Finnish blackened death metal band Karelian Warcry have worked with their third album for years and finally it sees the light of day this spring. The first bite from the album, a single “Mielen rutto” (The plague of mind) is now out.
–ISRC: FI3FC2553701 –Music and lyrics by Jussi Kousa, Johannes Järvinen, Matti Mikkonen, Anttipekka Heiskanen
Karelian Warcry was founded in Kouvola, Finland, in 2002. In its early stages, KW’s music leaned more distinctly towards Black Metal. Nowadays it’s influenced by other subgenres of metal as well as other types of music. The lyrics explore themes related to war, violence and the darker sides of humanity. Each member brings their own musical roots, personal ambitions, and thematic passions into the mix, resulting in unique and recognizable sound. Wistful and haunting melodies, crushing grooves, and relentlessly driving rhythms blend with violent storytelling and poetic expression, hallmarks of Karelian Warcry’s musical identity.
In 2014, the band went on hiatus following the passing of vocalist-guitarist Matti Mikkonen. Although the members have scattered from their hometown of Kouvola, they have continued creating music together—both remotely and in their rehearsal chamber. One could say Karelian Warcry never ceased to exist. And now, a bit over a decade later, they have finally completed the upcoming album, “Veripellot” — their most crushing and cohesive work to date.
Discography: Demo ’04 (2004) Kylmä rautainen (Album, 2005) Verinen taival, päättymätön tie (Album, 2010) Minun aikani (Single, 2020)
Line-up: A. O. Heiskanen – Drums J. H. Järvinen – Vocals J. T. Kousa – Guitars S. P. Ukkonen – Bass
The solo project “Wooden Shadow” by Jeremia Ponto, who just turned 25, from Ylöjärvi, Finland and the latest song “We are the North” is a representative song as its name suggests, in which the north brings honor and strength. The chorus raises the sound levels to the stratosphere and the song’s otherwise rich and rich melody can be heard. There are also experiments with different guitar sections, of which at least Jeremia Ponto himself is really happy about.
–Composed & lyrics by Jeremia Ponto –Single cover by Hannes Vuohijoki –ISRC code: FI3FC2597301
From year 2020 onwards, the first demo (Meaning of Wonders) also started a new project. Wooden Shadow is the solo project of Jeremia Ponto from Ylöjärvi, where the genres vary between melodic styles in the form of different formats. As a rule, founder Ponto writes his compositions based on melodic death metal, but there are also combinations of folk and melodic black metal. Jeremia Ponto, 25, describes his solo project: “Ever since I started making my first compositions, I had in mind to write diverse music that fits the colors of my project itself. Let the people, who find my music to listen to decide for themselves what my genre represents. I define my music as “melodic metal” because it feels more realistic to me as a composer.”
Obey the Sun are a grunge metal band from Hungary. They give us a hard dose of grit and a blast of attitude with massive riffs, thunderous rhythms, raw soulful vocals, and a desert-soaked feel. With stoner appeal, sludge undertones, and a heavy groove-vibe, we feel their music in the heart of our nightmares and dreamscapes. The band just dropped a gritty new single and animated music video entitled “Hellhounds” which was directed by Tamás Orbán-Ducos. This is the first single & music video taken from their upcoming EP album Desert Ritual which will be released on April 3, 2026 via Eclipse Records. The album was produced by Attila Horváth (Subscribe, Al Di Meola, Macklemore) at ASH Studio.
Watch their “Hellhounds” music video:
“The band agreed unanimously that Hellhounds was the best choice for the first music video from the Desert Ritual EP” says lead vocalist Tamás Orbán-Ducos. “Our initial vision was to create something that is energetic and eye catching. The aesthetic was inspired by my creative dreamscapes of some southern swamp outlaw fantasy. The lyrics and emotions are represented by colors, movements and figures living in synchronicity with the song’s dynamics and power.”
