THE TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH should be self-explanatory, an ordered ranking of ten albums that’d resonated most throughout this month. If you’re new to the site, the tendency is heavy and/or surreal music. Choices are selected based on temporal immersion, personal connection, impressive style, point of view, aesthetics and with consideration for the lasting value of each selection. All choices are ultimately personal and come without consideration for populism, nepotism, cronyism, or any outside factors including perceived “relevance”. Writing about music is a passion I afford as much time as is manageable and I am grateful to have so much to choose from. Thank you.

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I. This month on MystificationZine.com included 24 longform album reviews, 25+ video reviews/features, 20 short album reviews, and I’ve made good progress with written interviews this month. As much as I try to cover there is a vast, vast number of overlooked releases that are yet worth seeking out. Take this as a jumping off point for your own exploration and let me know what you find.

II. In 2025 written reviews will now have a video component which will post at the bottom of each review or feature, typically every week or two. If you enjoy these please consider following on YouTube. We are hovering around 1230+ subscribers and hoping to reach the 2,000 mark in 2025.

III. As always I’d like to express my gratitude for the bands, labels and PR firms who choose to work with me. Thank you.

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15. URN – Demon Steel (2025) | REVIEW
14. WOMBBATH – Beyond the Abyss (2025) | REVIEW
13. CULT OF EXTINCTION – Nightmare Ascension
12. NORTT – Dødssang (Avantgarde Music)
11. SCALPTURE – Landkrieg (2025) | REVIEW

#10
ARTIST:	FANGE
TITLE:	Purulences
RECORD LABEL(S):	Throatuiner Records

French industrial sludge/death metal troupe Fange‘s evolution has been rapid, or at least high-rate, and sparked by several evolutionary events within an ever-expanding ouevre. After a couple of tuneful, cathartic releases which found the band exploding with sonic lustre this latest record pushes for a harder, heavier sound without losing the grimy hi-fi burst of their gig. Following the band’s work over the years you can feel the struggle, the ambition of their work as they iterate often and still manage to deliver records that differentiate themselves from one another.

“Fingering blood and petrol-slicked barbed wire into satisfying loops while locked in a state of careful autopsy our surgically induced delirium today stems from a need to see the whole of the viscera, plucking through the machinery of a beast to better know its neuroses and motivations. Yet after eight full-length albums the viscous, slickened putridity of Rennes, France-based industrial sludge/death metal quartet FANGE‘s organ pile becomes difficult to contain, a writhing monument which overtakes our operating theatre with its volatile, sulfurous bombast. Inducing some deliberate contrast with the previous album ‘Purulences‘ speaks to yet another bold step taken beyond the momentum of fractured sub-genre combine, an ouevre long developed into fusion then splayed and snipped into gristle-studded grime. Promising a bigger return to guitar-driven spectacle than before yet leaving no brilliancy behind these folks have simply gone darker, hit harder while managing to insert their not-so jagged hooks in ear by way of enormous production values and corrosive, menacing movements.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#9
ARTIST:	GALLOWER
TITLE:	Vengeance & Wrath
RECORD LABEL(S):	Dying Victims Productions

While it would be fair to say Gallower are a black/thrash metal band their own tag of “witching metal” is all the more specific as a form of evil speed/thrash metal inspired by the post-’83 underground stuff from Germany and eastern Europe taking cues from Venom and early Slayer. On ‘Vengeance & Wrath‘ they sound like a late 80’s thrash metal band developing their love of the riff into songs, themed records, and ultimately start taking the whole idea into their own on this album. There are a few big ear-wormers and just solid riffs that strike on this thing and I enjoyed the bigger performances from the vocalist and drummer as they each show up for this album in a rad way.

