This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Einherjer, Endseeker, Eternal Recurrence, Loneshore, Lost In Kyiv, Mattador, Mork, Saidan, Stitched Up Heart and U.S. Bastards.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
Einherjer – Lifeblood (By Norse)
More than five years has elapsed since the last album from the Norwegian Viking metal band Einherjer. Lifeblood is their tenth studio record, with original members Frode Glesnes (vocals/bass) and drummer Gerhard Storesund marking more than 30 years in the group.
Glesnes says the album is about continuity and how the past flows through us like a current. That’s an apt description of the album, which has the band’s classic Viking metal sound, honoring the past without being stuck in it. The songs are catchy yet heavy, with a combination of harsh and melodic vocals. There’s a combination of more streamlined tracks like “At Threshold’s End” and “Saltworn Runes” along with epic compositions like “Malstrom” and the 9-minute closer “The Eternal North.” With Lifeblood, Einherjer continue their legacy as one of the genre’s pioneering groups.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Endseeker – Coffin Born (Metal Blade)
After a dozen years together, the German death metal band Endseeker are calling it a day with one last EP, Coffin Born. Their entire discography never sagged in quality, and this EP offers four new songs (plus a cover) that stand alongside the rest of their work as effective bashers. “No After. No Before.” wreaks havoc with its demented demeanor, while “Life Breeds Death” stomps with a destructive mindset.
For the last song in their career, Endseeker take a sharp turn with an energetic rendition of David Hasselhoff’s “True Survivor” from the Kung Fury soundtrack. They enlist the assistance of the rock band Lord Of The Lost to fit their take on a 1980s-inspired tune. The band saved their most offbeat moment for the very end of their career.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Eternal Recurrence – Eternal Recurrence (Self)
There is something quietly radical about a symphonic metal record that opens with restraint. The self-titled debut release from Chicago-based project Eternal Recurrence does not arrive with walls of orchestral sample libraries or the synthetic grandeur that defines so much of the genre. Instead, it introduces itself the way a chamber ensemble does with clarity, intention, and the warmth of real human hands-on real instruments.cFounded by composer C. Alex Luke, the project assembles a live string ensemble alongside full metal instrumentation, and that choice defines everything.
The strings breathe and push back against the heavy guitars in ways that sampled orchestration cannot replicate. There is friction here, and tenderness, and occasionally both inside the same phrase. Across five tracks the record builds a coherent philosophical argument as much as a musical one. The Nietzschean concept anchoring the project, that every moment must be lived as though it will recur forever, resonates deeply in a project so committed to authentic, irreplaceable human performance. In an era surrounded by AI-generated music, Eternal Recurrence makes the opposite case, and it’s a convincing one.
Rating: 3
(Jeanetta Briski)
Loneshore – Nothing Left To Deconstruct (Willowtip)
Nothing Left To Deconstruct is the second album from Brazil’s Loneshore, a progressive doom/death metal group that are able to deviate from the blatant comparisons to other bands found on 2018’s From Presence To Silence. Opeth was the obvious one, from the soulful guitar leads to the recognizable growls. For this go-around, Loneshore aim for an atmospheric post-metal sound.
This means that these seven songs feel closer to Loneshore seeking their own vision, whether that be from the momentous 10-minute “Birth Of A Mountain” or the tranquil vulnerability expressed in “Of Lost Waters.” The last few songs of Nothing Left To Deconstruct are where the band hits a strong peak, with each one starting slow before laying down massive-sounding riffs.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Lost In Kyiv – We’re All Going To Be Fine (Pelagic)
For their latest album We’re All Going To Be Fine, the French post metal/rock band Lost In Kyiv made some changes. In addition to changing the spelling of Kiev to Kyiv, there’s also a lineup change, new drummer Jeremie Legrand. The band also takes a little heavier approach this time around.
Their music is mostly instrumental with some voiceovers. The songs are dynamic and varied with plenty of ambient and atmospheric parts contrasted by heavy guitar sections. The outlier is “Becoming,” which features vocals from Rebecca Need-Menear (I Haxa, Anavae). It shifts from mellow to heavy and back again, with both electronic and acoustic instrumentation. We’re All Going To Be Fine has a few lulls, but for the most part Lost In Kyiv keep it engaging.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Mattador – III (Frontiers)
III from Puerto Rican melodic rockers Matador is an interesting mixture of Queensryche-type sounds with a more commercial flavor. It is a very effective and tuneful piece of work with songs that are accessible and have a modern flavor. The music is fun with an accessible flavor that is interesting, but not anything overly innovative.
