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WODE – New Album "Uncrossing The Keys" in October 2025 via 20 Buck Spin – Track Premiere
 Manchester’s savage sons WODE return with their fourth album, "Uncrossing The Keys", set for release on October 3rd 2025 via 20 Buck Spin.
With "Uncrossing The Keys", WODE are marking a confident expansion of their already formidable sound built upon a shadowy foundation of feral black metal and ironclad heavy metal heft. Having evolved from the more straightforward methodology of the debut album, WODE has continuously added elements from various dark corners of the underground across its discography, with songwriting that has grown leaner yet more intricate, focused and melodic than ever.
"Uncrossing The Keys" hasn’t softened WODE’s music, the sound remains steeped in flame and fury, but they’ve embraced a wider spectrum of moods, painting with blacker, richer hues than ever before. Jagged post-punk / goth leanings bleakly shine on new tracks like "Saturn Shadow" and the dreamy trance of atmospheric instrumental "Phantom". The doomier pace and majestically pensive mood of single "Transmutation" recalls both Paradise Lost and Amorphis with its somber undercurrent, while the morosely anthemic "Under Lanternlight" is suffused with dynamic melodies in its Sentenced-like composition style. Guitars carry a mournful shimmer at times, their hooks laced with both melancholy and menace, drifting above the carnage with moments of elegiac beauty and dark lamentation. The hellish rasp of the vocals rise like ritual chants from another age.
Conjuring visions of a world perpetually on the edge of twilight WODE casts a long, cold silhouette over the course of "Uncrossing The Keys" nine tracks. There’s a sense of both grandeur and decay, as though the band opened a gateway to a realm where cursed cities smolder under blood-red skies, their walls echoing forsaken hymns eternally. The result of a constant evolutionary process WODE has crafted a truly haunted and commanding blackened heavy metal that raises a dark banner high over a vast and desolate kingdom.
For a first impression check out the album's first single "Transmutation": https://youtu.be/23nucBcraTc
Recorded & mixed by James Atkinson at The Stationhouse. Mastered by Magnus Lindberg. Artwork by Set33.
Tracklist:
1. Two Crossed Keys
2. Under Lanternlight
3. Saturn Shadow
4. Transmutation
5. Prisoner of the Moon
6. Fiery End
7. Lash of the Tyrant
8. Phantom
9. Dashed on the Rocks
https://www.20buckspin.com +++ https://www.facebook.com/Wodecult
SUNNIVA – New Video Clip available – Debut Album " Hypostasis" out in September 2025 via Svart Records
 Finnish sludge/post-metal act SUNNIVA have unveiled another song from their upcoming debut album "Hypostasis", coming on September 19th 2025 via Svart Records.
You can watch the official video for "Valovaltimo" at this location: https://youtu.be/643woiuR0sM
Sung in Finnish and Swedish, "Valovaltimo" (which translates to “Artery of Light”) is a deep, hypnotic journey into the band’s signature blend of psychedelic repetition, crushing doom, and heavy atmospherics. The track builds slowly, creating a sense of mounting tension before culminating in a dramatic, almost spiritual conclusion.
The song’s lyrics are inspired by a vivid, unsettling dream experienced by the band’s lyricist: a vision of a massive black hole consuming everything—people, animals, buildings, trees, the very fabric of reality itself. “At first I felt dread as I floated toward it,” the lyricist recalls. “But then I saw animals heading toward it, accepting it without fear. There was a strange sense of calm, and that stayed with me.” The dream ultimately became a meditation on death, unity, and the idea that we are all interconnected, spiraling toward the same end.
The track also features guest vocals and lyrics by Lotta, the lead singer of SVARTA HAVET, who was inspired by the dream’s imagery to create her own contribution, adding a hauntingly ethereal layer to the song’s dramatic finale.
SUNNIVA was formed in 2016 out of a shared hunger for the raw sonic power of heavy music. The band's name, derived from the Old English Sunngifu, meaning "gift of the sun", hints at the layered darkness and light woven into their sound.
Blurring the lines between death doom, sludge, and post-metal, SUNNIVA summons the same seismic intensity as titans like Amenra, Neurosis and Dark Buddha Rising. Their past releases – "The Holy Mountain" (2017), self-titled EP (2020), and the sprawling single "This Reality Only Speaks In Blood" (2018) – have cemented their reputation for crafting immersive, soul-crushing soundscapes.
