Welcome to this week’s global shitshow. Wall Street’s jerking everyone around like a drunk at a blackjack table, Congress can’t get off its ass long enough to do anything useful, and the Fed’s handing out rate cuts like band-aids on a bullet wound. Over in Europe, French streets are up in flames again, Brussels can’t meet a climate target if it bit them in the ass, and London politicians are still squabbling like spoiled children. Everywhere you look, the world’s a goddamn mess.
Luckily, the underground doesn’t give a flying fuck. These are the records out September 26 that actually hit – ugly, loud, and unapologetically real. They don’t sugarcoat, they don’t kiss ass, and they sure as hell don’t care about your circus. Check them out, feel the chaos inside your speakers, and let it drown out the bullshit outside. – Scott
ABRAHAM – idsungwüssä (Pelagic Records)
Swiss post-metal veterans Abraham wrap up their sprawling saga with idsungwüssä. The album is an apocalyptic ride, full of tension and heaviness, where guitars crash over thunderous drums and Swiss-German vocals wail in both despair and reflection. Occasionally, ambient sections creep in, giving a moment to breathe before the chaos comes back with a vengeance. A Farfisa organ and Moog textures appear here and there, adding a ghostly, ritual-like tone. It’s heavy, yes, but there’s a thoughtfulness behind it – an attention to storytelling that pulls you in.
Vibe: A haunted, apocalyptic journey where despair meets beauty – best with headphones in the dark.
ABRADED – Ethereal Emanations from Cthonic Caries (Redefining Darkness Records)
Abraded from Cleveland don’t waste any time. Ethereal Emanations from Cthonic Caries is a death-grind assault, from the first blastbeat straight through to the last guttural roar. Beneath the messy, filthy exterior, the songs actually hold together – they flow, with riffs that crawl and hit in unpredictable ways. You can hear the old-school grind influences, but there’s a swampy, sticky quality that makes it theirs. It’s raw, aggressive, and almost tactile – you feel it, not just hear it.
Vibe: Raw, filthy, and unrelenting – a sonic pit of decay you dive into willingly.
BANDERSTADT – Red (Archivist Records | Grand Sounds PR)
Banderstadt from Ukraine mix folk and metal with surprising ease on Red. Traditional instruments weave into roaring guitars and warlike drums. Each song tells a story rooted in history and legend, but it never feels like a lecture – the energy keeps it alive. Vocals carry a sense of pride and immediacy, and you can catch each instrument, whether it’s a delicate folk melody or a riff meant to punch your chest.
Vibe: Epic storytelling in steel – folk traditions meet thrashing power in a stirring sound.
CRUENTATION – Damned Fallen Angels (Iron Bonehead)
From New England, Cruentation hit hard with a mix of blackened death and grind. Every riff feels deliberate, each drum pattern hits like a hammer, and the vocals shift between low growls and high-pitched shrieks that are almost manic. It’s chaotic but in a controlled way – you never feel lost, just pulled deeper into darkness. If you’ve liked Witch Tomb or early Belial, this will feel familiar, yet the band has their own stamp on the style.
Vibe: Like standing at the edge of a pit – beautifully filthy, violently alive, and impossible to escape.
DARKNESS – The Death Squad Chronicles (Massacre Records)
Germany’s Darkness celebrate 40 years of thrash on The Death Squad Chronicles. Old tracks get fresh life with new recordings, alongside some demos and two brand-new songs. The guitars cut, drums march, and vocals show decades of experience. Guest appearances remind you that thrash is a shared thing – community as much as music. Even fans who’ve been around a long time might hear something new, while newcomers get hit by speed and attitude all at once.
Vibe: A forty-year warhorse still charging – chaotic, tight, and ferociously alive.
DEMIURGON – Miasmatic Deathless Chamber (Transcending Obscurity Records)
Demiurgon’s Miasmatic Deathless Chamber is feral, fast, and tight. Songs twist and turn with dense riffs and complex drumwork, giving little breathing room. It’s chaotic, but carefully so – this is the result of years of experience. The long tracks feel like a ride, full of sudden bursts of technical flair. Each riff demands attention, each drumbeat commands your neck to move.
