Welcome back to MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month. The thing I dread the most about putting together this column is coming up with this intro blurb. After five years and about 70 of these, it's hard to come up with something original…there we go, just talked my way around it. Here's some cool shit that came out in May.

-Nate

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Cognizance - In Light, No Shape
Willowtip Records

The departure of Cognizance's standalone vocalist (guitarist Alex Baillie has now taken up double duty) was done as seamlessly as possible, but it does feel like there is a certain je ne sais quoi missing that Henry Pryce brought to the table. He was a founding member, after all.

No sense dwelling on the past, though - "In Light, No Shape" is still a juicy, plentiful riff salad. This group has always had a knack for making finger-twisting guitarwork feel hummable and groovy, and though you can point to The Faceless and Gorod as reference points, when a song fires up, you immediately know it's Cognizance - a battle-tested indicator of effective songcraft and veteran presence.
-Nate

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Witching Hour - Descending... Where Time Has Ceased To Exist
Dying Victims Productions

Witching Hour were always in the second tier of German black-thrash behind the infamous Desaster or Cruel Force, but they constantly released cool albums. "Where Time Has Ceased To Exist" has a gorgeous cover, only 5 songs (but they're long, up to 11 minutes) which are less raw and more melodic, like a winding spiral stairway. The vocals are high-pitched with some rock n'roll flair though and fit quite well to it all. If you like Hellish Crossfire or Nocturnal, you should check the album before your time ceases to exist.
-Michael

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Shewolff - We're All Gonna Fukkin' Die
Dying Victims Productions

This might be a short 25-minute EP but it's packed with evil blackened punk riffs and a ferocious vocal performance by "K. Von Shewolff". They rarely give you time to breathe but when they do, it's for a build up that then leads to more evil riffs or an impactful double kick bass drum section. With a raw and super organic sounding production that gives life to such titles as "Guillotines", "Nail + Burn" or "Fantastik Fukk", it's direct and in your face metal/punk for fans of the old school.
-Raphael

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A Forest Of Stars - Stock Overflow In Corpse Pile Interface
Prophecy Productions

This is "black metal" in the same way that Oranssi Pazuzu is. You can tell both bands used it as a reference point when forming their sound, but amidst adding an array of other elements and influences, it becomes near-unrecognizable when held up to a band such as, say, Gorgoroth. The violin takes up enough space that it is essentially taking the role of a lead guitar, and the sprawling, massive compositions takes up 73 minutes over 6 songs. With seven members adding over a dozen instrumental contributions, there is a lot to unpack here.

While I don't fully understand UK bands' fascination with ranting, spoken word vocals (Bal-Sagoth? Meads of Asphodel?), it does fit the character of the album, adding a sense of volatile lunacy to music that is subtly ominous amidst its delicate elegance. I'm not sure I can even fully call this a metal album - but then again, I have no idea what it would be considered in lieu of that. With the amount of ground that "Stock Overflow In Corpse Pile Interface" covers, it's impossible to sum it up succinctly, and perhaps it's even better that you discover its surprises on your own. If you are a black metal fan that seeks something a little weirder, you really appreciate some tasteful violin, or if Ved Buens Ende is your favorite band of all time, you're in the right place.
-Nate

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Sabotør - Første Aksjon
Dark Essence Records

Resisting Nazis, I feel like it's a subject of high significance for some reason… Maybe we should get inspired by the stories of Norwegian resistance during WW2 and that's exactly what Sabotør has to offer, I just wish I could understand the lyrics. Nevertheless, what I can understand is blazing fast tempos, sick old school metal/punk riffage and melodic solos. The only thing holding the band is its rough production, you might need to turn the volume up a bit to really hear everything, then again, it gives a super raw feeling to the music, and it fits the whole theme quite nicely. It's a promising debut from a young band to keep an eye on!
-Raphael

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Deathstorm - Cascophonies
Dying Victims Productions

Austrian thrash powerhouse Deathstorm brings the speed and the rage for their fifth album. There is something in the water of Austria and Germany that gives a particular kind of thrash that is faster, heavier and more aggressive than the American version and that is why, together with Brazilian thrash, the Teutonic version is my favorite kind. Every song is composed with one goal in mind, making you destroy your surroundings. They rarely take their foot off the acceleration pedal and when they do, it's only for a brief moment to focus on a great groove or a solo. Truly one of the best thrash records of the year!
-Raphael

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Horrific Visions - Remnants Of Atrophy
Comatose Music

What is it about Texas that makes it such a hotbed for modern brutal death metal? Everything's bigger there - including the slams. I guess birthing the founding fathers (Devourment) does something to the water…

This group is incestuous with their regional scene. Drummer Rene Martinez is best known for his work with Stabbing, other members have connections to Defiled Crypt and Bludgeoned…unknown to people who aren't neck deep in this style, but nonetheless an indicator of veteran experience and a knowledge of how to make proper brutal death.

