Albums of September 4, 11, and 18, 2026

The most interesting releases of the week(s)!

The Messiah Complex was released on Season of Mist. I wonder how this series would have been received if it was released as one, giant, 2-hour long musical experience. Maybe that would have messed with the band’s intentions. In any case, a bunch of listeners would have likely complained about “bloat” and started talking about which songs they would have left off to cut the runtime in half just like they (we) do every time something weird comes out. But I miss the extravagance, messiness, and indulgence of art. It’s not a problem if this is how the artist intended for their art to be experienced, but something is lost when every release is formatted to work well for both physical releases and streaming services and designed to be listened to in the car or at work or when cleaning one’s apartment. Give me weirder stuff that doesn’t fit in every box, even if it makes it more difficult to listen to. Green Carnation are one of the bands that could have pulled this off. Oh well.

In any case, The Messiah Complex sounds excellent. The vocals convey both power and sorrow while maintaining tight control over every moment. The songwriting remains stunning, with choices as simple as the drum beat switch up underneath the “son of man” vocals on the title track giving emotional depth to the pieces. The final orchestral suite reminds me at least superficially of “April” off of Deep Purple‘s wildly underrated self-titled album (which you should go listen to right now). A Dark Poem is an accomplishment, one of the zeniths of Green Carnation‘s career, and one that I will be listening to for years.

Oh, boy. Aria For Labellum Tongues was released independently, I think. They describe themselves as “maximalist avant-metal” that combines “zeuhl, symphonic prog, and post-impressionist piano literature” and that “confronts the friction between the DIY venue and the classical concert hall.” And while this is all true, it also feels incomplete. In an attempt to throw some other genre tags at this release, it is a post (?) prog (?) metal (?) music (!) album that sounds less like an experience that is attempting to break barriers than an experience that is simply unaware that there were barriers in the first place. Aria For Labellum Tongues follows 2024’s equally epic, insane, and captivating Heart of a Cherry Pit Sun, which is still an album that I return to frequently when I’m ready to be intimidated again.

The music on Aria For Labellum Tongues swells over very long periods of time. Music piles upon music for minutes on end before ideas are finally resolved in some manner or another. All of the pieces fit together in a jagged and incorrect-seeming manner, with vocals that constantly sound like they’re about to plunge into a different key sitting on top of strings that are playing in a different place on the beat over drums that may be a blast beat or may be nothing, all of which is dressed up in a production job that sounds intentionally murky and relaxed. I think that the band named themselves after a Iannis Xenakis piece. Great choice if so. I’m not going to pretend to have a full grasp of what’s going on here, but it’s rare to hear an album that sounds simultaneously so experiential and so fun to listen to. There is very little else like this in the metal (?) scene. Check it out if you want something interesting to stay in your brain forever. Just incredible stuff.

Turning down the heat a bit, Shannon Jae Rideout has released a new album as a part of Anti-Corp Music’s The Magnolia Sessions. For the unfamiliar, this is a series of folk/bluegrass/similar albums recorded outdoors in front of a magnolia tree. The result has been a series of fun, introspective, low-extravagance albums with little other than guitars, voices, and the feelings they can convey. This particular release features Shannon Jae Rideout channeling Iris DeMent and Townes Van Zandt to create earnest folk music that lowers my blood pressure every listen. The vocals are something special, and the straightforward guitar strumming complements them well. The crickets and other chirping beings in the back have been kept in the mix, and I have to admit it adds to the charm. One of my favorite releases from this series so far.

Ŋvęŧş: Violator of Mater was released on I, Voidhanger Records. Ŋvęŧş is the “violator of the innocent” that the main character has descended to meet and confront. I’m not the best at grasping the themes of death metal, but a descent into hell does fit this music quite well. The music on Ŋvęŧş: Violator of Mater consists of dissonant black metal where the driving component of the songwriting seems to be to keep the listener confused at all times. The music swells before abruptly changing direction. It thumps along for longer than you’d like. The vocals switch between a variety of previously sparsely-inhabited styles. This is dense music, but it’s consistent in its desire to avoid understanding. For all of that, it draws upon the musical lineage of acts like Portal or Blut Aus Nord‘s weirder stuff, meaning that anyone who is into this style will find plenty of handholds to climb this frigid mountain.

