Monthly Release Round-up: February 2026

After a very slow start to the year, new releases have been trickling out. Here are the standouts for this month:

Absurdeity, We Came, We Sawed, We Conquered

Lord K and J&omul;rgen Sandström, best known for their work together in The Project Hate MCMXCIX, are back with another no-frills, brutal death metal record. Far less intricate than their main project, but still full of sick grooves and riffs.

Listen: Bandcamp

Worm Shepherd, Dawn Of The Iconoclast

This EP is a follow-up to 2024's Hunger, which I listened among my top albums of that year. The boys are back with more punishing, groovy deathcore with an even greater emphasis on the symphonic arrangements.

Listen: Bandcamp

Exhumed, Red Asphalt

Brutal, uncompromising death-grind. Vocals remind me a lot of Aborted. The cover prompts a lot of questions: is it intentionally cheesy or AI? Is the yellow flannel a veiled reference to Anthony Fantano? We may never know, but the music rips.

Listen: Bandcamp

Converge, Love Is Not Enough

I can say with certainty that this album will be on a lot of year-end lists, including mine. This is a musically and emotionally intense album, an absolute masterpiece.

Listen: Bandcamp

The Browning, Burn This World (Evolved)

I believe the band still has a new album coming out this year, but they've been extremely busy with remixing their last record, Omni, and releasing this re-recorded version of their debut album, Burn This World. It's a solid re-release, albeit mildly redundant when the band's newer material doesn't stray too far from the template established on this album.

Listen: Bandcamp

Worm, Necropalace

This feels like an homage to the early 2000s symphonic black metal that really got me into the genre. I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.

Listen: Bandcamp

Mayhem, Liturgy Of Death

We don't get a new Mayhem album very often, but when we do it's always worth the wait. One of black metal's most influential bands continues to add new songwriting flourishes to their signature sound. "The Sentence of Absolution" has some really amazing riffs in it.

Listen: Bandcamp

The Hellacopters, Cream Of The Crap! Colleced Non-Album Works, Vol. 3

I'm always a sucker for new Hellacopters material, even if nothing has lived up to the high standards of Payin' The Dues and High Visibility.

Listen: Bandcamp

Angel Du$t, Cold 2 The Touch

I don't know exactly how to classify this band; is "alt-rock" still a thing? Regardless, I thought it was really good.

Listen: Bandcamp

Sylosis, The New Flesh

A really solid metalcore album. I don't have a lot to say, but this record is getting a lot of repeat listens.

Listen: Bandcamp