There are occasional tempo drops for the sake of contrast, but "Remnants Of Atrophy" mostly operates at higher speeds, even when the guitarwork has a chuggier feel to it. The vocals are competent, but I do find myself wanting them one notch lower. Conrad Heinemeyer's natural tone is more middling and shouty than it is gurgly, and it's not a difficult adjustment to make, but it does creep into my head occasionally. It's over quick for a full-length - only 25 minutes - but for music this dense and overstimulating, that's a good thing - even as a fan of this style, my brain taps out if it goes on much longer. This is far from a revolutionary album, but Rene's drumming is tasty as always and the slams are thicker than Big Pun's thighs.
-Nate

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Restless Spirit - Restless Spirit
Magnetic Eye Record

I am a big fan of Mastodon so it will shock no one that I instantly loved this album! I have a special place in my heart for "Once More 'Round the Sun ", it's an underrated gem in a flawless discography. So, the fact this record by these Long Island boys is essentially a love letter to that amazing album is reason enough to give it praises, but it's more than just a Mastodon worship band. As stated on their bandcamp: "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." The melodies and overall vibes of this record give me the urge to one: headband and two: a strong will to persevere through the pain and suffering to try and make the world a better place! Their mastery of pure and fuzzy stoner metal is unmatched and will make you feel good every time!
-Raphael

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Lorn - Searing Blood
I, Voidhanger

I approach new albums on this Italian label with caution, because while they have a knack for unearthing obscure bands that have unusual, off-the-wall sounds that are worth a cursory listen for the sheer novelty, sometimes it's just too weird for me.

This is not the case with Lorn - while they have a distinct identity and greater range of motion than their contemporaries, they're more subtle in their execution. It's just another atmospheric black metal album, but through the occasional use of grittier, low-register guitarwork, dashes of prickly synth and deceptively alluring dissonance, as well as a more expansive songwriting palette, they draw you in without flashy, attention-grabbing tendencies. Duelling guitars frequently feed off one another, deepening the gravitas and impact. These are all hallmark qualities of an experienced musician - mastermind Radok has been at this for over 20 years across four full-length albums, and this shows in the strength and detail in the compositions. This says exactly what it needs to, and knows how to say it effectively.
-Nate

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METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH

 

10: Lago - Vigil
Everlasting Spew Records

Lago is a Phoenix, Arizona based death metal band that manages to do something unique, it blends old school influences with a modern yet organic production, blending technicality, dissonance and crushing grooves. The result is a powerful and refined sound that is sure to please death metal fans of every horizon. The band began the writing for "Vigil" in 2023, and my reading of the lyrical themes and overall atmosphere is that of an immense frustration and anger at the state of the world. The schism of inequity between the richest and the rest of humanity began to grow at an alarming rate post pandemic, and the band was clearly inspired by that fact: "Sycophants heaving the carrion, Idolatry of the wicked, Estuary of avarice, Magnates drown from thirst". Sonically the band creates infernal whirlwinds of dissonant and technical riffs with incredible headbanging grooves balanced with inventive shredding solos. For fans of Gorguts, Immolation and Morbid Angel.
-Raphael

MetalBite's Rating: 8.6/10

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9: The Scalar Process - Agnomysticism
Transcending Obscurity

Uplifting tech death is one of my favorite sub-subgenres. Fallujah, Dessiderium, Flub, Virvum…it feels like it should go by a different name, because putting something like Defeated Sanity or Disgorge in the same category as this feels wrong, even though you can trace all of them back to the same originators.

