Arash Khosronejad: columnist from the abyss

Chico, California’s five-piece sludge/doom/stoner metal act Cold Blue Mountain have returned with The Healer, their first full-length album in 12 years. For longtime fans who have followed the band since their self-titled debut (2012) and Old Blood (2014), stepping back into their sonic world feels nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Loosely based on the life of Grigori Rasputin, The Healer is a dark, hypnotic journey through one of history’s most charismatic and sinister figures. Cloaked in crushing, crawling, and bitterly heavy sludge/stoner metal, the album tells a tale of mysticism, manipulation, and malevolent power.

Clocking in at a massive 74 minutes, The Healer is as mesmerizing and hypnotic as Rasputin’s legendary gaze. From the very first moments, the band unleashes a thick, cinematic atmosphere loaded with crushing riffs, haunting melodies, and a suffocating sense of darkness. The music conjures the image of an all-consuming force; one that can seize both the conscious and unconscious mind with a single gesture or piercing glance.

With The Healer, Cold Blue Mountain remind us just how much the sludge and stoner metal scene has missed them over the past twelve years. This is, without question, their most ambitious, mature, and powerful work to date.

Rating: 4/5

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Last year, Bad Blood Recovery released the single Perfidious, a bold statement that signaled the band’s evolution from their blues-infused doom metal roots toward a more experimental sound incorporating noise rock, psychedelic rock, and industrial textures. It stood out as one of the most captivating singles of the year.

This year, the band takes us even further with the Perfidious EP, a profound sonic report on a period of transition, uncertainty, and artistic rebirth. More than just a collection of songs, it serves as both a reflection of where the band has been and a glimpse into the new paths they are beginning to explore.

Recorded at Shonk Studios in Oxford shortly after the lockdown, the EP carries a distinct rawness and tension born from that challenging time. The haunting single Sweet Taste, also recorded during this period, deserves special mention as another strong marker of the band’s shifting sound. Tracks such as “Wolf Fleece,” “Out of Phase,” and “Graphite Sky” vividly illustrate Bad Blood Recovery’s evolving musical landscape, bridging their earlier blues-doom foundation with expansive psychedelic and stoner-infused territories.

The sudden closure of Shonk Studios brought unexpected obstacles, yet this interruption appears to have fueled a deeper phase of self-discovery and creative growth. This crucible ultimately led to Perfidious; the band’s most powerful and accomplished track to date. Built on a hypnotic, vocal-driven noise rock foundation and colliding with dark industrial edges, the song is elevated by Tiger Mendoza’s masterful mixing. His deconstructive yet intuitive electronic approach perfectly complements the band’s vision, helping reshape their sound into something fresh, expansive, and deeply immersive.

Ultimately, the Perfidious EP feels like a sonic map; a tense, fiery, and strangely captivating document of artistic evolution. It captures a band in flux, unafraid to challenge themselves and their listeners, while proving that Bad Blood Recovery possesses both the vision and the talent to carve out a powerful new chapter.

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Bad Blood Recovery released Perfidious EP on April 7, 2026, via Future Noise Recordings.

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Buried Under the Weight of Reason is a worthy continuation of the path laid by Death Rattle, extending the band’s impressive 20-year journey of crafting music that refuses to be forgotten.

The riffs flow effortlessly into one another, layering and interlocking with a natural, almost hypnotic momentum, while rich melodies ride atop them with grace and power. Desert Storm have created a vast sonic universe rooted in stoner metal, seamlessly fused with progressive metal/rock and psychedelic elements. The album paints a horizon of apocalyptic turmoil, yet tempers it with the warm, deeply emotional touch of 1970s classic rock. This masterful blend drifts between classic rock, proto-metal, and southern swagger, ultimately transforming into a passionate, theatrical experience that feels both timeless and vital.

Throughout the record, Desert Storm never miss a beat; constantly evolving, refining, and pushing their sound forward without ever losing their core identity.

Standout tracks like “Shamanic Echoes,” “Cut Your Teeth,” “Dripback,” and “Twelve Seasons” perfectly encapsulate why the band has remained one of the finest acts in the genre for nearly two decades. They continue to lead from the front, delivering nothing less than excellence. With unwavering quality, dynamic energy, and relentless creativity in their songwriting, Desert Storm prove once again that they are not just surviving; they are thriving.

Rating: 4/5

You will feel the Devil crawling inside your own flesh. The blackest flames of blazing candles, clutched in the hands of the most accursed heavenly and subterranean demons, will sear your soul in the final, blood-soaked breaths of your existence.

De Pinte, Misotheist newest album is an endless, unholy ritual; a boundless invocation of pure darkness, malice, and apocalyptic doom.

My review of Vreid's The Skies Turn Black, written for Heavy Music HQ:

With their tenth studio album, Vreid, one of the pioneers of Norwegian melodic black metal, return with renewed ambition and emotional weight. The Skies Turn Black is an album steeped in drama and sentiment, shaped by deeply personal moments that resonate throughout its expansive soundscape. From the self-titled track serving as a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, to “Kraken,” written for a film produced by the band’s first music teacher, the record feels intimate without losing its epic scale.

