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Existence, death and rebirth move through concert footage spanning several years in ESHTADUR’s new live video for “Omen of Millennia.” Released on September 4, the song is the latest preview of the Colombian melodic death metal band’s forthcoming album, In Darkness All Shadows Gone. Watch the official live video for “Omen of Millennia”: Compiled from […]

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Posted on September 6th 2026, 2:13pm

After nearly three decades without a studio album, GATES OF ISHTAR have set a date for their long-awaited return. Murder the Light, the Swedish melodic death metal band’s fourth full-length, will be released on January 21, 2027 through The Circle Music. The eight-track record follows At Dusk and Forever, which appeared in 1998 and brought […]

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Here are some of our favorite releases from the past month.

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Peace Test – Repercussion | Delayed Gratification Records (August 14)

Two hundred words is probably way too many to truly do justice to Rhode Island’s Peace Test. With twelve songs in twelve minutes, Repercussion hits like a back-alley beat down. By the time you come to, your body is black and blue, you don’t know what hit you, and there’s nothing you can tell the authorities. But then again, what kind of true punk is gonna go to the cops in the first place? After all, less is always more. 

Like their ‘big brothers’ in fellow New Englanders Dropdead, Peace Test focuses on short, tight bursts of incredibly heavy, angry and intense hardcore. Carrying the bloody remnants of old-school DRI and Cromags, the band speaks to a fascist regime that seems to be spreading across the globe like the tendrils of a slime mold. This pummeling powerviolence from Providence will have you wearing your black eyes and a broken nose like a bruised badge of dubious honor.

–Stephen Loschi

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Deathgrave – Hell is Evil | Tankcrimes (August 21)

The third LP from the tongue-in-cheek, Oakland-based death-grinders is another collection of superbly written, and often LOL-funny, vignettes where the brilliance lies in the little details, like when an asteroid crashes into Earth and everyone loses their minds: “Alien life driving locals mad / Priests are doing drugs, skaters eat their scabs.” Elsewhere, Hell Is Evil explores the misery of constant paperwork (“Requested a break, now without pay / Wasting a day filling out more forms”), BDSM (“Shitting on your neck / Now you are erect / Now you’re a wreck / Accept cash or check”), and ways that Hell would be, well, hell (“Balls scaled with molten lead / On repeat is the Grateful Dead / No relief from chronic scabies / Trapped on a flight of crying babies”). With some of these songs veering dangerously close to catchy, this is probably the best place to start in the quartet’s catalog. When vocalist Andre Cornejo screams “I’m in hate with myself” early on, it’s unclear whether or not he’s kidding, but who cares when a band is this goddamn entertaining.

–Steve Lampiris

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Cairiss – Wilderness | Independent (July 31)

Written and recorded over a period of years, Wilderness is a jaw-dropping display of shoegazing black metal. Cairiss has tapped into a perfect balance of delicate beauty, otherworldly splendor, and black metal savagery. Powerful riffs and absolutely lovely guitar solos are deployed to great emotional effect. As the album unfolds, it verges into prog metal territory in spots, such as on the song “Dissociate”. 

Thematically, Wilderness deals with the aftermath of a life-altering trauma. It’s an emotional journey that alternates between gentle moments of fragility and intense passages of upheaval. When it finally concludes with the triumphant “Wildfire”, it feels as though it has emerged from a long darkness into some semblance of peace and light. It is truly one of the finest post-black metal albums to be released in quite some time. 

–Kevin Zecchel

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Miscreance – Reminiscence | Season of Mist (August 28)

Miscreance sound as though they exist 35 years too late. From the jazzy and danceable beginnings of “Trait d’Union” evoking Atheist’s Elements, to the vocals that would make Martin Van Drunen blush, the opener to Reminiscence is a proper whetting of the appetite for their sophomore surge. A soaring solo on top of intricately woven riffs is Micreance’s MO, signalling that there is a lot more where this came from.

Reminiscence is the perfect title for this record because it takes you back to bands like Pestilence, Coroner, and Human-era Death as well as what was mentioned above. You can piece that together from the track titles, like “Synaptic Cortex Dissection,” “Oracle’s Rift,” and “Zenith of a Dying Sun.” They’re not for the unencumbered, but if the progressive death metal of yore is what you crave, you’d be hard-pressed to hear a band today do it better than Miscreance.

–Tom Campagna

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Papangu – Celestial | Deck (August 7)

Papangu’s growth over their three albums is nothing short of astonishing. From the avant-garde sludge metal of their debut, they’ve turned into perhaps the most exciting prog band in the world today. On Celestial, the Brazilian group blends classic prog, psych rock, avant-jazz, and Brazilian musical traditions to create a scintillating and effervescent brew. Most of their metal elements are gone, remaining as avant-garde flourishes, with occasional harsh vocals and blast beats adorning their music. Celestial instead goes for a light and airy mood. Keyboard and guitar melodies playfully intertwine, taking turns in the spotlight before all coming together in a deeply satisfying conclusion. For fans of prog and experimental music, this is not an album to miss. 

