This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Axty, Dark Funeral, Deathgrave, Deceptor, Famous Strangers, Fejd, Fen, The Night Eternal, Nova Riot, Ocean Sleeper, Pattern-Seeking Animals, Rapid, Shabti, Tokyo Blade and Triskelyon.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
Axty – The Pain Made Me Who I Am (Napalm)
Brazilian band Axty arrive at their Napalm Records debut, The Pain Made Me Who I Am, riding real momentum with viral streams, a Born of Osiris support slot, and an upcoming Lacuna Coil tour. The 12-track album turns pain into raw material rather than an endpoint, opening with the defiant “pain made me” and “who I am” before shifting into the wounded relationships that are the reflection of “dismay.” “selfish” unleashes outward fury at a parasitic ex, while “everything is beautiful” and “all I love” explore existential exhaustion and the fear of losing what matters.
Vocalist Felipe Hervoso anchors the record with dramatic swings between melodic cleans and guttural screams that track each song’s emotional arc. Guitarist Jonathas Peschiera (also mixer/master) delivers a dense low end, while drummer Gabriel Vacari keeps chaotic passages grounded. Blending deathcore, metalcore, hip-hop, and nu-metal, the album resists tidy resolution, letting fury, despair, and triumph coexist and marking Axty as a genuinely compelling new voice in metalcore.
Rating: 4
(Jeanetta Briski)
Dark Funeral – A Beast To Praise (Century Media)
Few black metal bands can match Dark Funeral when it comes to delivering truly devastating live performances. Their legacy in this case stretches back to 2004’s legendary live album De Profundis Clamavi ad Te Domine, a release that set a high standard for the genre.
Recorded at Fållan in Stockholm on April 16, 2022, in support of the acclaimed We Are the Apocalypse, A Beast to Praise captures Dark Funeral as formidable, relentless, and untouchable as they have ever been. The performance is razor-sharp from beginning to end, while Erik Sjölander’s mixing and Lawrence Mackrory’s mastering give the album a massive, overwhelming presence, perfectly capturing the ferocity and grandeur of the occasion. Spanning 70 furious minutes and featuring many of the band’s essential tracks, A Beast to Praise is a triumphant reminder that Dark Funeral remain an inexhaustible force of darkness in black metal.
Rating: 4
(Arash Khosronejad)
Deathgrave – Hell Is Evil (Tankcrimes)
Hell Is Evil has Deathgrave opening up their grindcore a crack to let other genres take a quick peek, such as death metal, punk and doom metal. Guitarist Greg Wilkinson’s current role as bassist for Autopsy seeps into the band’s third album, and it’s not just with Chris Reifert in a guest vocal performance on “Hard To Swallow.” When bassist Fern Alberts gets the lead spot in “Smaller And Smaller” and “Won’t See You In Heaven,” a ruinous slowdown is ahead.
After so many years grinding away, it’s almost a revelation to hear Deathgrave pace themselves. This also lets the longer song lengths settle in (at least, longer by grindcore standards). They are still capable of a rushed onslaught on “I Am Here” and “Your Pain Is Ready,” which proves that any progress doesn’t interfere with their core vile values.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
Deceptor – Reign Of Terror (Dying Victims)
Raleigh, North Carolina’s Deceptor take thrash metal back nearly 40 years on their debut album Reign Of Terror. Right from the album art, you have a good idea what is coming and when album intro “Red Dawn” starts you get exactly that, thrashing and neck breaking riffs that have a tinge of Power Trip swagger about them.
“Human Cavity” is the first to feature vocalist Preston Lanier’s vocals which feel more in line with the classic sounds of the Teutonic thrash scene in an almost Obsessed By Cruelty or Infernal Overkill kind of way, leaning more into the death thrash territory. On the brief “Join or Die” you feel as though you get the classic Kreator styled drums and on “Firing Squad” there is no stone left unturned, it’s aggressive and it grooves hard helping to balance out the song. All things considered, Reign Of Terror is an incredible debut for an up and coming thrash metal band with an affinity towards the past.
Rating: 3.5
(Tom Campagna)
Famous Strangers – Famous Strangers (Self)
Famous Strangers would fit well on rock/metal radio with many of the songs from their self-titled debut album, but thankfully don’t ape any specific bands already on the airwaves. It’s great to hear a modern hard rock band unafraid to get aggressive, from a vocalist that can unleash a scream as well as she can hit a crisp high note to the abundance of shredding guitar solos.
