Greetings,Decibel readers!
This week brings a variety of heavy music, with two particularly horrifying releases from long-running experimental acts. But there’s also some classic revival albums as well and some catchy melodeath if you just want some riffs!
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Coffin Hunters – Cosmic Dawn
The California-based classic heavy metal outfit has returned with its third album. Definitely essential listening for fans of 70s hard rock and metal who also want a bit of NWOBHM thrown in. I particularly like Sean Rivera’s vocal approach, landing somewhere between David Coverdale and Bruce Dickinson. And hey, I even enjoyed the organ parts on this album, which I normally can’t stand!
Stream:Apple Music
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Emptiness – Nowhere Speaks
Dark, menacing, and disturbing noise. I’m not even sure how to categorizeEmptiness anymore, and I guess that’s a testament to the band’s peculiar blending of styles and moods. One way or another, this is a nightmarish clash of heavy sounds that should appeal to all daring explorers.
Stream:Apple Music
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Inferno – The Anthropic Sophisms (On The Heights of Despair)
Dense, swirling, avant-garde black metal. Definitely on the dissonant end of the spectrum, seated comfortably next toBlut Aus Nord‘s darker material and bands of a similar persuasion. Here is howInferno describes the album and its central themes:
“The human being is neither measure nor destination here, only a witness. An infinitesimal point within a field of forces that surpass it. The senses fail, reason loses its footing, and yet something is happening. Something unnameable, existing beyond language and beyond control. This is not music that tells a story or offers consolation in a refrain. It is a movement unfolding regardless of expectation.”
Stream:Apple Music
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Left to Die – Initium Mortis
Matt Harvey and Gus Rios team up with originalDeathmembers Terry Butler and Rick Rozz to dive deep into the crypts of death metal to unearth and refurbish the earliest scrolls of theMantas/Death legacy. It is really neat to hear these songs given a 2026-level upgrade that still preserves the energy and intensity of the 1980s. I think it helps that Matt’s vocal style very closely tracks with Chuck’s from the first few Death albums. Additionally, the release pays a fitting tribute to just how creative and groundbreaking Death was. You can still hear some thrash metal echoes in here, but there’s a definitive break taking place as well.
Stream:Apple Music
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Necrocosm – To The Depths
Melodic death metal from Raleigh, North Carolina. Harkens back toThe Black Dahlia Murder at their most melodic while also hewing close to bands likeHypocrisyandKataklysm. Lots of flashy guitar work on here as well!
Stream:Apple Music