This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from The Gems, Gore Machine, Gotthard, Kallohonka, Lamb Of God, Lesotho, Mammon’s Throne, Messticator, Monosphere, Monstrosity, No/Mas, Red Sun Atacama, Wielded Steel and Witchcraft.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
The Gems – Year Of The Snake (Napalm)
Former Thundermother members Guernica Mancini (vocals), Mona Lindgren (guitar, bass) and Emlee Johansson (drums) formed The Gems a few years ago and released their debut Phoenix in 2024. They quickly follow that up with Year Of The Snake.
They continue down the hard rock path established on their debut, but expand their horizons a bit. There are 14 songs on the album, but they fly by in a blaze of fiery riffs, searing solos and singalong melodies. There are radio-ready numbers like “Live And Let Go,” throwback tracks such as “Gravity” featuring Tommy Johansson (Majestica), bluesy songs including “Diamond In The Rough” where Mancini really shines and of course a requisite ballad in “Forgive And Forget.” Year Of The Snake has ample variety, good musicianship and better songs than The Gems’ debut.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Gore Machine – Congealed And Foaming (HPGD)
There are many ways to die: some gruesome, some bizarre, some unbelievable. Gore Machine are on the hunt for all three on Congealed And Foaming, their second album of tales of unusual deaths. The end comes in all forms, whether a lawnmower accident or a camping trip gone wrong. Druesome is the musician behind Gore Machine, gargling out incomprehensible burps and growls.
This is a low-fi production, rough around the surface, yet the sample clips detailing the background of every situation that starts each song signals a high level of aptitude. The first half of Congealed And Foaming hides little surprises with its grindy death metal. The bass-heavy “Lawn Care” and melodic depths of “Undercover” in the record’s second half are signs of Gore Machine’s openness to new avenues of depravity.
Rating: 3
(Dan Marsicano)
Gotthard – More Stereo Crush (Reigning Phoenix)
Hard rockers Gotthard are one of the most successful Swiss bands ever, with numerous chart-topping albums in their home country and millions of albums sold. They follow up last year’s Stereo Crush with the EP More Stereo Crush.
Five of the eight tracks are from the Stereo Crush sessions, along with the previously video-only “Mayday,” a radio edit of “Burning Bridges,” and a duet version of “Liverpool,” featuring Krokus singer Marc Storace. The songs that didn’t make the previous album are solid, and the new version of “Liverpool” is enjoyable. More Stereo Crush is by no means essential, but fans will find something to dig into.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Kallohonka – Lazer Blood (Memory Terminal)
Kallohonka are the first “slug metal” band in existence; yes, it is self-proclaimed by the group themselves, with a backstory that spans decades and involves government hallucinogenic brain mutation research programs. Lazer Blood could’ve very well been from warped minds incapable of any sort of logic.
To try to pin down what they sound like is futile: it’s noisy, technical, wild, dystopian. They don’t care about making sense or appeasing a particular audience, choosing rather to be uniform in their experimental folly. Jazz musician Dennis Gonzalez plays the trumpet on “Psychic Surgery,” a parting gift from a man who passed away in 2022. Who knew one of the final performances from him would be on Lazer Blood, a confounding debut that has to be heard to be believed.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Lamb Of God – Into Oblivion (Epic)
For more than a quarter century, New Wave of American Heavy Metal pioneers Lamb Of God have delivered crushing grooves and passionate lyrics. Now in their 50s, the band’s edge remains, but their musical palette has expanded, which is evident on their tenth album Into Oblivion. The album was produced by longtime collaborator Josh Wilbur.
There are plenty of mid-tempo groovers that hearken back to their early days, like “Sepsis” and “Blunt Force Blues.” They crank up the pace on songs like “St. Catherine’s Wheel” and “Parasocial Christ.” LOG also push boundaries with tracks like “El Vacio,” featuring melodic vocals from frontman Randy Blythe along with more aggressive moments. “A Thousand Years” is an ominous composition with spoken word vocals and harsh growls. With Into Oblivion, Lamb Of God have crafted an album that’s grounded in the past but still moves them forward, with a varied collection of songs resulting in one of their strongest albums in a while.