“In building their late Middle Ages-set lore of magick-fueled wars and sinister witchery Tychy, Poland-based thrash metal trio GALLOWER once again reprise the ancient spiritus of unholy “witching” metal for their sophomore full-length album. Though ‘Vengeance & Wrath‘ doesn’t intend to flatly replicate the sound of the mid-to-late 80’s their riff-centric songcraft is unmistakably an old soul, one that grasps for finer details with each iteration of their obsession. Fans of eastern European thrash metal and ‘evil’ speed metal should come running to check out these folks’ digs, not only for the sake of the authenticity conveyed but their own rhythmic tics as they continue to develop under ye olde framework.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#8
ARTIST:	DAEVAR
TITLE:	Sub Rosa
RECORD LABEL(S):	The Lasting Dose Records

From their more typical stoner/doom metal debut ’til the “grunge/doom” fusion happening here Daevar‘s discography is pure pleasure listening, catchier stuff with a huge sound. The appeal of this album is only just slightly shifted beyond the last as the huge guitar tone and imposing voice still make for a glowing combination but this time around the “grunge” part of their sound starts to make sense within their riffcraft and melodic drift. It isn’t necessarily the eclectic punk, blues, noise rock and metal mutation that I consider grunge as a whole just yet (and probably shouldn’t be…) but I’d say this time around the band deliver upon their premise with great songs.

“Inspired by the most classic words of JD Salinger alongside the fresh new lows achieved by the world coming down all-around Cologne, Germany-based stoner/doom metal trio DAEVAR return for their third full-length album in three years, readied for their inevitable breakthrough take. Functioning as a modern equivalency to grunge’s tuneful trauma-rock in excess through thunder-toned guitar noise ‘Sub Rosa‘ is fated as the one where they finally dive in and deliver upon the sub-genre fusion hinted at on their prior LP. It turns out to be a great idea, a cathartic ear-dragging doom-rock album with an incredibly weighted sound. Though I can assure you their work hits deep enough per its sophisticate simplicity they’ve smartly kept this record succinct, sticking around just long enough to leave a profound mark.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#7
ARTIST:	GREY AURA
TITLE:	Zwart Vierkant: Slotstuk
RECORD LABEL(S):	Avantgarde Music

The place that I typically find myself when reviewing avant-garde/progressive black metal is speaking to themes, conception, and the greater undertaking of the work rather than the expression of the pieces themselves. While I didn’t fully escape that point with Grey Aura‘s latest record I do feel like the slipstream of ideas found here is beyond entertaining, tells a worthwhile story, and reeks of intelligence. If you find this type of thing pretentious I wouldn’t be surprised, most people are frighteningly stupid and apathetic in 2025, but for my own taste such revelry in art history, abstract expression, and the arte of blurring and discarding black metal forms is an inspiring thrill in combination.

“In the hellish swoon of a fever dream we are set in reflection upon (and in refraction of) the hotbed of philosophical and artistic movements slowly smothered by socialist realism in early 20th century Russia (and adjacent), prompted first by our protagonist staring into a black square and imagining it as a void-gate to be ensorcelled into a third dimensional passage away from the physical realm. In the mind of our protagonist, a disenfranchised extremist and an artist, a glance at an avant-garde painting inspires the creation of a Wagnerian opus, a series of events which lead him down an obsessive and tumultuous pursuit unto madness. I’ve not read Ruben Wijlacker‘s novel ‘De protodood in zwarte haren‘ but I can generally prompt its events for the sake of the most recent duo of albums from Utrecht, Netherlands-based avant-garde/progressive post-black metal quartet GREY AURA who’ve put this story to music in full thanks to this second half and finale. The band’s third full-length album and finest hour thus far ‘Zwart Vierkant: Slotstuk‘ may be a continuation and companion to a first part but it is yet the grand crescendo, an even more accomplished showing from this remarkably concieved arc of concept albums.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#6
ARTIST:	HEXECUTOR
TITLE:	…Where Spirit Withers in Its Flesh Constraint
RECORD LABEL(S):	Dying Victims Productions

It isn’t all that rare to find a lesser known ‘old school’ thrash/speed metal band pivot towards heavy metal but that sort of transformation typically involves a side project or a complete reconfiguration of the band. In the case of French quartet Hexecutor they’ve incorporated inspiration from traditional heavy metal and black metal in creating a sound and style which feels like an expression of personal taste rather than a reconsidered medium. In this sense ‘…Where Spirit Withers in its Flesh Constraint‘ takes us further down their path while emphasizing their own unique sense of storytelling, melody, and such without losing their thrashing edge.

