This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from 156/Silence, Acausal Intrusion, Accept, Airbourne, Behemoth, Devil Master, Encasement, Green Carnation, Grimner, Kingcrown, Mad Max, Pirate Queen, Scald, Shakra, Sigh, Skuggor, Sworn, Theory Of A Deadman and Veilcaste.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
156/Silence – From A Distance (Pure Noise)
156/Silence have never played it safely, and From A Distance proves it, though the real risk here was whether ambition would outpace execution. It doesn’t. The Pittsburgh band’s sixth album, and first for Pure Noise, digs deeper than 2024’s crossover People Watching, shadowed by the death of longtime, beloved bassist Lukas Booker in early 2025. That grief feels load bearing, not incidental in a very audible way in the record’s restraint as much in its heaviness. Producer Josh Schroeder (Lorna Shore, King 810) strikes a genuinely difficult balance, letting the band hit hard without crowding out atmosphere.
Rather than chasing the hooks that made “Better Written Villain” a hit, the band doubles down on melody while keeping its mathcore teeth intact with “Errick Easterday” and “Control Burns” being proof. Jack Murray’s lyrics pull back from close-range tension into sharper social observation; “Swept From Under” is the standout, feeling unguarded rather than performed. Guest spots from Alex Reade, Tony Castrati, and Mike Hranica are well-chosen, not obligatory. Following the same expansion-without-dilution playbook as Thrice and Bring Me The Horizon, this is 156/Silence’s most convincing case yet that they belong in that conversation as this is a record built on real loss and real risk that mostly earns both.
Rating: 3.5
(Jeanetta Briski)
Acausal Intrusion – Vomit Meditations (I, Voidhanger)
A few years after closing their first trilogy, Acausal Intrusion return with a record that pushes their chaotic, surreal blackened tech-death into more cerebral, psychedelic territory. Building on the direction hinted at on Panpsychism, Vomit Meditations reaches its fullest expression across the album’s longer tracks, especially the title cut, “Requiem Murmur,” and closer “Psychic Abolishment.” These songs earn the word “meditation,” even filtered through brutal, terrifying extremity. That violence keeps dissolving into hallucinatory, occasionally melancholic melodies, and hypnotic acoustic interludes along with alienating ambient textures.
The death metal is so annihilating it feels like matter splitting into particles spinning madly in search of a form they’ll never find, denied a reason to exist, and yet persisting anyway.
The record’s strength lies in how the duo fuses twisted, angular riffing and cavernous, intricate rhythmic intensity with atmospheric interludes and a compositional logic borrowed from free jazz, an openly cited influence. Starting from ground shared with Ulcerate and Gorguts, Acausal Intrusion have carved out their own recognizable signature, framed within an occult vision of terrifying super-dimensional entities poised to overturn causal reality. Dense and demanding, Vomit Meditations rewards anyone drawn to metal’s more dissonant, exploratory edges.
Rating: 3.5
(Jeanetta Briski)
Accept – Teutonic Titans 1976-2026 (Napalm)
The legendary German band Accept are revisiting their back catalog with the help of numerous guests (50 of them) on their latest album Teutonic Titans 1976-2026. Guitarist Wolf Hoffman is the lone remaining member from the band’s early days, with vocalist Mark Tornillo on board since 2009. The 19 songs are from their ’80s albums (1980’s I’m A Rebel through 1989’s Eat The Heat.
With Accept’s success and longevity, it’s not surprising they were able to gather some big names to help with the album. That includes Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Philip Anslemo (Pantera), Tobias Forge (Ghost), Chuck Billy (Testament), Todd LaTorre (Queensryche), Bobby Blitz (Overkill), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) and more. Other guests include Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Anthrax’s Frank Bello, Exodus’ Gary Holt and Motorhead’s Mikkey Dee. The songs follow the original templates pretty closely, with Teutonic Titans 1976-2026 a fun, star-studded blast from Accept’s past.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Airbourne – Airbourne (Spinefarm)
It has been seven years since Airbourne‘s previous full-length, but fear not – during that period the group hasn’t cut their hair, started listening to folk or begun endorsing craft beer. On their self-titled LP, the Australian hard rockers’ modus operandi remains intact, with the material boasting further authenticity by being recorded to tape.
