Dan Lorenzo (Hades, Non-Fiction, The Cursed) teamed up with Nathan Opposition (Ancient VVisdom) to form a musical project called Vessel Of Light. The duo entered Brainchild Studios in Cleveland to record their debut during Summer 2017. Lorenzo has issued the following update, "I decided to write about the band in NU's Steppin' Out magazine and I mailed Nathan Opposition (Ancient Wisdom's singer) a magazine and I think an old Hades CD. We started communicating by email and then on the phone. I had no intentions of asking him to write with me because my musical career was long over. I'm considerably older than him and honestly I wasn't playing guitar much, but when Nathan asked me if I wanted to write together I couldn't say no."Nathan Opposition says, "Lorenzo and I became friends due to my inability to not be susceptible to flattery. Turns out he's a really cool guy who writes awesome riffs too. Randomly one day I ask him about the band we are starting in joking fashion. I guess it was the right timing and the right person because we immediately agreed we should actually start a project. Before I knew it he was sending me CDs of riffs and I had lyrics flowing like a faucet."Vessel of Light went on to record four more albums that would be released world-wide, Woodshed, Thy Serpent Rise and Last Ride. However, the debut EP, which is now a full-length album, was only ever released in Europe on a small Italian label. Now in 2026 NoLifeTilMetal Records brings new life to the debut album with fresh remastering by Rob Colwell (Nevermore, Flotsam & Jestam, King's X, Hades) and new packaging with lyrics, liner notes and photos.
Tracklist:
Where My Garden Grows
Dead Flesh and Bone
Meant to Be
Descend Into Death
Living Dead to the World
Vessel of Light
Bonus Tracks: Torture King
Meet and Bone
Son of Man
Wasp
Behind the Wall of Sleep
UPC: 880661845260Label: Nltm RecordsRelease Date: 7.3.26Format: CD
As WARNING prepares to release Rituals of Shame - their first new music in twenty years,vocalist/guitarist Patrick Walker is self-effacing about what led to this moment. Over the last two decades he continued to write and release music, satisfied that he had achieved what he set out to do with WARNING. In those intervening years, interest in WARNING swelled, organically gathering an ardent fanbase. In particular, the 2006 album, Watching from a Distance, has gained a cult following.
In response to a transformative period in his life, Walker turned towards writing new songs, and it soon became apparent that these belonged to WARNING. In early January 2025, he started with a completely blank canvas, and piece by piece, he started to fill it with ideas that evolved to become the songs that make up Rituals of Shame. His immersion in the project became a full-time pursuit.
After successfully demoing the five songs, Walker retreated to a remote house on a hill outside Florence, Italy, to refine the lyrics. Recording took place at The Arch Studio, a 140-year-old former church in Southport, UK. Chris Fullard (Idles, Sunn O))), Ulver) handled the recording and mixing.
Walker's lifelong musical inspirations can be traced through Rituals of Shame. The ambitious structural arrangements harken to Marillion’s complex but soaring episodic songs. They retain a sparsity that is reminiscent of June Tabor’s economic arrangements; thick with melody but with a diaphanous air to them. Citing John Brenner of Revelation as an enduring inspiration, Patrick credits him with introducing the idea of how to infuse heavy music with significant emotional depth.
Often reluctant to discuss the minutiae of his lyrics, Walker does acknowledge that making this album was a direct response to the immediate concerns of his current life period. Rituals of Shame also echoes the enduring themes and fixations that have marked most of his work: guilt, shame, personal failure, obsession, longing, and separation, but, most of all, he says, love. UPC: 781676764921Label: RelapseRelease Date: 6.19.26Format: CD
American hardcore juggernauts PRO-PAIN make their debut on Napalm Records with their sixteenth album, Stone Cold Anger, out May 15, 2026. Their first release in eleven years shows the New York hardcore legends in explosive carnage: Stone Cold Anger unfolds heavy, angry, and ready as ever—as if PRO-PAIN had never been gone. An exceptionally catchy offering, the new album fortifies its groovy melodies and stirring guitar riffs with furious and inciting, anthemic vocals, turning the ten new songs into worthy follow-ups for their 3.5M streams strong hit “Voice Of Rebellion”. PRO-PAIN are back with an impressive demonstration of power. See you in the pit!
