Albums of March 6, 13, and 20, 2026

The most interesting releases of the week(s)

Liminal Shrines is Gutvoid‘s second full-length release and the first half of a two-part concept, given to us by Profound Lore Records. The progressive death-doom(ish) labum meets all expectations. Stretched out tracks shift between guttoral vocals over vicious blast beats and smooth, almost-crooning guitar lines that slow the song down and make you breath. People looking for concise music or heartless songwriting editing may find Liminal Shrines too meandering, but people who salivate at 12-minute tracks will have a blast.

The guitars on Liminal Shrines fascinate me. The use of so many different guitar tones gives Liminal Shrines depth on an axis that many bands don’t explore enough, and it doesn’t hurt that many of their riffs and solos range from soothing to blood-pumping. Liminal Shrines is a long journey, and I’m looking forward to the second half.

No Peace was released on Redefining Darkness Records. It’s the band’s second full length, but they’ve already established themselves as one of the most exciting grindcore bands around. The band plays true, straightforward, pummeling music in the style of Rotten Sound or Brutal Truth. No Peace is a pure distillation of the genre: short songs, relentless songwriting, and blast beats for the entire 22-minute runtime.

It’s difficult to make riffs sound unique when playing music that’s pushed this far to the edge, but No/Mas manage. The band hasn’t written a boring song yet. No Peace is energizing, it’s consistent, and it’s going to be in my rotation for a long time.

Sins Of Your Domain was released on 1126 Records. Wielded Steel play a punishing blend of death metal and hardcore that ends up sounding quite a lot like Integrity. The riffs are staccato, the breakdowns hit hard. You get the deal.

The vocals stand out. Deep, expressive growls give each song life. It’s also nice to hear an album with this much emphasis on the bass. And while the band’s songwriting is not going to spawn any new genres, there are some nasty riffs hiding on Sins Of Your Domain surrounded by smart editing and satisfying choruses, resulting in songs that don’t overstay their welcome and leave the listener wanting to press start again.

The Magnolia Sessions have been going on for a while now, and they’ve resulted in some interesting releases. The Anti-Corp Music series consists of dark folk, americana, bluegrass, and similar music. I hadn’t heard of The Bandit Queen Of Sorrows before this live recording, and this was one hell of an introduction.

Leslie Fox-Humphreys has quite the impressive voice. She describes the album as “blending the heartbroken widow on the shore with the femme fatale,” which she absolutely succeeded at accomplishing. The instrumentation is on the mellow and sparse side, which fits the raw, contemplative themes.

Kaleidobolt play a style of progressive rock that might sound cozy to fans of the genre. Karakuchi, their fifth full-length, was released on Svart Records. The album starts with a rather up-tempo track containing the standard verse-chorus song structure, some gruff vocals, a comforting and impressive guitar solo, and a wiff of Motorhead. Then the song’s ending comes, featuring multiple fake endings and an extended crash out, and you get the jist of what Kaleidobolt is going for.

The rest of the record continues the same way. This is guitar music, with short tracks and familiar construction, surrounded by enough spice and jazz influence to keep the listener excited. The mostly-clean vocals have a hefty dose of blues growls and punk screams for additional flavor. Kaleidobolt are masters of songwriting, and Karakuchi sounds like them having fun while keeping expectations and stress away.

Well there’s a holy shit release if I’ve ever seen one. Neurosis drop a surprise album after a decade with Aaron Turner of Sumac and Isis (the band) replacing Scott Kelly is quite the unexpected turn. Either Aaron Turner was heavily involved in the songwriting process for this album or these are just the sounds that occur when he walks into the room, because the Oceanic vibes are quite higher than on older Neurosis albums.

An Undying Love For A Burning World is massive. Hour runtime and 17-minute closing track aside, Neurosis have the experience to create songs that sound like they’re crashing down on top of you. This is a dark, gripping, emotional experience, and one of my favorite albums of the year.