Vibe: Like watching a storm rip through a city – terrifying, awe-inspiring, impossible to look away from.
ELBE – Peculiar (Octopus Rising | Grand Sounds PR)
Czech band ELBE offer Peculiar, a post-metal journey that mixes introspection and weight. Quiet, brooding moments swell into crashing crescendos. Vocals glide over the music with melancholy, and harmonies shift in unexpected ways. It’s not a straight story – it’s more like snapshots of emotional landscapes, moments that linger and hit hard.
Vibe: Melancholy and beauty entwined – perfect for late-night reflection or emotional wandering.
GJENDØD – Svekkelse (Osmose Productions)
Trondheim’s GJENDØD go full-force on Svekkelse. The album swings from epic black metal passages to raw, deranged energy, sometimes technical, sometimes primitive. Local folklore gives the lyrics weight, while the production captures every blast and riff with crushing clarity. The eight tracks feel both massive and intimate at the same time.
Vibe: Like being swallowed by a Norwegian storm – terrifying, beautiful, and relentless.
KINGDOM (Poland) – Primeval Cult of Strength in the Womb of Suffer (Osmose Productions)
Poland’s Kingdom smash through ten new tracks plus a Deicide cover with pure old-school death metal fury. Riffs grind and roll with that classic bone-crushing weight, drums hammer like a relentless heartbeat, and the vocals roar with guttural menace. There’s no frills, no over-polishing – just raw, unrelenting aggression that feels like it crawled straight out of the 90s. It’s brutal, it’s precise, and it hits exactly where it should: your skull.
Vibe: Classic death metal done right – grinding, heavy, and merciless.
KORYPHEUS – Gilgamesh (M-Theory Audio | Grand Sounds PR)
Kyiv’s Korypheus hit hard with Gilgamesh, a tight, technical prog-metal/djent album. Riffs cut sharp, drums jab and twist unpredictably, and the vocals shift between guttural growls and soaring lines without ever losing intensity. The songs move like living things – chaotic, precise, and relentless. Every listen reveals another layer, another riff, another corner of their sound that grabs you by the neck and doesn’t let go.
Vibe: Heavy, jagged, and alive – progressive metal that demands your attention.
OCCULSED – Antegnosis (Everlasting Spew Records)
Atlanta’s Occulsed unleash Antegnosis, a twisting trip through chaotic death metal. Riffs coil and gnash, drums hit like sudden jolts, and guttural vocals crawl through the mix with venomous force. Every song feels alive, balancing raw brutality with eerie, almost melodic passages that slip in and vanish before you can catch your breath.
The trio brings decades of extreme metal experience. Drawing from Tampa death metal and early Scandinavian underground sounds, Occulsed craft a dark, suffocating atmosphere that’s both chaotic and deliberate. The album drags you in, refusing to let go, each track a new layer of twisted intensity.
Vibe: A ritual of bone-crushing, chaotic death metal – filthy, relentless, and hypnotically intense.
ORDEALS – Third Rail Prayer (Eternal Death)
NYC’s Black/Death monsters Ordeals throw you into Third Rail Prayer like a jolt you didn’t see coming. Riffs twist and curl in ways that feel almost alive, drums hit in uneven bursts, and the vocals sometimes bark, sometimes moan like they’re pleading. There’s a fleeting melodic line here or there – just enough to make you think you can breathe – then it’s gone. I’m not entirely sure how they make it feel both chaotic and intentional, but it works.
Vibe: It’s like being stuck in a storm that refuses to let you go.
RAGE – A New World Rising (Steamhammer)
Rage somehow make thrash feel almost… joyful. Eleven tracks plus a bonus spin between catchy hooks and layered instrumentation. “Innovation” grabs you immediately, and Peavy Wagner’s voice has this weirdly infectious optimism that sneaks past your expectations. At moments, it’s playful, like the band is grinning behind the speakers while you bang your head.