Tracklist:
A OCEANS OF BLOOD
A STONE COLD ANGER
A MARCH OF THE GIANTS
A UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU!
A DEMONIC INTERVENTION
B RINSE & REPEAT
B HELL OR HIGH WATER
B SCORCHED EARTH
B JONESTOWN PUNCH
B SKY’S THE LIMIT
UPC: 810185195152Label: NapalmRelease Date: 5.15.26Format: CD
There's one thing that everyone readily agrees on: Live concerts are the icing on the cake for musicians and fans alike. Every show is a very special experience and sometimes even creates an almost magical performance. Such moments are beyond explanation, you just have to be there to believe it or, in a best-case scenario, have them recorded for posterity - as American metal act Prong have done with their latest live album. Which is exactly what guitarist/vocalist Tommy Victor and bandmates Christopher Dean (bass) and Tyler Joseph (drums) have achieved on 'Live And Uncleansed'. Recorded over seven nights in July and August 2025, they are now ready to present eleven powerful live songs (plus three live bonus tracks), all pure and unadulterated, authentic and honest, which is the reason why the result is so incredibly captivating. "We were really well rehearsed, this is truly a live (!) record, everything is as is," explains Tommy Victor, proudly adding: "You can hear some of the little mistakes here and there, but that makes it cool!"
Tracklist:
Revenge... Best Served Cold
Inheritance
The Descent
One Outnumbered
No Question
Sublime
Not of This Earth
Home Rule
Ultimate Authority
Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck
However It May End
Out of This Misery
Corpus Delicti
Whose Fist Is This Anyway?
UPC: 886922583124Label: SteamhammerRelease Date: 3.13.26Format: CD
After a glorious return to original form on Reanimated Homunculus (2013) Protector delivered their second full-length album Cursed and Coronated (2016). The album was recorded at the Sunlight Studio in Norrtälje, Sweden with producer Tomas Skogsberg. The band stayed true to themselves with evil, fast, cutting and slicing old school Thrash in the true Protector vein.
Tracklist:
Intro
Xenophobia
Selfdesdrugtion
Crosses in Carelia
Cursed and Coronated
Six Hours on the Cross
Base 104
The Dimholt
To Serve and Protect
Terra Mater
The Old Boil
Intro / Misanthropy (Live Dresden 2013)
Sliced, Hacked and Grinded (Live Dresden 2013)
Protector of Death (Live Dresden 2013)
UPC: 4251267724383Label: High Roller RecordsRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
Following hot on the heels of Summon the Hordes (2019), thrash veterans Protector delivered 2022's Excessive Outburst of Depravity Overall. Featuring tracks such as "Shackled By Total Control," "Referat IV B 4", and "Open Skies And Endless Seas," the album was beloved by thrash maniacs worldwide.
Tracklist:
Last Stand Hill
Pandemic Misery
Referat IV B 4
Open Skies and Endless Seas
Infinite Tyranny
Perpetual Blood Oath
Thirty Years of Perdition
Cleithrophobia
Toiling in Sheol
Shackled By Total Control
. Morse Mania
UPC: 4251267724406Label: High Roller RecordsRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
With a sound uncompromising and aggressive like burning sulphur, Protector should have been ranked among the bigger names in German thrash. Any thrasher worth their salt has heard of "Protector of Death", "Misanthropy", "Golem," and "Urm the Mad"; but suprisingly, Protector never really grew beyond their underground status before they disbanded in 2003. The resurrection of Protector began in 2011 with original singer Martin Missy along side a new line-up that consist of Mathias Johansson (bass), Carl-Gustav Karlsson (drums), and Michael Carlsson (guitar). After a demo and a split single, their 2013 full-length album, Reanimated Homunculus was a return to their roots.
