Monthly Release Round-up: June 2026
Summer is here and the released schedule is heating up significantly. We've got EPs, rap, weird ambient stuff, and of course: death metal.
Zao, Pillars EP
A short collection of 4 cover songs from bands Zao cite as major influences on their sound. Just enough to make me want a new full-length.
Blood Incantation, All Gates Open (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
The soundtrack to a documentary about the process of writing and recording their last album. For fans of the band's synth-only Timewave Zero album.
Listen: Bandcamp
Devourment, Pious Impiety EP
A short, concise, and absolutely brutal 3-song EP from a freshly reactivated Devourment.
Listen: Bandcamp
Stormkeep, The Nocturnes Of Iswylm
This record straddles a fine line between satire and parody — with song titles like "Imperious Sanguine Eroticism" obviously taking the piss out of Dimmu Borgir — but does it really well, crafting bad-ass black metal that harkens back to Stormblåst.
Listen: Bandcamp
Salem Trials, Heavy Is The Head EP
Another EP from my favourite local deathcore band. I have some minor nitpicks about the vocal production, but these songs groove hard and sound great live.
Listen: Bandcamp
MONO, Snowdrop
Instrumental shoegaze that really reminds me of Violet Cold's Sommermorgen trilogy. The piano and string passages lend a lot of emotional weight to a record with no vocals.
Listen: Bandcamp
Vince Staples, Cry Baby
A strong follow-up to Dark Times. I like the inclusion of guitar on several songs, and the more upbeat feel to the material. Not sure where this ranks with Staples' other work, but it's an album I keep coming back to.
Listen: Bandcamp
MAKE, Exegesis At The End Of Time
A crushing mix of death, doom and thrash metal. I've enjoyed the band's work since Pilgrimage of Loathing and shows continued improvement as song writers and even includes some clean vocals.
Listen: Bandcamp
Fleshcrawl, Epitome Of Carnage
Another solid death metal record from a reliably releasing brutal music for 35 years.
Listen: Spotify
Khemmis, Khemmis
They're classified as doom metal, which I is mostly accurate — save for a few vocal parts that felt very reminiscent of power metal.
Listen: Bandcamp
Genghis Tron, Signal Fire
After recently reuiniting, Genghis Tron are back with an album that leans more heavily on the eletronic elements than ever. Not sure exactly how I feel about the new material, but it didn't put me off immediately.
Listen: Bandcamp
Cyhra, Requiem For A Pipe Dream
Melodic metal for folks who may think In Flames is a little too spicy.
Listen: Spotify
Converge, Hum Of Hurt
The companion to Love is not Enough hits hard and complimenets the previous record very well. I'm glad it was released as individual albums, so you don't miss a lot of good songs in one massive track list.
Listen: Bandcamp
August Burns Red, Season Of Surrender
Top-shelf metalcore, exactly the way I like it. Big, chunky riffs and headbanging choruses.
Listen: Bandcamp
Boards Of Canada, Inferno
As someone who has listened to The Campfire Headphase fairly regularly for over 20 years, I don't know where this album slots in with everything else they've done. The production, however, is incredible; if nothing else, sonically this album is an amazing achievement.
Listen: Bandcamp
Nunslaughter, Satanic Chaos Legions
Absurd, cartoonish, over-the-top death / thrash metal. Fun album.
Listen: Spotify
Astriferous, Atavistic Unraveling
Brutal death metal from Costa Rica, with a sound heavily influenced by the 90s / 2000s Scandinavian metal scene.
Listen: Bandcamp
PUBLISHED: 2026-06-30