–Kevin Zecchel

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After spending much of Moonfall looking towards artificial intelligence, time travel and planetary destruction, KINGCROWN turn the spotlight on themselves with the album’s release-day video, “We Are Kingcrown.” The French melodic heavy/power metal band’s new record arrived on September 4 through Rockshots Records. Watch the official video for “We Are Kingcrown”: Driven by melodic twin-guitar […]

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Beating the mid-afternoon Friday congestion on the A1 is always a wearying undertaking, but nothing was going to impede my haste in getting my first live scan of the incomparable Robin Trower, or indeed Cambridge Junction.

A first look at the venue and it screamed pokey, unfinished industrial space. Thankfully the inside didn’t let me down. It’s just how I imagined it. Dark, dingy, and smelling like one too many pints of Camden Ale had been plastered on the walls.

There were no windows either. Given we were here for guitar royalty, it seemed only fair that paying punters couldn’t be fleeced by peeky blinders and nesting birds somewhere in the rafters.

In many ways, it felt like the perfect setup for the humble, no airs and graces demeanor of Trower. After almost every song came a simple, heartfelt “thank you, I appreciate it,” delivered without ceremony or any sense of entitlement. 

His ego (or lack of one) was equally as generous with his long-time bandmates Richard Watts (bass and vocals) and Chris Taggart (drums), after taking a breather from the sling-shot guitar workout of “Little Bit Of Sympathy” to acknowledge their unshakable yet unobtrusive backing that glued everything together, while allowing his trusty Stat (ably supported by a wall of Marshalls) to shine. 

Of course, he never allowed them to return the adulation, but like many in attendance, they could occasionally be seen smiling (bordering on laughing) at the sheer absurdity of some of the fretwork unfolding in front of them, especially when Trower spun off on his own accord, seemingly intent on conquering new worlds. 

Opening with timeless classic “Too Rolling Stoned,” it’s invigorating that just three instruments can still cook up this kind of joyful, blues-rock jam, with Trower stretching out early doors and showing everyone why that soulful, mellifluous tone has stood the test of time. Die-hard Trower-ites would also have been pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of “Distant Places Of The Heart” — a mysterious, psychedelic blues number from his Seven Moons (2008) collaboration with Jack Bruce, where he weaved in and out with melody and emotion.

Trower’s output since the turn of the millennium has been nothing short of sensational, so it made complete sense to sweat out the newer stuff. No Worlds To Conquer (2022) might still be a baby when compared to his mid 70’s heyday of filling out US stadiums and trio of consecutive, acclaimed power-trio records, but there’s three songs off this LP alone, all brilliant in their own right. From the melancholic blues of the title track with its slow, even vibrato to the two-throng finale of “The Razors Edge” and “Birdsong,” they drip with undeniable chemistry, perfect pauses and poise, style, and that sweet sweet Trower tone. 

His latest single “Live Your Time” is another dreamy and poetic addition to the setlist, similarly laid on groovy sprinkles of Wah, with Watts and Taggart again holding down the rhythm in spades. The octogenarian was then at his his most Hendrixianon on the smooth, cosmic blues of “One Go Round,” before throwing in the one-two knockout punch of his other big-hitters — the soaring, spitting feathers groove “Day Of The Eagle” with its bombastic driving force of the guitar and bass, and the bewitching “Bridge Of Sighs” with its iconic riff meandering throughout.

Both are greeted with big cheers and head nods aplenty from the packed-out venue, who have been treated to something special by a virtuoso who proved his long credentials long before I was born. Everyone was here to watch an 81-year-old deliver a masterclass in how to make a Stratocaster sing in a way that made a room full of people stop talking and simply stare in amazement. We didn’t leave disappointed. 

The post Robin Trower: Live At Cambridge Junction Review appeared first on Blues Rock Review.

The surprise is now tangible. Following its unannounced digital arrival on July 31, ÆNIGMATUM’s third album, Infinitude’s Passage, was released on CD and vinyl through 20 Buck Spin on September 4. The six-track, 42-minute record builds on the intricate foundation of 2021’s Deconsecrate, but pushes the Portland band’s progressive death metal into an even more […]

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Fuel runs low, the crew turns against itself and the ocean closes in. Each stage of this doomed expedition forms a chapter on Blotters in Saline Water, the second album from German psychedelic maritime black metal duo SPERE. “Slip the Oar” provides the first complete passage from the record. The song is accompanied by a […]

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The doorway first opened in fragments. After two ritual-like teasers assembled from different parts of their forthcoming album, ISKALD have now revealed its first complete chapter: “The Other Realm,” the only full advance single from Curse of the Mind. Vast, cold and deliberately immersive, the track places the Norwegian band’s melodic black metal foundation inside […]

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Grief takes the form of a living, animated oil painting in “Madam Death,” the third single from Portuguese metal band MALEDICTUS. The song offers another glimpse of the Lisbon quartet’s debut album, Lazarvs, due November 13 through Fireflash Records. Dark melodies and dramatic vocals run through the track’s heavy foundation, while its lyrics depict loss […]

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