Horrendous — Ontological Mysterium
The Americans reconcile old-school death metal and progressive freedom: 88/100 for a record of rare elegance.
9/10 July 15, 2026
Hooded Menace — Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration
78/100: Finnish death/doom in all its melancholic heaviness.
7.5/10 August 14, 2026
High on Fire — Cometh the Storm
Matt Pike's beast still roars as loud as ever: 81/100 for an implacable sludge record.
8/10 June 16, 2026
Hellripper — Coronach
84/100: Scottish riff-machine James McBain unleashes his blackened speed metal.
8.5/10 August 23, 2026
Helloween — Giants & Monsters
81/100: the inventors of European power metal, reunited, keep the flame.
8/10 August 27, 2026
HEALTH — CONFLICT DLC
79/100 across eight reviews: the Angelenos push their industrial noise toward apocalyptic pop.
8/10 August 22, 2026
Havukruunu — Tavastland
82/100: Finnish pagan black metal in all its epic splendour.
8/10 August 25, 2026
Hamferð — Men Guðs Hond Er Sterk
86/100: Faroese death/doom reaches an overwhelming solemnity.
8.5/10 August 4, 2026
Haken — In a Fever Dream
Slimmed to a trio, Haken reinvent themselves in 27 minutes: "ingenious and classy", yet "the least Haken-y" release of their career.
8/10 July 19, 2026
Haken — Fauna
The London collective cross virtuosity with an imaginary bestiary: 82/100 for a playful, learned record.
8/10 June 15, 2026
Guilt Trip — Armour Of Angels
80.2/100 and four reviews in unison: Manchester delivers Europe's pit record of the year.
8/10 June 9, 2026
Green Lung — This Heathen Land
English folklore and the Hammond organ: 85/100 for an irresistible occult heavy-rock record.
8.5/10 June 23, 2026
Green Carnation — A Dark Poem, Part III: The Messiah Complex
Trilogy finale bordering on critical genuflection: 9.8/10 at Sonic Perspectives. Out September 4.
8.5/10 September 1, 2026
Gorod — The Ember Gone
Bordeaux tech-death dares to be vulnerable. The craft is unanimous; the pacing divides.
7.5/10 August 30, 2026
Gilla Band — Most Normal
The Irish band make saturation a sonic material: 85/100 for a radically inventive record.
8.5/10 June 10, 2026
Ghost — Impera
The Swedish cult fully embraces the stadium and pop: 78/100 for an ambitious, divisive record.
7.5/10 June 9, 2026
Gel — Only Constant
Nineteen minutes of raw, frontal hardcore: 82/100 for a record that hits fast and true.
8/10 June 11, 2026
Gatecreeper — Dark Superstition
Arizona death metal gains melody without losing power: 82/100 for a record built to last.
8/10 June 21, 2026
Gaerea — Mirage
Portuguese black metal steps up: 83/100 for a record of visceral intensity.
8/10 June 18, 2026
Gaerea — Loss
Cathartic black metal goes luminous metalcore: press won over (74), faithful betrayed (60). Debate open.
7.5/10 March 24, 2026
Funebrarum — Beckoning The Void of Eternal Silence
79/100: the Americans' cavernous, old-school death metal reeks of the crypt.
8/10 August 8, 2026
Fuming Mouth — The Ringing Bell
Seventh-circle gutturals versus waning creativity: the press splits, the pit will decide.
7/10 July 22, 2026
Full of Hell & Nothing — When No Birds Sang
The improbable meeting of fury and mist: 82/100 for a collaboration of troubled beauty.
8/10 June 21, 2026
Frozen Soul — No Place of Warmth
78/100: the Texans' glacial, old-school death metal stays fearsomely effective.
7.5/10 August 24, 2026
Frontierer — Oxidized
The calculated chaos of mathcore reaches peaks of aggression: 82/100 for a suffocating record.
8/10 June 7, 2026
Fleshgod Apocalypse — Opera
87/100: the Italians fuse technical death metal and symphonic grandeur with excess.
8.5/10 August 5, 2026
Five Finger Death Punch — Legacy
Blabbermouth says 9/10, the public says 25/100: the record that captivates musically and repels lyrically.
7/10 August 3, 2026
Fit for an Autopsy — Oh What the Future Holds
The Americans' committed deathcore gains in depth: 81/100 for a record as heavy as it is thoughtful.
8/10 June 13, 2026
Fires in the Distance — Circadian Promise
85/100: the Americans' melodic, piano-laced death/doom moves the critics.
8.5/10 August 10, 2026
Fire-Toolz — Lavender Networks
79/100 across six reviews: Angel Marcloid's project blends metal, vaporwave and prog into a unique kaleidoscope.
8/10 August 11, 2026
Finsterforst — Still
The "strongest album in a 22-year career" — bloat included. 78/100 for the Black Forest.
8/10 August 2, 2026
Fen — Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth
English atmospheric black at its peak: "my favorite Fen album to date" (AMG 4.0), 9/10 from Dead Rhetoric.
8.5/10 August 26, 2026
Fallujah — Xenotaph
81/100: the Californians' atmospheric, cosmic death metal regains its shine.
8/10 August 28, 2026
Evanescence — Sanctuary
81/100 and a first Billboard Hard Rock No. 1: the press crowns Amy Lee's return, the public debates.
8/10 June 7, 2026
Escuela Grind — DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL
84/100: the Americans' turbocharged grindcore gives no respite.
8.5/10 August 2, 2026
Erra — Cure
The Americans of progressive metalcore polish their craft: 79/100 for a goldsmith's record.
8/10 June 12, 2026