Desert Ritual, the latest EP from Obey the Sun, is a heavy, atmospheric blast of grit-n’ groove, featuring a feel rough as sludge with a desert-soaked finish. The songs burst with soulful vocals, massive riffs, thunderous rhythms, and an overall attitude that’s raw as rage. The band features Tamás Orbán-Ducos on vocals, Péter Szmolnik on guitar, Gergő Kelemen on bass, and Krisztián Nagy on drums. Together they create a sonic boom that leaves us in pieces and a crunch that would satisfy grunge-lovers, stoners, and metalheads looking for that wall of sound that moves mountains, drains oceans, and shakes the foundations to rubble and powder. In terms of the individual tracks, Desert Ritual is chock full of stunners, starting with “You Lil Shit,” spiced with a groove guitar in delicious alternative dissonance and a strong traditional vocal, both that rasp harder and sweeter measure to measure. Later in the track, we get two bass breakdowns, the second even fatter than the last, and the song ends like a hot rocket right in the rock pocket. “Cosmic Haze” is not just an excuse to get our Floyd on, as it features funky syncopation that quickly turns to nuclear, addictive riffing. The breakdown is a clinic of delicate fingerpicking, and when Tamás goes soft and a bit eerie with his vocal, we don’t know whether it sounds more like ethereal whispers or a shovelful of precious stones and grave soil ticking across the lid of some unholy casket. “Hellhounds” is a masterpiece in dynamics, and it climaxes to inventive chord progressions that give off a wonderful disequilibrium, similar to being on edge watching a Black Mirror episode right before the big moment when all is explained. Moreover, “Another Chance” features a pristine traditional vocal, slowing gaining razz and sass, riding the bass like some magnificent war horse straight into a haven of Krisztián’s hummingbird 16ths that slash magnificent trusses and crossbeams in geometric madness. The album was produced by Attila Horváth (Subscribe, Al Di Meola, Macklemore) at ASH Studio. Artwork for the album and singles was created by Péter Szmolnik. Desert Ritual by Obey the Sun will be released on April 3, 2026 via Eclipse Records.
(Cover art: Péter Szmolnik)
Pre-Save or Pre-Order Desert Ritual at this location.
Desert Ritual track listing 01. You Lil’ Shit 02. Cosmic Haze 03. Hellhounds 04. Another Chance
Obey the Sun lineup Tamás Orbán-Ducos (vocals), Péter Szmolnik (guitar), Gergő Kelemen (bass), Krisztián Nagy (drums)
Küntsquäd is excited to announce the release of their new videofrom the“Satans Cock” album.
The track “Your Mum Sucks Crack in Hell” Is the band’s satirical spin on the dialogue between the demon and the priest, in the iconic ‘70’s flick “The Exorcist”. The title which serves as a distraction but alludes to the question around the commonality (symb. our mothers) of our illicit drug use, and the disproportionate amount of social angst created around its criminality and overall ill effects… which is really a question up for debate about the way censorship/ prohibition laws governing illicit drug use in our society is used … as a means of control and not the sanctimonious sentiment of concerned rhetoric that’s preached. Which way do you swing?
The video also featuring the hellish fire ‘work’ stunts of the most wikkid “Flames of Anubis” gang and select video footage from Robert Cuzens.
Following their 2022 self-titled debut, which sold out multiple pressings and carved a cult following across the underground, KÜNTSQUÄD (pronounced Kountskard) double down on everything grotesque, unholy, and deliberately absurd. There are no genre walls here—only a relentless descent into sonic madness.
With the album “Satans Cock”, the band delivers a grotesque yet calculated assault—layering blast-beaten fury, apocalyptic riffs, and sneering satire into a weaponized soundscape for the damned.
About KÜNTSQUÄD:
KÜNTSQUÄD (pron. Kountskard) is a crusty death metal band from Melbourne blending guttural vocals, down-tuned riffs, and blackened chaos. Their 2022 self-titled debut on Wormholedeath Records earned global acclaim and sold-out pressings. Raw, extreme, and satirically twisted—this is metal with no genre boundaries.
Best known for their destructive death metal, KATAKLYSM’s Maurizio Iacono joins Chef Brian Tsao at Mission Sandwich Social in Brooklyn, NY, to craft the most menacing heavy metal sandwich. Drawing inspiration from Maurizio’s Italian heritage and from Salt Bae, the result is a fiery offering – best enjoyed with a beer and KATAKLYSM’s brutal sound.
Chef Brian Tsao is best known for winning “Beat Bobby Flay” and leading the kitchen of Mission Sandwich Social, alongside his YouTube channel. Tsao has also appeared on numerous other programs including Good Day New York, CBS This Morning, Food Network’s “Chopped” & hosted Metal Injection’s “Taste of Metal”. Away from the kitchen, Tsao is the lead guitarist and bandleader of the metalcore act LOSS BECOMES.
The juggernaut from Montreal will soon be unleashing their devasting death metal on audiences across Europe, joined by VADER and BLOOD RED THRONE for the Freedom Or Death Tour 2026. The onslaught begins on February 18th, in Paris, France.
Born in 1992 from the cold winds of Montreal, Québec, Canada comes one of the country’s top extreme musical exports to date: KATAKLYSM.
Relentlessness and a hard work ethic have made KATAKLYSM a household name in the extreme metal genre in addition to their overwhelmingly positive reputation of fan-friendliness. With a career spanning over 20 years, KATAKLYSM is a leading force in the most brutal & powerful genre in heavy metal and has conquered territories such as Europe, North & South America, Australia, and Asia while recently becoming the first Canadian metal band to ever play South Africa.
