing on "Chamber of Misery."  At only a minute, it's more of a bizarre interlude.

The riff that opens "Total Black" might be the most pleasing to more mainstream metal. The song grooves in its own way, even when the riff drops out to create space. "Object of Pain" is less intense and almost mroe like Crippling Alcoholism in how it slithers over ashtrays and empty liquor bottles. They close the album with the more in-your-face explosion of "The Last Judgement" that opens up on the verse, so give the vocals room to be more than an afterthought. These guys once again show that you can make one of the heaviest albums going this year without having to skimp on hooks to keep you engaged in the song. It's not too experimental; your ears are just boring. I'll give this one a 10, not even  Neurosis and Converge took this many chances. 

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NO/MAS : "No Peace"

On the more punk side of grind-core, NO/MAS are angry as fuck. They have a dialed-in guitar sound rather than just a raw outburst, and just because they play grind-core does not mean they have not refined their attack on their instruments. At times, even grooves slide into the riffs, which is an ear for detail,l considering that these songs clock in at two minutes more often than not. They are certainly influenced by Slayer in how some of the riffs are nuanced. "Blood Soaked Soil" is more feral until midway into the song when they lock into a breakdown, which proves to be pretty powerful. There are even brief guitar harmonies. 

On "Abolition," which is jsut under two minutes, they fake you out and make you think this is just going to be aggressive chaos but pull it together with cool riffs. "Leech" finds them galloping into a more thrash-inspired feel. There are some riffs on this one that you can not resist banging your head to. While it is empowered by a really cool riff, at a minute length, it's hard to make." The Act of Killing' much of a song. The snarl in a more ferocious manner for "Lay indegina." It's not until "Choke Point" that you hear the more metallci smarts empower the songwriting. 

They use the riffs more like a sword than a club on "Spineless," creating a hook for them to lock into. The title track is not as catchy and is more based on brutality. They end things with more of a thrashing attack on the last song. They throw themselves into a hyperactive punk explosion. I will give this one a 9.5 and see how it grows on me. I have not really dug into the entire slate of grind-core bands with albums coming out this year, but it seems like these guys are setting the bar for the genre to be measured against here. This drops March 13th on Redefining Darkness Records.

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Nuclear Dudes : "Truth Paste"

 

If Street Sects was not weird and chaotic enough for you, here is something that pushes things further with more of a grindcore assault. Where the first song worked for me, just a relentless blast might grow old soon, even when the songs are two minutes long. There are still musical elements in motion for the outbursts like "Holiday Warfare". The title track is more extreme than the first two songs. Though it locks into a more deliberate pounding that provides more form and function. 

The synths claim their place in their sound for " Dirty 20". The vocals take on a more crazed Mike Patton-like cadence. "Sad Vicious" goes from spastic punk to heavier intention, while juggling a faint hint of ambiance. The more experimental "Concussion Protocol" touches on industrial elements to help this song stand out amidst the mayhem. When the more electronic side of what they do comes to the forefront, the band's songwriting shines; this does not mean they need to abandon all heaviness, but look at what is most effective. 

"Pelvis Presley" is more explosive and on the grind core side of things. At just over a minute, there is not much time to expand this into a fully realized song, but they do cram a great deal of sounds into it. There is an actual groove to 'Death at Burning Man". What sellouts, lol. It is also three and a half minutes, which gives them time to complete a full creative thought. The vocals sound either like a drill sergeant giving marching orders or are run through a robotic effect. The last song is over four minutes, showing they can write actual songs when they feel like. It has more of an industrial feel and is another one with samples helping to create the mood. It is not unlike the previous song, but rather than a droning groove creates a more oppressive feel. I will give this album a 9. If you like experimental music that is still aggressive, this is worth your time. It drops September 5th. 

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Full of Hell : "Broken Sword, Rotten Shield"

This EP is a memorial of sorts that explores loss through the lens of a fantasy metaphor to obscure the processing of their feeling regarding a dog's death. The title track that opens the album is one of their most refined, and perhaps accessible songs yet, with a more metal approach that delves into little of their more grindcore spasms, though those are not far behind with the 49-second "From Dog's Mouth a Blessing" that carries more of a hard core stomp to the riff. Still, the whole song is run through a filter that gives it a more lo-fi distant sound as if it's being played from a radio that is still crackling with radiation from nuclear exposure. 

