GONZO’S HEAVY ROUNDUP, NOVEMBER 2025

(Here’s Gonzo’s latest monthly collection of reviews, this time focusing on three albums released during November 2025.)

Historically, November has a distinct way of fucking up my yearly Listmania plans, and this year is probably no different. It hardly makes sense to even start the hilariously brain-melting exercise of compiling my yearly list before December 1 anymore, because some band will be inevitably lurking just out of sight until the sun starts setting before 5 p.m. every day, waiting to skull-fuck my carefully concocted assemblage of heavy hierarchy into oblivion.

How does this always happen? Am I asleep for 11 of 12 months of the year? Is everything a joke? Well, yes, but that’s another topic entirely. It’s a good thing heavy music even exists at all, otherwise I’d probably intentionally maroon myself on some remote island and hunt billionaires with a crudely assembled spear.

Right. I think we got off topic here. My day job is rapidly approaching “let’s revisit this after the holidays” territory, leaving me with more time to scream into these hallowed pages about death metal. At least two of the records I included this month have a nonzero chance of showing up in the vaunted list of lists next month, and we’ll get to that rotten task soon enough. For now, allow me to regale you with three albums that are all but guaranteed to leave an impression on unsuspecting family members if played loud enough at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

 

TERROR CORPSE, ASH ECLIPSES FLESH

Something evil is happening in Texas, and for once, I’m not talking about the steady calculated erosion of civil liberties. I’m talking about the death metal trio known as Terror Corpse.

The more I discovered this (very) new band and their knuckle-dragging swamp-crusted variety of blast beats, the more I was intrigued. Not only are the members ¾ of Necrofier, but Ash Eclipses Flesh is their second album this year. The first, Systems of Apocalypse, clocks in at just under 18 minutes through eight songs, so it’s really more of a grind record than anything else.

But we’re not here to talk about that one.

Ash Eclipses Flesh, released Nov. 21, is one of the most balls-to-the-wall audial experiences you’re likely to experience in the foreseeable future. Comprised of indecipherably stomach-churning vocals with guitars down-tuned to the ninth level of Hell, Ash Eclipses Flesh is the very definition of no-bullshit death metal. In some ways, this one hits the same way Tomb Mold did a couple years ago with The Enduring Spirit, but where the Canadians opted for a more experimental approach at times, Terror Corpse goes straight for the jugular.

“Gate Zero,” “Blissful Incineration,” and “The Hollow that Devours” are songs built to sow chaos in the bowels of dark venues that have the scariest toilets in creation. Before you rush into throwing your best-of-2025 lists together, don’t forget Ash Eclipses Flesh.

https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ash-eclipses-flesh
https://www.facebook.com/p/Terror-Corpse-61572578455775/

 

OMNIUM GATHERUM, MAY THE BRIDGES WE BURN LIGHT THE WAY

Full disclosure: I am a raving fan of this band, and I think most of their work since New World Shadows is spectacular. 2021’s Origin was another high point for these Finns, and four years later, we’re graced with another worthy entry into their catalog with May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way.

I’ve always appreciated how Omnium isn’t afraid to expand their sound just enough to keep things fresh while never compromising their melodeath core. How much of this is the work of virtuoso ax man Markus Vanhala is anyone’s guess, but his dizzying riffs and arpeggios are a defining part of this band’s journey. “The Last Hero” jumps out as the most memorable track (and leadoff single) on the album, featuring an instantly memorable sing-along chorus that reinforces so much of what I love about this band.

For me, the highlights really kick in after that, though. “The Darkest City” blends every strength these Finns can flex in seven minutes: Soaring leads, Jukka Pelkonen’s throaty roar, and pounding pit-friendly tempos. “Walking Ghost Phase” and “Ignite the Flame” continue to carry the torch. The instrumental “Road Closed Ahead” is a slightly curious way to end things, and if there’s any complaint to be made here, it’s that—and the fact that the opening title track is simply a minute-plus instrumental prelude.

Don’t let that take anything away from how much fun this album is, though. Anyone who’s enjoyed Omnium Gatherum in the past will have no reason to pass this one up.

https://omniumgatherum.bandcamp.com/album/may-the-bridges-we-burn-light-the-way-24-bit-hd-audio
https://www.facebook.com/omniumgatherumband/

 

MORBIKON, LOST WITHIN THE ASTRAL CRYPTS

It’s not for me to say if vocalist Mathias Lillmåns made some deal with a demon at a rural Finnish crossroads to get superhuman creativity and stamina. But given his longstanding status as the pipes behind Finntroll, …and Oceans, and now two albums deep with Morbikon, I wouldn’t blame anyone for such dark assumptions.

Morbikon first popped on my radar when they played one of their first-ever live shows at Decibel Metal & Beer Festival here in Denver a couple years ago. Their set felt fresh, inspired, and left me with the distinct impression that the band had their sights set on the horizon. So, is Lost Within the Astral Crypts the catharsis of that?

My verdict is “quite possibly.”

The eight tracks on this record are as blistering as they are precise, and as unrelenting as they are dynamic. “Of Flames That Bind and Shadows Cast” and “Numeric Portal Ascendancy” both sound like they’re channeling Storm of the Light’s Bane, with Lillmåns leading his venerable bandmates into melodic blackened battle. Tempos vary from “merciless” to “warp speed to Hell” throughout the album, but the band also toys with song structure in the most interesting of ways on the menacing “Sworn to the Beheaded King.” It’s moments like that that made this sophomore effort catch my eye more than anything else.

And it’s not like the members of Morbikon are newcomers to the spotlight. Uada’s Pierce Williams is behind the kit, while Municipal Waste’s Phil “Landphil” Hall lays down the bass. You can hear more elements of the former than the latter in Morbikon’s DNA, but the smattering of talent here is what makes these songs hit the way they do.

https://tankcrimes.bandcamp.com/album/lost-within-the-astral-crypts
https://www.facebook.com/morbikon/

 

Like what you’ve heard? Follow my best-of-2025 playlist for selections from everything you’ve just read, and a whole helluva lot more.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7zWqE685GVpuB5M3qRDvog?si=08d80939b43e4d89