Listen. Witness. Be undone.
Tracklist:
1. Mercurial Bloodstreams
2. Peine Forte Et Dure
3. Valovaltimo
4. Opening The Key
5. Sun Funeral
6. Hung From The Sky
https://www.svartrecords.com +++ https://www.facebook.com/sunnivadoom
BERGFRIED – Debut Full-Length Album Romantik "III" via High Roller Records in October 2025 – First Single revealed
 Following the EPs "Romantik I" (2022) and "Romantik II" (2023), BERGFRIED's highly anticipated debut full-length "Romantik III" will be released on 24th October 2025 via High Roller Records on all formats.
The Austrian-Hungarian heavy metal duo consists of Erech von Lothringen, who is handling all the instruments, and vocalist Anna de Savoy.
Erech von Lothringen states: "'Romantik III' is the last part of this trilogy. Conceptually it is the continuation of 'Romantik II' but musically, the whole thing has become a bit more compact and also clearer. There are classic heavy metal songs on the album, but, as on 'Romantik II', there are also a few musical-like passages in between."
The album's opening track, "Dark Wings", can be checked out here: https://youtu.be/z5bIKUjkk94
"Romantik III" is featuring guest appearances by Maria Nesh of Red Eye Temple, Sarah Kitteringham of Smoulder and Davide Moras of Elvenking. Drums by Fabio Alessandrini (Annihilator, Enforcer, Bonfire). Mixed and Mastered by Olof Wikstrand at Hvergelmer Studio & Music Production. Artwork by Aaron Lawrance // paintedimagelimited.
Tracklist:
1. Dark Wings
2. Fallen From Grace
3. Queen of the Dead
4. For the Cursed
5. Gates of Fate
6. Serenades
7. Tears of a Thousand Years
8. Star-Crossed Love
9. Back for More
https://www.hrrecords.de/BERGFRIED +++ https://www.facebook.com/bergfriedofficial
SÖLICITÖR - Sophomore Full-Length "Enemy In Mirrors" via Gates Of Hell Records in September 2025 – Track Premiere
 Seattle speed metal masters SÖLICITÖR are back with their sophomore studio album, entitled "Enemy In Mirrors", set for release on September 19th 2025 via Gates Of Hell Records.
A first track, "Iron Wolves of War", can be checked out here: https://solicitor-speedmetal.bandcamp.com/track/iron-wolves-of-war
Five years have passed since "Spectral Devastation", SÖLICITÖR’s debut LP was unleashed. Now they are back with a bang. More leather-bound, more aggressive, more powerful and more metal than ever. From the powerful riffing and impressive drum work to the evocative vocals; it won’t take you long to fall in love with the classic and authentic sound of this new offering. Mixing heavy, speed and even some thrash metal elements to achieve a unique sound of powerful metallic excellence, none shall be spared on this ferocious new opus.
Fans will notice the more dynamic, emotive and varied approach on this album that still retains all of the power and fury of their previous efforts. The band took a more DIY approach to the actual recording while re-amping, mixing and mastering was done by Chris Mannino to truly bring the electrifying takes to life. Speaking of DIY, the band’s vocalist Amy handled the artwork for this release, ensuring the bands vision was appropriately represented.
The band put this into words best: This album was built on blood, sweat and struggle, personal catastrophes and triumphs, division and uncertainty - ultimately pulled together by dedication to a long term vision and determination above all odds to deliver performances that will surely outlast our previous offerings. We believe in the integrity of these songs, as a representation of our evolution and arrival to this point. This album is darker, more melodic, much more expressive, personal, and may take some by surprise for better or worse. Themes of the paranormal, revenge and retribution, betrayal, and a steadfast commitment to heavy metal and all that has come before us as we continue to pursue and mark our place in a drastically different and ever changing landscape.
Haunting, powerful and destructive metal mania!
Live in Europe:
13.09.25 - Pyrenean Warriors Open Air – France
20.09.25 - In the Best Tradition Festival - Italy
Tracklist:
01. The Descent
02. Paralysis
03. Iron Wolves of War
04. Spellbound Mist
05. We Who Remain
06. Fallen Angel
07. Crimson Battle Beast
08. Enemy In Mirrors
09. Black Magick (Part I)
10. The Devil’s Hand (Part II)
https://www.facebook.com/gatesofhellrecords +++https://www.facebook.com/solicitor.speedmetal
RITUAL MASS – New Song revealed – Debut Album "Cascading Misery" in September 2025 via 20 Buck Spin
 Pittsburgh based death metallers RITUAL MASS have revealed another song from their debut full-length "Cascading Misery", coming on September 5th 2025 via 20 Buck Spin on all formats.
