THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

(Andy Synn tries his best to catch you up with some of what you may have missed last month)

Today’s edition of “Things You May Have Missed” is going to be another bumper one – six albums, instead of the usual four – due to the ridiculous number of new releases that came out in February.

In fact, here’s an abbreviated list of everything that didn’t make the cut this time around, just so you can see what I’ve been struggling with – including Ashbringer, Atlas, Ensanguinate, Diespnea, Farson, Fayenne, Fossilization, Howling, Misotheist, Muertissima, Palaces, and Puke Wolf –  all of which are well worth checking out (Advent of Wounds in particular is likely to make an appearance on a lot of “end of year” lists).

There’s a small chance, of course, that I might find time to do a follow-up article to this one covering some of the above artists/albums in depth… but don’t bet on it (after all, the more time I spend on last month the less time I have to dedicate to albums from this month).

However, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by the bands I’ve selected for today’s article – some of which have received very little coverage elsewhere, as far as I can tell, and several of whom are making their first appearance here at our site as well – which, hopefully, cover a pretty wide spread of styles and (sub)genres, meaning there should be something for almost everyone here.

DEVOUR THE SUN – CHAPTER II – SATYAMEVA JAYATE

Punchy, punky Black Metal for fans of bands like Imha Tarikat, Nachtmystium, and Misþyrming… that’s my brief “elevator pitch” for the debut album from German duo Devour the Sun.

From swaggering anti-grooves to sinister pseudo-melodies, propelled by sudden, spiteful bursts of blastbeats and lashings of low, thudding kick drums, songs like the undulating, ever-changing “A Passage Through the Ocean” and the riotous strains of “The Siege of Lanka” quickly let you know that although Devour the Sun are very much a Black Metal band (their punk/hardcore side making itself known more in spirit than in sound) they’re certainly not an orthodox one, by any means.

It’s not just their focus on Hindu mysticism rather than the normal, de rigeur Satanism – a decision which also led them to incorporate mantras recorded in Mumbai itself – but also their use of strange melodies (if “Coronation” were just a little more Nachtmystium-esque I might even be tempted to use the word “psychedelic”) which, despite their promo photos, helps them stand-out from what can often be a faceless blur of black clad musical mercenaries desperate to proclaim themselves the most “true”.

Of course, being “true”, or “kvlt” (are we still using that one?) is clearly not something DtS are all that interested in… if anything the thing they’re most into is “the riff”, and Satyameva Jayate is absolutely rammed with righteous riffosity, from the dizzying sonic assault of “Ravana’s Fall” to the epic intensity of “Lava-Kusha” (which occasionally drops in some killer, trad-style axe-work amidst all the whirling tremolo and buzzing chord progressions) and the doomy stomp und drang of penultimate powerhouse “The Consecraton”.

As you may have gathered, there’s a lot going on with this one – far more than a cursory listen might reveal – so be sure to give it the time and attention it deserves if you want to really appreciate all its oddities and eccentricities.

THE RECREANT – THE CODE IS V… OUTLIVE THE CODE

There are a lot of reasons to be angry right now… seemingly more and more every single day… so if you’re looking for something to channel and fuel your anger right now, then the debut album from The Recreant might just be the release you didn’t know you needed.

Much like the album which immediately preceded it in this article, The Code is V… is all about the riffs… well, the riffs and the rage imbued into every single song, (almost) all of which go straight for the throat in a defiant display of raw, Death/Thrash/Crust intensity.

It’s not a perfect album, by any means – let’s get that out of the way right now – as a few songs (“Voice of Dissent”, “Late to the Party”, “The Day You Almost Died”) take just that little bit longer than they should to really find their feet, but when it hits… it hits hard.

And, make no mistakes, those hits just keep on coming, especially when the duo crank things up into high gear, with the likes of early highlight “Hard Drive” (which possibly should have been the opener), the punky “If I’m the Problem” (complete with an excellent opening “Ohhhhhhhhhh yeah!“), and the even punkier, punchier “Not Your Doll” bursting out of the speakers like some killer combination of Exodus, Nausea, and The Crown.

