(Andy Synn has four more recommendations from last month that you may not have checked out yet)
They say one of the most important thing an artist has to learn is not just what it put in to their work… but what to leave out.
And, let me tell you… I am no artist, so having to leave so many artists/albums out each month is more something I’ve learned to accept begrudgingly rather than making it a part of my process.
Still, as disappointing as it may have been to have to leave so many potential reviews on the cutting room floor, I can’t help but be excited to (hopefully) introduce you all to these four records from July which may have flown under your radar.
ÆNIGMATUM – INFINITUDE’S PASSAGE
Ænigmatum‘s last album, Deconsecrate, was a very good album indeed – one of the best of the year, in fact – so when I tell you that Infinitude’s Passage is even better that should have you very excited.
While the band’s creative formula may not have changed all that much – an electric, eclectic, tightly-wound form of Death Metal that incorporates melody, technicality, and a keen progressive mentality without weakening its crushingly dense core – it’s the execution which really helps this one stand out from its predecessors.
Right from the start – beginning with the suitably unforgiving “Pitiless Mechanism” (whose blast-driven brutality would give Dormant Ordeal pause, yet whose proggy fluidity can trace its lineage all the way back to classic Death) – through to the intricate melodic intensity of the extravagantly ambitious, eight-and-a-half minute title-track, the songwriting on this album just feels that much more dynamic and spontaneous, yet also more cleverly constructed and intelligently designed, than ever before.
This intelligence, this willingness to take risks and stretch themselves – while still being self-aware enough to know when to exercise restraint (and when, as during the blast-propelled, guttural-heavy “Nocturne of Ageless Reverie”, to simply drop any and all proggy pretensions and just fucking riff) – is apparent throughout the album, but especially in the ways they incorporate their more esoteric melodic embellishments, from the lashings of lead guitar that lace “Inseverable” to the undulating bass-lines that ripple and writhe beneath the surface of “A Tarnished Nexus”) and the seamless, shape-shifting structures (not quite “stream of consciousness”, but definitely possessing an almost dream-like logic) which compel the listener to follow every twist and turn.
Definitely an album I expect to see a lot of mentions of in the various “Best of 2026” lists – and I haven’t even talked about “Architects of the Fated”, which at times feels like some sort of Tech Death version of prime-era Opeth (only without the indulgent 70’s Prog Rock influences) – this is one you really can’t afford to miss if you’re any sort of fan of unorthodox, forward-thinking Death Metal.
CARBON TOMB – PASSAGE TO A NEUTRON STAR
The “Dissonant” Death Metal scene has been one of the most fertile of the last few years, that’s for sure – hell, last month alone gave us new albums from Dysgnostic and Carbon Tomb (two bands who share a member in Richardt Olsen) – which is both a good thing and a bad thing, in some ways.
After all, there’s always a danger that when a sub-genre likes this starts to get too many adherents that they’ll start to blend together a bit (and that’s definitely been happening a little already, in my opinion).
Thankfully from the moment I pushed play and had my face nearly caved in by bludgeoning opener “Chanting Spells I” I knew that Carbon Tomb had something a little bit more distinctive to add to the dissonant scene, as their focus on spiky hooks “(A Hidden Creature”) and coiled, contorted riffs (“The Dog Hunter”, “Reversed Head Renewal”) makes them feel a little more savage and spontaneous than some of their more introverted peers.
That’s not to say that they’re afraid of indulging in a doomier form of discordance – as a matter of fact, both mid-album stand-out “Of God’s Neglect” and the equally massive “Tritons of Icthyology” recall the slower and more sinister side of Immolation more than the likes of Ulcerate or Artificial Brain – nor are they scared of flashing a little bit of melody (see the intenselt infectious “From the Giant’s Snout”) to contrast against the caustic dissonance and crushing distortion which otherwise dominates their sound, but the band’s sound till retains a greater sense of urgency and immediacy than many of those in the so-called “Disso-death” scene.