"Corpselight" is more of an interlude despite being longer than many of the band's songs at two and a half minutes, though it just lingers on dark ambient noise, and shrieking that is mixed into the reverb to haunt it from an even greater distance. Things come together on the more angular rocking of "Lament of All Things," there is a punk edge to this that is more apparent than I can recall hearing from them in the past. "Mirrorhelm" is another ambient interlude that drones a bit. 

"A Knight's Oath" is another surprisingly straightforward metal that is more death metal in its intentions. The sonic guitar playing keeps it from crossing over into death metal despite the drumming and vocals. The last song is a more deliberate sludge hammering. The vocals shift from lower death growls to his normal higher, almost black metal screams. The drums continue to press through the dense noise that the song builds into.  I will give this album a 9. I appreciate the continued refinement of what they do, not sure if an EP needed interludes, but overall, I enjoy what these guys do, and it is consistent with that and not unlike where they went on their last album, perhaps a little darker mood given the subject. Out on Closed Casket Activities May 16th. 

 

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Black Metal History Month- Revenge :'Violation.Strife.Abominate"

 

The bar is low for these guys. Their last album scored a 6.5. A six is the lowest score that can be considered listenable. They were really heavy, but not the best songwriters; however, if you were into grind-core sprinkled with blackened rawness, it might have been something you would give a shot. Things are more frantic and feral this time around, but not as heavy, thanks to the thin guitar tone that carries a reckless buzzing to the otherwise punk frenzy going down here. I don't remember the drums sounding this bad last time. "Flashpoint Heretic" is just chaos from the onset and sounds like they recorded themselves throwing their equipment down the stairs and overdubbed the meaningless screaming over it afterward. 

When the last album came out I was not into grindcore as much as I am now. But I really loved the last Full of Hell album, which combined black metal with grindcore in a more cohesive fashion, proving you can still be insanely heavy and write a fucking song. The drummer makes more of an attempt to do so three songs in. The vocals work to thwart his trying in this regard. To fight back he goes into a blast beat. There are some lower growls, and the way the vocals are distorted at times brings early Today is the Day to mind. I am a little concerned when I see I have to endure nine more songs of this. Despite the vocals, there seems to be more form and function to "Strife Invocation".  They throw themselves into a crude punk thrashing for "Emaciated Revelation" 

The crude patter of the drums plays against any potential "Mercy Revoked" has, at best felt like early Deicide, but without the hook to the riffing. "Piety Vaporized" falls in line with the conceptual theme. The song itself is a spastic battery of sound.  "Shockwave Iconoclast" is more of the same rapid-fire temper tantrums. "Last Resort" is sadly not a Poppa Roach cover. "Aftermath" blasts by with little attempt to catch my attention. But then, when I do pay attention to "Liars Rope" the results are not much better. The last song starts off with a more deliberate pound. I'll give this one a 6, as the production might not grate on the nerves of their fans, who are the only ones who will appreciate this album. For some reason, Season of Mist is invested in these guys.  

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Ingrown : "Idaho"

 Off the bat, what I like about this band is they pack a great deal of riffage into the minute and forty seconds of the opening track. They have in-your-face pummelling sections that are rapid-fire but give you something to sink your teeth into and headbang a bit. Their eponymous song, however, is just over a minute and finds its groove about thirty seconds into that time frame. So, groove is their mission statement and not really in the breakdown sense either. There is some common ground with Nails, though these guys are more punk and less metallic. The vocals do take on more of a growl at times on "Cold Steel". 

They dish out a more burly Entombed-like beating on "Enemy". This less rabid approach also works well. When they slow things down they can stretch the songs out to two minutes  They do accelerate up to a healthy gallop for this one It even has a guitar solo that would not be out of place on a death metal album."Dead' is more of a beating, though it finds its groove. It might have the most grindcore tendencies so far. They come closer to what you might expect from hard-core on 'Unite" which comes complete with gang vocals. They cover a song by guitarist/ vocalist Ross Hansen's dad who was in State of Confusion. It's pretty much 80s hardcore.

There is more commitment to death metal on "Hellbound".  The title track is a banjo piece, that is more of an outro than a free-standing song on its own and much like covering his dad's band it's a tribute to the musical heritage that inspires these guys to not just make music that is heavy as fuck, but to keep you engaged in the songs where most bands are just going to pound you in the head with a dense sound rather than write catchy songs. I'll round this up to a 9.5, as it's only a couple of weeks into the year but hard to imagine a band putting out a heavier album, but when this drops on March 7th Closed Casket Activities, Sanguisuggabogg, is going to be heading into the studio to record their next album, which might see release before the world ends so too soon to say, though I expect those guys to land more on the death metal side of the fence this time around. 

