Imperial Domain
Portentum
Wormhole Death (2025)
Formed in 1995, Imperial Domain cut their teeth in the Swedish death metal underground with early demos before dropping In the Ashes of the Fallen (1998) and The Ordeal (2003). After the 2014 death of original vocalist, Tobias Heideman, Imperial Domain could’ve folded into the past like so many of their era. Instead, they came back swinging. The band returned … Read more
Imploders
Targeted For Termination
Neon Taste Records, Static Shock Records (2025)
Back in or around 2007 my buddy Jake invited me to a show, I’m not even sure he told me who was playing or if he did I hadn’t heard of them yet anyway. Turns out it was Toronto’s Career Suicide who were on tour with Regulations from Sweden. Both bands fucking ripped and I still remember being pretty blown … Read more
Jason Paul + The Know It Alls
I'm Absolutely Terrified
Independent (2025)
I'd call Jason Paul + The Know It Alls happy punk except, well, it ain't. The lyrics are somber and thoughtful, yet the tone and melodies are uplifting and that's what I go by. I'd also call it San Pedro chill punk, as it has some similar elements to other bands from the area while maintaining a go-with-the-flow kind of … Read more
Kreiviskai
Motinai
Infinite Fog Productions (2025)
Kreiviskai's origins are deeply rooted in the neofolk sound and ethos. Their debut record, Zemmis : supnãi, focuses on the musical lineage of Tver, embracing the traditional instrumentation to produce a somber and moving piece. Their follow-up record, Nonregnum expands outward, focusing on various historical events and introducing further influences. The pull of neo-classical is palpable, while the abrasive industrial … Read more
La Dispute
No One Was Driving The Car
Epitaph (2025)
Occasionally bands will surpass being musicians and become artists. La Dispute aren’t making music. They’re making art. The band returns after six years with their self-produced 14 track, full-length, No One Was Driving The Car. It was neat how they launched this album through songs grouped in “acts” via a staggered rollout of EPs before the full drop. The album … Read more
Lambrini Girls
Who Let The Dogs Out
City Slang (2025)
I ramble, at length, about basically everything. Word limits fear me. My friends dnf my texts. I think I may have single handedly crashed Twitter. Straight to the point, I am not. However, in the spirit of things, I’m going to dive right in. Who Let The Dogs Out is Lambrini Girls’ first full length album. 11 tracks, 29 minutes, … Read more
Li Jianhong
Shuttle Raven of the Dream
Utech (2025)
Li Jianhong's philosophy surpasses the direct relationship of a musician with their instrument of choice. Instead, Li has advocated for Environment Improvisation, where the urge to create and improvise is established by the artist's surroundings. Looking at Li's website you can find numerous instances that inspired him to settle down and start improvising, drawing energy from the surroundings. The music … Read more
Lutheran Heat
Hi Again
Pinata Records (2025)
Lutheran Heat have one of my favorite band names, a distinctly Minnesota tongue-in-cheek nod to local culture and mannerisms. But while I dig the band name, that's not really relevant to the rest of this review. Hi Again is their first record in 9 years, but it continues their garagey indie-punk tones. Expect garage rock guitar tones, slacker indie rock … Read more
Menace Ruine
The Color of the Grave Is Green
Union Finale Records (2025)
One of the most unique voices in extreme music, Menace Ruine stand out in their sonic evolution. The duo of Geneviève Beaulieu and Steve de la Moth started out in a raw, uncompromising fashion, merging black metal and industrial to create absolute havoc in Cult of Ruins and The Die is Cast. In the coming years, they would expand this … Read more
Middle-Aged Queers
Theatre of Shame
Engineer Records, Sell The Heart Records (2025)
Theatre Of Shame is the third LP from Bay Area band Middle-Aged Queers, a band whose moniker definitely gives away the plot. The band celebrates community with party punk songs like "Glizzies Banging" and "Pajama Party," but it also has pointed political commentary about the dangers of a bigoted society. In equal parts, Theatre Of Shame is about celebration and … Read more
Miller Lowlifes
Pinch Hitters
ADD Records (2025)
The debut album from Florida punk band Miller Lowlifes features a vintage baseball theme, best enjoyed with a can of cheap domestic beer in hand. The metaphor fits, as Pinch Hitters focuses on the American dream -- and where it stands in 2025. The vintage educational TV audio clips add to this past-meets-present theme. It's an album that's equally about … Read more
Neutral Snap
I Hardly Know Her
Independent (2025)
Let’s get formally introduced to the underground and independent band Neutral Snap. They are an upcoming pop punk/emo band from New Orleans that have been around since 2018. Or maybe you’ve heard of them from their viral, first show where Shaquille O’Neal jumped on stage to sing with them. Either way, they have just offered up their latest EP, I … Read more
Often Wrong
The Figs Are Starting to Rot
Far From Home Records (2025)
Often Wrong is an emo/grunge/screamo hybrid born out of the DIY scene. It was built through the kind of friendships that start in basements, not boardrooms. The band formed in 2024 and quickly started carving out their own lane. They are blending fragile, journal-entry emo with blown-out guitars and throat-shredding catharsis. They’re signed to Far From Home Records, a label … Read more
Osmium
Osmium
Invada (2025)
Osmium brings together four artistic heavyweights, united not just by a shared experimental ethos, but by a love of bespoke and often self-made instruments. On their debut record, Hildur Guðnadóttir harnesses the unstable feedback of the halldorophone, a cello-like instrument designed by Halldór Úlfarsson. James Ginzburg (emptyset) contributes tamboura-like drones using a monocord of his own design. Sam Slater operates … Read more
Painkiller
The Equinox
Tzadik (2025)
Painkiller sees three absolute masters of extreme music join forces. John Zorn of Naked City and a billion other projects, Mick Harris who transcended from Napalm Death drummer to illbient guru with Scorn, and producer extraordinaire Bill Laswell. Their first two records, Guts of a Virgin and Buried Secrets are strange meditations traversing between free-jazz, grindcore and dub. Still hungry … Read more
Painkiller
The Great God Pan
Tzadik (2025)
Painkiller, the trio of John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris shows no signs of slowing down. The Great God Pan is their third full-length, since their reunion in 2024, and in many ways it is an unexpected offering. In keeping with their interests in the metaphysical realm, Painkiller find inspiration from the famed Arthur Machen horror novella. Here, the … Read more
Personality Cult
Dilated
Dirtnap (2025)
I had a hard time starting this review. I can’t help coming back to the fact that it sounds like Marked Men. It does, maybe intentionally so, as Dilated is the second of Personality Cult’s albums that is produced by Jeff Burke of Marked Men and Radioactivity. But I don’t necessarily like to say a band sounds like another band … Read more
PitchBlack
Walking on Burning Ground
Producciones Paganas (2025)
Formed in the mid-2000s, PitchBlack have always been one of Danish metal’s most overlooked heavy hitters. A band is sitting between old-school melodeath grit and European thrash aggression, building a reputation on intensity instead of trends. They debuted with Designed to Dislike in 2007, followed it with The Devilty in 2011 (which landed them spots at Copenhell and Download UK), … Read more