You can listen to the title track here: https://youtu.be/aLotp-foV5c
"Cascading Misery" is more than a collection of songs, it’s a series of calculated assaults on the virtue of the holy. Evolving beyond earlier EP and demo releases, the album encapsulates the bludgeoning infliction of pain and the slow peel of skin by flame, rife with both sonic chaos and extinguished hope.
From the outset of album opener "Obsidian Mirror" the atmosphere is oppressive, thick with a suffocating malaise. There is a sense of something ceremonial at work but not in a way that seeks communion. Rather it’s ordeal as sacrament. Riffs strangle and churn into convulsive submission, oscillating from slow agony to psychotic break, over which a guttural lament so savage it freezes the blood is wrenched through dungeon stone. Each track unfolds like time spent in isolation, bound by chains, the mind slowly unraveling and surrounded by memories of torment both real and imagined.
By the time the epic 14-minute album closer "Disquiet" dissipates into a mass of formless static RITUAL MASS have dragged you into a world where suffering is not an end but a condition of existence. "Cascading Misery" is music for the dissolution of hope, the terror of being, and the long march toward death.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Greg Wilkinson / Earhammer Studios (Ulthar, Autopsy, Undergang). Cover painting by P. Trona.
Tracklist:
1. Obsidian Mirror
2. Immeasurable Hell
3. Looming Shapeless Entity
4. Cascading Misery
5. Frozen Marrow
6. Disquiet
https://www.20buckspin.com +++ https://www.facebook.com/20buckspin
HERETOIR - New Album "Solastalgia" in September2025 via AOP Records - New Single Premeire
 HERETOIR have revealed another song from their upcoming new album "Solastalgia", set for release on September 19th 2025 via AOP Records.
Check out the video clip for "Season of Grief" here: https://youtu.be/BdDtowKmQk8
The band comments: "When we think about how modern humanity treats the natural world and also how humanity treats each other, the general feeling is one of sadness and anger - and grief. Grief for every living being suffering from our ways. In the name of technological progress humanity is consuming even the last remaining intact ecosystems. Many people, especially in the global North, believe that established economic systems, capitalism, and globalized industrial civilization represent humanity's greatest achievement. We actually find little to admire in this - huge numbers of people live in inhumane conditions, animals are degraded to commodities, primeval forests are clearcut for wood production and to make room for agriculture... the list is endless. We hope that this track resonates with many of you, especially in this challenging time, where everything feels more unstable than ever. Thank you for your never ending support and love - we don't take it for granted."
With "Solastalgia", the German purveyors of soaring post metal work their way to their innermost core and deliver what is easily their most vulnerable and accessible record to date. "Solastalgia describes the grief over the loss of the natural world," HERETOIR explains. The very existence of such a term brutally exposes our alienation from this planet – easy prey for these uncompromising analysts of human misery. While some songs deal with environmental issues, others focus on personal feelings and the challenges of human existence in a rapidly changing world. Heretoir has always been pure emotion. The pain of modern life set to music. And yet the desperate beauty of "Solastalgia" proves to be an unlikely source of comfort.
Just two years on from their stunning full-length "Nightsphere", which was followed by headlining tours through Europe and Latin America and appearances at festival A-listers such as Resurrection Fest, Party-San and Summer Breeze, HERETOIR are back with another crushing masterclass in melancholy and world-weariness. Having grown from a solo outlet for David Conrad's musical vision to a tight-knit trio over the years, the current incarnation of Heretoir has proven to be their strongest yet. Bonded by the firm belief that empathy is the only thing that can truly keep us safe, the three musicians have created an album so full of life that it can be overwhelming at first. It hurts. But sometimes it has to.
Blurred tremolo guitars burst into cascading mountains of sublime melody, harsh cries from the end of the world join mournful vocals, post-rock clouds evaporate against thunderous post (black) metal ferocity. The joint songwriting of David, Matthias and Nils creates the new sound of HERETOIR. After exploring their dark and grim side on "Nightsphere", Heretoir have gone in a different direction this time. The songs of "Solastalgia" cover a wide range of emotional and heavy music. From Modern Metal to Black Metal to Post Rock to maybe even Screamo. Whatever you want to call it: essentially, this is pure melancholy and a spark of hope in utter darkness.