This is bare-knuckled, sweaty heavy rock that covers the expected territory, from women to life on the road, and honoring fallen heroes on instantly likeable “Send Me To Rock ‘N’ Roll Heaven.” Energetic opener “Gutsy” feels highly familiar, yet crackles with their distinctive beer-soaked, sex-crazed swagger and turbo-charged backing vocals. The lascivious “Kid In A Candy Store” and “Christmas Bonus” aren’t going to be mistaken for high art, but are delivered with a nudge and wink alongside the infectious hooks. There are zero surprises, and Airbourne won’t convert any detractors. That said, the band has never concerned themselves with “deep and meaningful,” and legions of festival punters won’t care about subtleties as they pump their fist and down beers while chanting along.
Rating: 3.5
(Brendan Crabb)
Behemoth – I, Scvlptor (Nuclear Blast)
While most bands mellow with age, Behemoth seem to be doing the opposite. I, Scvlptor, eight tracks in roughly 40 minutes, finds them self-aware enough to interrogate their own history, skilled enough to reinvent it, and hungry enough to push into new territory. The title track carries monumental weight, framed by Nergal in the tradition of the band’s most ritualistic compositions, wrestling with the paradox of endlessly shaping oneself while knowing the project can never be finished. “Lord ov the Horizons” splits into two distinct halves, lyrical and expansive giving way to something harder, built around a Luciferian parable of abandonment and rebuilding.
The album’s boldest moves involve raiding their own archive. “Rise Of The Black Storm Of Evil,” dating to 1992, gets rebuilt from within rather than preserved as curiosity. “In Thy Pandemaeternum” finally lets old riffs breathe free of a muddy original mix. “Begotten,” a Shit ov God reject, emerges as a genuine wildcard, catchy and post-gothic. The closing pair, a heavier “In League with Satan” with Shagrath, and a raw live Bathory cover with Sakis Tolis, send it off with real electricity. Three decades in, the sculpting is clearly still underway.
Rating: 4
(Jeanetta Briski)
Devil Master – Bloody Dreams (Relapse)
On their third album Bloody Dreams, Devil Master continue to parade around as a punk rock band, zombified by their caress of black metal, folk and psychedelia making for a truly unique package. Opener “You Worms’ Vain Delusions” is a punk forward track that leans heavily into black metal themes and general extremes while maintaining gothic tendencies throughout blowing the doors off of convention. “Trembling At Dusk” is more of the same, this time with a doom dirge thrown in too, showing that speed might be the name of the game but variety is the modus operandi.
“Sex With Succubus” is straight Halloween music, spooky feelings throughout help to put that fall chill in the air making for a proper seasonal delight. As the album winds down, you will get a sense of a more folky side of the band as well as Cumbia music with some of the percussion on title track; including flutes on closer “Farewell Waltz to Unfortune’s Palace,” which is nearly 11 minutes. With spooky themes, extreme music, folk and general overall variety, Bloody Dreams is easily the most mature album of Devil Master’s career.
Rating: 4
(Tom Campagna)
Encasement – Encasement (I, Voidhanger)
Encasement are nice enough to give the listener exactly 27 seconds to get ready for the 38 minutes of peculiar black metal ahead on their self-titled debut. Those seconds come in the form of pulsating ambience in opener “Inertia,” which abruptly cuts into the maniacal charge within “Exodus.” Encasement’s lone member, James Thompson, takes his personal struggles and channels this grief into acceptance.
“Apparitions” and “Fragmentation” are the substantial tunes on the album, the former going over 10 minutes and the latter inching close to that. Thompson lets the music settle down temporarily, leading to moody transitions between the daunting hostility. Encasement never loses its focus, as any relief is lost in less than 30 seconds.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Green Carnation – A Dark Poem III: The Messiah Complex (Season Of Mist)
After two albums dealing with issues such as melancholy and emotional turmoil, Green Carnation conclude their Dark Poem trilogy with The Messiah Complex. Although the music of the album belongs primarily to the prog genre, it defies traditional genre tropes and is also quite intense…despite there being only four tracks.
Expansive melodies, hypnotic riffs and, above all, superlative songwriting make this album a jewel in the Nowegians’ repertoire. The biggest surprise is “Orchestral Suite” – an evocative classical music composition that’s over 16 minutes long. According to the band, in this track they have tied the lyrics of bassist Stein Roger Sordal with a 19th century French poem “Ophelia,” which itself was inspired by the Shakespeare tragedy “Hamlet.” It’s as if with their Dark Poem epic, Green Carnation have left the best for last.
Rating: 4.5
(Chris Galea)
Grimner – Stormvingar (Despotz)
There has been a bit of a lineup reshuffle for Swedish Viking/folk metal band Grimner’s fifth album Stormvingar. Alongside a new bassist and drummer, the band are rejoined by guitarist Marcus Asplund Brattberg from their Frost Mot Eld era. His additional clean vocals are once again the perfect foil for harsh vocalist/guitarist Ted Sjulmark.