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Full of Hell + Andrew Nolan :"Scraping the Divine"

 

You should know who Full of Hell is. Their collaborator is more obscure.  Andrew Nolan is from the industrial noise underground and was in a band called Column of Heaven. It takes a few listens for some of these songs to sink in. The first one makes sense then, it takes a more cautious ear to pick this chaos apart. It might also require headphones as the programmed drums are not loud enough but the vocals are in your face. "Burdened By the Solar Mass" is even more chaotic. It would be great to play while falling into hell. Justin Broadrick's appearance is obviously on "Sphere of Saturn" as it takes on his vocal drone, which is lopped through effects. My favorite moment so far. 

"Hemlock Gnosis' is Dylan Walker screaming over ambiance. More sound than song, which is the direction this album was bound to lean in given the experimental nature of what is unfolding. At this point, I had to take a break and listen to the actual new one from Full of Hell to get some perspective. Now a few days later I am clicking on "Blessed Anathema" and its drone is more pleasing to my ears. However 'Facing the Divide' is more noisy than not. 'Approaching the Monolith" is basically a noise interlude that I am not counting for the purpose of this review. "Extinguished Glow" is much more of a song than that one though. However it is more ambient and has some cool sounds, but that puts us back at sound vs song. 

"Common Miracles" finds his screaming work better over a more industrial pound. "Irradiated Sands" feels like it is an extension of the previous song. The last song "Paralytic Lineage' is a more deliberate churning pulse. The growling is lower giving it a more Godflesh feel. I will give this one an 8, since it is not always song focused and things get too noisy at times for my tastes, I prefer the direction Full Of Hell went on their most recent album to this, I like Godflesh, but I own their albums so I do not need bands that sound like them. 

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Beaten to Death : "Sunrise Over Rigor Mortis"

 This band from Norway is not playing black metal. They are heavy but thanks to their feedback squealing vision of grind-core. The vocals are chaotically screamed or growled. The second song just creeps out of the first. The opening song is just a minute long, and it crams a great deal of thrashing into that minute. They carry out thrashing with a great deal of spastic energy. The production on the drums comes across pretty rough at times, leaving it to sound as if drums are just being kicked down the stairs. The bass also sounds like its strings are about to fall off. It's not all chaos as "My Hair Will Be Long Until Death" does have a melodic section in the middle. 

The vocals tend to trade off being higher strangled screams and a lower death metal growl. "Minus Och Minus.." starts off with almost a Police before hurtling into blast beats, despite the low production quality they do have some great ideas when it comes to songwriting that gives the songs what they need to push past this. "Mosh for Mika" has a creepy melody that runs in the background, that sets them apart from other grind core bands as they bring the needed melodies that most of them forsake, while this does lean them in a more of a thrash direction that is fine,

"Dying the Dream" hit you with blasting speed which is when the production flaws come to the forefront, when they are more deliberate it allows for the songs to surpass this, so they could not get the sound dialed does not matter as they have the songs. At times they even work in actual singing which is a rarity in grindcore. "Dying the Dream " is a rare song that is three minutes long. "Life But How to Leave it" is a more straightforward riff battery. The manic drumming does not play to its favor this time, but the guitar try to hold it together. "We're Not Going to Make it " runs into similar problems with more uptempo chugs. But even these moments are still song-focused and listenable. There is even a rock riff at the end of the song. 

The last song is more jangling blasting madness that is not as song-focused as some of the album's high points. I will give this album a 9, it is a great deal of fun, and the production makes it less dense than what I normally want from the genre, but it's a fun album that takes more chances than not and the all pay off, I look forward to hearing what they do with a bigger budget and taking the time to dial this in. 

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Death is June -Devine Defilement : "Age of Atrocities"

 

Thanks to the inner webs the brutal style of death metal known as "slam" has found its way to Iceland. Not sure why this band requires two vocalists for what Corpse Grinder does on his own, but perhaps the truth will be found later in the album. The first song is just sonic blunt force trauma, but fans of this sub-genre do not require more stimulus than what is being dished out here. I find this sort of thing to be done better by bands like Left to Suffer but I am only one song into it, so let us hear how the rest plays out. I can say I will have a more critical ear after the number wears off from my first exposure to their brand of metallic violence. 

