I get a lot of advanced promos from bands and labels, dozens a week at least. I’ve racked my brain, but I don’t ever remember the subject of an e-mail noting a band as male-fronted. I even did a quick search, because I’m bad at deleting e-mails, and I cannot find that term. But I got a ton calling out female-fronted bands, as if that’s some novelty. Oh, there’s a girl in this one! I find it disrespectful and silly.

So, none of “The Calling From the Depth,” the debut full-length from grim black metal power Fayenne touches on that subject at all. But, the band—vocalist/guitarist Andréa Hillgren, bassist Mikaela Åkesson, drummer Martin Wahlberg—centers on female domination, destruction even, along with elements of nature and creaky second wave raw thunder. Thrusting that into what’s still a heavily male world establishes their own dominance, no matter their sex, because they bring a smothering hell with them that defaces and destroys. While it’s their first record, it hardly seems the work of mere novices, and this is a band that I’ll be excited to hear morph into their next form.

“The Calling From the Depth” blasts into existence, guitars spiraling and shrieks flying, melodic leads flooding the senses. The pace is fluid as the guitars bubble to the surface, the vocals pierce, and tornadic riffs bring this to a smoking end. “Sulfur and Mercury” mashes with humidity, drums pounding as shrieks retch, leads slicing into black metal permafrost. The pace jolts as guitars lead the charge, exploding into a harsh new reality. “Black Haze” battles through the fog, guitars slicing, the pace galloping with a sense of urgency. The playing rampages, causing ample bruising, storming off into oblivion. “Unholy Rebirth” has heated leads and screams battling through layers of ice, catchy riffs adding new colors to the blackness. Shrieks shred sanity as the fluid pace leaves extremities tingling, an abrupt end wrecking.

“Waters of Ancient Blood” floods, the drums mashing, screams picking at your fragile psyche and disconnecting wiring. The pace bursts with a gasp of new life, blasts loosening tectonic plates, the playing coming unglued before burning to its final rest. “Serpents Order” brings fiery guitars and a frantic pace, screams belting and opening up fresh wounds. Guitars unload a flurry of riffs as the drumming blasts through the surface, strangling with power. “Primordial Surface” rumbles over the earth, the vocals smearing blood, a speedy, catchy tempo taking over and making adrenaline gust. Guitars sweep as the speed gains traction, ending with rippling screams. Closer “Melas Khole” is steamy, a flurry of guitars stabbing into the cloud coverage, screams scorching as the battering continues. The pace then gets more volcanic, ramping up and making hearts race recklessly, a metallic surge combusting and resting in fallen ash.

“The Calling From the Depth” is a burst of black metal that ties tradition with modern development, never adhering to a particular era and stretching their manic power through the eons. Fayenne’s chaos is not polished or pristine, nor was it meant to be, as their darkness reigns in lesser explored terrains and far from where most minds tend to wander. This is a wrenching experience that reveals itself more with each listen and reveals chaos that only comes to those who commit to the journey.

For more on the band, go here: https://fayenne.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://voidwanderer.com/product/fayenne-the-calling-from-the-depth-mc/

For more on the label, go here: https://voidwanderer.com/

There is something about when a record feels more like an event than a collection of music from the same recording cycle. Grandiose explosions of creativity and mad dashes toward drama don’t come every day, even in a genre that is known for going over the top. These bands and albums feel there isn’t a stage big enough for them.

For the type of music Worm, the Florida-based avant-garde death/black/doom metal duo of vocalist Phantom Slaughter and guitarist Wroth Septentrion, create, it doesn’t seem like something arena-ready. Nor should it be. But on their fourth full-length “Necropalace,” Worm expand their virtuoso-blazed guitar work, eerie environment, and horror movie aesthetics not just to a major metal label in Century Media but also their own universe they’ve created. It also might take a few tries for this to fit. As much as I enjoy the band’s entire catalog, this has even more ambition and manic terror, there are more twists and turns to navigate. But the work is worthy, especially on that listen when it finally lands.  