Rain Steam Speed was released on Aenaos Records. The thematic hook here is that this is “11 love songs structured as a single day.” The music on Rain Steam Speed is more pop than anything, with Nils Lassen providing the vocals that drive the album forward among his other contributions to the album. I found myself unconsciously bobbing along to the chorus on every song, every time I listened to Rain Steam Speed. The catchy hooks, romantic subject matter, and somewhat morose atmosphere all contrast each other to create an interesting experience. No avant-garde here, just pop tunes that earn their spot in my rotation through pure melody alone. What a joyous surprise this was.

Death Exhibition was released on Me Saco Un Ojo Records, to the surprise of nobody. This Autopsy-esque death metal comes straight from the gutter. Slow, relentless riffs over sparse and savage drum hits lead to vocal that are deep enough to make the rest of the genre jealous. As should be the case for an OSDM album, the riffs absolutely carry the record. Filth have a midas touch when it comes to writing bonehead catchy guitar licks. Death Exhibition doesn’t explore new ground. Instead, Filth just give us well-written gunk in a style that is established to work. Fans of Autopsy or Undeath will enjoy.

Necropolitan was released on Nuclear Blast Records. This album follows Green Lung‘s last two spectacular releases, Black Harvest and This Heathen Land, in being shameless Sabbath worship done right. I can’t help but smile at sinister vocals. The riffs are well-written and memorable but work best when supporting the occult atmosphere that Green Lung cultivates. The guitar and organ tones sound designed to call back to early doom like a warm blanket with an inverted cross on it. It still feels like Green Lung have their career-defining album in their future, Necropolitan is a delightful time, as always.

Cursum Perficio was released on Nuclear Blast Records. This is the best record that any of the American big four have put out since Hardwired To Self-Destruct. I was a bit surprised by how mid-tempo the whole album was during early listens. Anthrax was never the fastest of the big 80s metal acts, but they’ve dialed the aggression down a level from their height. The songwriting focus on big choruses works to keep the album entertaining from front to back. The breakdowns also stand out throughout Cursum Perficio. Singing sounds strong throughout, and the guitar-work accomplishes all you’d expect on a legacy thrash release. If this is it for Anthrax, then the band is going out on a good one.

Scour Order was released on Profound Lore Records, and in my head this is a 35-minute release. Krallice have slightly returned to their pre-Demonic Wealth sound here, with more of a focus on guitars ripping in every direction you can find with clearer production. Individual instruments bounce lines off of each other and build each other up, in contrast to the more murky, wholistic approach you heard on Crystalline Exhaustion. And while large parts of Scour Order sound like Krallice is noodling around to try to find interesting points of tension, they find enough to make the experience worth it. Plus, even Krallice noodling around warms my heart in a way that few other bands can. Eventually all that noodling leads to some great moments that put a nice bow on the whole journey, especially once the band starts focusing in on an idea and modulating on it until it bursts (see “Her Green Arms”). This likely will not end up in my top 5 Krallice releases, but I still enjoy and return to albums like Mass Cathexis. This will likely end up in the same category.

Suffering Quota make some of the meanest, most direct grindcore that you can find today. Sisyphean Life was released on Tartarus Records and 7 Degrees Records. This band draws straight from the well of Nasum and Brutal Truth. Song after song of unrelenting screams and blazing fast riffs just hit you until 18 minutes feels like an eternity. The vocals on Sisyphean Life have consistent tone and tie the album together, while the drums and guitars give me whiplash with their constantly changing fury. The entertainment factor is never forgotten either. Several times I found myself shaking my head and smiling at a particularly well-placed riff. The songs can be a bit overwhelming, but Suffering Quota know when to slow it down as well. The platonic ideal of a no-nonsense grindcore record.