The first six songs of this album land all the right ways that it’s a bummer that they decide to finish off with a plodding nine-and-a-half minute ballad in “Rain.” While it’s a chance to hear a softer, almost bluesy side to Famous Strangers, it’s not able to maintain interest for the time required. The majority of the record is sturdy enough to warrant a recommendation.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Fen – Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth (Prophecy)
Despite this being their eighth album, Fen’s music was new to these ears. Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth is the first of a two album concept and in fact the song titles refer to parts (or elements) of our planet. The music style is a blend of genres that juxtaposes heavy with atmospheric. Sometimes there are even clean vocals singing to furious black metal music. So the album scores high on originality. And yet it isn’t always an enjoyable ride.
Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth is often let down by a muddled sound – in particular the harsh lead vocals are often unintelligible. And the fusing of different music styles doesn’t always work, sometimes making the music hard to swallow. Since the tracks are longish I found myself liking or disliking parts of a song rather than whole songs. With this in mind, the dark intro to “Massif” was great and the screams in “Moor” (the album’s strongest track?) sound quite emotional. I strongly suspect that Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth is the type of album that would need several spins for the listener to warm up to.
Rating: 3
(Chris Galea)
Fejd – Nifelheim (Black Lodge)
Swedish folksters Fejd emerged in the early 2000s, but didn’t release their first full-length until 2009. They quickly issued four albums, but a decade has elapsed between Trolldom and their latest effort, Nifelheim.
They are able to blend the bombast and heaviness of metal with the unique instruments of folk, such as bouzouki, cow horn, hurdy-gurdy, willow flute and Swedish bagpipes. Tracks like “Nidhogg” and “Alvagrimmar” are lengthy with plenty of ebbs and flows, while songs such as the title track and “Skoldborg” are more concise. In addition to variety in tempo and intensity, Fejd also express a variety of emotions, with a focus on the melancholy. Nifelheim is a welcome return for one of Nordic folk’s top tier acts.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
The Night Eternal – Cold Velvet (Metal Blade)
On their third album Cold Velvet, Germany’s The Night Eternal display their signature type of heavy metal, one that appears to be influenced by In Solitude’s Sister and mid-era Tribulation without dipping into extreme metal territory. Helmed by powerful frontman Ricardo Baum, his voice gives off ethereal vibes on “Where This World Ends” while maintaining a gruff delivery when the emotional heft is too much to move by melody alone.
The percussion on “Eurydice (Don’t Look Back)” almost has danceable vibes a la The Cult with an added layer of darkness making for a fun juxtaposition of styles that you might get with Unto Others. “Shape Of Sorrow” has pounding drums along with accentuated riffing that add a bit of flair to Baum’s vocal delivery, making for a complete package type of track. The Night Eternal have continued to solidify their sound with soaring vocals, beautiful guitar work and essential drumming. Cold Velvet is an excellent take on dark and melancholic heavy metal making for their best album to date.
Rating: 4.5
(Tom Campagna)
Nova Riot – Blood, Lies & Lullabies (Eclipse)
Durant, Oklahoma’s Nova Riot doesn’t seem interested in picking a lane. On their debut Blood, Lies & Lullabies, the trio splits the difference between underground grit and mainstream shine, landing on a sound they call bubblegum alternative metal with sugar-sweet hooks bolted onto riffs that hit like a car crash. Opener “Haunting Me” sets the tone with churning guitars under an instantly catchy chorus, while “Midnight Coven Crush” leans further into pop without losing low-end weight.
“Casket” turns darker and heavier, echoing the record’s morbid theatricality. The centerpiece is “The Altar,” a collaboration with The Bunny the Bear that injects welcome unpredictability, balancing melodic clarity against something rawer. “Like I Meant It” and “Through the Storm” pull back into emotionally direct territory before the closer “Sorry Mom” ends things on a cheeky, self-aware note. Frontwoman Nova Ray swings between saccharine hooks and raw aggression, bassist Orion supplies dangerous low-end muscle, and lead guitarist Ares anchors the songs’ heavier instincts. Nothing here feels like a compromise: the pop doesn’t soften the heaviness, and the heaviness doesn’t rough up the pop. Blood, Lies & Lullabies is an assured debut that makes Nova Riot feel like a relentless new force in heavy rock.
Rating: 3
(Jeanetta Briski)
Ocean Sleeper – Peace When I’m Dead (Rise)
Australia has been a hotbed for metal for decades now, and bands like Ocean Sleeper and their latest release Peace When I’m Dead are a great showcase of the talents coming from the continent.
