Upcoming Metal: Week of August 3rd
Paralysis
Spiral of Suffering
Releases August 8th independently
Genre: Thrash Metal/Crossover
On their third album, Paralysis help continue the modern day thrash revival in recent years. Bringing the nostalgia of crossover toots, mixed with modern day production and a more hostile intensity. “Cruel Design”, the album’s opener, has that classic crossover sound from the 90’s, with the brash and harsh vocals of Jon Plemenik. Songs like “Fragile Flesh” & “Pain Spiral” give off that high-intensity, call and response, gang vocal feeling, mixed with the almost-metallic hardcore sound you hear nowadays. Solid crossover record, with some musical choices near the latter half of the album that I wasn’t a fan of. Spiral of Suffering will deliver on the vibe and aesthetic of the 90’s scene, with some upgraded production.
SCORE: 4 / 5
Circling Over
Amends
Releases August 8th through Braeburn Records
Genre: Post Metal/Doomgaze
”Truce” drops hard after the dreamy and ethereal guitar strumming. Delivering sorrowful, anguishing wails, interspersed with dirge-like drumming and solid, hanging guitars covered in reverb. With clean, melancholic cleans appearing on the song, it adds a more heavier emotional weight to the track. The dive further into heavy, mental strain comes with “Eve”. With beautiful, spacey effects on the guitar throughout, transitioning into dark, brooding and downtrodden elements. Though some songs seem to lean on ambience and song length a bit too much, the album will appease the post-metal/gaze sound of Circling Over may have some fans enjoying their dissent down their doomgaze spiral.
SCORE: 3.5 / 5
Mehrwertsteuer
Krone der Schöpfung
Releases August 8th independently
Genre: Melodic Black/Death Metal
”Börsensturz” kicks off this debut act from Germany. With a crushing, Gothenburg sounding opening-riff, the song is just a sprint that instantly delivers that headbobbing-inducing melodic death metal riff that the fans of the genre adore. This one-man project, helmed by Der Vorstand, hits all the checkmarks and trademarks of what I love with melodic death metal. “Der Fiskus” has a beautiful opening symphonic section, before heading into a hybrid chuggy, black metal riff with tidbits of Immortal to it. Covering the rest of the song is a icy, mountain setting mixed with harsh, chugging death metal riffs interspersed. My favorite track for me is “Leidzins”, adding that visceral disgust and grittiness in the vocals and that atmospheric black vibe of the guitars and thundering drums. Overall, one hell of a debut and potentially a hidden gem to many on this year’s Best of 2025 list for a lot of places.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Cytolysis
Surge of Cruelty
Releases August 8th through Comatose Music
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
On Cytolysis’ second album, the band just goes for the bree-spewing jugular on this album. Darren Cesca, the man behind the band, is just adding riff chunkiness into more high tempo riffing throughout the album’s opener “Your Slow Demise”. “Devout Sacrifice” has an interesting hybrid riffage that mixes almost tech-death riffage like Origin, with djenty chugs, into bombastic grindcore. Songs like “Consenting Brood”, “Tribal Savagery” and “Tortured Flesh” deliver that slam staple of chugging brutality into an almost bounce-along riff right after it. Reminding me a lot of Larcenia Roe’s new album in a great way. Damn good follow up to the band’s debut from five years ago and highly recommend if you want gurgles, chugs and a hell of a sore neck after.
SCORE: 4.5 / 5