“Gates to the Shadowzone (Intro)” starts with thunder and dramatic synth, guitars open and soar, and everything burns into the title track that is a total force. Guitars blaze as the vocals scorch, keys storming and adding a dose of regality to the madness. Slaughter’s vocals hit a desperate creak as the vicious, active tempo sprawls, the power gets grittier, and then the tempo ravages, keys flooding before disappearing into a shadowy darkness. “Halls of Weeping” has keys pumping and drifting, warmth melting ice layers, mucky playing clogging, and the cries retching. The playing cools as howls ravage, and guitars enter a mysterious fog, marring your psyche. The might punches out of the vortex, melodic leads gush with effusive emotion, and moaned howls slip under the flesh, the horrific aura spreading dangerously. “The Night Has Fangs” opens with warm leads that dizzy, and then the mid-section is split apart, crazed fury spilling generously. Guitars flurry as the synth lines dare, stabbing into heated soloing that hypnotizes and excites. The vocals scrape over metal as the tempo bursts, cutting a path while crushing dreams, a smokescreen obscuring sight.

“Dragon Dreams” is the second-longest track, running 12:06, and it starts clean and hazy, like a dream that lingers through the night, and then electricity strikes. Keys storm as vile wails collect, the playing temporarily going cold before melting in an instant. Gothy clouds amass as the vocals punish, and the leads bleed openly, keys glazing and congealing wounds. Melodies glisten as calls bellow, and an immersive, tornadic force drags everything into oblivion. “Blackheart” locks psyches in a vice, the humidity generating uncomfortable air, disorienting as the keys hypnotize. The guitars get catchier as keys drip, and manic cries burst, torching and fraying nerve endings. Closer “Witchmoon – The Infernal Masquerade” features guest guitar work from the legendary Marty Friedman, who more than makes his presence felt with his masterful soloing that fits in this strange world rather perfectly. The guitars blow open, the screams hanging onto bruised flesh, the solos trading off and generating total delirium. Organs sprawl as the pace sludges and chars, an onslaught of power riveting, making blood race through your veins. Keys take over as the swampiness floods and the dueling guitars dazzle, bringing the record to a massive, fire-breathing end. 

Worm’s jump to metal’s major labels will be interesting to watch as records such as “Necropalace” need time to sink in fully, and there is so goddamn much going on, it could be frustrating for some. But no concessions appear to have been made musically, and this band’s vision has grown more ambitious and mystifying since “Foreverglade” and “Bluenothing.” This one took me a few times to fully acclimate to Worm’s universe in 2026, and those excursions have more than paid off, as this is bound to be one of the most challenging and mesmerizing records of this year.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.instagram.com/wormgloom

To buy the album, go here: https://centurymedia.store/collections/worm

For more on the label, go here: https://www.centurymedia.com/

Living. It’s kind of not that fun right now. Having to wake up every day and be who we are while countless state-sponsored crimes surround us, people are struggling to see doctors and just fucking eat, and there’s no one coming in for the save. We have to just exist in these meat containers, taking it all in, knowing what we know.

“Archatron” is the debut full-length from Chicago’s Embittered, themselves a strange entity based primarily on death metal but with plenty of other tentacles wrapped around it for good, warped measure. They named their record after the entity from Cormac McCarthy’s novels that is an all-knowing force with knowledge of good and evil, language, emotion, death, etc. that hovers over threateningly, with whoever is encountering realizing they are carrying the true weight of existential dread. It’s why feeling alive right now is so fucking painful. The band—vocalist Samu Rahn, guitarist/vocalist/electronics master  A.V. Bach, bassist/drum programmer Austin Smith, drummer Jason Nitts (live drums will be handled by Rodrigo Garcia)—centers on that anxiety and frustration, destroying mentally and physically over 10 tracks that will test your will. They’ll also blacken your heart.