The particular way in which Grimner blend folk melodies with aggressive metal has repeatedly made them stand out among their peers, and Stormvingar continues that momentum. Surely one of the band’s unsung heroes is Johan Rydberg, whose understated yet impactful use of flutes and Swedish bagpipes once more sprinkle that extra folk magic into Grimner’s upbeat metal. Enhancing and never detracting from the underlying power of a band who never shy away from a memorable hook, to ensure the excellent Stormvingar hits home even more than as it’s predecessors.
Rating: 4
(Andy Barker)
Kingcrown – Moonfall (Rockshots)
Kingcrown are a heavy/power metal band from France with Moonfall their fourth album in seven years. The two Amore brothers (also members of Nightmare) have led the band from the start, with the current lineup in place since 2021. As Moonfall unfolds, David Amore pounds the skins energetically, alongside driving bass and a twin guitar attack, topped off by the exuberant, mid to high range vocals of brother Jo, bringing the album’s memorable vocal melody lines to life.
Moonfall is proudly metal from start to finish and not short of a punchy riff or six either, as Kingcrown drive home their Hammerfall-esque heavy/power metal that’s sure to please many a fan of the genre. Musically Kingcrown aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel, but they’re doing a fine job of keeping it turning.
Rating: 3.5
(Andy Barker)
Mad Max – Stories Of Destiny (ROAR)
Stories Of Destiny might be their seventeenth studio album, but many people might originally remember German melodic metal band Mad Max from their classy mid ‘80s hard-rocking albums, fronted by renowned vocalist Michael Voss. Relaunched in 1999, the band continued to put out albums of similar styled quality melodic metal, until Voss departed in 2020. Alan Clark is now the man behind the mic, the band’s third new vocalist in as many albums.
Clark was the founding guitarist in NWOBHM band Dark Heart, inadvertently (or intentionally?) reminding us that Mad Max released two rather credible albums in that style in the early ‘80s before Voss first joined. There’s certainly that NWOBHM undercurrent flowing within Mad Max’s music in 2026, with this slight musical side step suiting Clark’s voice well, giving their new sound a more raw edge.
Rating: 3
(Andy Barker)
Pirate Queen – Sailing Around The World (Despotz)
Pirate metal is a genre synonymous with groups like Alestorm, and a genre that surprisingly does not have a lot of traction in the modern scene. This is where relative newcomers Pirate Queen and their second album Sailing Around The World fit in nicely They are an all female five piece pirate themed metal band; need there be any more of a selling point?
Sailing Around The World, and Pirate Queen as a whole, manage to do what most bands don’t. There is a faint line of a story and a plot that you can follow if you are paying attention, as if all the songs strung together tell a cohesive narrative. The use of sound effects sprinkled in the album, like with “Lyxion,” do more to build up the thematic elements than just solid instrumental work could.
Rating: 3
(Dalton Husher)
Scald – Relics (Cruz Del Sur)
Scald’s claim to fame in epic doom metal was the 1997 underground classic Will Of The Gods Is Great Power, a blossoming ascension that just as quickly flamed out following the death of vocalist Agyl the same year. Before his passing, the group had been working on new material that went unreleased until now with Relics.
This EP includes three songs from that era recorded for the first time, as well as a cover of a song from Agyl’s pre-Scald band Ross. These songs intentionally shied away from the forlorn gloom of their debut album, taking a more gothic/heavy metal direction. New vocalist Hrafn does an admirable job giving these songs the theatrical performance they deserve. Since their reformation in 2019, Scald have tried to honor Agyl while keeping their focus on the here and now, which Relics represents well.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Shakra – Just Live Loud! (Frontiers)
Swiss band Shakra are no strangers to the melodic metal scene. With an enviably lengthy back catalogue, Just Live Loud! is almost unbelievably studio album number 15, since their self titled debut hit the shelves way back in 1997, unapologetically waving a welcome middle finger in the direction of grunge.
Reminiscent of fellow countrymen Gotthard in their early days, as time has passed Shakra have emphatically solidified their own identity and always maintained a harder edge to their music, as well as being able to deliver a heartfelt ballad when the mood takes. Mark Fox proves once again what a great fit his voice is for Shakra as the band weave their spell over 13 dynamically guitar driven melodic metal anthems (including a hard rocking Anastacia cover!) which, despite the band’s longevity, has Shakra sounding re-energized and just as vibrant as ever.