Vibe: Feels like sprinting through a lightning storm with a grin you can’t shake.
RISEN ATLANTIS FEAT. FRANK BECK – Power To The Past (Frontiers Music)
Risen Atlantis bring old-school European power metal into the present. Vocals soar, riffs push hard, and tracks like “Glory For The Brave” (main single) tell tiny epic tales. The title track spreads out like a movie soundtrack, big and theatrical but still playful. Co-writing with Alessandro Del Vecchio keeps the songs alive and breathing, like the band can’t stop smiling in the studio.
Vibe: Feels like riding a massive dragon at sunrise, wind tearing past your face.
STONE MACHINE ELECTRIC – Faces (Argonauta Records | Grand Sounds PR)
Stone Machine Electric’s Faces is a stoner-rock trip with heavy doom undertones. Six tracks wind through fuzzy grooves and hypnotic layers. Sometimes you float, sometimes a wave of sound smacks you sideways. It’s meditative but restless, like syrup slowly moving while lightning strikes.
Vibe: Feels like being trapped in clouds of sticky smoke, drifting and jolting at the same time.
TERRA ATLANTICA – Oceans (Scarlet Records)
Oceans tosses you onto waves of cinematic power metal (think Rhapsody of Fire, just with a voice that’s not quite as powerful). Riffs crash and curl, choruses soar, and orchestral touches sneak in unexpectedly. Guest spots, including Piet Sielck, add little surprises that never feel forced. Listening feels like holding onto the mast during a storm, then glimpsing the sun for a second before it’s gone again.
Vibe: Feels like riding a violent, thrilling sea that refuses to let you rest.
TETRAGRAMMACIDE – Cyber-Tantric Paradigm of Radical Sri-Vidya (Iron Bonehead)
Tetragrammacide’s short EP packs three tracks of black/death metal chaos. Riffs twist unpredictably, drums march like someone is very particular about timing, and psychedelic, ritualistic touches add a hallucinatory edge. Heavy? Yes. Suffocating? Absolutely. But it’s deliberate; every sound feels chosen, even if it’s meant to crush you.
Vibe: Feels like exploring a tiny, collapsing dark universe, impossible to ignore.
THE VINTAGE CARAVAN – Portals (Napalm Records)
The Icelandic trio return with their sixth album, Portals, and it’s a thick dose of retro prog rock played with confidence. Instead of leaning on nostalgia alone, they twist old psychedelic moods into something sharp and current. The record shifts gears often – slow-burning one moment, charging forward the next – but it always keeps a steady groove at its core.
What makes Portals work is its warmth. The performances feel lived-in, like a band that knows exactly how to stretch out and still keep the listener hooked. It’s heavy without being stiff, trippy without losing direction, and proof that The Vintage Caravan are still carrying the torch for this kind of rock with style.
Vibe: A hazy, heavy trip that nods to the ’70s while staying very much alive in the present.
ZOMBIE EATER – Faces (Argonauta Records | Grand Sounds PR)
Helsinki’s Zombie Eater debut with Faces, a sludge record that’s thick, sticky, and alive. Riffs curl and thicken, drums growl and thump, and vocals gnash unpredictably. It’s heavy, oppressive, and captivating—you feel the weight pressing down, but it draws you in. Fans of Dopethrone or Weedeater will notice familiar grooves, but Zombie Eater twist them into something entirely theirs.
Vibe: Feels like wading through molasses while someone hammers drums above you – and somehow, it’s exhilarating.
That’s the spread for September 26 – a week where the underground spat out sludge, prog, death, black, thrash, and everything in between. No weak links, no half-measures: just bands pushing hard in their own directions. Whether you want the ritual chaos of Occulsed, the retro haze of The Vintage Caravan, or the filthy grind of Abraded, there’s something here to drown out the noise of the outside world. Spin loud, stay pissed, and come back next week for another round. See ya next week!
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