I would say this is my least favorite genre of death metal but bands like Sanguisuggabogg have won me over before, but this band does not possess their knack for groove. I let the album play and the next thing I knew after being hit with a bunch of down-tuned thick guitar tones the songs began to run together until I realized I was already at the 5th song. Meaning dynamically five songs it everything sounds the same and I can't one song from the next. Though they have nailed down this sound. They are even playing a great deal of the right riffs, and adding things like dissonance at times to get a more sonic sound, but the guitar tones are machine-like because of the effects being used and I am not feeling the emotion of who they are just hearing what they intend to be. 

There is a little more deliberate crunch to "S.C.U". I hear a little more of the second vocal on this one, it's higher almost black metal-like, but I am not sure why it requires separate vocalists to do both. They begin to crunch into nu-metal grooves by the time we get to "Betrothed to Blasphemy" a cool title, but there is no way to make out the lyrics with that gurgle. The pig squeal thing now feels dated. Most of the songs are around the three-minute mark so you are not in pain for long. At best on a song like "Embedded in Filth," it sounds like Cannibal Corpse filler songs.  "Wraith" starts off as a blast fest despite the guitar going in a different direction with doomy guitars. They cover Slipknot's " Sic" for the last song, while they do not sound to be a huge influence on this band you can hear I suppose. They do a better job with it than expected, they need to take more notes in the songwriting dept from Slipknot. I will give this album a 6, it's not my thing, but if you like slamming grindcore it might be yours. I love Cannibal Corpse and they are not far removed in some ways they just missed out on writing something hooky no matter how heavy you are. 

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Fluids : "Reduced Capabilities"

Four albums deep these guys are a pretty respected grind-core band. Their short blasting style leans more in the death metal side of the genre and owes less to punk. That is aside from the minute-long songs. The first song does not even feel like a complete thought of a song. You do not hear the nuance and understanding of songwriting basics until the second song. The wheel is not being re-invented here by any means.  By the time we get to "Rendered" the vocals are clearly just content at the low gurgle, though the tense chug almost creates a groove here, but they prefer speeding up into an organized chaos. 

This sort of thing is as influenced by Cannibal Corpse as it is by Napalm Death, perhaps weighing closer sonically on the Cannibal Corpse side. "Measured Anipathy" is a more deliberate and more effective display of songwriting, as it compensates for the one-dimensional vocal style. They are a little more hammering for "Generational Taint". Which works pretty well, the guitar tones on this album are pretty sick as they are as dense as you can get, and still be musical. "Soot" does find what the limitations are for this kind of death metal. They continue down this dead end for "Devalued" but manage to groove it a little more making it more interesting.

The title track falls into blasting from the get-go, then slows into a syncopated crunch that is a call and response to the blasting. "Parted" has more of a Morbid Angel feel to its slow monster groove. The vocals are the only element that hinders this riff, as it is now making all the songs sound the same, though they just end up blasting the night away. "Unresponsive" finds its well-chugged half-time groove. They do continue the formula of making this a call and response from blasting sections. They close the album with a cover of Moby's "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters".  This proves they are capable of doing more than blasting their lives away. It ends in the way you might think it would. I will give this album an 8, it has it's moments and sounds good for what it is.  

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Full of Hell : "Coagulated Bliss"

 Two songs in and  I can already tell it's better than "Garden of Burning Apparitions". From a production standpoint, it's more organic. Not darker, in fact, more punk than the sludge-tinged gnarliness that comprised their guitar tone on other albums. The guitarist claims that he learned how to serve the song during their sessions for the album with Nothing. Things here reflect that due to the fact it is angular and mathy, but not spastic. The vocals are more deliberate as well. There are very cohesive moments in "Doors to Mental Agony". This is not to say that their grindcore side has been replaced, it just occupies a more focused section in what they do. 

"Transmuting Chemical Burns" is a little more riffing as it ranges from thrashy to more blackened in sections. Most of all it makes sense. It's like they said let's quit fucking around and write some actual songs. There is a little darker tone to "Fractured Bonds to Mecca".  They rock around this mood in a more punk manner for the title track which clocks in at under a minute and a half. In contrast, it takes almost two minutes for "Bleeding Horizon" to kick in.  it moves more like a sludge dirge. The pace picks up to a marginal extent. The return to a quick burst of death metal for "Vomiting Glass". It's just under a minute long, "Schizoid Rupture" almost sounds like a continuation of the song, except for a call and response of low death metal vocals gurgling after the more frantic screams. 