Tracklist:
Sons of Kain
Deranged Nymphomania
Holiday in Hell
Reanimated Homunculus
Birth of a Nation
Lycopolis
Road Rage
Antiman
The End
Calle Brutal
UPC: 4251267724239Label: High Roller RecordsRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
After a glorious return to original form on Reanimated Homunculus (2013) with a wholly new line-up, and it's successor Cursed and Coronated (2016), Martin Missy and company again hit the proverbial bull's eye with 2019's Summon the Hordes. The album harkened back to the groundbreaking 80s as expected, but there were twists and updates. The most prominent of which was the production values of the iconic Harris Johns. From the partly groovy "Three Legions" and the furious "Meaningless Eradication" to the truly heavy "Two Ton Behemoth" and "The Celtic Hammer", Summon the Hordes' connection across several generations of thrashers was guaranteed.
Tracklist:
Stillwell Avenue
Steel Caravan
Realm of Crime
The Celtic Hammer
Two Ton Behemoth
Summon the Hordes
Three Legions
Meaningless Eradication
Unity, Anthems and Pandemonium
Glove of Love
UPC: 4251267724390Label: High Roller RecordsRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
Reeking Aura, a five piece death metal group made of seasoned veterans from the NY/NJ underground scene, returns in 2026 with their second album On the Promise of the Moon. Tracked at OK Studios in Kinderhook, NY then mixed and mastered by the legendary Dan Swano, On the Promise of the Moon builds on the "Fires in Deep Frost" EP released in 2025 with a dark, melodic atmosphere that does not compromise their brutal, guttural NY roots.Returning from the first album are guitarists Terrell Grannum (Thaetas), and Rick Habeeb (Grey Skies Fallen) as well as vocalist William Smith (Afterbirth). Drummer Hudson Barth and bassist TJ Coon (both also in Trog) round out the lineup and bring fresh blood to the band, with all members having contributed to the writing process. The album also features contributions from guest vocalists Eston Browne (Vulnificus) and Jon Berg (The Path) as well as string arrangements by Ben Karas (Slaughtersun).Reeking Aura began in 2019 and promptly recorded their debut EP "Beneath the Canopy of Compost" and first album "Blood and Bonemeal" with Colin Marston in Queens, NYC. In addition to NY and NJ gigs supporting Malevolent Creation, Horrendous, Crypt Sermon and Mortician, they have toured the North and Southeast U.S. with such acts as Replicant, Atoll, Pyrexia, Hath, Animals Killing People, False Gods and Carrion Vael.
Tracklist:
Concrete Basin Bath
A Forlorn and Frozen Vapor
Gorged Beyond Grudges
Manure Like Magma
Lunar Rumination
What Only Worms Witness
The Cathedrals Calculation
Sifting for Fungal Inheritance (A Mildewy, Acrid Mulch)
On the Promise of the Moon
UPC: 840526505258Label: Profound LoreRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
With their self-titled full-length, RESTLESS SPIRIT have reached a point in their career where the band of friends from Long Island, New York knows exactly who they are and where they stand. As the eight tracks on "Restless Spirit" are the most distilled version of what the trio is about, they saw no need for further explanation in the title. So, what are RESTLESS SPIRIT about? Pure metal, no more, no less. Born from the steel mills of Birmingham this musical style has deep English working class roots that the East Coast outfit translates into an American sonic slang with elements from desert and stoner metal and even the occasional progressive flourish. As a result, they seamlessly merge classic heavy solos with roaring guitars and a pinch of psychedelic fuzz. In hindsight, the massive punch delivered to the gut delivered by their previous album, "Afterimage," set the trio onto a course that led directly to "Restless Spirit". Trimming away all sonic fat, focusing on the essentials, and refining their sound and songwriting down to it's heaviest core has yielded a record that promises to be timeless. RESTLESS SPIRIT are throwing out a rescue rope to all headbangers and particularly those dealing with all the cruelty that life can bring. "Restless Spirit" is a call to persevere in the face of others not understanding or even outright rejection. This album is about living on one's own terms, which was and is at the heart of metal.