Additional highlights (and, FYI, “Not Your Doll” is definitely a major highlight) include the even nastier “Compliance to Z72.5”, the unapologetically in-your-face “V-Coded” (look it up), and climactic, crust-infused crusher “G.I.R.L.” (though the bonus cover of “Burn the Prisons Down!” by Fourth Dominion is also a cool inclusion), every one a face-melter, a neck-wrecker, and a gut-wrencher in equal measure.

Speaking of gut-wrenching… it would be wrong of me not to mention just how important the lyrics, and their utterly furious delivery by vocalist Ruby Rockatansky, are to the overall experience, with both Cordisco and Rockatansky clearly channelling their own personal experiences (especially on tracks like “My First Captor” and the aforementioned “G.I.R.L.”) into a series of songs that are as venomous as they are utterly, unflinchingly vital.

SLAGMAUR – HULDERS RITUAL

As much as there’s an obsession in some circles with Black Metal bands never deviating from the “traditional” formula (which, to be honest, feels like a sort of enforced conformity antithetical to what the genre should be about) there’s a strong strain of the style which just loves to get weird with it… and it’s from this side of the scene we get bands like Slagmaur.

Simultaneously disciples and peers of bands like Dødheimsgard, Thorns, and Code, the band have been plying their strange trade since 2007, combining seething, blackened guitar work and pulsing electronica with a plethora of hate-fuelled hooks and grim, infectious grooves, with Hulders Ritual being their 4th album in that time (and their first since 2017).

It’s the sort of album which at first seems simple… deceptively so, as it turns out… but which plays a series of twisted, insidious tricks on your brain as it goes on, beginning with the bleak, blood-pumping gallop of “Ritual Dogs” (practically a shoe-in for this year’s “most infectious” list), and climaxing with the abrasive, acid-drenched assault on the senses of “Rathkings”.

The constant interplay between synths and riffs, eerie, pseudo-symphonic orchestration and rough, ragged distortion – aided and abetted by a production job that’s simultaneously raw and unpolished but also rich and textured – gives each song a sense of spontaneity and electricity and helps capture the pitch black magic of the group’s performance(s), and makes it hard not to get swept up in the band’s obvious passion for the music.

Are there any particular stand-outs? Not really… but only because the songs are of such a consistently high quality – “Wildkatze” is a blistering, blast-propelled barn-burner built around a ridiculously catchy, repetitive melodic hook, the Kampfar-esque “Huldergeist” seethes and surges like a whirling dervish in the grips of an ecstatic episode (before throwing a wonderfully weird curve-ball at you right at the end), “Hexen Herjer” somehow takes the album in an even darker direction (loaded with a sense of oppressive atmosphere which borders on the claustrophobic), while there’s something almost primeval about the gloaming horror conjured by “Warlok” – that Hulders Ritual is destined to go down as one of the best Black Metal releases of 2026.

SOUL OF ANUBIS – RITUAL

Pure riffosity has been something of a theme for this article so far, and Portuguese punishers Soul of Anubis are going to continue that trend with their killer third album, Ritual.

Landing somewhere between Mantar and early Mastodon – combining the massive, hook-heavy riffage of the former with the ferocious, fire-breathing intensity of the latter – plus some of High On Fire‘s drunken-master swagger – Ritual is as catchy as it is abslutely crushing… to the point where you’ll be surprised that such a massive, well-fleshed-out sound can be produced just by a duo.

Jam-packed with highlights – the likes of “Mind Crusher” and “Human Torch” seamlessly channel the savage spirit of Remenission/Leviathan with their tooth-gnashing aggression and neck-wrecking, jagged-edged songwriting shifts, while darkly infectious sludge-anthems like “Vermin” and “Death Cult” conjure up a sense of gargantuan groove and grim, gloom-shrouded atmosphere that you can practically feel bearing down on your shoulders with a palpable, almost physical weight – it’s an album with both instant impact and staying power.

Indeed, there’s a steely-eyed intelligence to the music – Hugo Ferrão’s beefy, bombastic guitar work marrying both punishing power and surprising intricacy in equal measure, while Rui Silva’s drumming constantly shifts shape and tempo to keep the music moving with an irresisitble sense of forward motion – which belies the brutal, bone-jarring primitivism of a song like “God’s Burial” (which might be the album’s heftiest, heaviest cut).

