Mid October 2025 Roundup

Devastation is a thrash metal band from Corpus Christi, Texas I discovered earlier this week.

Love the album cover, sick riffs, but very medicore and sometimes sucky vocals. Definitely on the extreme end of thrash à la Sadus, (which I like), even approaching death-thrash at times to my ears, reminding me of Infernal Majesty and Protector.

But the vocals are just not that great. He kinda sounds like exhausted hardcore punk vocalist. Not that it makes this record bad, I still like it, just not my favorite because of that.

Standout tracks: Desolation,Tomorrow We Die, Fear of the Unknown

Japanese Vovoid essentially. Now this album is fucking sick. Very proggy, almost like thrash metal King Crimson at times. Strange/abstract lyrics sung in broken English. Big fan of this want and I want to listen to this album more and check out the rest of Doom's discography.

I've been working my way through more and more American Death Metal classics and Blessed Are the Sick was the next Morbid Angel album on my radar. This one is really cool. It has a real blasmephous, rebellious vibe. Some thrash metal elements too.

Not sure if this is blasmephous (hehe) to say, but I think I like this better than Altars of Madness. I've been listening to it on repeat a lot this month.

Standout tracks: Fall from Grace, Rebel Lands, Blessed Are the Sick

Another Japanese band I discovered this month! This album rules! Just good classic heavy metal with most of lyrics being in Japanese. So I have no idea what most of the songs are about, but I can make some educated guesses based on the English song title translations.

The album title in English means "Accident"

Standout tracks: Tshuiho, Nadare (fuck yes!!!), Hard Blow

Super violent American thrash metal from Bayonne, New Jersey. I think I need to spend some more time with this album to formulate a full opinion on it. Not sure I've given it 100% of my attention while listening.

It is still very cool though, the vocalist sounds like an animal, like some raging carnivore hungry for meat.

Standout tracks: Vampire, Suicidal Mission

More classic heavy metal from Tokyo Japan! This album is super fun and blast to listen to, and Mari Hamada's singing is nothing short of fantastic. Most of it is in Japanese with some English sprinkled in. Upbeat, high energy, and just the kinda thing I want to put on when I'm in a good mood. Will for sure being check out more of Mari Hamada.

Standout tracks: Runaway from Yesterday, Noah, Black Hole

This record. Holy shit. This record has dominated my thoughts since first listening to it. This might one my favorite thing's I've listened to all year, possibly contending for being one my favorite metal records ever.

I've always found the slow crushing riffs of really heavy doom metal like this to be most emotionally evocative to me. I cried the first, second, and third time I listened to Your River.

If you don't know, My Dying Bride is a English Doom and Gothic metal band and one of the most prominent and seminal acts to come out of Peaceville Records, and I am only just now getting into them despite being into doom metal and fair share of death-doom for a while now.

The riffs, the lyrics, and the singing create this impenetrable atmosphere of loss and despair that brings me to a halt while listening. The addition of the piano and violin to the traditional rock lineup in this album is amazingly well done and adds so much to the haunting ambiance, and the way the guitar and violin compliment each other is magnificent. (For more violins in doom metal if you're into that, check out SubRosa and Funeral).

I'm still trying to figure out what the hell the album cover is suppose to be though, first I thought it was bird shit, now I'm thinking some kind of Rorschach inkblot? Regardless, I love this album. I will be listening to more My Dying Bride.

Standout Tracks: Your River, The Songless Bird, The Crown of Sympathy, Turn Loose the Swans