"Agnomysticism" ventures even deeper into this lush radiance. Where "Coagulative Matter" was a bit more jagged and riff focused, this album is exceptionally smooth with lots of upper-register tremolo, fluid riff changes and everpresent synths. There are still moments where this remembers its extreme roots like the opening of "Lack Of Colors", but there are numerous other moments where the shoegaze-y elements are actively duelling with the death metal for dominance. There are more prominent bands that explore this style in different ways, but I think The Scalar Process have done well here to craft more of an identity for themselves.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8.6/10

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8: DauÞuz - Todeswerk: Uranium II
Amor Fati Productions

"Todeswerk: Uranium II" is both the second album in DauÞuz's uranium-themed series, and the band's seventh album in ten years. Despite the German black-metallers impressively prolific output, the calibre of their music has remained uniformly and thrillingly high, and this is absolutely no exception. The gentle acoustic introduction is a nod to classic thrash metal tropes, but once the furious tremolo riffing supplants the finger-picking, it is no longer Metallica that come to mind, but the kind of furious and frenzied black metal that Abigor once specialised in, albeit without some of the dizzying symphonic complexity of the Austrian masters. In keeping with the unusual mining theme, the band's music communicates a real feeling of struggle, as if the musicians are tearing the notes from a rock face with their bare hands alone, faces smeared with the dust and dirt of endless toil. The unrestrained vocals of singer Syderyth G bring a fervent chaos to proceedings, almost approaching Silencer levels of madness, so the mighty clean vocals that appear periodically add a welcome variety, redolent of mid-period Bathory, or more recently Havukruunu. This is black metal unencumbered by modernity or progress, ascetic and morose, flawed and human, pushing us further into the dark bowels of the Earth, ever further from the redeeming light.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 8.7/10

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7: Spell - Wretched Heart
Bad Omen Records

What makes good songwriting? Is it the variety of influences? The memorability of melodies? The burning passion for music? For Vancouver's Spell the answer is all the above and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Add to that a powerful musical performance and a superb sounding production and you have a recipe for a truly special album. Comparison to heavy metal giants Ghost can be made, but I feel it does not scratch the surface of what Spell has to offer. With their single "Lilac" they came in and affirmed that heavy metal is whatever you want it to be, spooky synths give way to a simple yet effective classic heavy metal riffs that then leads to an incredibly catchy chorus that will be engraved in your mind to the level of an obsession (positive). The combination of classic heavy metal, hard rock and subtle and sometimes not so subtle gothic and progressive rock remind me a bit of the approach Messa took on their last album "The Spin", which was my absolute favorite album of 2025, so it's safe to say any comparison is the highest of praises possible! Flashy solos are balanced by melodic chorus and on this album, the members went wild with it, everyone plays guitar at some point and most of them sings which gives a great diversity and dynamism. When bands decide to follow trends, but they transition into the sound and it feels natural and well done, it's hard to complain. Spell remains at the top of their game with "Wretched Heart" and it's a pure delight at every listen.
-Raphael

MetalBite's Rating: 9/10

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6: Dromos - Failing Light
Argonauta Records

Funeral doom is a notoriously difficult sub-genre to master, given how easy it is for the meditative repetition of trudging and treacly riffs to devolve into mind-numbing tedium. Thankfully, this is a slow-motion bullet that Dromos easily evade, the multinational London-based quartet conjuring a rich blend of sweeping melodies and mournful guitar lines that sometimes evokes the classic British death-doom of My Dying Bride and Anathema, as well as the more contemporary sounds of Evoken and Skepticism. Across three expansive tracks, Dromos prove that this type of doom can also accommodate progressive arrangements, with each track moving through a range of instrumental passages, each one of which expresses a single mood of pure despair. 'Death Is Silence' is the pick of the album, with some unconventional note choices creating a real sense of despondency, before a majestic clean vocal section offers welcome respite from the inhuman wounded screech that dominates the rest of the record. To release such a high quality debut is impressive, a fact that makes more sense when we note the presence in the line-up of Grave Miasma guitarist Amadeus, and sometime Final Dose bandmate Sami. Both musicians have conclusively proven that they can turn their hand to virtually anything, not unlike Phil Tougas of Worm, Exxul and many more. Indeed, Atramentus, Tougas's own funeral doom project are a fairly good point of comparison for Dromos, and "Failing Light" is one of the best albums released in the sub-genre since that band's masterpiece, Stygian, in 2020.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 9/10

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5: Tyrannus - Mournhold
True Cult Records

Scottish band Tyrannus offers a unique, yet familiar mix of various metal genres, all blended in a homogenous concoction of fast black, death and thrash metal with a few surprises along the way.