"Vacuous Dose" comes close to having rock n roll riffs in it. This album is not as heavy, but the songwriting has greatly improved over the last album. There is a lapse into their old ways on "Gasping Dust" that reverts to feeling like a burst of rushed heaviness. Then there is the angular stomp of "Gelding of Men" which is much more original and is a fresh new take on the genre. "Malformed Ligature" is another more deliberate hooky riff before blasting off into something more hard-core. It then slows back down into something almost melodic. I will give this album a 9 making it perhaps their best . This album is being released on Closed Casket Activities.  

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Trocar : "Extremities"

 This grindcore project which features former members of Fluids, is as weird as it is ambitious. The weirdness is the mix of the album, and how the vocals are handled. I was aware that there were noise and industrial elements I was just unaware of how these were going to be handled. The ample use of effects on the vocals is one. Most of the songs are just over a minute. The first track is more like an intro. This makes the title the first song. It's a blasting minute and nineteen seconds. With oddly croaked vocals. "Orphaned Organs" feels like it is a continuation of the previous song, and I am not sure why they did not just combine the two songs into one two-and-a-half-minute song.  

"Foreign Body Insult" does stand on its own two feet as its own song due to the punk influence in the drumming. They cram a great deal of sound into that minute. The minute of "Perverse Incentives" feels like it should be less of a conjoined twin to the previous song. 'Deinstitutionalize" has the vocals contribute something closer to hooks despite the insane blasting. Almost a minute and a half seems like a favor enough compromise to make a song that is a complete thought. "Skin Like Sky" is a minute of blasting that reminds me of early Carcass. "Psalter of Manias" finds Jamie Stewart lending his voice to the more deliberate industrial crunch. It is one of the album's best songs. 

The 45 seconds that make up "The Willing" prove they can write an actual song in under a minute. "Tithing Offal" finds the additional fifteen seconds pays off. The term cyber-grind seems to best describe the song 'the Lesson".  "Husbandry" is more like a blast of noise, the production feels more muffled on it. "Brazen Head" slows to a more deliberate pace that is more effective, though the production quality did not improve. 

"Weapons Prosper" finds the lyrics cutting through a little more. The attitude is more punk, which also explains why they are content with this lo-fi sound. "Feild Dressed to Egress' is a great song title for a forgettable song.  "Golem" is another example that these guys can write a fucking cool song when they set their minds to it. There is a sung chorus and plenty of samples to solidify the narrative. I will give this album an 8,5, there is a great mood, and cool shit going on, that works within the limitations of production, and adherence to the ADHD nature of grindcore" >pst163

Brat : "Social Grace"

 For a grindcore band from New Orleans, they certainly have a big budget for videos. I did not know Prosthetic Records had it like that.  Bigger than the budget of much larger bands like Goatwhore or Eyehategod, who play marginally more accessible versions of metal. Following the money trail is the most reason-based point on which to base all theories. They are not bad at what they are doing, and calling them Barbie Core, is absurd as it does not affect their sound at all.  There have been female vocalists in extreme metal for some time, I think the only difference is they are getting more push from the press. But you are covering them you say. I have always covered female-fronted bands, I like chicks. 

Anyway, I am talking about everything but the music here, and truth be told the first four songs pretty much all sound the same, they have a hard-core deliberation in how their riffs attack. "Human Offence" is more thrash than grindcore and one of the album's strongest songs at that. If there is a middle-of-the-road to extreme metal this band rides firmly down the line. I am not bad about it as it makes them better songwriters than just trying to throw the entire Sonic kitchen at you in thirty seconds. "Rope Drag" is almost Judas Priest-like in the opening riff. They do kick things into a more punk recklessness. They also groove like a death metal band, which plays to their favor in the songwriting department. 