KATAKLYSM’s 2013 studio album, Waiting For The End To Come, experienced worldwide success in terms of album sales and touring. Around the globe, the band played to full houses and paved new in-roads into Brazil, Japan, and South Africa where they played to their native fan bases for the very first time. That same year, KATAKLYSM won the “Metal Band of the Year” Award at the renowned Indie Awards ceremony in Ontario, Canada and soon after, was nominated in the “Best Metal/Hard Album of the Year” category at the prestigious Juno Awards (Canada’s equivalent to an American Grammy).
Fueled by the loyalty of their legions of fans who have made so many of the band’s accomplishments possible in their nearly twenty-five years of existence, the members of KATAKLYSM become even more inspired, determined, and unapologetic in their rise to the top of their genre by any means necessary. It’s now 2015 and KATAKLYSM are at it again – like a train that can’t stop its raging momentum.
With the completion of their twelfth studio album, Of Ghosts And Gods, KATAKLYSM is prepared to unleash a tsunami of the best possible hurt among the masses. Of Ghosts And Gods was recorded in three different studios from Montreal, Quebec to Dallas, Texas and Sanford, Florida in order to harness the expertise of the metal industry greats who best understood the band’s talents and their vision. Album tracking was entrusted to longtime producer/ KATAKLYSM guitarist J-F Dagenais (DESPISED ICON, MISERY INDEX, MALEVOLENT CREATION); KATAKLYSM frontman Maurizio Iacono recorded his vocals with producer Mark Lewis (CANNIBAL CORPSE, DEVILDRIVER, WHITE CHAPEL) at Audiohammer Studios; album mixing was masterfully handled by legendary producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, AMON AMARTH, TESTAMENT).
The result is Of Ghosts And Gods – a melodic affair of top notch brutality graced with intelligent songwriting. As expected, KATAKLYSM’s famous body-slamming riffs and grooves never falter. Upcoming artist Surtsey (Occvlta Designs) designed sinister album artwork depicting the reality of humanity’s beautifully disturbing existence and its impending death. Endorsed by producer Mark Lewis as “KATAKLYSM‘s best album to date,” Of Ghosts And Gods demonstrates how – just like fine wine and an expert demolition crew – KATAKLYSM just keeps getting better with age.
Pungent Stench have announced the re-issue of their 1990 classic For God Your Soul… For Me Your Flesh via Hammerheart Records. The remastered version will be released on 20th March, 2026 and comes with 10 bonus tracks, liner notes, lyrics and pictures.
The year 1990 was the moment death metal truly exploded. Bands like Entombed released their debut full lengths (which would later go on to be some of the most respected albums of the entire genre) and soon to be giants of the genre Deicide and Cannibal Corpse would also release their first albums. But in Austria something even stranger and more twisted was festering. Pungent Stench arrived with For God Your Soul… For Me Your Flesh, a debut that smashed death metal and early grindcore together into cross between Obituary and Terrorizer.
What makes this record stand out is its total rejection of finesse. No melody. No clean lines. No attempt at showing off. Just a filthy, hostile churn of riffs that somehow stick in your skull long after the noise dies down. Tracks like ‘A Small Lunch’ and ‘Blood, Pus and Gastric Juice’ prove that primitive death metal always hits hardest when it doesn’t try to be clever. Sludge soaked slow sections collapse into savage bursts, and the bass rumbles underneath it all like some diseased animal clawing for daylight. Like on their early material and the record that followed, Pungent Stench twist d-beat and thrash metal soaked death metal into something that lurches between speed, doom and their own brand of morbid humor.
For God Your Soul… For Me Your Flesh might not be the album everyone cites first from death metal’s golden era, but it stands as a raw, essential blast of grime and extremity that still demands to be played loud and often.
Track-list:
CD 1/LP For God Your Soul…For Me Your Flesh
Intro / Extreme Deformity
Hypnos
For God Your Soul…For Me Your Flesh
Just Let Me Rot
Pungent Stench
Bonesawer
Embalmed in Sulphuric Acid
Blood Pus & Gastric Juice
Suspended Animation
A Small Lunch
CD 2 Bonustracks
Suspended Animation
In the Vault
Mucous Secretion
Bonesawer
Pulsating Protoplasma
Dead Body Love
A Small Lunch
Dead Body Love
Blood Pus & Gastric Juice
Rip You Without Care
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Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
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Visionary artist KIMMO KUUSNIEMI's ANCIENT STREAMING ASSEMBLY (ASA) have released “Aurora Nuclearis”, a powerful 12-minute audiovisual experience, dedicated to the Late Keyboardist Esa Kotilainen. - Click image to watch the video
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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 