Tracklist:
The Burning Need
Hallowed
Red in Tooth and Claw
Desire Lines
Desolation's Wake
Ember
Time and Distance
Phantom Pain
UPC: 884388895942Label: Magnetic EyeRelease Date: 5.8.26Format: CD
The famous Ruhr Area, or the 'Pott' as it is called, was Germany's industrial heart that beat to the sound of steelworks and miners were risking their health and lives deep down in the eternal night of the coal seams. The Ruhr Area is also the place where Resurrected hail from, both mentally and physically, and it's history has served as an important part of the inspiration that is driving the brutal death veterans' eighth full-length "Perpetual". Ash, soot, and the ringing noise of steel hammers seem particularly fertile ground for metal - from BLACK SABBATH via JUDAS PRIEST to KREATOR and SODOM. On "Perpetual", Resurrected keep a steady course, which remains firmly on an old school death metal trajectory. This is completely befitting for a band that ranks among the earliest pioneers of the brutal style in their country. What makes the difference are the many years of experience, both in songwriting and on stage, which are reflected in the technical proficiency as well as the powerful and absolutely crushing tracks that are a tribute to their craft on this album. Resurrected spent a large part of 2025 channelling their decades of experience, talent, and unwavering passion for death metal into "Perpetual": Resurrected did not grow old, they got even better!
Tracklist:
Unholy Intercession
Human Wrath
Forever Damned
Into Mighty Death
Sanity Is Lost
Decomposed
Immaculate Deception
Echoes of Creation
Perpetual
Infernal Desire
UPC: 884388894792Label: Testimony RecordsRelease Date: 5.8.26Format: CD
Sense Of Fear - Infernal Decay "Infernal Decay" is the 2nd album of Greek heavy metallers SENSE OF FEAR! Featuring as special guest Sakis Tolis of Rotting Christ! Sense of Fear is one of the longest-running heavy metal bands from Northern Greece, active since 1998. Their sound is rooted in the dark, powerful character of '80s heavy metal, enriched with thrash and melodic elements of the modern era. Over the years, they have shared the stage with major international acts and released their debut full-length album in 2018. Their 2nd album entitled "Infernal Decay" is ready and we will release it worldwide (physical and digital) on 8th May 2026!
Tracklist:
Infernal Decay
Cerberus
Empathy to Darkness
Conflict of Interest
Ethereal Requiem
Kiss of War
Kleos (Glory)
Labyrinth
Riddle of Shadows
Shallow Journey of Your Soul
Retaliation
UPC: 5200328703958Label: Sleaszy RiderRelease Date: 5.8.26Format: CD
Tracklist:
Kaamos
Farewell
Dead Leaves
For the Love I Bear
One with Misery
Suicider
Rain Comes Falling Down
Grave Sweet Grave
Burn
Drown Together
Let Go (The Last Chapter)
Mourn
UPC: 617669421604Label: The Circle MusicRelease Date: 4.3.26Format: CD
Tracklist:
Konevitsan Kirkonkellot
Cross My Heart and Hope to Die
Brief Is the Light
Neverlasting
Aika Multaa Muistot (Everything Is Nothing)
Excuse Me While I Kill Myself
Blood ; Tears
You Are the One
Guilt and Regret
The Luxury of a Grave
No One There
UPC: 617669421598Label: The Circle MusicRelease Date: 4.3.26Format: CD
Former Megadeth stickman, Nick Menza, forms the backbone of these powerful recordings by monster metal outfit Serpent From Eden alongside band founders guitarist John "Gumby" Goodwin (Ozzy, Ringo Starr, George Clinton) and bassist Darwin Ballard!Menza isn't the only Megadeth alumni on the album either, both Chris Poland and David Ellefson contribute to this high caliber effort!The album comes just a day before the 10th year anniversary of Menza's passing, a perfect way to both honor and remember this drum legend!
Tracklist:
Promises, Conspiracies, and Lies
The Atomic Disintegrator
Let It Go
The Kachillian
Killing Time
America is a Gun [CD ONLY]
Dude Skywatcher
Message From The Visitors
Cydonia
Atlantis
Tomorrow Never Knows
UPC: 889466710926Label: CleopatraRelease Date: 5.22.26Format: CD
CD. Shadow of Intent is an American metal band based in New England originally formed by Ben Duerr and Chris Wiseman in 2014. 2025 brings with it the band's newest effort, Imperium Delirium, the most diverse and ambitious work yet.
