Caustic Phlegm--Purulent Apocalypse (CD/LP/CS) {2025 Hells Headbangers Records}

www.hellsheadbangers.com

10/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is the bastard son of Swedish-style death metal and goregrind, and it's a hell of a combination. A one-man act from the UK, Caustic Phlegm is one of the dirtiest-sounding fucking things I have ever heard. Even some horror movie style synths appear on the record to really set the mood for this gross shit. The vocals are outrageous, with pitch-shifted effects that make the singer sound like he's gargling toilet water (turds probably intact). The riffs are catchy as fuck and all the songs are very well written, with hooks galore, even with the toilet vocals involved. The album cover fits the music so well, it's just perfect, with a diseased fungus creature and sickly greens and purples. The production has a layer of filth over it that further enhances the dirtiness of the record and really gives it a unique character. This is truly original shit, and a thousand percent worth your money.

Yaldabaoth--Profane Shadow (Digital) {2026 Independent}

yaldabaoth616.bandcamp.com

5/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

I will tell you right now that you've never heard death metal like this, ever. It's built upon entirely dissonant riffing, in almost a jazz-like way, and the prog/tech death nerds will probably wet themselves over this release (it does feature a member of Gigan, if memory serves). It moves from dissonant riff to dissonant riff throughout each song, also experimenting with different textures like harmonics and guitar effects, and is truly weird but incredibly talented, with wild drum patterns. The mere fact that someone created a record like this shows their brain works entirely differently from other death metal artists. The vocals are traded off between deep growls with a lot of power behind them and an almost black metal style screech - in fact, there is a black metal edge to this stuff in places. Here's the thing - I truly hate dissonant riffs. This just isn't for me. Sure, I can appreciate the massive talent here, but I can't enjoy it like I do a normal death metal record. It's just too much. I don't want a challenge, I want to bang my head.

Kingdom--Primeval Cult of Strength in the Womb of Suffer (CD/LP/CS) {2026 Osmose Productions}

www.osmoseproductions.com

7/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is the seventh full length from this Polish Satanic deathbrigade. I first heard this band with their debut album Unholy Graveyard in about 2003 or so, and I was very interested in seeing what their new release sounded like, and they're still playing quality death metal, just more polished. They've honed their craft since that first record and this recording is pristine, the playing perfect. Their riffs are a diverse lot, often changing quickly from one to the next, and that keeps the intensity high, but there's plenty of repetition and hooks here, too. The guitar solos are rather melodic when they appear, which is nice to hear, and it adds a dynamic to their brand of death metal. The record is paced nicely with some mid-tempo songs spread throughout to break up the faster chunks. There are two vocal styles present, from what I assume is the same singer. The first, and primary, style is a brutal low growl, and the second is a high pitched snarl that is used in a few songs. Overall this is a high quality release, and one that if you should want to check out, you will probably not be disappointed.

Necrosimian--Primal Rot (CD/LP) {2026 Independent}

www.facebook.com/Necrosimian

6/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Leave it to the crazy bastards in my former home state of Ohio to come up with a band name this wild. They give us six songs of well-crafted death metal with a blackened edge. The songs are all longer, coming in at five and a half minutes at a minimum. This is dark stuff, fueled by the same darkness as Incantation or Immolation, although they do not sound particularly similar to either. It's the atmosphere that's the same. The drum sound is excellent - tight and crisp - with a snare sound that has a thick pop to it. The vocals are mostly a low- to mid-range growl, and quite understandable a lot of the time, with drawn-out vocal patterns that still show some planning and rhythm. Not a bad first effort here, and one that the diehards may want to get their hands on if you follow the Ohio scene.

Omegathrone--Predators Make Empires (CD) {2026 Independent}

omegathrone.bandcamp.com

9/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This band from England plays melodic death metal that meshes traditional death metal with uniquely melodic riffs - this is not the Gothenburg style at all. In this case, melodic is not code for "wimped out." This is real death metal. The vocals are delivered in a quite understandable low growl that's sick as fuck and powerful. It's one of the things that separates this band from other melody-oriented death metal bands. The singer is perfectly produced on the record (and the record overall is flawlessly recorded). They can be extremely fast when they use blastbeats and are quite intense when they do. The riffs here are, as I had mentioned already, rather unique, and there are some things being done that I've never heard a death metal band do, like the high-pitched riffing at the beginning of "Bad Sleep Better." There's quite a bit of technicality here on top of everything else, and it's in service to the songs, making each of them stand out from each other. This is quite good, and I need to listen to it more to let it really sink in. This is a special record, and one that should absolutely be on your radar.

