HÄXMÄSTAREN - Skuggor Del 1 (EP Review)

Release Date: November 02nd 2026. Record Label: Majestic Mountain Records. Format: DD

Skuggor Del 1 - Tracklist 

Kill The Light

Skuggor

Black Sun

Members

Joakim Atterfelt  - Drums

Simon Hansson  - Vocals

Fredrik Frendberg - Guitar/Bass

Andreas Petersson - Guitar/Bass

Review

Psych/Doom/Stoner Metallers HÄXMÄSTAREN return with their latest EP - Skuggor Del 1. This is the band's first release since their 2021 debut album. A lot has changed behind the scenes for HÄXMÄSTAREN since then as three original members left the band. However, the band have regrouped with Joakim Atterflet (Drums) and Simon Hansson (Vocals) joining to complete the lineup. 

This is a slightly different HÄXMÄSTAREN than what we experienced within their debut album This is a more dominant Punk Rock and Heavy Metal record but still containing the great Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metal music they created for their acclaimed debut album. The record is superbly aggressive with excellent production values allowing the band to demonstrate a fast-paced musical energy that just taps right into the classic Doom/Stoner Metal sound that also has a strong sense of Proto-Metal appearing within the tracks of Kill The Light and Skuggor.

If you’re a fan of The Obsessed and Saint Vitus then you’ll be in your element here but you can hear vibes of KVELERTAK along the way mostly within Skuggor and Black Sun. There is a great sense of pure DOOM & GLOOM being played by HÄXMÄSTAREN where they keep things ultimately dark. However, the final stages of Skuggoer does contain an awesome uplifting Post-Stoner and Post-Doom instrumental melody that changes the whole narrative of the record.

It’s been stated that “Skuggor Del 1 is conceived as the first part of a larger full-length album and the opening chapter of a new era for Häxmästaren.” 

If that’s the case then they’re off to a great start with Skuggor Del 1. As the record is packed full of massive sounds throughout and despite the short running time of Seventeen minutes, HÄXMÄSTAREN provide a non-stop spectacle of great grooves from start to finish.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

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Southern Metallers Hellcowboys Unleash “Your Fear” And Reveal Full Details Of “Renew, Reborn, Return”

Italian Southern groove metal outfit Hellcowboys return with “Your Fear”, the second single from their upcoming third full-length, “Renew, Reborn, Return”, due December 11, 2026, via Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records on CD and digital formats.

Following the release of “Ghiaccio”, Hellcowboys continue to unveil the darker side of their renewed musical direction, delivering a powerful track that explores the anxieties, phobias and emotional fractures of contemporary society.

“Your Fear” is part of a broader conceptual journey examining a world dominated by appearances, disposable relationships and emotional detachment. Across the album, Hellcowboys confront the growing sense of alienation and apathy that leaves individuals disconnected from themselves and others, ultimately searching for a way out of the darkness.

Listen to “Your Fear” here: 

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Driven by their distinctive blend of Southern groove metal, stoner metal, sludge and heavy metal, Hellcowboys deliver a record built on massive riffs, muscular rhythms and a raw, uncompromising attitude.

The album's conceptual narrative unfolds through a series of interconnected songs. “Ghiaccio”, “Lost World” and “Your Normality” depict a society where genuine connections fade and reality becomes increasingly distorted. “No Longer” and “Your Fear” delve into emotional numbness and the anxieties that emerge from this condition, while “Don't Lie” confronts the wounds inflicted by others.

Yet “Renew, Reborn, Return” is not a surrender to despair. “Reborn” rekindles the desire to dream and shine again, leading into “Return”, a final statement of liberation from sadness and fear.

The album was produced by Cris “Comaante” Iacovazzo and Hellcowboys at Digital Vintage Studios, Cris' personal recording studio in Rome, between January and May 2026.

The artwork reflects the album's themes through a black-and-white vintage tarot-inspired illustration, featuring intricate linework, dramatic chiaroscuro lighting and a distressed grain texture evocative of early tarot decks.