Vreid boldly redefine their musical terrain here, adding layers of theatricality that give the album an almost rock opera presence. Nowhere is this clearer than the eight-minute “Loving The Dead,” featuring Agnete Kjølsrud of Djerv, with Chris Pontius of Jackass appearing in the music video. Drawing from its roots while revisiting the progressive rock spirit of the 1970s, The Skies Turn Black sees Vreid soar confidently across metal’s past, present, and future.

Rating: 4/5

My review of Winterfylleth's outstanding new album, The Unyielding Season, written for Heavy Music HQ:

Among the most prolific forces in modern black metal, Winterfylleth continue to demonstrate a rare sense of purpose and continuity. With The Unyielding Season, the band’s ninth studio album, they refine the atmospheric black metal they have long mastered: sweeping melodies, resolute riffs, and carefully paced compositions that preserve the cold grandeur defining their sound.

Thematically, the album confronts a world strained by fear and unrest. The songs speak of resistance, of minds uniting against oppression and voices rising where silence is demanded. Amid the intensity, “Unspoken Elegy” offers a striking pause: an acoustic instrumental with mournful cello lines, both mournful yet victorious and heartsome. Aggressive passages are balanced by reflective moments, creating a tension between turmoil and resolve. In that contrast lies the album’s spirit: transforming anxiety about the present into defiance and endurance. The Unyielding Season stands as a true masterpiece; and masterpieces, by their very nature, endure long after the storms of fire have passed.

Rating: 4.5/5

Psalms Unto Caesar by Sepulchure is a dark, reverent incantation disguised as an album. It moves like a funeral procession through collapsing empires, each riff a crumbling column, each lyric a blasphemous prayer whispered to history’s ghosts. The atmosphere is suffocating yet beautiful, soaked in ritual, decay, and quiet menace. This is music that doesn’t seek catharsis—it demands submission, offering splendor through ruin and transcendence through shadow.

My review of Carrion Vael's Slay Utterly, written for Heavy Music HQ:

Since the release of the band’s third studio album Abhorrent Obsessions, and more noticeably since 2022, Carrion Vael have gradually moved away from the heavy influence of technical/melodic death metal pioneers. As a result, each new release has become an emotionally engaging experience. While the band’s identity has not yet fully crystallized into something entirely singular, they continue to command attention with every album.

With their fifth studio album Slay Utterly, the band reaches a confident stage in both songwriting and self-expression. As their compositional growth becomes increasingly evident, it is the band’s dazzling musicianship and pristine production that truly reveal the album’s layered intricacies in a devastatingly immersive way. The record assaults with the same atmosphere of violence and bloodshed depicted in its cover art, allowing no room for escape and leaving no moment to skip a track. Slay Utterly stands as Carrion Vael’s strongest effort to date, signaling that new horizons have opened for the next phase of their sonic evolution.

Rating: 4/5

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My review of Sardonic Allegiance's Coast II, written for Heavy Music HQ:

Founded in 2008 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands by multi-instrumentalist Triest, Sardonic Allegiance have never been a prolific band. Over nearly 18 years, they have released only three EPs, yet those limited offerings were enough to carve the band’s name into the memory of dedicated black metal listeners. Their latest release Coast II, following the first chapter released in 2025, marks a clear step forward and a notable moment in the band’s evolution.

Coast II feels like a defining moment for Sardonic Allegiance. With the potential of a future Coast III completing a trilogy, the leap in songwriting from the first to the second installment is immediately evident. Triest’s devotion to 1990s Scandinavian symphonic and melodic black metal is more pronounced than ever. Despite its concise 26-minute runtime, the EP feels expansive, unfolding with gloomy, cold, yet majestic melodies layered with subtle symphonic touches and driven by relentless blast beats. Everything a serious melodic black metal listener expects is present here, resulting in a listening experience that is immersive, focused, and rewarding.

Rating: 3.5/5

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V feels less like an album and more like a slow-burning ritual. Walg carve their sound with patience and intent, letting each riff breathe like cold air before a storm.

The production is noticeably sharper and more confident, giving space to details that once hid in the mist—guitars cut deeper, drums strike with controlled force, and the mix feels deliberate rather than raw by chance. Songwriting has evolved as well: structures are tighter, transitions more purposeful, melodies more haunting in their restraint.

There is maturity in knowing when to strike and when to recede. V doesn’t reach for transcendence; it pulls you downward, into a darker, clearer, more focused abyss.

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Proscription's Desolate Divine stands as a towering triumph in blackened death metal, a relentless maelstrom of blistering riffs, cataclysmic blast beats, and abyssal vocals that fuses the raw fury of old-school brutality with haunting dissonant atmospheres and serpentine leads.

Mastered with crushing clarity, this sophomore masterpiece surpasses its predecessor, cementing Proscription as undisputed architects of divine desolation and infernal perfection.