Solnegre--Anthems for the Grand Collapse (CD) {2026 Meuse Music}

www.meusemusicrecords.de

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

I typically despise doom death because it seems so much like a gimmick rather than real death metal. Like, let's play slow because everyone else is playing fast, and so much of it is is middling as far as memorability goes. Solnegre is different. This is truly epic doom death with big synths and emotional melodies that soar, especially where the guitar solos are concerned. They occasionally give us a change in tempo, kicking it up to mid-paced, even fast, to give us something to sink our teeth into. The guitars are fuckin' fantastic, really leaning into the word epic, in the same way that a band like Candlemass used to do. There's plenty of room in these songs for the bass and drums to do wonderful things as well, often going off on their own tangents in the space between the riffs. The vocals are typically a low and mostly understandable growl with actual well-developed vocal patterns which so much doom death never has. There are also occasionally higher screamed vocals. The singer is quite expressive for a death metal vocalist, as befits the style, and his performance is top notch. We also get the occasional clean vocal, as well, and these are also of high quality. I wasn't prepared to like this when I set out to review it, but the band won me over, and I definitely recommend this record.

Morgue Breath--Plaga sin rostro (CD/LP) {2024 Behind the Mountain Records}

www.behindthemountain.net

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This might be harder to get hold of since it came out a while back, and I haven't checked availability, but I felt like I needed to spread the word on this monster of a release. Morgue Breath from California play absolutely bestial deathgrind. They compose all their lyrics in Spanish, and have one of the best band names of all time! There are heavy doses of Terrorizer influence at work here, as well as some old Carcass influence. The vocals are traded back and forth between low and high, with the low vocal being brutal and powerful, a deep roar, and the high vocal rasping away almost in the background. It creates an interesting dynamic. This is a real brutal bastard of a record, with intensity that never lets up and just keeps pounding and pounding, hitting the listener with short bursts of catchy riffs in the midst of all the grind. It's just about the right length for a grind full-length, coming in at twenty-six and a half minutes and seventeen tracks. They do throw one curveball on the record, the second to last track, "Ulceramente gurgitando la uncion repugnante." It's a three-minute long doom-fest that helps close the album. The misstep here is that it should have been the final track and it's not, with a short track coming after it. The album would have closed on a more interesting note had this song been last. As it is, this is a nitpicky criticism, and overall the record is absolutely fine, and definitely worth the time and effort to track down.

Gluttony--Eulogy to Blasphemy (CD/LP) {2026 FDA Records}

www.fda-records.com

7/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Gluttony play Swedish-style death metal and they're from, well, Sweden. This is their fourth full length and the first since 2022. The playing is quite talented with respect to all the instruments, and these gentlemen have clearly mastered their instruments. They're not afraid to approach melody, as can be heard in the track "Hung from Entrails" with its anthemic riffing. This band is playing this style at a very high level, laying waste to the many pretenders who play like this, or rather attempt to play like this. The vocals are strong and expressive, a vicious growl that remains understandable most of the time. This band has riffs and songwriting chops, and their riffing reminds me a lot of times of the greats like Grave or Entombed, but with At the Gates influence for some extra melody. If you're a fan of this style, then this is a must-have, but even if you're not, it's worth a spin or two. They do it better than most.

Kadavereich--Perversa Mysteria (CD/LP) {2026 Godz ov War Productions}

godzovwar.com

6/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Kadavereich play heavy, sludgy death metal with a thick production and a wall-of-noise approach to the craft. I really like the drum sound on this album, understated yet clear and very easy on my ears. The band has quite a dark sound, much like Immolation or Incantation, but they don't necessarily sound like them. They just have a similar atmosphere. Some creative use of dissonant riffs appears in these songs, which I notoriously dislike, but for some reason here it doesn't bother me much - I think it has to do with the fact that they don't dwell on them for too long, and that they're fairly unique in nature. The guitars are a bulldozer, just plowing through everything in sight without regard for your fucking feelings. The vocals are quite strong, deep roars with a lot of power and conviction behind them. The vocal patterns aren't catchy or terribly rhythmic, but used more as an additional instrument with long, drawn out growls for the most part. I found this to be better than average stuff, and it's definitely worth a listen or two.

Holy Death--Paradice (Digital) {2025 Independent}

holydeathdoom.bandcamp.com

9/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Now this is doom death I can really get into. Their slower moments are still heavy as fuck and above all catchy, and they vary their tempo in the songs enough that it remains interesting and totally unique. They fuse almost hardcore-style riffs to a death metal frame, and operate mostly in mid-paced speeds, making heavy use of groove and fucking ugly death metal riffs. The singer uses a yelled growl with real sack to it, reminding me a little of LG Petrov on Wolverine Blues. Even when playing slow, they manage to sound dangerous and threatening, bleeding anger and hatred from every note. I really like this record and it's probably the first doom death record I truly enjoyed in this history of the form, and it's all because they remain aggressive even when slowed down. They're remarkably intense the entire record. I highly recommend this slab of metal, and I look for great things to come from this band in the future.