“Not banners but wraiths in moonlight float and march in the cold air as their blazon calls to battlement the spectral bane in the night, phantasmal creatures stirred to haunt by the return of Rennes, France-based blackened thrash/heavy metal quartet HEXECUTOR who’d bring their restless menace to the culling call of this accomplished third full-length album. Further setting themselves apart from the black-thrashing metal hordes while sticking to ideation rooted in tradition these folks present ‘…Where Spirit Withers in its Flesh Constraint‘ as a continuation down their circuitous heavy metal fed pathway through thrashing and blackened extremes. It is its own emboldened step which nonetheless should grip the ear of folks seeking ancient spiritus which finds a way to breach the strictures of sub-genre just enough to breathe. Their work here only perpetuates their infamy thanks to some solid riffs and a few catchier heavy metal tirades along the way.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#5
ARTIST:	CRUZEIRO
TITLE:	Hic Sunt Dracones
RECORD LABEL(S):	La Rubia, Interstellar Smoke

In seeking out a doom metal fix this month I’d fallen upon both heavy rock and sludge metal variants to no end but the one album to sate my interest in traditional doom metal was this still fairly new Spanish quartet. Having started out making jammed-out stoner rock/metal and quickly reshaping their entire focus for this second LP it feels like Cruzeiro‘ve undergone a true transformation here from stoner freakery towards a unique voice applied to both ancient and modern doom metal ideals. It goes without saying that the vocalist’s haunting voice is a grand point of sublimity but these folks have chops too, a wild left-hand turn beyond their debut.

“Chasing the unknown, continuing their drift from amorphous form down into their own inner world and encompassing thoughts A Coruña, Galicia-based occult doom metal quartet CRUZEIRO return with a nigh paradigmatic shape-shift on this sophomore full-length album. ‘Hic Sunt Dracones’ still carries the stoney timbre of heavy psychedelic blues rock in some sense but its torment and elation herein aligns closer to a love of newer waves of occult rock and the plasticity of traditional doom metal formae. In the process of revealing a far more tuneful and dramatic self they’ve repositioned the mirror’s refraction, cinching up their approach toward a song-oriented flow from side-to-side which yields far more memorable songcraft and a bit more of a serious soul up front.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#4
ARTIST:	DRUDKH
TITLE:	Гра тіней (Shadow Play)
RECORD LABEL(S):	Season of Mist

With related projects Precambrian, Windswept, and Hate Forest yielding high quality releases across the board over the last several war torn years it is a wonder that there is yet more inspiration, more to say with atmospheric black metal act Drudkh after something like thirteen full-lengths under their belt and so much other activity engaged. As I was trudging through new releases from better known black metal related bands this month I couldn’t connect with the latest kitchen sink from Imperial Triumphant, didn’t have enough time with the sleepier/subtler Cult of Fire release, and eventually found Grima‘s latest a bit soulless… it’d been ‘Shadow Play‘ that’d felt the most honest as a complete statement, beauteous in movement but wholly grim in mindset. While it would be fair to suggest much of this album feels like ‘Пригорща зірок (Handful of Stars)‘ to some degree we can only expect Drudkh to sound like themselves, patiently developing quite simple atmospheric black metal pieces which hum with a listless sorrow, a pained expression which aches on the way through. There were so few records that’d inspired a thought much less a feeling this month on my part, so, this one inched up almost by default.

>> FULL STREAM <<

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#3
ARTIST:	TEITANBLOOD
TITLE:	From the Visceral Abyss
RECORD LABEL(S):	Norma Evangelium Diaboli

Teitanblood have long mastered this form of blackened death or bestial death metal relying on the riff moreso than the purely chaotic spasming and this not only opens their intense sound to the realm of outrageous and compelling rhythms but allows for atmosphere beyond cranked to ten harass. Sure, they’ve got riffs and we can expect highest quality in that regard on this fourth album but what helped frame this release in my mind as a real standout also came from the intentional audio-visual connection made between their propulsive hadean sound and the aesthetics/artwork of the album, running a bit deeper than most. Also at ~52 minutes in length there’d been no avoiding the mountain here, the only way through is down and in that sense this wa s a point for immersion rather than exhaustion.