Rating: 4
(Chad Bowar)
Lesotho – A Flashing On Plain Glass (Self)
Lesotho relish a good cathartic release on their latest album, A Flashing On Plain Glass. This trio from Boston, Massachusetts has the foresight to know what makes good instrumental music without falling back on showy musicianship. They essentially take a 30-minute song and split it across five tracks, as there’s a thematic quality to how they handle the transitions from heavy to soft sonic dynamics.
This back and forth punctuates much of A Flashing On Plain Glass, like in the middle of the title track where ethereal guitars and piano/synths are washed aside by a superb wall of noise. There aren’t any traditional solos, but Lesotho doesn’t need them to express their search for a purpose within a world falling apart.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Mammon’s Throne – My Body To The Worms (Hammerheart)
The Australian band Mammon’s Throne have been around since the late ’10s, with their debut released in 2020, followed by a self-titled album in 2023. They have signed with Hammerheart Records, and should reach a wider audience with their latest opus, My Body To The Worms.
They embrace a lot of different styles, evident on the 9-minute opener “Senseless Death.” It runs the gamut from quiet gothic doom to crushing death metal to icy black metal, with singing, growling and shrieking vocals. There are three songs clocking in at over 8 minutes, contrasted by more concise compositions like the deliberate “Elixir” and the emotional instrumental “At The Threshold Of Eternity.” My Body To The Worms is an ambitious album, and Mammon’s Throne mostly fulfill that ambition with a wide-ranging and often mesmerizing release with only a few lulls.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Messticator – Total Mastery (Testimony)
Hamburg has always been a city with teeth, and Messticator are its most feral export. Their sophomore record Total Mastery arrives faster, leaner, and meaner than 2022’s Forthcoming Revelation and utterly unapologetic about it. Built around the concept of an all-powerful entity that judges and punishes humanity without mercy, Total Mastery is theological nightmare fuel executed with surgical brutality. Thomas Thede snarls with conviction, Marvin Brühl’s riffs sit squarely at the crossroads of Slayer’s whiplash aggression and death metal’s bone-crushing heaviness, and Maik Weinhardt’s drumming holds the engine together as it threatens to fly apart.
Founded in 2019, Messticator have risen fast — Wacken Open Air, Turock Fest — and that stage-hardened confidence is all over this record. The tracklist doesn’t waste a second: “One-Shot-Kill” and “Bloodsport” are short and devastating, while closer “Cougar Claws (Return of the Leathermilf)” proves a band comfortable enough in their savagery to have a little fun. For fans of old-school thrash and death metal’s darkest corners, this is essential.
Rating: 3
(Jeanetta Briski)
Monosphere – Amnesia (Self)
Monosphere‘s third record Amnesia arrives self-released and uncompromising, a statement as much as an album. The German quintet of Kevin Ernst (vocals), Max Rossol and Valentin Noack (guitars), Marlon Palm (bass), and Rodney Fuchs (drums) have spent four years building a reputation entirely on their own terms, sharing stages with Cradle of Filth, Between the Buried and Me, and Karnivool. Clocking in at just over thirty minutes across nine tracks, the record trims their sound to its essential tensions between post-rock atmosphere, mathcore aggression, and progressive ambition, and does so with a confidence that few bands at this stage of their career manage to pull off.
From the interlocking guitar lines of opener “Collapse” to the breathtaking eight-and-a-half-minute centerpiece “Zenith,” the album moves with genuine architectural intent. Palm’s bass functioning as melodic counterweight, Fuchs delivering some of the most nuanced drumming of his career, and Ernst’s vocals shifting between clean and visceral without ever feeling calculated. Brief interludes “Allusion” and “Engram” offer breathing room before the closing “Dissolve” brings everything full circle with quiet finality. Amnesia is Monosphere at their most assured record that rewards patience, refuses easy categorization, and stands as one of the most compelling independent metal releases in recent memory.