And even when they really slow things down, as they do during the lurching, surging, churn ‘n’ burn of colossal, eight-and-a-half minute closer “Unholy Tomb” (which takes the band, and the album, in an even bleaker, darker direction, while also dropping some obnoxiously heavy riff-bombs on the listener, especially during the song’s closing crawl) you can’t help but be dragged along by the record’s gargantuan, gravity-distorting momentum… meaning you’re probably going to want to spin this one multiple times in a row once it gets its hooks in you!

THROUGH VOID – FORSAKEN

Much like their brethren above, Through Void also hail from Portugal, but whereas Soul of Anubis specialise in stomping, riff-happy and hook-heavy sludgery, Through Void are all about crushing the listener through sheer auditory attrition, with the devastating Death-Doom of their debut album (heavier on the Death than the Doom overall, although the pacing definitely errs more towards the latter) marrying the massive, bone-grinding guitar work of Immolation with the seductively miserable lead melodies of Paradise Lost.

It’s a simple equation, sure, but it’s also stunningly effective, making the band effectively Portugal’s answer to Phobocosm in the way these devastatingly dense Death Metal guitars writhe and rumble, propelled by some subtly (and surprisingly) complex drum work (drummer Luís Abreu showing off some impressively intricate interplay between his hands and feet across all six songs), while the melodic leads wail and wind their way through every track.

The second half of “My Demise”, for example, is crowned with a spiralling solo that constantly coils and contorts itself into fresh new shapes as it builds towards its climax, while the sinister, slow-motion menace of “Bringer of Death” is laced with an eerily infectious lead refrain that worms its way under your skin with every repetition.

And it’s this ever-present juxtaposition of bruising metallic menace and brooding melodic presence – the lead guitar work in tracks like the epic “Echoes of the Forsaken” (which also serves as another highlight for Abreu’s epic percussive patterns) and the doom-laden “Whispers in the Shadows” provides a constant array of hypnotic hooks and mesmerising melodies – which ensures that Forsaken never loses its grip on you.

Of course, even if the lead guitars tend to steal the show (with the drumming serving as the album’s underrated MVP) that’s not to say the other elements don’t also contribute just as much to the greater whole, as the razor-sharp riffs which power “Bloodstained Battlefield” and the cruelly catchy hooks of “Whirlwind of Torment”, not to mention the gruff, commanding growls which permeate every track, all combine to make this one of the best debuts of the year so far!

UNVERKALT – HÉRÉDITAIRE

Unverkalt is a name you may well be familiar with already, especially since their recently-released third album has been slowly garnering some much deserved momentum and attention in all the right circles.

“Blackened” Post Metal in the vein of Oathbreaker, Obscure Sphinx, and Downfall of Gaia (the latter especially) is the name of the game on Héréditaire, which fuels its moody, atmosphere-heavy riffs and electrifying melodies with sudden explosions of blastbeats and carefully calculated eruptions of absolutely scorching vocals courtesy of the uber-talented Dimitra Kalavrezou… the latter of which, blending both delicate melody and savage intensity also draw obvious comparisons to Battle of Mice‘s Julie Christmas (especially on a tracks like “A Lullaby for the Descent”) due to their similarly vivid and versatile (not to mention volatile) delivery.

Of course, the strength of the individual elements and performances – kudos to guitarist Eli Mavrychev for stepping up to add an extra layer of vocal contrast to the band’s creative tapestry (his work on the already fantastic “Ænæ Lithi”, one of the album’s most immersively atmospheric numbers, really does serve as a perfect counterpoint to Kalavrezou’s signature style) – can only take an album so far, but thankfully the band’s songwriting is consistently strong and engaging throughout the album.

That’s not to say that there aren’t occasionally moments where a little trimming or tightening of the material might have made things even better, but there’s no question that Héréditaire remains a compelling and captivating experience throughout, especially when the group balance those surging, blackened urges (“Oath ov Prometheus”, “Penumbrian Lament”) with moments of both brooding bombast and aching vulnerability (“I, The Deceit”, for example, being as delicate in some places as it is devastating in others).

On the strength of what the band have done here – inarguably the best work of their career, even if a few tracks (“Introjects”, “Death Is Forever”) don’t quite reach the same stunning bar as a song like the haunting, harrowing “Maladie de l’Esprit” – there’s a good chance that Unverkalt could be one of this year’s “breakout” bands, and my hope is that, as good as Héréditaire is (and it is) it’s only a sign of even bigger, better things to come.