Nope.

not yet. too early.

Nevermore brought us “the seven tongues of god” and Aätra bears The Nine Billion Heads of God. Kimberly Fionna Candis is responsible for this musical miasma and for that I thank you. Lo-fi and coming apart at the seams. Almost makes me think of a microtonal La Torture des Ténèbres. Get cleansed in a firestorm of holy light. May you all burn ecstatic.

ahahahahahahahahahaha… just knew there would be another in under the wire AOTY contender. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury I present Neon Scaffold’s Noir. Somewhat akin to Virus, Pogavranjen and Yurei given brass accompaniment. Being under the Meshuggah catch 33 rule this is just shy of the cut for me. Nonetheless, it cuts deep.

Keeping it Slavic and dirty. Upon The Altar with their bludgeoning blackened death sludge Profanation’s Vapor. Asphyx meets Teitanblood at a gate of hell somewhere in Poland.

Not veering from Poland and keeping it strictly black: Primitiae Dormientium with their second assault charge for 2025, the Ash Chalice.

Rounding off the unholy Polish trilogy for this post is Czernina. I almost forgot to check this mistakening thinking I was looking at a Sznur cover and wrongly associating it with the run of Godz of War Productions reissues of certain titles overlapping new titles. Enough of this adled mind, shall we get to Czernina? The trio seem to be moving further into post hardcore territory this release. It is frantic as fuck, choppy, rough and tumble: almost Moja Adrenalina given a blackened streak.

2025 saw Tombs release probably their best album in Feral Darkness and if there is another record that ties together disparate styles in similar fashion it could be Azketem: AMID -All Metal is Dead. This German outfit may not be as successful in terms of coherency and consistency, but, the multi-disciplined approach is noteworthy for its attempt weaving Celtic Frost/Triptykon, Venus Star, Type 0, Venom influences together. Will be looking forward to hearing where this project goes next.

Soon Theurgia returns. They’ve recently unleashed “The World’s Predator” Frosty and Morbid with straining sour Paradise Lost solos.

Opening with dialogue echoing Daniel Plainview’s misanthropic monologue with his regard to humankind in There Will Be Blood, the new EP from Burning Palace tears into a militarized churn that is a mix of Voivod, Vektor, Morbid Angel and Atheist with Martin Van Drunen at the helm, at least for the opening track as other songs employ deeper, guttural intonations. Utterly barbaric sci-fi metallurgy at play. After a couple spins I’m digging Dark Matter more than Elegy from earlier this year. Might be recency bias. Might not.

Bringing burly death metal from Prague in the package of Salvation Denied comes Maggod. Similar in attack as Seance fornever laid to rest. where there is a decidedly Euro bent to the Floridian dm sounds of Morbid Angel, Monstrosity and Cannibal Corpse. Vocals have a Hellchild, Swarrrm animalistic bent which is always an enormous positive mark for me.

Interrupting this broadcast… please support: Everything Went Black, The Metal Dad and his fiendish five podcast, No Clean Singing, Stereogum: The Black Market, The Devil’s Mouth, Aversionline, Invisible Oranges, Horror Wolf 666, Into the Necrosphere, Sol Nox Podcast, The Book of Very Very Bad Things, Plague Rages, Wolf’s Week, Thrown to the Abyss Podcast, Freedom Has No Bounds, Machine Music, Dreams of Consciousness, Doktor Dismemberment’s Midnight Murderplex / Antimatter Halo, Metal Connect and Crucial Blast’s Warhead…. most of which update more frequently than what I provide here

Big ups to Neill Jameson for the uptick in traffic from his direction. Be sure to follow fuckmusic substack.

Ok, so where were we…

So, I lied, there are more than 3 Polish acts this post. Carrion Sky is firmly in the post hardcore Cult of NeurIsis corner and come fortified with analog synth for days. Typically this would get on my nerves as most are fully aware of my no keys in metal hang up. But, more and more acts that are incorporating the tech are taking a retro approach that doesn’t sound like the annoying dungeon synth my first casio recording or sci-fi Nocturnus the key chintz. Big, trudging rhythms caught between enemy of the sun tribalism and somewhere along the highway expanses. Love the album cover. It looks off, but, the kid’s expression slays me.

Closing things out with Italian takes on post industrial sound. First is Filth Colossus and thematically it takes cues from all the right places of dark art and literature. The soundscapes are very much in keeping with German and Italian forefathers - Anenzephalia, Soldnergeist, Atrax Morgue, The Sodality - and pushing the quality of recording forward.

Nihil Impvlse is “brighter” in tone than Filth Colossus but no less disorienting and death obsessed.

Oh, a couple weeks ago, Debemur Morti Productions already announced the 2026 aoty with an opening volley from Miserere Luminis. Everyone can get over it or work harder.

Until the Miserere Luminis drops allow Turpitude to tide you over in raw, cold fury.