Rating: 4
(Andy Barker)
Sigh – Goh-Ka (Peaceville)
From the outset of Goh-Ka on the combined track of “Kuso-shi 1, 2, and 3” the Japanese instrumentation comes through in an authentic way before the heavy riffs, synths and Mirai Kawashima’s iconic vocals take over. A synth solo towards the middle of this track is a reminder about why you fall in love with metallic weirdos like Sigh. Their approach to post-‘90s material has been anything but predictable.
This album marks the first original material with guitarist Nozomu Wakai, who wastes no time getting familiar since he can carry songs on his own even within this legendary outfit. Listen to “Jigoku-Zoshi 1: Unkamusho” and “Jinmenjushin” whose riffs shred with neoclassical flair, the latter of which features an excellent sax solo from Dr. Mikannibal. Drummer Mike Heller stands out due to various kinds of percussion needed throughout acting as a steady hand that keeps this album from going completely off the rails. This band has crafted an album that has enough accessibility for the metal masses but is also uncompromisingly a Sigh album. Demanding a close ear and attention to detail that only bands like Sigh are capable of, Goh-Ka is one the band’s most expansive yet accessible works to date.
Rating: 3.5
(Tom Campagna)
Skuggor – The Expanse (Nordvis)
The one-man atmospheric black metal project Skuggor have released a new album every year since 2023, and 2026 is no different with The Expanse. For their fourth record, they gather inspiration from their home of northern Sweden. Frosty synthesizers trap any warmth, as the busy guitars are counteracted by the stalwart mid-tempo drumming.
Skuggor doesn’t cut loose much on The Expanse with the beats, saving the blasting for “The Storm.” It’s akin to an icy wave of hail to the face that is soothed by the use of piano at key spots. The intention with this release was to capture all the facets of living in a land that can be majestic and unforgiving.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Sworn – Null Crowned The Infinite (Self)
Sworn begin Null Crowned The Infinite, their fifth album, with the mighty 12-minute “The Starless Origin.” A soothing synth intro is disturbed by belligerent, yet harmonious, melodic black metal. It’s their longest song to date, a feat that was decades in the making considering the substantial force of their music.
Besides a few synth-laden passages throughout and an acoustic break during the title track, Null Crowned The Infinite is deliberate with its rapid-fire intent. The current lineup has been working together for almost 20 years now, which is reflected in the assured songwriting. Sworn are fierce when they need to be, while being tuneful when the moment calls for it.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
Theory Of A Deadman – Part 1: Funeral Songs (OneRPM)
Nine albums in, Theory Of A Deadman doesn’t owe anyone a comeback, which is exactly why Part 1: Funeral Songs lands so well. After a few years drifting toward a more alternative sound, the Canadian rockers circle back to the grittier, meaner energy that built their name, and the return feels earned rather than nostalgic. “Barricade” opens with a shouted gang vocal before the guitars detonate, setting up a record fueled by one-sided frustration and barely restrained anger.
“Funeral Song” follows with an unexpected organ intro that tumbles into punchy urgency, while “Winnebago (Lay Low)” is the clear standout of a wickedly catchy ode to choosing the couch over the bar, delivered with the band’s signature self-deprecating wit. “Deep End” slows the pace into ballad territory without losing its hook, “Monster Truck” swaggers through riff-heavy satire, and closer “Prenup” sends things off with a sarcastic, singalong bite that echoes the band’s earlier, rowdier material. Six songs, no filler, twenty minutes well spent. Part 1: Funeral Songs is less a reinvention than a homecoming and proof that sometimes the most vital move a band can make is looking backward.
Rating: 3
Jeanetta Briski
Veilcaste – Hellward (Third House)
With every new album, Veilcaste’s music has grown more formidable, more crushing, and increasingly overwhelming. Hailing from Indianapolis, Indiana, the band’s fourth studio album is Hellward, determined to push the gloomiest horizons of their blackening, crushing doom/sludge metal even further.
Hellward shakes you to the core. It attacks with savage intensity, allowing barely a moment of respite. Darker than its predecessors and more mature in composition, the album descends deep into the darkness of humanity, dragging its listener through the filth, despair, and ugliness of human existence. At its foundation lies a vast and suffocating doom/sludge framework, enhanced by psychedelic and post-metal elements that quietly fuel the songs from beneath. Hellward feels like a statement of intent; a terrifying yet fascinating fortress, filled with the darkest chambers of human existence. Every riff echoes with the weight of doom and sludge, delivered with crushing force and remarkable atmosphere. Hellward may well be Veilcaste’s most complete work to date, and arguably their finest.
Rating: 4
(Arash Khosronejad)
