Greetigs, Decibel readers!
It’s a big day today, as we’ve got the new album from Ancient Death to celebrate, but also new ones from some lesser-known names as well. And Iron Lung is back! And the new Wulkanaz is really cool!
Enjoy!
—
Ancestor of Kaos – Animal Ritual
Originally from Havana, this Florida-based black metal unit has arrived with its fourth album — bringing all shades of darkness to bear. Ancestor of Kaos plays with the professionalism of a festival-tier metal band, but retains the fire and fury of the underground all the same. The band’s form of black metal is distinctly Swedish, as the riffs and arrangements all recall the work of Naglfar, Necrophobic and Dissection with subtle hints of melodic death metal as well.
Stream: Apple Music
—
Ancient Death – Ego Dissolution
I first heard about Ancient Death last year while listening to the excellent Death Metal Podcast, and immediately knew there was something special going on with this band. After all, I’m an easy sell for anything that mixes the ferocity of death metal with the overwhelming power of doom metal — but Ancient Death does it in a seamless way that belies easy categorization into one cohort or another. You may have noticed a lot of hype around this band at the moment. Perhaps this has left you skeptical, as you may have been burned by the music journalist consensus in the past. But trust me on this one, this is going to be top-tier album of 2025, because Ancient Death is set to become a top-tier death metal band for the 2020s.
Stream: Apple Music
—
Dormant Ordeal – Tooth and Nail
Sometimes the mood just calls for late-90s death metal in the style of Nile, Hate Eternal, and Tucker-era Morbid Angel. And that’s the vibe for this weekend, put this album on right now!
Stream: Apple Music
—
Iron Lung – Adapting // Crawling
Oh damn! It’s been a long time since I’d heard that name. I remember loving White Glove Test when it came out in 2013, so it’s great to have another serving of rage-induced powerviolence on our plates in 2025.
Stream: Apple Music
—
Wulkanaz – Luftuz
Wulkanaz was always an interesting project, but NOW it totally kicks ass. Through a mix of experimentation and dialing everything in just right, Magnus has found an excellent balance of rawness and power, metal and punk, catchiness and weirdness and so on. For anyone wondering “Where does raw black metal go from here?” — consider this one of many paths forward.
Stream: Apple Music