On the first track of the album, they begin with a full-on black metal ragger with hints of death (the band and the style) and a thrashy vibe. This high level of aggressivity and "extreme" music is also the perfect vessel for a deeper message that, in a world run by psychopathic power hungry oligarchs, is sorely needed: "You malcontent, You fascist scum, Deserve death, Now face the wall, Blood will run, Enrich the streets, Gonna cut your fucking head off, And live in peace". In the middle of this relentless aggression, Tyrannus throws in a first curveball with the song "Flesh Eternal", a song that wouldn't be out of place on a Tribulation record with distinct post-punk vibe, complete with great clean vocals. This song acts as a nice interlude of sorts before going back to full speed thrashing with a raw blackened aggression! It sounds a bit like Sepultura's "Bestial Devastation" or "Morbid Visions" but with a modern polish and like always, lyrics that put me in a revolutionary mood for some reason: "Marching tides of the many draw near Amassing of forces landlords fear Revolution, the fortune they choose Armed and ready with nothing to lose". They finish the album with "Back to Grey", a melodic track that features an absolutely epic riff that makes you feel empowered to overthrow the ruling class!

What else is there to say, Tyrannus brings us back to a simpler time of metal, when death, black and thrash were not necessarily distinct labels, they melded in one another, and the creative box was large, and you were not limited in the process. And yet, it sounds completely modern at the same time. The wonderful cover art by Hagiophobic is the cherry on top.
-Raphael

MetalBite's Rating: 9.1/10

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4: Funebrarum - Beckoning The Void Of Eternal Silence
Pulverised Records

Releasing their first material since 2016 and first full length since 2009, Funebrarum are not the most productive band, but when they do release something, drop everything you're doing and rush to listen to it! So, what's new since we last saw Funebrarum?

They have a new guitarist and it's none other than, Québécois musical legend, Philippe Tougas and he brings the band to new heights! The main reason we all love Funebrarum, their core signature sound is still all there, slow and devastatingly heavy death metal that just sounds evil as fuck, but on "Beckoning The Void Of Eternal Silence" they somehow refined and enhanced that sound in every way! The vocals are better and more diverse, they get slower and heavier, faster and more aggressive, all of that with an even more evil atmosphere provided by the backing keyboards' spooky melodies. Everything on here is just perfect, the pacing, with the two intros that cut the album in two distinct halves, making the 49 minutes runtime just fly by. Production wise the album sounds polished but organic and filthy, everything is mixed just right, the vocals are slightly buried, and Phil's solos are fully put on display. Speaking of Phil's solos, they do not get as flashy as First Fragments or the last Worm, but even if shorter and a little less neoclassical, you can still tell it's him and he's definitely a highlight on every track. It reminds me more of his band Chthe'ilist! (by the way, I'm still anxiously waiting for the new album!). The drums also stand out; Charles Koryn can blast like crazy and slow down to hold a sick groove, all in the same song. Daryl Kahan is still a phenomenal death metal vocalist; his growls are so low and deep, it makes you vibrate deep in your core, and his higher screams provide a good variety. It's worth mentioning that Phil and Winslow also provide backing vocals.

If you like your death metal varied, with slow chugs, fast blastbeats, excellent varied vocals and rich layers of atmospheric keyboards that are placed just right and never overwhelming, Funebrarum released the perfect album. Oh, and also, Philippe Tougas! Need I say more?
-Raphael

After ten years we finally have this New Jersey group's third full length. We have more crawling, cavernous death metal with deep, raspy vocals in the style of Demilich (the vocals remind a lot of Antti Boman), Krypts or Abhorrence. Sometimes the band expands and goes faster but mostly it is very gloomy and atmospheric. In some parts they weave in synthesizers, adding an air of mysticism. Mandatory listen for fans of abyssal death/doom.
-Michael

MetalBite's Rating: 9.1/10

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3: Dark Millennium - Come
Massacre Records

In Germany we have a candy called "Kinderüberraschung". It is a chocolate egg with a toy hidden in its core. Every seventh one has a special collector's item - or so the company says. Dark Millennium is the musical equivalent to that candy. With every album you don't know what you might get, but it will be rare and special.

