Spirit Adrift and Immolation won last week’s top spots for me. The former went out with the best album of their career and the latter are still showing the young bucks how death metal should be. What did you gravitate towards? We genuinely want to know so we can be sure we’re not missing something vital since 2026 has been the “don’t miss this vital album” year thus far. Onward as they say…this week’s batch of new releases hits us in the gut with At The Gates (RIP Tompa) leaving one hell of a legacy, high flyin’ heavy metallers Toxikull hit all the right riffs, Pig’s Blood somehow make their extreme and nasty death metal way more nasty on their big label debut, and love them, hate them, or whatever, Six Feet Under are proving to be the death metal Energizer Bunny equivalent. Give it a shot, or don’t. Choice is yours but it’s not bad. And there you have it folks, another winning combo for another week here on Initial Descent. Have at ’em…

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At The Gates – The Ghost of a Future Dead (Century Media Records) – melodic death metal

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Toxikull – Turbulence (Dying Victims Productions) – heavy metal

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Pig’s Blood – Destroying The Spirit (Dark Descent Records) – death metal

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Six Feet Under – Next To Die (Metal Blade) – death metal

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Also on tap:

30 Denari – Kindly Plotting for Riot (My Kingdom Music) – post‑punk

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell – The Trouble With The Shovell (Rise Above) – rock

Anubis – Anthromorphicide (M‑Theory Audio) – thrash / power metal

Archaic Oath – Determined to Death and Beyond (AOP Records) – black / death metal

Armed For Apocalypse – The Earth Is Breathing Beneath Me (Church Road Records) – post‑metal

Asenheim – Elbenblut (Dominance of Darkness) – pagan black metal

Astraya – Atropine (These Hands Melt) – dark rock

Atlantic Ridge – S/T (Void Wanderer / Dusktone) – black metal

Atreyu – The End Is Not The End (Spinefarm) – modern metal

Aversio Humanitatis – To Become The Endless Static (Debemur Morti Productions) – death metal

Battleroar – Petrichor (No Remorse Records) – epic metal

Black Revelation – No Light Upon Us All (Nine Records) – doom

Blindead 23 – Deuterium (Peaceville Records) – avant‑metal

Blood Countess – Imperatrix Sanguinis (Dominance of Darkness) – black metal

Bringers of Death – Sulphur (Disorder Recordings) – death metal

Cnoc An Tursa – A Cry For The Slain (Apocalyptic Witchcraft) – black / folk metal

Death Sells – Wired To A Dream (Self) – punk

Demon Spell – Blessed Be The Dark (Dying Victims Productions) – heavy metal

Devoid of Thought – S/T (Avantgarde Music) – death metal

DFL – Fuck It (Sbäm Records) – hardcore punk

Drudkh – Thaw, EP (Season of Mist: Underground Activities) – black metal

Golgotha – Hubris (Abstract Emotions) – melodic death / doom

Grief Collector – The Death of All Dreams (Nine Records) – doom

Gus G. – Steel Burner (Metal Department) – instrumental metal

Heiden – Cma (EPIDEMIE Records) – progressive black metal

John Corabi – New Day (Frontiers Music s.r.l.) – rock

Kõdu – Kirjad Sõgedate Külast (Antiq) – black metal

Konquest – Dark Waters (No Remorse Records) – metal

Lynx – Trinity Of Suns (Dying Victims Productions) – metal

Necroccultus – The Afterdeath Blackness (Terror From Hell Records) – death metal

Nequient – Avarice (Nefarious Industries) – metalcore

Nixil / Drouth – Toward Dead Temples (Self) – black / death

Poseydon – Time is a River and the Waters Are Red (Self) – death / thrash

Premier Jester – Turn You On (Self) – metalcore

Pure Wrath – Bleak Days Ahead (Debemur Morti Productions) – black metal

Riverflame – Lunar Crusades (code666) – medieval black metal

Sewer Altar – Fever Dreams of Vengeance (Self) – death / grind

Shadowlands – 4 (Seeing Red Records) – post‑goth

Since The Death – Entangled (Nordic Mission Records) – extreme

Stalemate of Wills – Existence Denied (FFTC Records) – stoner / sludge

The Amity Affliction – House of Cards (Pure Noise) – melodic metalcore

The Medea Project – Akkadian Artefacts (BDB) – ambient / doom

The Prestige – Isthmos (Banshies) – post‑hardcore

The Saddest Landscape – Alone With Heaven (Iodine Recordings) – post‑hardcore

Thorgrim – Puca (Octopus Rising) – doom / punk

Tons – Stoned Villains (Heavy Psych Sounds) – sludge

Tumultuous Ruin – An Abscess on the Heart of the State (Hypnotic Dirge) – metal

Ural – Anthropic Genetic Involution (Xtreem Music) – thrash

Vaeovon – Spiritual Nullification (Gutter Prince Cabal) – black / death

Werwolf – Satanic Terror (Dominance of Darkness) – black metal

Whirlwind – 1640 (Dying Victims Productions) – metal

White Tundra – Stories From The Dark (Octopus Rising) – rock

Witch Piss – The Devil Doesn’t Burn (Ardua Music) – doom / stoner

Wrang – Verwording (Dominance of Darkness) – black metal

— Josh