They are capable at what they do, even if what they do is not the most original thing I have heard this week."Blood Diamond" finds them throwing themselves into a blast beat, which is kinda boring. They do have a cool riff in there, but the rule here regarding even the coolest of breakdowns is ...cool riffs alone does not a good song make. "Sniffer" does not smell any fresher. Once again cool riffs that do not equate the totality of the song is well thought out, though up to this point in the album there had been more gray matter invested. "Sugar Bastard' sounds like if Goatwhore dialed it in. There are parts worth moshing to, but if you are writing songs under three minutes every moment needs to count. The title track pretty much rehashes what we know them capable of ./I will give this album an 8, not an album of the year, but pretty solid old-school metal, and more aggressive than you might imagine. 

pst132

Benighted : "Ekbom"

 I like the darker atmosphere that haunts this French band's brand of grindcore. By grind-core, there is a surprising blend of technical death metal in their songwriting DNA. This keeps things spastic and unpredictable. Songs like "Morgue" prove they can make you bob your head to their blend of madness. Some songs were just pure death metal with the grindcore taking a back seat in the meat wagon for the roaring vocals and double bass to be more dominant with a more Morbid Angel-like intention to the beating they are dishing out. There is no question the drummer is an insane machine of a man, but when it comes to making this kind of music he would have to be. 

One of the more brutal albums I have heard from Season of Mist in recent months. They bring hook to their grindcore side to offset some of the craziness on "Nothing Left to Fear". It is damn catchy for music this fucking heavy. That is what songwriting is about. Perhaps it seems like I harp on songwriting at the expense of heaviness, but this album is once again proving you can have both. This album is very well produced putting them more closely shoulder to shoulder with a band like Cattle Decapitation, than the more punk-leaning side of the genre. The vocals are very deliberate and not just obligatory screaming. 

I can hear a slight tinge of Carcass to "Metastasis". The unison chant in the chorus works well, but it is not as hooky as what they have already done here. They are also really capable of ripping mean guitar solos even without the help of their homeboy from Archspire,  if you like that kind of thing. "Reason For Treason" is gritty enough and still cares about being a song worth listening to. They even cram a ton of riffs into just over three minutes. They find themselves making hard-core punches on "Fame of the Grotesque" as they mock influencers. At first 'Scapegoat" feels like it is going to be more straightforward, but they provides a smart enough twist to things.

"Flesh Against Flesh' is another example of hardcore's influence on the band. Though they throw more dazzling meth'ed-out guitar shredding at you than the hardcore bands would. "Mother Earth, Mother Whore", brings the album to a close on a darker note, though they do throw restraint out the window halfway in and blast off into a tooth-gnashing thrashing. I will give this album a 9.5, it's setting the bar for what extreme metal should be when it comes to songwriting this year. Season of Mist is dropping it in April. 

pst85

the Sept : "MMXXIII"

 

This Irish band is a late entry into this year's metal race, but a weird and wonderful one. They balance out a death metal lace grind-core with some raw and unsettling atmosphere. The vocals are uttered in a low growl or a rabid snarl. The grindcore side of their songwriting equation keeps things very economical and makes every chug count. When they are committed to giving you a pounding they are fully invested. "The Endless Knot" has more of a hardcore attack to it. "Fissures in that Which is Reflected" is more deliberate with its slow and steady sludge-like chug. 

"Homini Sacer" comes at you with a more feral flash of snapping teeth. The playing here seems to bring the message that in his heart of hearts, the drummer is more into punk than metal. They are capable of crashing down with a more metallic intensity, and the howl of vocals falls on the more metal side of the equation. The descent into the chaotic shadows stirred by the sonic torture chamber is tightly reined and still song-focused. "Nala Ukhthaz" is a two-part song the first being ambient noise that turns into black metal of sorts. The second part finds them unleashing the heaviest chugs yet. The vocals shift into something more akin to anguished hardcore. Three and a half minutes into it and things get really crfazy like free-form jazz. 

"Four Walls" is the opposite of the previous song. It shows the band appreciates actual singing and things like melody, though I would prefer that they would have worked something like this into what they normally do so you would be hit with both things at the same time. Instead, this just feels like an outro. I will round this album down to a 9, as it gets a little noisy, but is overall more rewarding a listen than not when it comes to very heavy bands taking some sonic risks.

Bandit : "Siege of Self"

Philly grinders are perfecting this brand of death grind. The guitars are the most death metal in their approach. The vocals are screamed in a manner of many extreme sub-genres of metal. The guitar solo on the title track seems to be more intent on just causing chaos. "Juniata" is more focused on the tense thrashing of its riff.  Though even amid the chaos some chops still show through.  "Hoax' covers a great deal of sonic space during its 40-second shelf life. 