“The haunt of their chthonian devotion lingers in the shadowed remnants of an ancient subterranean thermopolis, its walls and pillars hand carved into dwelling along the deepest path to Hades. Still stained and streaked with vapor oxidized blood all columns endure a crimson-footed stance, marks of desperation and covenant alike left by those enduring horrifying sacrificial rites, countless hands grasping along the path down to the sanguine wards. Our traverse of the abyss beyond the temple demands an impermeable guide, the daimonian clawed grip of Madrid, Spain-based black/death metal quartet TEITANBLOOD who return with a fourth unfathomable scripture detailing their braving of the vortex in order to record the terrifying emanations from below. ‘From the Visceral Abyss‘ is the churn of the lifesblood in seven dictum, the callous mill of life and death translated into bestial uproar enough to fill the temple’s cella with sounds worthy of death’s supremacy.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#2
ARTIST:	ROTHADÁS
TITLE:	Töviskert… a kísértés örök érzete… lidércharang
RECORD LABEL(S):	Pulverised Records, Me Saco Un Ojo

The points where Bolt Thrower, early Finnish death metal, proper death/doom metal and Incantation-esque atmospheric heat all meander together is probably the first Cenotaph (Mexico) album… ha, but anyhow, the same is true for this Hungarian duo and their sophomore full-length album. A somewhat memorable yet highly textural sound with a more aggressive focus makes for an inspired follow up to their debut. ‘Töviskert… a kísértés örök érzete… lidércharang‘ is the sort of record that I can just hang out with and enjoy anytime for its major sonic and stylistic properties and its reasonable length though the verdict not yet set in terms of which of their LPs I prefer at this point.

“Nightmares of blood and bone-dusted rituals place us dead center, abloom within a thorn-filled wrought iron garden as our portal to the eternal realm of death’s temptation. The bramble wrapped bell above the altar rings hollow, tributing insight and rendering insanity under the smoking-eye’d gaze of the eternal liberator, Lucifer. A spring of ghostly screams and fog-dank corpse piles introduces use to the next portal, the sophomore full-length album from Szeged, Hungary-based death-doom metal duo ROTHADÁS. Spirits are ripped from urns, eyes explode with frothing blood, greeting us with their gaze as ‘Töviskert… a kísértés örök érzete… lidércharang‘ muses over deranged fixations, deeper stabbed rituals within this sublimely eroded crypt’s passage toward the underworld. Havoc minded misanthropy feeds the riff-handed strikes of these folks’ escalating craft, violent rhythms which impose their morbid fascinations by way of harder-struck grooves and the ever-lingering threat of doom beneath their deafening mayhem.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#1	Album of the Month
ARTIST:	CORPUS OFFAL
TITLE:	Corpus Offal
RECORD LABEL(S):	20 Buck Spin

‘Corpus Offal‘ pulled me off the fence in terms of figuring Corpus Offal might’ve been a lesser-than salve to the high point of Cerebral Rot‘s fucked up second album. This new configuration and revival is even more heinous, recklessly brutal and doomed than expected and it comes with an exaggerated voice that crosses over into the pale of deep underground weirdo shit just enough to retain its own personality. So far this feels like one of the records that’ll stick with me throughout the year as I am still enamored with the guitar work, both leads and riffcraft in general, as it sits leagues beyond the chunky first-year shit most USDM is doing otherwise.

“Years beyond our time spent daydreaming about weaponized organs whipped straight from the gut and an even longer analysis of those afflicted with a clear and incurable lust for decay now brings us to a new cascade through familiar septic tunnels which leads us to the pleasure of mutilated death under the blade of Austin, Texas-based death metal quartet CORPUS OFFAL as they present this imposing debut full-length album. Though one’d expect barbarous and erratically discharged evolution beyond the past via fresh conspiratorial spray ‘Corpus Offal‘ is in fact a next-level achieved through extensively reconfigured fare, death metal which commands with an ancient bestial hand at its most grinding furor yet brings a increasingly fully-fledged capability to its experience. This zombified second chance at living bears more than voluminously struck aplomb and dagger-twisting leads but an murderous stamina for the six living autopsies ahead. While it’ll be hard to separate this beast from whence it came I’d walked away from this album considering it spiritual ascendent rather than plainest successor.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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