The musicianship is good with tuneful guitars and a good ear for melody. The singing is good and recalls the likes of Geoff Tate, but the music is not as thoughtful as that band’s work. III is a very effective mainstream type of rock/metal and has the ability to ingrain itself in one’s thoughts. This is a quality piece of work.
Rating: 3.5
(Adam McAuley)
Mork – Monolitt (Peaceville)
It took Mork a while to gather momentum, forming in 2004 but not releasing their debut until 2013. In the 2020’s they have been prolific, with Monolitt their fourth full-length this decade, and eighth overall. Founder Thomas Eriksen did most of the heavy lifting on the album, with drums from Asgeir Mickelson (Borknagar, Ihsahn) and some additional vocals from live member Øyvind Kaslegard.
The style runs the gamut from old school black metal with blastbeats and high-pitched yowls to moderately paced grooves and some clean singing with a more modern vibe. It’s more straightforward than 2024’s Syv but more effective and impactful. Mork shift tempos and textures frequently, from a glacial pace in part of “Odelagt” to thrashy riffs in “Martyr.” Monolitt is a well-rounded album with excellent songwriting and musicianship.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Saidan – Fangdriller: Scars Beneath Memory’s Wrist (Avantgarde)
Fangdriller: Scars Beneath Memory’s Wrist is the fourth album from the Japanese horror-themed black metal band Saidan from Nashville. The lyrical arc of the record is a prequel to 2023’s Visual Kill. They are a quartet for live shows, but on the album it’s just Splatterpvnk (vocals, guitar) and Hundosai (drums).
The album is constantly shifting, moving from traditional black metal played at a breakneck pace to slower cinematic, gothic-tinged sections to ambient parts. Saidan move easily between chaotic and atmospheric, and though there are a lot of shifts in tempo and intensity it’s never overly jarring. For those who like originality and creativity in their black metal, Fangdriller: Scars Beneath Memory’s Wrist will fit the bill nicely.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Stitched Up Heart – Medusa (Judge And Jury)
Since Alecia “Mixi” Demner first assembled Stitched Up Heart in Los Angeles in 2010, the trajectory has only ever pointed forward. Through lineup changes, independent hustle, and stages shared with Godsmack, Halestorm, and In This Moment, they built something real. Now signed to Judge and Jury Records, Medusa arrives as the record the whole career was building toward.
Almost every track features a collaborator from across the hard rock and metal world, yet the album never loses its identity for a second. Demner, guitarist Merritt Goodwin, bassist Randy Mathias, and drummer Delaney Jaster anchor every song with total conviction and while the guests add color; the band provides the canvas. Highlights are everywhere. “Sick Sick Sick” with Lauren Babic and Eyes Set to Kill is ferocious, “Cannibal” with the Butcher Babies is gloriously unhinged, “Meet Me After Life” cuts deep, and the title track is the album’s commanding, magnetic centerpiece. Don’t look away. This one will turn you to stone.
Rating: 4
(Jeanetta Briski)
U.S. Bastards – Negligent Discharge (Self)
U.S. Bastards hail from the heavy music hotbed of Richmond, Virginia. Their lineup includes former GWAR guitarist Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus). Negligent Discharge is their latest album.
Inspired by bands like Motorhead, U.S. Bastards deliver hardcore punk mixed with thrash and traditional metal. Their songs are streamlined, with many clocking in under two minutes. There are blistering songs like “Wasted Life” along with groove-laden tracks such as “Knife Crime.” It’s no surprise the band covers Motorhead’s “Killed By Death,” but a cover of Judas Priest’s “Heading Out To The Highway” is more unexpected. Negligent Discharge flies by in a barrage of riffs, attitude and fun.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Various Artists – Ride The Rainbow: The Ultimate Tribute To Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow (Cleopatra)
Rainbow originally formed in 1975 after Ritche Blackmore’s Deep Purple had fizzled out and a chance run-in with the late great Ronnie James Dio while on touring with Elf. Rainbow has been an iconic sound in the metal scene for decades with riffs and themes that have been copied and mimicked by countless artists.
Ride The Rainbow: The Ultimate Tribute To Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow does what it says on the cover, it’s a thoughtful and well put together homage to the original sound of Rainbow. The album serves up classics like “Man on the Silver Mountain” performed by Sebastian Bach and former Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich and “Catch the Rainbow” performed by former Rainbow member Doogie White and former Megadeath guitarist Chris Poland. It can be unnerving to see a tribute album and assume it’s going to be trash, but this tribute is far from it.
Rating: 4
(Dalton Husher)