Keitzer--Pandemonium Humanitas (CD/LP) {2024 FDA Records}

www.fda-records.com

7/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

How have I never encountered this band before? This is their eighth full length since their debut in 2001, and somehow I missed hearing them in all that time. Keitzer play furious deathgrind that reminds me of the mighty Misery Index, having a similar song dynamic of blasts juxtaposed with groove or slower riffs. When they do slow down, they have an almost Bolt Thrower-esque riffing style with melodic leanings to the riffs. We get occasional solos, and they do them right, all blazing notes and soaring melody. There is decidedly more death metal than grind on this release, though, leaning more toward bulldozer riffs, but the songs' lyrical content is more in line with grind, being about social issues, war, and things like that. The vocals are quite powerful, being delivered in a forceful growl that cuts right down to the bone. I enjoyed this quite a bit, and I recommend it.

Effigy--Hail to Thy Dark Lord Resurrected (CD) {2026 Chaotic Carnage Records}

chaoticcarnagerecords.bandcamp.com

10/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This record is a total reworking and re-recording of Effigy's 1995 effort Hail to Thy Dark Lord. I've never heard the original, but I can instead review this on its own merits. This is solid '90s style death metal with plenty of both heaviness and speed, sporting excelling songwriting. The vocals are mid- to high-range growls, and the singer is quite understandable. His diction is perfect. Some of the songs, like "Rotting Remains" and "Embraced by Evil" have anthemic riffs that lend themselves to being quite memorable. The traditional verse-chorus-verse structure of the songs really helps them stand out, and they worm their way into your brain on the first listen, begging to be listened to again. These guys are riff masters, and I definitely want to check out the entire back catalog at this point. Highly recommended.

Concrete Icon--Voracious Streams (CD/CS) {2025 Memento Mori Records}

www.memento-mori-es

7/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is the third full length from this Finnish death metal act. They focus on heaviness over speed, and they do this with jagged riffs that snake in and out of the rhythms with ease. It very much puts me in mind of some early Gorguts meterial in a way, but with a bit more groove to add to the heaviness. There's a technical aspect to the band for sure, with some off-kilter rhythms and complicated riffs. The vocals are delivered in a mid-ranged mostly understandable growl, the singer's diction and patterns being very well-developed. It's not terribly intense material up until the blastbeats hit, which kicks it up a level, mainly because it's mostly mid-paced. As I mentioned, heaviness and atmosphere over intensity and speed. But, when they do kick into high gear, it's very effective and suitably ferocious. I enjoyed this record quite a bit, and I look foward to digging into their back catalog.

Hierarchy--Wager of the Damned (Digital) {2026 Independent}

hierarchymtl.bandcamp.com

10/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

It's rare when I encounter an EP that I wish was a full length, and this is one of those times. Hierarchy play a vicious version of Swedish style death metal, which I normally approach with great caution due to so many bands sounding the same, but this band has riffs and hooks galore in these four songs. They rely a lot on groove, and that's a brilliant thing to combine with the buzzsaw guitars, lending the material a devastating heaviness that rivals any of the masters of this style. The vocals are a higher range growl, which sets them apart in the sea of bands playing this style. The singer is female, and she's brutal. Whenever this band drops into mid-paced passages you can expect a groove that will crush you fucking dead. The riffs are so goddamn good that you'll want to listen to this again and again - I gave it three passes through immediately. I can't say enough how good this is, and it's totally worth getting thy ass to Bandcamp and downloading it.

Open the Coffin--Once Alive Always Dead (CD) {2025 Black Hole Productions}

www.blackholeprods.com

6/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is Swedish-style death metal we've all heard before. I always approach this style with caution because so many bands are just less exciting Entombed wannabes. Open the Coffin, though, is a bit different. Right out of the gate, they offer some good riffs, the occasional blastbeat, and vocals that are on the higher end of the spectrum. The vocals are yelled rather than growled, and they remind me of classic Brazilian bands like Sepultura circa Morbid Visions. It's the quality of the riffs that makes this style work or not, and this band has good ones, each song having a signature badass riff that's not just more tremolo picking. The production is pretty easy on the ears. This style can sometimes be quite noisy, but that's not the case here. It's quite natural sounding. The album does drag a wee bit as it plays, so they haven't totally escaped the pitfalls of the style, but they're definitely well above average, and worth your time to seek out.