Rating: 3.5
(Jeanetta Briski)
Monstrosity – Screams Beneath The Surface (Metal Blade)
For decades, the Florida death metal scene has defined extremity, yet many of its architects now trade in nostalgia. Monstrosity demolish that trend with Screams From Beneath The Surface, a masterclass proving veteran status fuels creative fire. The execution is so sharp that accusations of playing it safe become irrelevant; this is technical, groove-laden brutality delivered with taste only decades can cultivate. Riffs erupt, the bass carves its own space, and songwriting builds atmosphere without indulgence.
The mix runs loud and the middle sags slightly, but these quibbles barely register against material this consistent. Opening with one of the year’s most gripping intros, Monstrosity doesn’t reinvent death metal — they remind us they’ve already mastered it. While peers fade, with Screams Beneath The Surface these veterans prove that brutality and catchiness aren’t compromises, but the rewards of enduring dedication.
Rating: 4
(Carlos Tirado)
No/Mas – No Peace (Redefining Darkness)
The latest from DC grind unit No/Mas is a blistering 12 tracks in 22 minutes, delivering a message that’s turned up to 11. No Peace is an accurate name for the band’s approach, with vocalist Roger Rivandeneira sounding absolutely brutal with a mic in his hands. Heavy riffing is the name of the game from the rest of the crew and tracks like “Maniac” and “Overthrow” are some prime examples of the explosiveness that the band is capable of.
Groove laden chaos serving as the backdrop for personal issues, cultural references and social commentary allows for No/Mas to deliver their message without holding back. No Peace is the unrelenting grind record that 2026 needs.
Rating: 4
(Tom Campagna)
Red Sun Atacama – Summerchild (Mrs Red)
French based psychedelic rockers Red Sun Atacama and their desert punk twang have been around for more than a decade, with an EP in 2015 and their full-length debut in 2018. They follow 2022’s Darwin with their third release Summerchild.
Their sound is that of Green Lung crossing paths with King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard make for a unique style. Each of the eight tracks are unique and stand out in their own way. “Sundown” takes a jarring turn for the calm as the closing track and wraps everything up nicely. The last ten seconds of “Weightless” blend seamlessly into the start of “Commotions” almost making it feel like it is one song. Psychedelic rock can be a rough sound to create, but when done right like what Red Sun Atacama have done with Summerchild, it makes for a pleasant listening experience.
Rating: 3.5
(Dalton Husher)
Wielded Steel – Sins Of Your Domain (1126)
A lethal concoction of vile death metal and downbeat hardcore is in the hands of Wielded Steel on their debut album, Sins Of Your Domain. With the help of vocalists from up-and-coming acts Corpse Pile, Brass Tongue, Rejoice and No Cure, the band pack eight songs into 20-ish minutes. There’s the obligatory “Intro” opener with a breakdown drenched in gasoline and set on fire, while gang chants rile up “Your Words Mean Nothing.”
There isn’t much time for Sins Of Your Domain to hit its stride, but it’s able to do during the pairing of “Fabricated Integrity” and “Martyr” that closes out the album. Both of them were released on their Bandcamp page years ago, so it’s not a coincidence that they’re the most complete versions of what Wielded Steel are going for.
Rating: 3
(Dan Marsicano)
Witchcraft – A Sinner’s Child (Heavy Psych Sounds)
There’s a particular kind of courage in restraint, and Witchcraft have always understood this better than most. Following IDAG, their long-awaited seventh album and a full summation of over two decades of growth, Magnus Pelander and company return not with another grand statement, but with something quieter and more affecting: A Sinner’s Child, a five-track EP that strips the Witchcraft sound down to its very nerve endings. “Drömmen Om Död Och Förruttnelse” and “Själen Reser Sig” anchor the EP in the melodic proto-doom depth that first made Witchcraft a generational force, shadowy, heavy with atmosphere, and unmistakably theirs.
The title track and companion piece “Sinner’s Clear Confusion” offer a luminous folk counterpoint. At the same time, “Even Darker Days,” a soulful acoustic dirge, sits in that rare space where simplicity becomes devastation. It never feels nostalgic; it feels present. A Sinner’s Child is not filler between albums, but a genuine artifact of a band at their most vulnerable, and Pelander’s songwriting has seldom been this raw or this stirring.
Rating: 3.5
(Jeanetta Briski)