"Mangled Sheep" continues to find them more technical sound than you would expect most grindcore bands to be. I just reviewed the new Closet Witch album, which a bunch of hipsters were declaring as the album of the year, but they can not hold a candle to what is going down here. "the Hopeless Romantic" has a thrashing groove, the spoken vocals are recited over. This album came out back in April so disappointed it was allowed to fly under my radar for so long. They are not perfect. Some moments could stand to be more nuanced such as "Body Horror". "United in Tormented" goes into a riff that sounds like it could have been off "Cowboys From Hell". It is certainly worth head-banging to. 

"Reincarnation Blues" works off a more spastic gnashing of teeth. There are some catchy moments for these guys even to be found here. "Mastery" finds them dishing out a really tasty riff that carries a brutal groove. "Bring the War Home" is propelled by a riff that aims for your guys.  "End of the Rainbow" is five and a half minutes long, so they give themselves plenty of time here. Some riffs even have a more hard-core feel. I will give this one a 9, as rages while still writing catchy riffs. 

See You Next Tuesday : "Distractions"

 

This grindcore band came back swinging this year with this terrorizing sonic assault. Punk vocals and snarls join in on "What a Funny Girl You Used to Be".  At two minutes they give themselves more time than many bands of their ilk. They are more pummelling, but less musical on "Hey Look, No Crying" that features more death metal vocals among the chaos. They throw a more math-driven blitz of riffs at you on the outburst that is "Why Can't You Behave". 

An outburst like the 34-second "Glad to Be Unhappy" is too brief to consider a song. "I'll Never Be the Same" is a more blown-out distorted attack. There are elements of both sludge and hard-core colliding. "I'll Never Smile Again" taps into the melodic dissonance I listen for in these kinds of bands. They are not as skilled in this area as say  Portrayal of Guilt , but the fact they make an effort works for me.  "Day in the Life of a Fool" is a more straightforward pounding, where the drummer James Watson proves he is beyond insane. 

They continue to prove their songwriting ability on "This Happy Madness" . There are many hints that they are capable musicians and not just out to make noise. This is not displayed in the feral blasting but more deliberate moments. The cool riffs does not a good song make rule certainly affects songs like "I Had the Craziest Dream".  "Strange Music" finds them dabbling in sound that is darker and should be worked into the other songs more often. I will give this album an 8.5, they go beyond the expectations of the genre. 

Full of Hell & Nothing : "When No Birds Sing"

 

The first song in this collaborative effort between Full of Hell and Nothing, finds Full of Hell the overpowering force, that leans the song in their favor. Screamed vocals gnash their teeth as the jagged riffs slice at your ears. In the last couple of minutes the song drones off into samples., strummed guitar and kind of ambient experimentation you could see Nothing getting into. "Like Stars in the Firmament" leans as vigorously in the other direction. If you know what Nothing does, then it's on the more dream-like shoegazing and less of the grungey 90s-flavored alt-rock that colored their most recent output. This song is a fair introduction to the band, but drifts and never really explores the full range of what they do, but we are only on the second song so it's too soon to tell. 

"Forever Well" is comprised of an atmosphere so intangible, that it is barely a shimmer in the waves of sound, until the drums come in.  That is not until the halfway point, but when the dynamic shifts Full of Hell does what they do. This is the first song where it felt like the two bands were blending what they do with one another. We get both the airy shoe gaze singing, and the throat wrenching screams toward the end of the song. I waited to cast dispersion on "Wild Blue" since the previous song took its time before the dynamic shift got to the point. There are only six songs on this album, so everyone should count, and that track feels like a wasted opportunity.

The title track takes less time ebbing into motion. A choir of surreal vocal layers chimes in. It feels more like another instrument joining in rather than a verse being established. I can appreciate the experiment here, as it pays off. Full of Hell drummer Dave Bland , is behind the kit for the duration of the album, as Nothing's drummer is touring with his other band Night Sins. Bland brings an interesting energy to the title track, that counterbalances the pulse of the guitar. 

It is hard for expectations to not be high for the last song, as if they are going to make some magic like they did on "Forever Well" then it has got to happen here. It takes almost two minutes for things to darken before a metallic explosion. There are both screamed and sung vocals, and the atmosphere takes the place of where a distorted guitar might normally sit.  I will around this up to an 8.5, which means it's a cool album, that is better than most of the new shit you are going to hear today, my expectations were a little high, but there are moments where it comes together better than I hoped.