"Solastalgia" was recorded and mixed by David Deutsch and Justin Felder at 1408 Productions. Mastered by Lasse Lammert at LSD Studio. Artwork by Rudolf Hima.
Tracklist:
01. The Ashen Falls
02. Season of Grief
03. You Are the Night
04. Inertia
05. Rain
06. Dreamgatherer
07. The Heart of December
08. Burial
09. Solastalgia
10. The Same Hell MMXXV
11. Metaphor (In Flames Cover)
https://shop.aoprecords.de +++ https://www.facebook.com/heretoir
THE LUNAR EFFECT - New Album Fortune’s Always Hiding out in October 2025 via Svart Records - Single / Video Clip Premiere
 THE LUNAR EFFECT were formed in London in 2017 by brothers Jon and Dan Jefford and later completed by vocalist Josh Neuwford, bassist Brett Halsey, and eventually second guitarist Mark Fuller. Since their arrival on the scene, they’ve carved out a reputation for crafting music that feels both familiar and original - a modern echo of grunge-soaked ’70s rock, fuzzed-out blues, and melancholic British soul.
Following the underground success of 2019’s "Calm Before the Calm", the band signed with Svart Records and released the critically praised sophomore album Sounds of Green & Blue in 2024. After touring the album across the UK and Europe, they set their sights on album three, their most ambitious work to date. "Fortune’s Always Hiding" lands in October 2025; a brooding journey through loss, memory, and the weight of time. It marks a new era for the band - deeper, stranger, and more soul-baring than ever.
The first taste from the upcoming album, "Feed the Hand", has been premiered here with a video clip: https://youtu.be/MdZGUEpFsFw
The band comments on the new single: "'Feed the Hand' sets the tone for what’s to come, uncomfortable, deliberate, and heavy with implication. It reaches back with one hand, grabbing a handful of early 90's alternative nostalgia to bring a high energy groove. With the other, it drags the listener through an unravelling; guidance twisted into obedience, time eroding memory from a feeling to a realisation. There’s weight here, but it’s not theatrical. It’s cathartic and satisfyingly powerful. A quiet reckoning fed by the band's influences, serving up a whole new dish to the table."
They don’t imitate the past, they channel its spirit through a warped, modern lens. From thunderous grooves and fuzz-soaked guitar riffs to intimate, fractured vocals, THE LUNAR EFFECT channel the unease of the modern world with a sound that refuses to sit still.
2026 promises more touring, more evolution, and no interest in standing still. For a band that’s never fit neatly into any box, THE LUNAR EFFECT continue building their own universe — one hypnotic, heavy track at a time.
"Fortune’s Always Hiding" is available on Svart exclusive Cream/Red/Orange marble vinyl, limited Transparent Green vinyl, Black vinyl, CD, and digital platforms on October 24th, 2025.
https://www.svartrecords.com +++ https://thelunareffect.bandcamp.com
HEADS FOR THE DEAD - New Album "Never Ending Night Of Terror" via Pulversied Records in October 2025 - Track Premiere
 Pulverised Records proudly announces the eagerly awaited fourth full-length album of international Horror Death Metallers HEADS FOR THE DEAD, entitled "Never Ending Night Of Terror", set for release on October 10th 2025.
Formed in 2017, HEADS FOR THE DEAD is masterminded by Jonny Pettersson (Wombbath & more) and Ralf Hauber (Revel In Flesh & Rotpit). Completing the line-up since 2022 are Matt Moliti from Sentient Horror on lead guitars and, for the first time, Evan Daniele (also from from Sentient Horror but also Dead and Dripping) on drums.
"Never Ending Night Of Terror" is presented by vocalist Ralf Hauber as an "overall more extreme album, in all aspects". There’s an even stronger emphasis on one intense cinematic vibe, focused on "our favorite slasher movies driven by revenge, violence and, of course, fear", citing such classics as David Cronenberg’s ‘Videodrome’, Roman Polanski’s ‘Repulsion’, the original ‘Friday the 13th’, Stuart Gordon’s ‘The Beyond’ and ‘Re-Animator’, ‘Motel Hell’, ‘City Of The Dead’ and so on.