Tracklist:
Prepare to Die
Flying the Black Flag
Infinity of Horrors
Mechanical Chaos
They Murdered Sleep
The Facets of Propaganda
Feeding the Meatgrinder
Vehement Draconian Vengeance
Beholding the Sickness of Civilization
Apocalypse Canvas
No Matter the Cost
Imperium Delirium
UPC: 195269361754Label: Shadow Of IntentRelease Date: 1.9.26Format: CD
Tracklist:
Afterlife
Nightchild
No Rest
Shattered Heart
Betrayal
Ghosts Remain
Raging Storm
Forever Will Last
Ground Turns to Dust
Infernal Symphony
UPC: 3618023209385Label: Art Gates RecordsRelease Date: 5.29.26Format: CD
Born from the grips of the pandemic, Shine are the newest brainchild of Hazael's Tomasz Dobrzeniecki, and their first album Wrathcult leaves no doubt that a new force in Polish extreme metal has awakened. Inspired by the likes of Emperor, Bathory, Morbid Angel, Entombed and Dismember, Dobrzeniecki's new outfit channels that lineage into something raw, relentless, and unmistakably it's own. "'Shine' for me is a sheen of a sword's blade, the last thing that your foes see in their lives. You can also relate it to the Promethean light given to people that enlightens or sometimes blinds us. It can also be a glare of rage stemming from the resistance towards the unnatural rules forced upon us," explains Dobrzeniecki when asked about his new unit's name. "Our music is full of references to ancient rules and rituals and times when people lived in accordance with nature and cosmos using the primeval knowledge." Dark Descent Records will handle the release, having previously collaborated with Dobrzeniecki on the reissue of Hazael's classic opus. Wrathcult continues in similar thematic territory, invoking forgotten ancestral knowledge and tapping into primal forces, and mythic echoes of a pre-Christian world. "Lyrics for the album are mainly inspired by the pre-Christian spirituality and mythology of our forefathers and based on such books as Bestiariusz Slowianski, Mitologia Slowianska by J. Bobrowski and M. Wrona, and Slowianska Czarownica (Slavic Bestiary, Slavic Mythology, Slavic Witch). The lyrics pay homage to nature and higher powers in order to upkeep the memories of the beliefs that once shaped our heritage. We live on the borderline of three cultures that blend together in some way - Germanic, Norse and Slavic mythology have quite a lot in common." The album was recorded at Heinrich House Studio in Legionowo, Poland - a small city on the outskirts of Warsaw that holds an important place in metal history, being the hometown of Daray (Dimmu Borgir, Vesania), Orion (Behemoth, Vesania) and Heinrich (Vesania, Decapitated). "Me and producer Heinrich (Filip Halucha) have known each other for about 20 years. If you want to record a metal album that 100% meets your expectations, I think he's the only person that I trust." An uncompromising slab of ancient fury awaits! "See you in Valhalla! I've heard the parties there are worth dying for," exclaims Dobrzeniecki.
Tracklist:
Ancient Chaos
the Lamb Against the Wolf
Kneel Before the Serpent
Oddajcie Co Moje
the Cult of Oak
the Horror of the Night
Witch's Prophecies
Wrath of the Hammer
the Necklace with Ruins
1
Ancient Spirit
UPC: 769152435046Label: Dark DescentRelease Date: 3.27.26Format: CD
This is the re-issue of their 2003 debut release that has be enhanced and featueres videos from the band.
Tracklist:
Fly From the Inside
Left Out
Lost in the Crowd
No More Love
Better Version
Burning Bright
In Memory
All I Ever Wanted
Stranger Inside
Lacerated
Crying Out
45
Simple Man
Burning Bright - (Sanford mix)
45 - (acoustic version)
UPC: 075678372926Label: AtlanticRelease Date: 6.15.04Format: CD
Shinedown's highly anticipated third album, The Sound Of Madness, is due out on Atlantic Records on June 24, 2008. The record opens with lead single "Devour." Its heavy onslaught of ripping guitars and relentless drums would not sound out of place on a Guitar Hero soundtrack. Of the album, frontman Brent Smith says "In the seven years of this thing called Shinedown, I've seen a lot of different things - what we've all gone through on the road, things in our personal lives or witnessed firsthand through the fans that we've made and the relationships we've built with our audience. I think the biggest thing was I didn't want to sugarcoat the way life can be sometimes." Their face-melting rock comes as no surprise, considering that the band hails from sultry Jacksonville, Florida.