"Come" blew me away when I listened to it first and it still grabs me with its intensity and impact. It has a straight-forward heaviness paired with more proggy elements that weren't present before. But that's not all - it is a rich mixture of death, sometimes even black, prog, grunge and the result is a psychedelic trip into the depths of the human psyche. Vocalist Christian Mertens is at his peak here, with a wide vocal range - he sounds like a lunatic during the spoken word parts mixed with black and death metal vocals. This is not easy-listening but an addictive, challenging trip that will make you crave more.
-Michael

MetalBite's Rating: 9.5/10

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2: Panopticon - Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet
Bindrune Recordings / Nordvis Produktion

What is the meaning of life? What will remain but memories. Memories of a life of mistakes and learning, tragedies that shapes our reality, the lost of people we hold dear, in the end we can only hope to have planted enough seeds to grow enough trees that will support new life, new hope and new love.

Panopticon is Austin Lunn's vehicle to express his feelings and thoughts on the world, his love of nature, history, philosophy and vision on spirituality and society. "Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet" (The Haunted Heart ) represents the end of a trilogy that began in 2021 with "...And Again Into The Light". In this new opus, one of the central themes is the immigrant culture that was a big part of Minnesota life, modernity and the changes it brought. The first song, "Woodland Caribou" introduces us to the main character and the central location, the cabin in the north. Just like the Woodland Caribou slowly disappeared from northern Minesota, replaced by the white-tailed deer, the old Scandinavian traditions were taken over by the modern dominant American culture. The song opens with soft strings and the sound of a wooden door opening, and for a good 6 minutes it's very minimalistic, soft instruments, a slow drum and distant screams make for a strong and comforting atmosphere. At around half, the speed picks up a bit and it becomes more intense. "The Great Silence, Extinct" opens with a great atmosphere and aggressive black metal, with lines that sums up very well a tendency of humans to delay action in the face of an overwhelming event or crisis: "I hate that we have to see the world burn for it to be okay to care about it And that we must turn back the clock to save ourselves." The strings arrangement evokes feelings of hope and empowerment as to say that everything will be fine in the end. My favorite piece is without a doubt "Blood And Fur Upon The Melting Snow", it begins as a standard atmospheric black metal piece but, again with superb strings done by none other than Charlie Anderson. Not long after, everything becomes quieter and the beautiful sung vocals of Andy Klockow are heard with one of the most gorgeous and emotional melodies, the kind that immediately reaches deep in your heart, a mix of hope and immense sadness, a contradiction so often found in life. No, I am not crying! And the rest of the album only gets more interesting with rich instrumentation, emotional melodies and masterfully varied metal. The layered epic symphonics of "A Culture Of Wilderness", evoking images of grandiose nature is weaved in a strong metal skeleton, even wandering in a death/doom section just before going back in a familiar black metal territory.

And the album ends with even stronger emotions, when Jordan Day sings this line, it shatters my heart: "My god…I will miss this life through the settled dust and the empty I'll miss the stillness of the night and the dawn I will never see." We rarely must face our own mortality, and, in those moments, we realise that in the end we can only hope to have left a bit of good in this dark world that is also so beautiful.
-Raphael

MetalBite's Rating: 10/10

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1: Pharmacist - Vertebrae After Vertebrae
Hells Headbangers Records

Wow, this album takes no prisoners. A sick grindcore inferno right from the start, this is one of the best albums in this genre I've heard in years. "Vertebrae After Vertebrae" is what Carcass might have released after "Necroticism" had they not decided to dive into melodic death metal. The aura is the same, from the titles to the punchy, slightly overdubbed production. The vocals are rough, distorted and sound a lot like Jeff Walker and the buzzing guitars and snarling bass take you back to the early 90s. "Vertebrae After Vertebrae" leaves no stone unturned, this is an amazing grind feast and everybody who is into that genre should check it out.
-Michael

MetalBite's Rating: 10/10

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As always, thanks for stopping by. Here's our previous AOTM lists from 2026:

April 2026
March 2026
February 2026
January 2026

And, of course, Follow MetalBite on Facebook, Spotify and Instagram so you can be there right when the next Top 10 list drops!

Entered: 6/27/2026 4:29:17 AM

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