The whole music was written by multi-instrumentist Jonny Petterson, who took a lot of inspiration from many "cult" original soundtracks but also NECROPHAGIA. The lyrics were entirely penned by Hauber based on the aforementioned movies but also adding a fictional aspect to them too. "Never Ending Night Of Terror" also pays homage to Italian Progrock band Goblin, on the ending track "Witchkrieg", whom were infamous for writing film scores.
The cover artwork was illustrated by Solomacello (Baest, Pentagram, Fulci, etc).
The album’s first single "To The Very Last" has been premiered here: https://youtu.be/MPacSAINHVo
Tracklist:
01. The Vastness Of Time
02. Death Mask
03. Phantasmagoria
04. In Disgust We Trust
05. Never Ending Night Of Terror
06. Give Me Life
07. The Harvester
08. The Shape Of Light Bleeds Black
09. To The Very Last
10. Witchkrieg (Goblin Tribute)
https://www.pulverised.net +++ https://www.facebook.com/headsforthedead
SPECIES - Sophomore Album "Changelings" via 20 Buck Spin - Music Video Premiere
 20 Buck Spin proudly announces the second full-length of Polish power trio SPECIES, entitled "Changelings", set for release on September 19th 2025 on all formats.
Following the debut "To Find Deliverance" and a step up in every regard, "Changelings" is astonishing in its accomplished precision and how much it manages to achieve within the scope of individual tracks and as a cohesive whole. The album features an overload of angular guitar warfare, traditional Euro-thrash aggression with a modern resonance, rhythmic percussive seizures, and intricate basslines that make their intention deeply felt, not just following the guitar but dialoguing with it in a way that offers a second melodic brain to the album. In combination these elements thread seamlessly to give "Changelings" its colorful and uncanny vision, as if John Carpenter had co-produced "Rust In Peace" behind the iron curtain. It’s bristling with sci-fi paranoia, alien terror and a hint of Cold War menace. The early convergence of Thrash Metal with Death Metal is also unmistakably present in the shape-shifting sound of SPECIES.
While there’s more than enough primitive and traditional Thrash bands to go around, SPECIES embraces the genre’s lesser-travelled road of forward-thinking virtuosity and inventive experimentation, showing there’s still plenty of fertile ground to seed new musical territory. Nowhere is it more apparent than on 10-minute album closer "Biological Masterpiece", where SPECIES displays all its weapons; hyperspeed assaults, dystopian lulls and instrumental mastery, in a climatic saga beyond space and time. "Changelings" is that rare album nowadays that still has the ability to surprise in the most triumphant and euphoric way possible.
A music video for the first single "The Essence" is available here: https://youtu.be/djS0vmtLcRM
Cover artwork by Aleksandra Pawłowska.
Tracklist:
1. Inspirit Creation
2. The Essence
3. Waves of Time
4. Voyager
5. Born of Stitch and Flesh
6. Terror Unknown
7. Biological Masterpiece
https://www.20buckspin.com +++ https://www.facebook.com/MetalSpecies
THORONDIR - New Pagan Metal Album "Wächter des Waldes" via Trollzorn Records - Lyric Video Premiere
 Trollzorn Records proudly announces the new album of Bavarian pagan metallers THORONDIR, entitled "Wächter des Waldes", set for release on October 9th 2025.
With their fourth full-length, THORONDIR once again prove why they are a cornerstone of the pagan metal scene. The album combines raw energy, musical diversity, and an unwavering connection to the themes that define their sound: nature, myths, and the stories that continue to resonate with us today.
Fans can look forward to a sonic journey that will make every pagan metal enthusiast’s heart beat faster. "Wächter des Waldes" is more than just an album – it’s an epic adventure that merges the magic of the past with the power of the present. Don’t miss your chance to experience THORONDIR bringing the forests to life once more with their music!
A lyric video for the track "Bruder Hain" has been premiered at this location: https://youtu.be/eZjRyram1Nc
Return to myths, legends and epic darkness!
Cover artwork by Jan Yrlund / Darkgrove.net.
Tracklist:
01. In der Tiefe des Waldes
02. Drudenfluch
03. Blut und Ruhm
04. Rübezahl
05. Der wilde Jäger
06. Bruder Hain
07. Morast
08. Zur alten Taverne
09. Geisterheer vom Fichtelwald
10. Perchtas Schatten
11. Baldurs Ruf
[link:https://www.trollzorn.de[ +++ https://www.facebook.com/THORONDIRofficial
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