One holiday down, one more to go. Hope everyone is feeling festive. New releases in this edition of Initial Descent feature a hard charging melodic thrash / death beast of an album from Jester Majesty, old school leaning black metal of the Canadian variety from Warlocks of Morgul, some very good riff-driven Sabbath worship from Skogskult, and several more in the list that follows. Head below and enjoy the hunt for your new favorite, or favorites, and we’ll see you here throughout the week. Krampus comes. Oh, before we go, who else was on the way to leaving someone at a gas station? That whole thing deserves a *does best Joe Dirt impression* DANGGGG…
Jester Majesty – Infinite Measure, Finite Existence (Xtreem Music) – progressive thrash / death
Warlocks of Morgul – Empire of Puritanical Sorrow (Fiadh Productions) – black metal
Skogskult – S/T (Bonebag Records) – stoner doom
Also on tap:
Abbinormal – Italia’s Gore Talent (Ad Noctem Records) – death metal
Acheron – Rites of The Black Mass: The Definitive Edition (Kenyon Records) – death / black metal
Age Of Emergence – The All Seeing Eye: Part 2, EP (Self) – prog metal
Barditus – Nibelungentreue (Purity Through Fire) – black metal
Bläkken – Światowstręt (Self) – death / black metal
Blood Red Throne – Siltskin (Soulseller Records) – death metal
Booby Trap – L(i)mbo, CD & Vinyl (Firecum Records) – thrash
Burial Gift – MMXXV (Eihwaz Recordings) – atmoblacksludge
Burning Death – S/T (Caligari Records) – metal
Darvaza – We Are Him (Terratur Possessions) – black metal
Deadpeach – The Demo Tapes: Green (Self) – rock
Death Obvious – S/T (Transcending Obscurity Records) – black / death metal
Deos – Augustus Omnipotens (WormHoleDeath) – black / death
Discovery Through Torment – Telesynthetic Rebirth (Self) – metalcore
Elsinore – The Vengeful Ghost / Tombstone Hex, 7″ (Caligari Records) – metal
Enemy Awake – Too Empty To Bleed (Self) – melodic death metal
Enthroned – Ashspawn (Season of Mist) – black metal
Eshtadur – Symphonic Crows – Live at the Santiago Londoño’s Theater (Self) – symphonic death metal
Final Coil – The World We Inherited 2025, Remaster (Self) – prog metal
Greve – Bleknat Bortom Evig Tid (Purity Through Fire) – black metal
Hexjakt – Blessing of the Damned (Majestic Mountain Records / Burning Skull Records) – doom
Homegrown – S/T (Majestic Mountain Records) – psych
Hollow Peak – Obsidian Cult (Massacre Records) – melodic metal
Imperatore – The Lionspirit (Rockshots Records) – rock
Indigosaur – Cosmic Censor (Electric Valley Records) – stoner metal
Kakihara – Love Songs Part II (Ripcord Records) – mathcore
King Cruel – Sky Eater, EP (Self) – metal
Kollektiv Raumordnung – Stewards of Eon (Fucking Kill Records / Drei Gleichen / Cultkill Music / Fiadh Productions) – dark ambient
Long Distance Calling – Live At Lichburg (earMUSIC) – rock
Malemort & Cerbère – Aimless / Glace Mère (Rope or Guillotine / La Harelle / Arsenic Solaris / Chein Noir) – doom
MC50 – 10 More (earMUSIC) – rock
Mean To You – Zero (Self) – melodic rock / metal
Monolith – The Price of Their Heaven (Self) – metalcore
Persefone – Live In Andorra (Napalm Records) – progressive death metal
Phantoms of Future – Forever Dark (Massacre Records) – rock
Sainte Obyana Du Froid – The Purest Ending (Transcendance) – atmospheric black metal
Sepulchral – Beneath The Shroud (Soulseller Records) – death metal
Sire Languish – Pull To God, EP (Spring Effete) – avant metal
Svntarer – Exitus Triumphalis (Self) – death / sludge
Upon A Burning Body – Blood of the Bull (Self) – metal
Velmorth – Feral Dominion (Purity Through Fire) – black metal
Wounded In Forest – Antihuman Artist (Inverse Records) – death metal
Wyrmoon – Wyrmoon II (Fiadh Productions) – black metal
— Josh