Tracklist:
Devour
Sound of Madness
Second Chance
Cry for Help
Cry & the Butterfly, The
If You Only Knew
Sin with a Grin
What a Shame
Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide
Breaking Inside
Call Me
UPC: 075678993244Label: AtlanticRelease Date: 6.24.08Format: CD
Tracklist:
Brothers of the Storm
On the Battlefield
Across the Vultures Trail
Wizards Don't Dance
Black Stones Inn
UPC: 301660564346Label: Flowing DownwardRelease Date: 4.3.26Format: CD
American death metal pioneers SIX FEET UNDER will unleash their Next To Die full-length on April 24th through Metal Blade Records.Next To Die marks a new creative high for SIX FEET UNDER, its dozen songs marking the band's fifteenth album since 1995's Haunted. "It started out as an album full of death metal songs with speed and aggression," says guitarist Jack Owen. "Then [vocalist] Chris [Barnes] had the brilliant idea to keep half of those death metal songs and add some groovier songs in the vein of the early SIX FEET UNDER material. Chris emphasized tempo, so keeping with the beats per minute for early SFU classics, I wrote a side of tasty groove-laden music with Chris doing all the lyrics."The creative collaborative approach sees Next To Die essentially broken down into two different sides - Death and Groove - resulting in an aural masterwork that satisfies SIX FEET UNDER as artists, while also offering something for every fan.The record was produced by Owen and Barnes and mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis of MRL Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and follows 2024's Killing For Revenge. It's the third record that Barnes and Owen have created together since reuniting in 2017. "We don't discuss lyrical themes, we each write what we're feeling," explains Barnes. "We each just write what we find interesting."SIX FEET UNDER was initially formed as a side project for Barnes during his final years with the band that he co-founded, Cannibal Corpse. It became the frontman's sole focus in 1995, coinciding with the release of their debut, Haunted. The current lineup of Barnes, Owen, lead guitarist Ray Suhy, bassist Jeff Hughell, and drummer Marco Pitruzzella make for a devastating unit.That sonic devastation shines on lead single, "Unmistakable Smell Of Death," which sees Owen owning his blast and fast riffs with dynamic pull-offs and stop sections. "This song began musically before I had any lyrical ideas in mind," says Owen. "I dug through my riff archive for some blast and fast riffs and updated them with some pull-offs and stop sections. The middle section riffs were also from my riff archive. I do scratch leads on my demos, but Ray always does a much better job with the leads."Lyrically, I'm writing from the perspective of a killer who toys with a victim and unties them, allowing them to fight. He underestimates their ability to fight, and they get the better of the killer, ultimately impaling and beheading him. The 'Unmistakable Smell Of Death' is now that of the killer!"
Tracklist:
Approach Your Grave
Destroyed Remains
Mister Blood and Guts
Mutilated Corpse in the Woods
Unmistakable Smell of Death
Wrath and Terror Takes Command
Skin Coffins
Mind Hell
Naked and Dismembered
Grasped From Beyond
Next To Die
Ill Wishes
UPC: 039841620825Label: Metal BladeRelease Date: 4.24.26Format: CD
Brutal Planet Records exhumes one of the darkest corners of the Six Feet Under vault with the first fully distributed CD release of Unburied. These nine tracks-dragged from the recording sessions of Undead, Unborn, and Torment-were originally left behind in their raw early form. As Chris Barnes said: "I always felt like these tracks were excellent Six Feet Under material. Real raw and in their earliest form."Previously available only as a flimsy, low-quality cardboard-sleeve promo that barely surfaced in the collector world, Unburied has long been considered nearly impossible to obtain. This Brutal Planet Records edition finally gives these unearthed horrors a proper home in a jewel case with a 12-page lyric booklet, remastered by Rob Colwell and officially welcomed into the Metal Icon Series.
Tracklist:
Violent Blood Eruption
Midnight In Hell
Gore Hungry Maniac
Re-Animated
Intent To Kill
The Perverse
Possessed
As The Dying Scream
Skin
UPC: 732131699395Label: Brutal PlanetRelease Date: 5.1.26Format: CD