Greetings, Decibel readers!
We have some very prominent new releases today, including a couple bands that have played a major role in shaping their respective styles of music over the last couple decades. But we also have some really scary, avant-garde, and brutal stuff to show you as well.
I’m sure you’ll like at least something you hear.
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Ceremony have always done their own thing, one way or another. Emerging in the noisy hardcore environment of the late 2000s, they steadily became a name associated with originality, quality, and daring innovation — while still holding a thread to their origins. Although Still Nothing Moves You will always be “my” Ceremony record, it’s always worth hearing what they’ve been up to since then. On Tell Me Your Dream, there’s definitely elements of Rohnert Park (most prominently on “Other Hells”), but these come informed by the post-punk work the band has done since then. Alongside the echoes of New Order and Joy Division, there’s some moments that remind me a lot of London Calling-era The Clash. I’m not complaining.
Stream: Apple Music
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Dark, mean, no-nonsense death metal in the style of Autopsy, Obituary, and early Death. Along with just being packed with solid riffs and growls, the album also boasts a very compelling concept that pulls everything together. According to the band, the album is based on “a dying man who, standing at the edge of his final breath, encounters a monstrous entity offering him eternal life – but immortality demands a price… Driven by the fear of death, the man begins feeding the creature with human sacrifices in exchange for more time among the living. What starts as desperation slowly turns into obsession, as the line between survival and damnation fades beneath a growing pile of corpses.” I’d watch a movie about that. Especially if this is the soundtrack. I bet there would be a really great scene for “The Ingestion.”
Stream: Apple Music
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Hulder‘s journey through frigid winds continues on Verbolgen, an album which takes the power exhibited on Verses in Oath and enriches it with a palpable pagan spirit. The band’s core sound remains intact, with a distinct increase in the Aeternus influence that’s always been present. In fact, Vrolok even performs session drumming on tracks two, three, six, and seven! It took me a few listens to really get into this album, but the time invested is more than worth it. Songs like “The Crowning,” “In Blood And In Earth,” and “The Glow Of Dawn” hit with the power of a thunderstorm but retain an air of medieval mystery that’s always set Hulder apart.
Stream: Apple Music
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Before I go on, I’d like to confirm that “abditory” is a real word. It means “A concealed location used for storage or to hide items.” And I guess that’s fitting for an album like this — one you’d expect to find in the secret backroom of the record store that requires a password for entry. Although it’s clearly an experimental, avant-garde work of black metal terror, there’s something majestic and theatrical about it. In other words, it has more to offer and explore than just being “weird.” Check out “Threondy Pt.II (Exequial Dirge)” to hear what I mean.
Stream: Apple Music
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Brutal death metal. Really good brutal death metal! Essential listening for devotees of Dying Fetus, Disgorge, and Deeds of Flesh.
Stream: Apple Music
The post Five For Friday: August 7, 2026 appeared first on Decibel Magazine.