“Kind Master” crumbles open, instantly punishing, the roars mauling with a hellish intensity that is present through the whole record. The playing gets more gargantuan and filthy, suffocating with hellish intent, boiling monstrously as it ends. “The Caveman Cometh” is perfectly titled due to its slow-moving brutality, heated growls strangling, menace pounding as hard as humanly possible. The energy feels feral, leads melting and going more violent, a massive force bludgeoning as the vocals gurgle. “Fractal Autopsy” destroys with grime and thrash, blistering as the howls leave bruising, the leads going off and accelerating the heat. The punishment amplifies as unhinged cries slash, the drums blast ferociously, and one final assault blackens skies. “Archatron I: Astral Predation” starts with static before the steam thickens, pushing forward with might and a deliberate pace. The low end chugs as guitars hang, and the growls obscure, the drubbing disorienting even as strong melodies aim to stop the bleeding. The final minutes are blown forward with speed, smearing wails, and an encircling attack that spills into “Archatron II: Chrysalis,” an instrumental piece built with cleaner guitars, a calming atmosphere, and all elements slipping into the cosmos. 

“Flesh Prison” gallops, harsh sentiment spat dangerously, smashing into a hazy aura that feels odd, but it’s a misdirect as the leads erupt around that, the band adding tumult to the violence. The playing is gutting from there, growls engorging as the final moments burn. “(I) the Bornless” quivers in doomy pools, growls snarling as dramatic gushes make hearts race, howls curdling and adding to the nausea. The leads melts minds as a lumbering death march threatens to pull you under, clobbering with little concern for your safety. “Ereshkigal | Cauldron of Becoming” features guest vocals from Stavros Giannopoulos (Atlas Moth, Motherless) and is named after the Mesopotamian goddess of the underworld. Clean playing starts and glazes as the bass plods, and the playing crushes, the vocals leaving ample scarring. The guitars take flight, leaving thick, heavy exhaust behind, boiling as the earth quakes, and a muddy attack makes breathing nearly impossible. “Thalidomidia” is a quick interlude featuring icy guitars and steam thawing your psyche, heading into closer “In the Congress of Sand & Rain” that bursts from the gates. Howls lash as heated leads burn fuel, the bass coils, and the road to destruction narrows. Electricity spills, every microorganism feeding off of that, energy pulsating through nervous systems. Jarring playing loosens screws as corrosion eats into bone, the drums gut, as you’re left gasping.

The darkness in which we live and that encompassed us for generations never has been more tangible than it is right now, and “Archatron” certainly embodies that grisly hopelessness and despair. Embittered pour industrial-grade misery into this record, making each step of the way harrowing, a constant reminder that every day we wake, we tread through muck. The burdens of being can often be too much, and this music helps encapsulate that and hopefully helps harden us for the tasks ahead.

For more on the band or to buy the album, go here: https://embittered1.bandcamp.com/

Dreams don’t have to die, and even stitches of our past that have been covered over due to time can be dug up and made prominent parts of our lives again. Likely those elements slowly have been pushing back up on their own, even unconsciously, until they’re too vibrant to ignore. 

Bergtagen is a project Jon Rosenthal (vocals/guitar/bass who you know from Starless Domain, Boreal, Twilight Falls and many more) worked on two decades ago, battling teen angst and getting more involved in taking on woodsy, atmospheric black metal that was blooming pretty hard at that time. Now, 20 years later, Bergtagen resurfaces with Rosenthal joined by Anthony W. (acoustic guitars, drums, bodhrán) to bring two of these tracks back to life with new, more mature recordings on “In Forests Eternal.” They also include their take on an Agalloch classic, which very much fits the vibe and sound of their original material. It’s a really immersive collection, one that shows you where Rosenthal’s musical brain was years ago and how that translates today. Plus, with the hint of more music from this project ahead, this is an ideal place to burst the first buds on the way to full explosion of life. 

