Angine De Poitrine "Vol.II" (2026)

Striking while the iron is hot, French Canadian duo Angine De Poitrine drop another six Math Rock, Microtonal jams to sway you under their peculiar spell. Although not much has changed to the structure and composition of their loop pedal driven drones, a noticeable elevation in magnetism pervades as these musicians refine their craft.

Most noticeable, thick driving baselines that power these numbers rattle with texture. They lock in with the occasionally intricate and often animated drums, ramping up intensity as the guitar layers stack. Utzp infuses some Eastern Polka-like vibes with its pacey staccato guitar jabs. Apart from that stylistic distinction, its business as usual.

The eventual swell still yields the most gratification, their formula seemingly unable to wrangle much else out of the loop pedals. Opener, Fabienk is by far their best song. Its two halves quell the droning as a midpoint reset sways past their alien voices into the grooviest assemble yet. Groove being key elevation felt across this brief record.

Rating: 5/10

Труп Колдуна "Prophecy Of The Bleeding Bloom" (2026)

 

Труп Колдуна returns victorious with a captivating set of esoteric bedroom composer songs. Split into two distinct halves, Prophecy Of The Bleeding Bloom hits a stride as the quirky Dungeon Synth motif collides with cryptic Fantasy tunes in pleasing union. The record kicks of with a string of alluring mystical instrumentals, unusual and enchanting, almost lullaby like with an undercurrent of daker obscurity yet to unravel.

The glistening Stellar Citadel perks ones ears. Star twinkling melodies bestows the arrival of drum machine percussion. Its pounding bass kicks embus a driving Synthwave alike energy that will frequent the second half of its runtime. On the proceeding All In Vain, scowling howls enter the fold, empowering this lurking dark underbelly to come forth as its final songs lean into this obscure union of sound.

A curious dance energy accompanies the abrasive echoing cries. Melodies melt in its wake. The whole thing feels held together with duck tape, yet it works wonderfully. Exploiting simple rhythmic pleasures, twisting and corrupting tunes in heresy, a charming abomination blossoms. Although I don't feel a sense of lasting impact, this is a delightful, entertaining, yet brief encounter with a truly bizarre oddity of sound.

Rating: 6/10

Carpenter Brut "Leather Temple" (2026)

Possibly completing some form of "leather trilogy", Carpenter Brut returns with album three after a lengthy four year absence. Armed with a fantastic, theatric, stage setting opener and closer, the seven tracks between bust out fast paced, snappy electronic numbers barely reaching the four minute mark. Assailing with an expectant nightly neon lit arsenal of finely tuned Synthwave instruments, Brut delights in a meaner tone, taking on some overt influences from the DOOM soundtrack in darker moments.

Tight in tonal execution, it plays an aesthetic treat. A cruising barrage of rapid slick melodies, pounding bass and body moving dancefloor energy. Despite being brilliantly composed, these song structures are crying out for a voice to lead the charge. Each song comes lined with lead instruments, places to focus your attention. However, the ebb and flow of intensities feels so fit for a singer to soar into the lime light.

Track after track entertains, vivid visions of a dystopian fantasy world we venture through. Personal highlights include the intense, demon annihilating title track. Neon Requiem's revel in spinning an 80s cheese motif into a delightful mood. The Misfits flirtation with Drumstep percussion goes down well. The End Complete wraps it all up nicely as the music swells for a dramatic farewell. All in all, one classy record.

Rating: 7/10

Autumn's Grey Solace "The Neverending" (2026)

I'd passed over journaling the last couple of Autumn's Grey Solace releases. Years of stagnation left me with little to remark upon. Always a pleasure yet rarely a surprise, what separates The Neverending from recent mediocrity is its "return to roots" approach. On a handful of tracks the illusive magic of those first impressions gets recaptured. Tones, textures and the musical blueprint from their classic debut Within The Depths Of A Darkened Forest resurface on within these eight numbers.

In gentle temperament, the return of ghostly melodic guitar echo, darkly strolling baselines and subtle groaning strings evoke a soothing Ethereal bliss of old. In particular, Erin seems to turn her voice back to that youthful charm. Lurching in a tender high range, she finds her way back to words. Their natural rhythm and wordy cadences rebirth a character missing from recent records. Its a curiosity how the presence of lyrics steer her performances into this special, otherworldly place.

Lacking any freshness and new ideas, The Neverending still strikes a mood much closer to their origins, an area that feels now underserved on its arrival. A fair record but not all tracks hit the sweet spot. Each track tends to cycle through a single set of ideas. The weaker chemistries swiftly make themselves known, however one will definitely find a few personal gems to cherish, if your a fan of this niche.

Rating: 6/10

Willow "Petal Rock Black" (2025)

Ill confess, on first impression, Petal Rock Black felt like a series of Avant-Guard Jazz experiments. This dubious outset was reinforced by its short tracks, averaging two minutes each. The recycling of lyrics from Empathogen and even Prince's I Would Die For You also aided this skepticism. Predictably, with each recuring spin, its treasures unearthed themselves as each brief constructs own magic steadily charmed.

All of Petal Rock Black's songs are devoid of traditional song structure. Each stint serves its own purpose, a swaggered union of layered vocal indulgence, steely Jazz piano and raw roomy percussion, all rocking to its own groove. Lacking progressions and pop sensibilities, they at first feel like aimless moments from improvised jam sessions but with familiarity, one grows to love the moments Willow revels within.

