Here are some of our favorite releases from this past month.
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Iron Firmament – In the Land of Pre-Human Kings | Wergild (March 13)
Iron Firmament is quickly becoming one of my favorite modern black metal bands, if for no other reason than they have been providing a refreshing and desperately-needed spin on Cascadian black metal since 2023. The subgenre has been quiet for the past few years, aside from Cascadian trailblazers Skagos and Fauna dropping great albums in 2024 and 2025, respectively. This is where Iron Firmament comes in with their newest effort, In the Land of Pre-Human Kings, sporting an all-timer album cover featuring both art from renowned fantasy sci-fi legend Bruce Pennington and an approach to cassette J-card layouts that they first used on 2024’s Cascadian Tactics (and one which way more bands should use going forward).
Iron Firmament’s third full-length record is an emphatic statement, not only from them, but by extension their home label Wergild, one of the most exciting black metal labels in the underground today. In the Land of Pre-Human Kings takes cues from PNW acts who came before them, such as Alda and Wolves in the Throne Room, and from modern contemporaries like Gauntlet Ring and Nimbifer, with the vocals being particularly referential to the Norwegian and Finnish legends of decades past. These six tracks are ferocious and calculated Cascadian black metal and are an excellent step forward from their previous material, which was no slouch to begin with and worth checking out. I have no doubts that Iron Firmament will soon be cementing themselves as staples of the genre, and this record drives that point home. A crucial listen.
–Eric Wing
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Fire Magic – Memories of Fire | Stygian Black Hand (March 6)
One of Virginia’s foremost purveyors of blackened wartorn mysticism, Fire Magic is a project on the ever-reliable Stygian Black Hand label that has previously only delivered one demo in 2020 and their debut full-length in 2022, which tells me they took their time to ensure their sophomore effort Memories of Fire was going to stick the landing, and it pays off in a big way. Fire Magic’s approach to songwriting, and especially riffing, is reminiscent of classic Hellenic acts like Macabre Omen and Varathron, but with a Finnish twist. At the same time, the spirit of pure incensed black metal never leaves the equation. This band just gets it, although that’s no surprise given the shared members with Antichrist Siege Machine and Left Cross, among others. They ought to jump on a tour with Spectral Wound and Conifere so they can have the gnarliest lineup of the year.
Anyway, Memories of Fire clocks in at 32 minutes, making it an incredibly easy record to commit to, so you have no excuse not to run this one. The melodic choices and riff phrasing paired with the vocal delivery all interweave seamlessly into a tapestry of sonic hellfire that never even hints and going off the rails or letting up, and the record is served far better for it. I also need to draw specific attention to the ending guitar solo for “Shadows on the Storm”, because that shit had me pumping my fist in my bedroom. This is definitely a favorite of mine for the year thus far, and stands a good chance of ending up on my year-end list. Don’t skip this one.
–Eric Wing
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Neurosis – An Undying Love for a Burning World | Neurot Recordings (March 20)
The comeback album of the year? The decade? Neurosis returning, with Aaron Turner (Sumac, ISIS) in tow no less, after a seven-year hiatus and a 10-year wait since their last album is a welcome surprise, especially after the circumstances surrounding their silent period. An Undying Love for a Burning World feels almost like an exorcism, Neurosis freeing themselves of the past and moving into new territory. The fact that the album is this good is almost a bonus.
There are monolithic riffs aplenty, of course, interspersed with strange, glimmering soundscapes. Tension builds and releases, with slower passages turning into devastating chords that crash down on the listener with glorious finality, such as in “Blind,” or building up into towering passages of dissonance, as in the second half of “Seething and Scattered.” It’s a powerful statement and a fantastic return for the legends.
–Kevin Zecchel
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Object Unto Earth – Memory Tyrant EP | Independent (March 20)
There’s nothing quite like a quick, 22-minute EP of emotive, mathy prog rock with a concept about frog warriors to get the blood really going. Object Unto Earth’s debut, The Grim Village, was one of the better and more interesting albums to be released last year, and Memory Tyrant does a great job of building on that. It’s a fantastic little release, with expansive, knotty guitar work, bouncy rhythms, and joyful heartfelt vocal melodies. There are a wide range of influences on display here; ’70s prog, ’90s prog, ’00s emo, and modern prog metal. At only 4 songs, it absolutely leaves the listener wanting more.
–Kevin Zecchel
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Mors Verum – Canvas | Transcending Obscurity (February 6) [Editor’s note: We follow an Ancient Mesopotamian calendar that does not distinguish between February and March]
Over the last few years,Transcending Obscurity has become my go-to source for a particular type of progressive death metal: something in between the tweedly-deedly tech wank that dominated our Last.fms in the mid to late 00’s and the cataclysmic skronk that I sometimes use to reset my brain and/or scare kids off my lawn. Acts like ATVM (RIP), Haxprocess, Floating, and now Mors Verum fill a niche that isn’t quite halfway between those two worlds but rather on another axis entirely, one that splits off into 3D space.
I’m a month late to Canvas, Mors Verum’s latest EP, which is appropriate considering that I’m a few years late to this band in general. What first struck me about Canvas is its coherence despite the wide array of influences and styles on display. Each song feels like a quest into unknown territory, filled with bizarre yet unforgettable vistas; however, there is a continuity between each movement that beautifully ties everything together. “Your Apocalypse” kicks off with a thumping march punctuated with steam-whistle harmonics before transitioning into a sprawling chord progression that is slowly deconstructed, reshaped, and recontextualized throughout the rest of the track. Instead of tossing together a riff salad, Mors Verum uses every part of the riff to create a full-course meal. On side B, the title track’s opening dirge slowly unfolds into crunchy prog-death before pulling back into an introspective bridge, whose slithering bassline, delicate percussion, and warbly synth lines give the impression of an artificial lifeform’s first moment of self-awareness. This is one of those releases that offers something new to appreciate on every listen, and I will certainly be returning to the world of Canvas – and Mors Verum’s back catalog – in the months to come.
–Alex Chan
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