“In Forests Eternal” opens with clean guitars flowing, drums booming, then the whole thing coming to life, soaring with engulfing melodies. Howls ensnare, Rosenthal howling, “Flying, feel the weight of the skyline, falling as the sky turns to black,” clean tributaries combining with explosive gusts, the drumming barreling into glimmering leads. The energies swim though the clouds, acoustics join in a wider flow, cold guitars leaving flesh chilled. “Oak Horizon” is steely and crashes to the earth, Rosenthal calling, “Empty, nowhere is this cold place, clutching closer, worthless, nothing.” Leads jar and dash, taking over your imagination, leading your psyche into thinking of cold walks along half-frozen streams. Immersive playing takes over, pushing blood into your heart, Rosenthal urging, “Feel this cold among the graves, hold this warmth in your heart,” as thorny chaos and rushing power mangles to the end. “You Were But A Ghost In My Arms” in the band’s take on Agalloch’s track from their 2002 album “The Mantle,” and it’s both a relatively faithful version but one that also has some of the band’s own strains and colors worked into the piece. Like, you’ll definitely recognize it when you hear it, but you also can’t miss their personal imprints they put on a song for which they obviously hold much reverence.

Bergtagen’s resurrection comes at a time when chaos has been sowed and division is reality, so “In Forests Eternal” gives us a major boost of something positive to follow into the future. This batch of revived songs has a wild spirit and brings a different energy into the era in which we’re participants, both musically and existentially. This collection proves no idea is ever dead, and it takes is the right inspiration to act as a spark.

For more on the band, go here: https://ampwall.com/a/bergtagen

To buy the album, go here: https://ampwall.com/a/bergtagen/album/in-forests-eternal

For more on the label, go here: https://nebulaeartifacta.bandcamp.com/

It’s going to be a while before cold winds return to destroy summer, when spookier tales come back into focus for so many people. For others, those visions always are in their heads, swimming through their bloodstreams, coming out in their art. The three members of Hoaxed very much seem like those type of people.

Their second record “Death Knocks” feels like it’s trying to be a serial monster-of-the-week adventure, and over these nine songs, the band—vocalist/guitarist Kat Keo, bassist/vocalist April Dimmick, drummer Kim Coffel—puts forth an effort that is as thought-provoking musically and is it visually. It gives a little something extra than most records you’ll hear, and their dark rock that veers ever so closely to metal sounds more realized than what’s on their debut and constantly keeps you engaged.

“Where the Seas Fall Silent” starts with a creaking ship, waves lashing, and then the adventure opens, the singing soaring, and a sweltering fog hanging over driving guitars. The bass prowls as harsh cries belt, the storm and thunder subsiding. “Kill Switch” chugs, the vocals feeling more hushed but direct, guitars scathing. “Here they come again,” Keo howls as bass plods, and then she continues with, “Out here, everything hurts, everything’s poison,” all musical elements swirling away. “Promised to Me” has darker leads, the melodies pulling back a bit, shadowy singing blending with the atmosphere. The pace builds up and numbs, strong singing whipping, burning into the clouds. “The Fallen” opens with battle cries, a synth glaze blinding, the signing pushing as the temperatures scorch. The drums rumble as the chorus rushes, hitting harder as layered singing mesmerizes, slipping into psyches.

“Looking Glass” is an interlude with synth and elegant sounds, fantastical playing sounding like a film score, moving into “Dead Ringer” that feels ashen at the start. The singing numbs as darkness grows thicker, a strong chorus adding muscle. Harmonized voices dash emotion as everything subsides to orchestral mist. “Wretched” has the bass galvanizing, the singing tingling nerve endings, the tempo growing tougher and more bruising. The band hits even harder, mashing as the drums pummel and wild cackling haunts. “The Family” is catchy and energetic, singing flooding and feeling more forceful, the chorus bursting with electricity. Blood pulses as the drums steady the attack, the guitars burning before disappearing into smoke. Closer “Killing Stone” has guitars flooding and the verses feeling jerky and fun. “Three knocks upon the stone, three knocks from a source unknown,” Keo wails, spilling spooky darkness into the room, the spirits rising and leaving this plane.

“Death Knocks” feels cinematic in a way that’s rough around the edges and constantly keeps you guessed both musically and thematically. Hoaxed are a tighter, more focused beast on record two, sounding even more confident and comfortable in this frame of mind. The promise they showed on their debut is feeling more realized on a record that can keep you engaged musically and visually.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.hoaxedband.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.relapse.com/collections/hoaxed-death-knocks

For more on the label, go here: https://www.relapse.com/