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My review of Abbie Falls' Life Is Just A Temporary Plan, written for Heavy Music HQ:

Abbie Falls emerged from Prague around 2015; five young musicians driven by a hunger for metalcore, blending deathcore and hardcore into a barrage of earth-shattering rage and thrash. Their latest album, Life Is Just A Temporary Plan, delivers another dose of chaotic intensity, packing everything you’d expect from modern deathcore into a tight 30-minute assault.

Featuring guest appearances from Breakdown of Sanity, Grapefruit Astronauts, and Alan Grnja of Distant, Life Is Just A Temporary Plan is pure bliss for fans of the genre. It has crushing riffs, even more crushing breakdowns, and the same raw, death-soaked chaos that defines their sound. While Abbie Falls doesn’t make any major leaps in songwriting here, tracks like “Anomaly in G minor” hint at their potential to evolve, impressively weaving in electronic and classical elements. For those who prefer their metalcore leaning into deathcore, Life Is Just A Temporary Plan stands as a fierce, epic release; one packed with moments capable of turning any mosh pit bloody and dangerous for fans of all ages!

Rating: 3.5/5

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Sorhin rises from Sweden’s frozen marrow—a black flame of ice and venom. Their riffs are starless daggers, their voices the howl of wolves that have devoured angels. Raw, regal, merciless: they are the shadowed throne where true black metal still reigns unchallenged, feared once as sorcery.

Tonight I am deep in the abyss, running the Sorhin marathon; every demo, every hymn devouring me until only their darkness remains.

My review of Darvaza's new album, We Are Him, written for Heavy Music HQ:

Built on satanic rites, occult mysticism, and a gaze fixed straight into the void, international black metal act Darvaza return with a new offering dragged from the darkest temples and the bloodiest altars. The duo have crowned We Are Him as their second studio album.

The songwriting on We Are Him doesn’t attempt to break new ground; there’s no revelatory twist or unexpected detour. But that’s precisely the point — and exactly what keeps listeners gripped by the band’s immersive, overwhelming sound, which has reached a striking level of refinement here. Multi-instrumentalist Omega once again handles every instrument, while Wraath remains at the microphone as the devil’s own spokesman. We Are Him is neither a milestone in Darvaza’s career nor a standout anomaly within the black metal scene. Instead, it is a work that drags the true black metal spirit from the fiercest abysses and leaves the listener, by the album’s end, thoroughly satisfied with having walked a genuinely sinister spiritual path.

My review of Perdition Temple's Malign Apotheosis, written for Heavy Music HQ:

Evil, diabolical, and sinister; hailing from Tampa, Florida, Perdition Temple have been a key force in the extreme metal underground for nearly fifteen years. The band is a direct continuation of the spirit and style of the legendary Angelcorpse. After that group dissolved in 2007, guitarist and mastermind Gene Palubicki resurrected the same ruthless formula under a new name. With their fifth album, Malign Apotheosis, Perdition Temple once again return to that same infernal well; equally evil, equally abrasive.

Although Malign Apotheosis could have benefited from more refined production and mastering to better showcase its true essence, the record still assaults the listener with relentless ferocity. It places one foot firmly in old-school territory while stepping forward into the more modern frontiers of black/death metal. The result is a respectable work; one that keeps its audience excited and satisfied with its familiar savagery, even if it doesn’t necessarily push the band into new territory.

Rating: 3.5/5

Dawnwalker’s The Between is nothing short of a spiritual odyssey cast in sound; a sweeping, 32-minute meditation that bridges the chasm between life and death, light and shadow. From the very first stir of sound, the listener is carried into a liminal realm where ancient Eastern philosophy ripples through post-metal textures, and twelve musicians weave a tapestry as delicate as it is formidable.

What unfolds here is no ordinary record; it's a guided passage into the heart of impermanence, a cathartic journey through existential anxieties and quiet transcendence. Gentle piano, haunting saxophone, and shimmering percussion drift around weighty guitar lines, forming spaces where darkness and serenity move in unison.

The Between stands as Dawnwalker’s masterpiece: a profound reflection on mortality, a musical pilgrimage through the void that ultimately offers a quiet, lasting peace.

Rating: 4.5/5

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My review of Slaughterday's new EP, Terrified, written for Heavy Music HQ:

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Slaughterday, one of the powerhouses of German death metal over the past decade, have always carried the torch of old-school death metal. Inspired by pioneers like Grave, Autopsy, and Massacre, they’ve consistently showcased their prowess through simple yet deadly riffs. Terrified, the band’s first EP since 2018’s Abattoir, is a fascinating and engaging foray into the world of grindcore savagery.

Terrified is a short but powerful release. It doesn’t aim for any grand concept or message — instead, Slaughterday created it for the sheer joy of playing and to explore the musical architecture of the grindcore genre. Across four ferocious, hard-hitting tracks, the band pays tribute to those who brought grindcore to the forefront of extreme music, and to the visionaries who fused it with death metal, transforming it into a Lovecraftian slasher beast that still stalks the underground. The album cover says it all.