Six in the Inbox this week, and Friday the thirtieth did most of the lifting. Halloween week delivered like it knew we were watching.
Enslaved — Mið
Norway · Progressive Black Metal · Nuclear Blast
The big one. Seventeenth album, out 30 October, eight tracks that trade sprawl for focus, with Kevin Kicking Woman of the Blackfeet Nation on Spirit Helper and Sámi artist Johan Sara Jr on I Am Ice. We did the full deep dive before release and the record holds up to it. Bandcamp has it.
Gaerea — Shallow
Portugal · Black Metal · Century Media
Not an album: a single stripped three ways, released 28 October with a remix and an acoustic version alongside the original. Portugal’s masked black metal exporters letting one song show its skeleton, and the acoustic take is the argument: these songs survive without the wall of sound. Four versions on Bandcamp.
JANVS — Fatum Est
Italy · Black Metal · Avantgarde Music
Five tracks on Avantgarde Music, out 23 October, with titles reaching into antiquity: Bucefalo, Filo d’Arianna, Argonauti. Italian black metal keeps feeding this site lately, from Rome’s death-doom to this, and Avantgarde remains the label to watch for it. Bandcamp.
Master Boot Record — COMPUTER METAL
Italy · Synth Metal · Metal Blade
Ten tracks named DOT MATRIX, COMMAND PROMPT and PLUG AND PLAY, out 30 October. Italy twice in one week, and this is the other extreme: metal built from chiptune and synthesizer logic, on Metal Blade of all labels. The album title is the mission statement and it works better than it has any right to. Bandcamp.
Electric Guitars — What Are We Waiting For
Denmark · Hard Rock · Mighty Music
Sixth album, out 30 October, and a changing of the guard: drummer Morten Hellborn took over production from founders Søren Andersen and Mika Vandborg, pushing the band towards synths and a modern edge while keeping, per the title, more guitars than ever. Andersen’s day job includes producing Tygers of Pan Tang, which tells you the craftsmanship on hand. Bandcamp.
Vendetta Records — Vendetta Fest 2027 compilation
Germany · Black Metal · Vendetta Records
Not a release, a flare: Berlin’s Vendetta Records announced Vendetta Fest for 7 and 8 May 2027 at Neue Zukunft, and put out a compilation on 28 October introducing the bands on the bill. The label that delivered half of our week 41 edition now throws its own festival. Presale starts at the end of the year, and the compilation is the preview.
Also through the feed: Cirith Ungol returned with All The Shadows (eight tracks, out 30 October, their own words: “We’re back! Join The Legion”), and DOWN surfaced with a new single ahead of an album pre-order. Both American, both heritage, both noted.
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