This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Allt, Bear McCreary, Ceremonial Worship, Complexant, Dry Wedding, Finsterforst, Future Palace, Iconic, Lalu, Sinner and Taake.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
Allt – Ataraxia (Century Media)
The Swedish metalcore band Allt issued their full-length debut in 2024, and follow that up with Ataraxia. They take a different lyrical approach this time, focusing on personal experiences instead of fictional ideas.
They shift from aggression and harsh vocals to mellower moments with melodic singing throughout the record, following the genre template. Tracks like “Nevermind” begin with brutality and groove before making the melodic shift, while numbers such as “Enemy” take the opposite approach. There are some catchy moments on Ataraxia with improved songwriting from their debut, but the overall impact is somewhat diluted by a few generic sections.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Bear McCreary – The Singularity: Ekleipsis (Sparks & Shadows)
Bear McCreary is an award-winning composer, having worked on projects such as Outlander, The Walking Dead and Godzilla: King Of The Monsters. In 2024 he released the hard rock concept album The Singularity, and follows it up with The Singularity: Ekleipsis. Like that album, this one is epic in scope and features numerous guests.
Bear’s brother Brendan McCreary sings on most of the songs. He teams up with Alissa White-Gluz (ex-Arch Enemy) on the grandiose “Our Kingdom.” Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump sings the catchy “The Chandelier,” while Gojira’s Joe Duplantier lends his talents to “Black Box,” which also features The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices women’s choir. Guest musicians include Slash, Steve Vai, Stewart Copeland, Chad Smith and more. The Singularity: Ekleipsis is an ambitious effort, and the 75-minute opus remains engaging and cohesive throughout.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Ceremonial Worship – Between Sleep And Death (Eternal Death)
Between Sleep And Death, the third album from the Greek band Ceremonial Worship, is a raw black metal offering that is very punishing in nature and has a dark flavor. It is a very raw album that has a morose feeling because it is very downtrodden. The music is very simple, which is a flaw of the recording because there is not room to be innovative.
The musicianship on the album is rather ordinary, but sufficient. Between Sleep And Death has a raw feeling that is quite wonderful to behold, but unfortunately there is very little to make this stand out, and it sounds rather ordinary. There is nothing on the album that is overly innovative or trailblazing, but for black metal fans the album is moderately entertaining, though nothing splendid.
Rating: 3
(Adam McAuley)
Complexant – Apex (Bleeding Art Collective)
If there was a word to summarize Complexant’s debut album Apex, it would be “massive.” That’s the thought that comes up as the drums rumble like an avalanche careening down a hill, or when the guitars cut through the music like hail in a thunderstorm. Credit producer Christian Donaldson for mixing and mastering Apex in a way that gives the group’s blackened deathcore extra sting.
The orchestration used in their previous few releases has been downplayed, while the tempos have been ramped up. New vocalist Dan Greigsy is more dynamic than anticipated with melodic singing used on “No Angels Weep” and “Afterlife.” Apex is a stripped-down debut with promise to spare.
Rating: 3
(Dan Marsicano)
Dry Wedding – The Back Of Beyond (Vesperian/Metal Blade)
The Back Of Beyond is the third album from Portland, Oregon’s Dry Wedding. As with their previous releases, it’s difficult to pigeonhole as the band utilizes a wide variety of styles and approaches. Davey Ferchow’s baritone vocals give things a gothic vibe, and there’s a lot of atmosphere throughout the album.
You’ll also hear moments of everything from post punk to noise rock to avant garde. The songs constantly shift, ebb and flow. Things can go from chaotic to mellow or vice-versa at the drop of a hat. Most songs are in the 6 to 7-minute length, giving Dry Wedding plenty of time to work their magic. The Back Of Beyond is unpredictable, with something new and interesting around every musical corner.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Finsterforst – Still (AOP)
Seven years have elapsed since the German band Finsterforst released Zerfall, though they did issue the EP Jenseits in 2023 which was nearly 40 minutes long. Still is their sixth full-length. Over the years they have perfected a style they describe as “Black Forest metal.” It blends black, folk and Viking metal with post influences and atmosphere.
Harsh vocals and soaring melodic singing provide even more contrast and variety. They are equally adept at short songs like “Knie Nieder” and “Fels” as they are with lengthy numbers such as “Im Wind” and the 24-minute opus “Leere.” There are also a couple of interesting cover songs. They put their own spin on two very different tracks: Immortal’s “Beyond The North Waves” and Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall.” At over 80 minutes, Still is a lot to absorb, but Finsterforst make every minute of the album worthwhile.