Her lyrics and poetic tangents between songs heighten an awareness of conceptuality that probably adds depth but flys this inept listeners ears. In its absence, the flavor and texture of her ever playful vocal swoons play a treat. Creative, adventurous, she expresses through range. From strength and power to whispers and laughs, Willow can pivot into a soar at any moment. The variety gushes forth rapid and effortlessly.

On the instrumental front, I would have mistakenly commented on a cast of classy seasoned professional behind her. Thanks to the artist credits, I've learned this musical montage is mostly her own multi-instrumentalist creation, briefly blessed by a couple of big heavy hitter names, George Clinton and Kamasi Washington.

That first impression is a misnomer but also a hint as to what may condemn the record to some negative reception. It lacks a glue to piece it all together. Despite loving it front to back, Petal Rock Black feels like its missing something. That Avant-Guard embrace turns these unusual songs into isolated islands of musical wonder in need of a throughline. You can't fault any of its numbers, these are all beautiful expressions!

Rating: 7/10

Old Sorcery "The Outsider" (2026)

 

It turns out that the twenty minute epic Magick Truimph was not a lone anomaly but the lead single and opening track of this fervent march into the mystic chills of synth laden Black Metal. An attentive individual may notice the link in title and cover art framing with last years The Escapist. That album ended with a brief flush of distortion guitar, suggesting another link into The Outsider, a meaty seventy plus minute plunge into sways between aggressive metallic mania and occult esoteric offerings.

Barrowgrim Asylum plunders one extreme, a cold chromatic track toying frightening hellish cries from the void with cheesy horror key tones. Innigkeit and The Pain Threshold serve the other end of this diabolical spectrum, soothing yet mystic synth interludes, evoking curious atmospheres of arcane and sequestered secrets.

The records best resides where these two ends meet. The Interior Gates Of The True Soul offers up delight when its Berlin School lead melody infuses the dark ravenous blasting with an emotional through line. Suddenly the music illuminates as some sort of 80s Synthpop vibe makes its resonance with a bi-polar opposite known.

Where Sorrow Reigns is my absolute favorite, a throwback to late 90s Symphonic Black Metal. Its seemingly dense foray of darkness opens up a third of the way in. Jovial piano keys call out from a carnival of chaos. Its following grooves infuse symphonic wonder and stoke the flames of greats, like Dimmu Borgir, Emperor and Arcturus that came before. A simple wonder for this fan of that particular niche.

In essence, The Outsider is an entertaining exploration of tried and true extreme sounds, armed with peculiarities and inspiration to bring moments of genuine freshness. They are however, somewhat sparse. With competency and passion, this record plays with an excitement hard to come across these days. Its interesting to see artists shift direction but this is a somewhat retroactive pivot to enjoy an old craft.

Rating: 7/10

Poppy "Empty Hands" (2026)

Keeping up the impressive pace, Poppy swiftly returns with her seventh full length album. Empty Hands is another amalgamation of Alternative Metal, Pop Metal and Djent, emulating the modern scene, still struggling to surface an originality to call her own. Consistency strikes well in the album's opening half, a firm grip on bombastic guitar tones paint dense atmospheres for her singing to cut through. The opener Public Domain chops this up with a blatant ohmage to Manson's 90s Industrial style.

Diversification unravels in its second half, Eat The Hate delves into revival Grunge. A well executed song that cant quite escape her presence. The Wait, Blink and Ribs toy with Electro Pop beats and dreamy Synths, a vibe switch up I can't help but feel is closer to Poppy's voice as an artist. This is my gripe with her persona in the music, the instrumental influences of Metal and Alternative don't meld with her expressions.

On the vocal front, she is certainly working on the aggressive intensity of her shouts and screams, amping up the energy with crude throaty roars on brutality tracks Dying To Forget and Empty Hands. The latter plays a vibrant meaty Metalcore number spliced with a Pop Metal chorus. Empty Hands containing throwbacks to the late 00s Deathcore scene, peaking with an ever cringy and hilarious bree pig squeal.

Most likely thanks to switching songwriters, Empty Hands has been the easiest of her records to get into. Despite that, I still don't feel a strong connection between voice and instrumental that has been a continual pain point across her records. Its the same issue that lets these songs fade from memory, so I'm left with a familiar sense of enjoyment in the moment, but no idea which tracks will stick over time.

Rating: 7/10

Old Sorcery "Magick Triumph" (2026)

 

Unlike Old Sorcery's other pair of lone twenty minute forays into mystical synth-led atmospheres, Magick Triumph is not an ambient piece but an epic, thunderous adventure. Opening with the endless drips of glum soaked rain, sodden strings punctuate this earthly, stone-cold setting. A plucked instruments ticks on by, marking a lone adventurer's dreary march forth, treking through dusky forests. Brooding with burden, it steadily groans into a ghostly church bell of foreboding. After a brief, dreamy lull, that menace returns to roost as gristly distortion guitars bleed under a discernible, deathly, cryptic voice. With a touch of predictability, the music unravels in a clash, rumbling drums pounding that typical signature Black Metal motif.

From here, curious synths evoke an esoteric mood, narrating the feel of this droning, low-fidelity grimness. Howling voices wretch from the void, scowling with a beastly intensity and the song shifts its blasting drum patterns to shuffle through its various arrangements of spooky void surfing mania. Although it seeks out a climax, the predictable Black Metal chops keep it within expectations. Despite this tameness, hearing Old Sorcery explore a strong neighbouring influence of Dungeon Synth is a welcome delight. Better than I've heard some other bedroom composers try it, yet far from miraculous. Its a familiar theme really well executed!

Rating: 6/10