Sure, I’ve seen some criticism of the band for being too “Deathcore” influenced – which, unless we’re talking about some slight similarities to someone like Eye Eater (who also really need to do a new album soon) feels somewhat forced, and probably mostly due to the fact that the vocals don’t just stick to a simple, single-note guttural but express a wider, rawer, range of anguished emotion – but that’s not really much of a valid criticism in my book, so if you’re looking for a dose of dissonance that’s more “neck-wrecking” than “navel-gazing”, then give Passage to a Neutron Star a try immediately.
MOLH – DREAM OF THE MOUNDS
Let’s get one thing straight right away… Dream of the Mounds, the second album from Ukranian trio Molh, is one of the Black Metal highlights of the year, one whose chilling fury is balanced by a gloaming atmospheric warmth which conjures the sensation of being alone in the wilderness, simultaneously awed by – and oppressed by – the elements.
The opening title track is a neat encapsulation of all of this, as its savage vocals and storming guitars – reminiscent of Kampfar at their most focussed and ferocious – are propelled by some absolutely thunderous drumming but also laced with more subtle layers of moody ambience, giving the song a sense of depth and scale beyond its blasting, blazing assault on the senses.
Don’t get me wrong, despite what you might have read elsewhere this isn’t “Atmospheric Black Metal”, or some variant thereof, even if there are moments during songs like “Steel of the Roots” and “Light of Sigil” where the band open things up and let them breathe and brood a little more, as the focus is clearly on instant impact and punishing power especially when it comes to the impressive weight and punch of the guitars that serve as the driving force behind the doom-laden stomp ‘n’ strut of “Віче Тіней” and the hammering heaviness of “The Wild Hunt”.
Fans of similarly “modern” – yet never “post-modern” – sounding acts like Trespasser and Lömsk (both of whom also released excellent new albums this year) – will likely find a lot to love here, as the meaty metallic muscle of the band’s sound is impossible to deny.
At the same time, however, the passion which fuels their music – the fire in their bellies that burns brightly and fuels every track – is just as undeniable, and I question whether anyone but the most cynical of Black Metal fans will be able to resist the utterly ravenous intensity of Dream of the Mounds.
SOULPRISON – THE MORE I SEE, THE MORE I BLEED
Last, but by no means least, we have an album I’ve been jamming a lot this past month, seeing as how it’s particular brand of thrashy Hardcore – let’s call it Thrash-core, shall we? – ticks an awful lot of my personal boxes.
Reminiscent, in part, of riff-happy ragers like Judiciary and Spiritworld (pre-Helldorado, at least), while also possessing a knack for heavyweight chuggery that recalls the likes of Incendiary and Merauder (who I’m off to see this evening, as it happens), the band’s debut album opens with the explosive warning shot of “Into Oblivion” and then barely eases off the gas until it reaches the bombastic conclision of blitzkrieg closer “Driftwood”.
Highlights (of which there are many) include the ultra-hooky, riff-tastic rampage of “Revelation of Evil”, the stomping, strafing, shredding “Behind the Event Horizon” (both taken from the album’s ferocious first half), as well as the darkly melodic strains of “Left to Rot” and “Demolish Eden”, whose surprisingly intricate fretwork is equally matched by Simon Wernert’s impressively propulsive performance behind the kit.
Sure, not every track quite hits the mark – the largely superfluous instrumental strains of “Stories of a Devastating End” really feel like they should have built into a more fully fleshed-out song, while the latter-day Machine Head vibes of semi-clean-sung pseudo-ballad “Wherever You May Be” (whose intro actually does lay the groundwork for the rest of the track, rather than feeling divorced from the rest of the album) is bound to be divisive – but if you’ve been a fan of new releases from the likes of No Cure, Division of Mind, and 100 Demons so far this year then I thoroughly recommend adding Soulprison to your listening rotation ASAP.