Rating: 4
(Chad Bowar)
Future Palace – Resurgence (Century Media)
Post-hardcore has always thrived in contrast, and few bands wield it as deliberately as Future Palace. On Resurgence, the Berlin trio deliver twelve tracks that feel less like songs and more like a sustained meditation on drowning, rebuilding, and drowning again. “Deep Blue” opens with suffocating isolation, oceanic imagery standing in for a mind slipping under unnoticed. The title track “Resurge” answers with demolition and doubt-riddled reinvention, while “Supernova” turns its gaze outward toward hollowed-out cruelty and civilizational numbness.
“Disintegrate” and “The Shades” lean into repetition until lyrics feel like intrusive thoughts looping on command, while “Nixy” offers a clever folkloric detour into masking and manipulation.
Later, “Thorns” and “Tidal Waves” contrast betrayal’s aftermath with tender, protective love, before “Ebb and Flow” and “Nightfall” pull the record back into suffocating relapse. Closers “Symphony of the Clouds” and “Cyclone” frame the narrator as both storm and survivor, ending on tentative restoration rather than triumph. Musically, Mari Lessing’s dynamic vocals, Manuel Kohlert’s cinematic guitar work, and Johannes Früchtenicht’s steady drumming keeps the atmosphere ahead of aggression. The result isn’t catharsis for its own sake; it’s an honest, cyclical portrait of what healing feels like.
Rating: 4
(Jeanetta Briski)
Iconic – II (Frontiers)
Iconic are a hard rock/heavy metal supergroup consisting of vocalist Nathan James (Inglorious), guitarist Michael Sweet (Stryper), guitarist Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, Night Ranger, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), bassist Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy, Journey, Ted Nugent) and drummer Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy Osbourne, Whitenake, Thin Lizzy).
II dials up the heaviness without sacrificing the hooks and catchy choruses of their debut. James is probably the least known member of the band, and those unfamiliar with Inglorious may be surprised by the power and range of his vocals. Sweet and Hoekstra’s guitar work is top-notch, while the world class rhythm section anchors the album. The 11 songs fly by with minimal filler and maximum radio friendliness. With II, Iconic further lock in their chemistry and hone their songwriting.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Lalu – A Mythmaker’s Demise (Frontiers)
French progressive rocker Vivien Lalu is no stranger to producing his own melodic takes in the genre. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of his progressive rock project Lalu’s debut debut album Oniric Metal. To celebrate this tremendous milestone, he reunited with vocalist Martin LeMar to release their fifth album A Mythmaker’s Demise.
Despite the claim that A Mythmaker’s Demise was made with no drum samples or EQ, as a whole the album sounds amazing and well put together. Some tracks like “Mayacama (Instrumental)” feel like they could be end credit songs in an ’80s action movie while tracks like “Learning To Fly” provide the right amount of energy for a light headbanging session.
Rating: 3.5
(Dalton Husher)
Sinner – Boom Bang Goodbye (Reigning Phoenix)
The German traditional metal band Sinner got their start back in the early ’80s. Frontman Mat Sinner has been involved in other bands over the years such as Primal Fear and Voodoo Circle. As you can probably garner from the title, Boom Bang Goodbye is the group’s farewell album.
There are a lot of guest vocalists. Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group) sings on three tracks, with other guests including Bjorn “Speed” Strid (Soilwork), Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), Erik Martensson (Eclipse), Renan Zonta (Electric Mob), Michael Bormann (Redrum), Michael Sadler (Saga) and former Sinner vocalist Sascha Krebs. Hard rock hooks and metal intensity mark the band’s swan with a varied collection of songs and singers. Boom Bang Goodbye finds Sinner going out on a high note.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Taake – En Skog Av Nidstang (Dark Essence)
En Skog Av Nidstang shows sharper songwriting and better production than recent Taake albums, but the four overlong tracks suffer from muddy drums and repetitive ideas. The thick atmosphere and defined guitars offer glimpses of genuine creativity, yet the indecipherable Bergen vocals and lack of editing test patience. Each track feels like a self-contained descent, staying in the same crushingly depressive mood throughout.
For classic black metal fans, this is a solid nostalgia trip — a reminder of the old days with nothing new to offer. The repetition doesn’t build tension; it just wears thin. It’s enjoyable in moments but frustrating overall, feeling out of step with how the genre has evolved. A competent entry, but hardly the miracle needed to overcome years of boredom.
Rating: 3
(Carlos Tirado)
