The Mac Dad'll make ya (jump, jump) of Weirdo Metal – Jan 11- Jan 17

The part that no one reads, nor should anyone read. Keep safe.

If you missed the 2025 list, here.

If you're new to this metal blog of bones you can also check out the various interview projects I have going on as well as the weekly recommendation posts. And if you'd like to keep abreast of the latest, most pressing developments follow us wherever I may roam (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Bluesky, etc), and listen to my, I guess, active? (no) podcast (YouTube, Spotify, Apple), and to check out our amazing compilation albums. You could also possibly support my unholy work here (Patreon), if you feel like it. Early access to our bigger projects, weekly exclusive recommendations and playlists, and that wonderful feeling that you're encouraging a life-consuming habit. It's probably a bad idea, but to each their own. On to the list.

Sunfuneral – "A Repulsing Dawn," from Atmospherion (Experimental Black Metal – Independent). Insane sounds coming at an insane pace in what is already an early favorite in the "Jesus Christ what is even happening category." Both structured and loose, wild and thoughtful, and one of those significant blasts of outright, unadulterated creativity that makes you believe the human race is not all bad.

Bosse-de-Nage – "No Such Place," from Hidden Fires Burn Hottest (Post-Black Metal/Black Metal – The Flenser). It was only very recently that I was running along some early morning, probably getting rained on, and listening to All Fours, which remains dear and close to my heart, and suddenly here riseth again the slumbering beasts of BdN who probably have a nice day job to worry about and have graced our world with more tortured-soul music. I love, love, love this first single. I love that it's long-ish, I love that it has all these parts, each of which is a wonderful representation of various eras of the band, and I LOVE that it feels fresh and new. Can't wait. 

Exxûl – "Labyrinthine Fate ,"from Sealed into None (Progressive Metal – The Stygian Oath). The godfather of contemporary "too much" metal is back at it. Phil Tougas has the Midas touch, especially when it comes to worshipping at the altar of things decorated with leather and shit. This time it's a full-on adoration for, what feels to me, like prime Queensrÿche in all its shrieky, umlauted glory (though I guess technically in Exxûl it's a circumflex). Complex, campy, powerful, and basically perfect. 

Úath – "Cold Blows The Wind" ft Maud The Moth," from Haunted Lives (Experimental – Cruel Nature Recordings). I Forgive my ignorance, this is apparently a retrospective, which doesn't bode well to how tapped in I am into the drone world, but fuck it. This is beautiful, and all the tracks, from the various periods of Grey Malkin's work, are fucking beautiful. A whole banger of sadness and beauty. And Maud The Moth as a bonus! What's not to like (still need to get to her album from last year, completely missed the boat on that). 

Shearling – Motherfucker, I am Both: "Amen" and "Hallelujah" (Experimental Noise Rock – Mishap). Well, speaking on missing the boat, holy fucking shit. This thing, apparently made up of members of Sprain and others, came out last year and I wound't have known if it wasn't for my periodic meandering from the "metal" tab on Bandcamp to the "experimental" tab, which usually is an omen of having a really bad day. I don't know what segment of the global population wastes their time (and in the case of the Patreon, their money) on reading this crap I write, but consider this a plea to that sacred segment to turn off all the lights, to drink a glass of water, to place this album/track into your life, and to then attempt to live life. I have found it difficult to live life in the wake of this masterpiece of human emotion, or, as I have worded it to a friend online this week, the "great vomiting of the soul." Art as it has been made by the crazies since 4000 BCE. The best way to describe it would be to answer that age-old question "What would Intercouse sound like if it was invaded by 2000s The Drones and drugged with speed while reading Russian literature from the 19th century. 

Cryptic Shift – "Hexagonal Eyes (Diverity Trepaphymphasyzm)," from Overspace & Supertime (Progressive Thrash/Death Metal – Metal Blade Records). Sometimes I think to myself, "Ron (that's my name), are you a hater?" Not because I'm quick to hate, I actually only write about music I love, but because sometimes, often in fact, it's hard for me to like subsequent releases of bands whose albums I loved. Not sure why that is. But now that there's a new Cryptic Shift album, and now that I've heard the lead single many a time, I'm beginning to think the problem in those other cases was that those bands sucked. This is unquestionably brilliant, exuberant, proggy thrashy death metal and brilliant music made by brilliant people. Very simple, come to think of it.

Snaga – "Algorithmic Thralldom," from … In the Grey Apparel of Ghosts (Black Metal – Independent). If you love raw black metal, or at least on the lo-fi end of black metal, that feels like a being made of energy and light erupted from the bowels of the forest in order to, very efficiently, spew forth its sorrows and its pains via the medium of solid-state amps (or patches thereof) and the voice of desperation and rage in human form, I think you might dig this. Melodic too, which is nuts. The whole thing is nuts. 

Bone Weapon – "Retching Poison: Divide And Purge," from Chaos Marked by Death of Sun (Sludgy War Metal – Caligari Records). Being hit in the face with mace. I didn't mean for that to rhyme, but here we go. I dug the previous BW EP, this seems even better, more brutal, and, somehow, more dynamic and varied. So, good on them, and too bad for my brain from all the melting. 

Immolation – "Adversary," from Descent (Death Metal – Nuclear Blast). So much new shit coming out, some of it will be relegated to the "info" section below because, well, Immolation is dropping a new album and I'm not going to act like that's just any other day. The best death metal band ever, the most consistent, or one of the most consistent metal bands ever, and in the running for best overall catalog ever. Obviously people don't frequent this blog for "mainstream" metal recs, but Immolation is beyond both mainstream or underground. They're the GOATs. So, here we are. Oh, and, big surprise, the new single sounds fire.

BONUS: Sanctvs – "Sacrifié sur l’autel de la rédemption," from De l'Abîme au Plérôme (Black Metal – Osmose Productions). I literally mentioned these dudes like a week or two ago, and there they go announcing a new full-length album. My powers know no bounds. Melodic, pretty black metal that would probably hate me calling it either melodic or pretty, but whatever, I don't care. If you dig French(-speaking) people screaming about what I would imagine is Satan, this is right up your heathens' alley.

FIVE MORE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

ONE: New Sunn O))) coming. First track sounds like you would think it would.

TWO: New Temple of Void coming, after what feels like forever (four years after further inspection). Sounds fire too.

THREE: Amidst and Lifesuck released a very pleasant, well-made atmospheric black metal split.

FOUR: Just came upon this wonderful release from Prophetic Suffering (Sentient Ruin) from last year, and it rules. For people who wished there was more brutal death metal in their war metal.

FIVE: Speaking of killer Sentient Ruin bands, new Diabolic Oath album apparently coming.

ONE LAST THING, PROMISE: Pict are a Scottish post-metal/sludge band. They also released a pretty great debut album a little while back, that is well worth your attention. Check em out.