With style that oozes early 2000s emo scene, each track is dripping with emotions that unlike their counterparts, one can feel the actual emotions being conveyed. Even despite the somber tones, tracks like “Forgive” and “Someone Better” almost have a grandiose feel to them that borderlines on symphonic if it went any grander. For most people music is a great way to convey emotions in a healthy manner in ways to make others feel like they are not alone, and that is what Peace When I’m Dead feels like, a letter to let other people know that they are not alone with their emotions.
Rating: 3.5
(Dalton Husher)
Pattern-Seeking Animals – Grimalkin (GEP)
Getting their start as a spinoff of Spock’s Beard, prog rockers Pattern-Seeking Animals have been prolific since issuing their self-titled debut in 2019. Grimalkin is the group’s sixth album.
Kicking off the record with its longest track, the nearly 9-minute “Maybe All A Dream” is a bold choice, but PSA have no problem maintaining interest throughout the lengthy composition. That’s also the case with other long songs such as “Slowly Falls The Flying Man” and “Break Away.” They sprinkle in shorter numbers like the ballad “Things I Don’t Do” and the sparkly closer “I Dream The World.” On Grimalkin, Pattern-Seeking Animals let their prog flag fly, but don’t neglect catchy melodies.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Rapid – Enter The Realm of Fire (Dying Victims)
Finnish speed merchants Rapid unleash plenty of fury and bombast on their debut Enter The Realm Of Fire. Following the intro, “Witchcraft Of Horror” has barked vocals that punctuate the air and is littered with fast and furious riffs in conjunction with midtempo riffing to give the listener an intermittent break. The fury continues on bangers like “Necromantic Warriors,” “Horemheb” and the stellar “Black Poison” with a continued emphasis on bestial vocals, furious riffs and the semi lo-fi production to give this an authentic early ‘80s Euro feel.
Rapid is a no-frills interpretation of the early black and speed metal that developed into something inherently more sinister. This album is an excellent representation of what was one of the nascent styles of extreme metal. Even in 2026 this is a welcome entry to the fray. Enter The Realm Of Fire is a perfect time capsule of what was and what was to become.
Rating: 4
(Tom Campagna)
Shabti – Haze, Cacophony, And White Light (Contemn Light)
It took Shabti three albums to use their name as a basis for a song, as Haze, Cacophony, And White Light gives us “Rise Of The Shabti” as the final track. Considering the band formed way back in 2008, it was a long wait to get a song like this. It’s unexpected in the same manner of Shabti’s measured approach to their death/black metal.
2019’s Trembling And Shorn saw the group tooling around with progressive/technical sounds, both of which make greater contributions to Haze, Cacophony, And White Light. “A Weary Creation” is almost 10 minutes long, an atmospheric counterpart to their closer from their last record, “Below Deck.” The vocals, usually gruff growls, allow haunting melodies to pop into the background of “Sojourner.” These parts are just a small sample of the curvy design of Shabti’s songwriting.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Tokyo Blade – Hoist The Colours High (Dissonance)
With founding members Andy Boulton (guitar) and Alan Marsh (vocals) still at the band’s helm, Hoist The Colours High is Tokyo Blade‘s 13th album since coming together in the early 1980s. It feels rougher, heavier and more organic than the band’s previous album, last year’s Time Is The Fire. Indeed, its production has an edge to it that really seems to bring out the best in these songs; at least most of them.
With no less than 14 tracks populating the album, it’s perhaps unsurprising that a couple of them passed by unnoticed. But generally the album is very good. There are some great guitar solos and all the songs have their own musical identity. For example, the opening track “Screaming Evil” is a headbanging scorcher. “I’m Gonna Rise” is a mid-tempo song dominated by a groovy riff. On the other hand, “Get Me Outa This” has a distinct Thin Lizzy vibe.
Rating: 3.5
(Chris Galea)
Triskelyon – Metalmorphosis (Moribund)
Canadian thrashers Triskelyon follow up last year’s Maelstrom Of Chaos with a trip back to the ’80s. Metalmorphosis is a collection of covers of pop songs from the decade of decadence, injected with some extra oomph. Several appeared on previous albums.
They keep similar arrangements to the originals, adding heavy guitars. That works best on tracks like Men Without Hats’ “The Safety Dance,” when the originals didn’t emphasize the guitars. It doesn’t add much to songs like Bryan Adams’ “Summer Of ’69” and Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker,” (with vocals from Category VI’s Amanda Jackman) which had some edge to begin with. Jackman also guests on Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom.” Metalmorphosis is a fun blast from the past, paying homage to some memorable pop songs.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