“Renew, Reborn, Return” – Tracklist

Renew – 02:47
Ghiaccio – 03:52
Lost World – 03:48
Your Normality – 03:31
No Longer – 03:25
Your Fear – 03:50
Don't Lie – 03:28
Reborn – 03:10
Return – 04:10
Your Fear (Acoustic Version) – 04:49

For more info:

​​https://www.facebook.com/hellcowboysband​
​​https://www.instagram.com/hellcowboysband​
​https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords​

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the details.

Aktopasa - Glide Reflections

Release Date: October 10th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Glide Reflections - Tracklist 

1.I'm Supposed to Be 01:07

2.The Wayfarer 08:15

3.Doom 08:53

4.Ultraeast 09:36

5.Solstice 07:45

6.Final Act 11:51

7.The Edge 01:20

Members

Lorenzo Barutta - electric guitar

Silvio Tozzato - bass guitar

Marco Sebastiano Alessi - drums and synth

Review

Psych/Stoner/Post-Rock outfit Aktopasa return with their third album Glide Reflections which continues the band’s musical journey exploring the calmer side of the Stoner Rock scene though they’ve still got a few tricks up their sleeves when delivering heavy spaced out melodies. The record is quite low-key and never feels rushed with Aktopasa demonstrating a calm musical presence throughout the album.

The delicate Post-Rock surroundings gives everything a grounded feel with the hazy sounds of the Desert Rock scene reminding me of Yawning Man and Colour Haze with the excellent synths being quite dramatic when the album calls for this style of music to fully develop. There is a level of Prog Rock delivery being played within the majority of the tracks as the subtle switchover from Post Rock to an aggressive style of Stoner Rock that brilliantly emerges when you least expect this. 

Each song tells an individual story with Aktopasa demonstrating a wealth of different styles of storytelling within Glide Reflections. The record may be too quiet for some but this is music for the soul, mind, body and spirit with tracks The Wayfarer, Doom and Ultraeast taking their time building up varied levels of Post-Rock heaviness. One of the main strengths of Glide Reflections is how Aktopasa transforms the grounded Desert/Stoner Rock elements into an aggressive style of Space Rock with some real COSMIC instrumental energy never feeling out of place. 

AktAktopasaaposa have a mysterious quality and creative aura within their music which allows everything to be superbly real even when the album does become slightly too trippy and out there, they always manage to pull things back and play to their absolute strengths on tracks such as Doom, Ultraeast and Final Act. 

Glide Reflections is an absolutely magnificent record that will warm your heart especially during the cold winter season that’s fastly arriving.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

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Sea Bastard - Cyclopan (Album Review)

Release Date: October 30th 2026. Record Label: Road to Masochist Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Cyclopean - Tracklist 

1.Dark Altar 22:24

2.Entombed with the Pharoah 12:14

3.Prophet of the People 16:13

4.Nameless Purgatory 24:46

Members

George Leaver - Drums

Steve Patton - Bass

Oliver Irongiant - Guitar

Ian "Monty" Montgomery - Vocals

Review

Doom/Sludge Metallers Sea Bastard release their first album in thirteen years with Cyclopean which runs for a massive seventy two minutes across four lengthy tracks. This album feels more like an endurance exercise with Sea Bastard playing many different levels of Drone, Doom, Sludge, Psych, Noise, Black Metal and Post-Metal based grooves throughout. There is a bleak, down-tuned and filth ridden experience that manages to be quite a different sounding SEA BASTARD compared to their early records. 

The band initially went on hiatus back in 2016 but returned to active duty in 2021 but it’s taken five years to get a new album from the guys but it’s most definitely been worth the weight. There’s a deeper Blackened Doom approach within this album with a decaying sense of morality being heard within the twisted vocals of Ian “Monty” Montgomery. The lyrics are violently real that’s brutally offset against a harsh Drone/Noise atmosphere that allows the music to be played at an aggressive fast-paced though the music is cautiously slow to begin with. 

Opening track Dark Altar is a frenzied musical attack on the senses with Sea Bastard exploring a new found style of Distorted Drone and Experimental Noise Metal which can be quite challenging to hear. Though, there’s also a great sense of twisted melody that emerges within the later stages of the song as the band finally find their “groove” which sees different styles of COSMIC energy to emerge from the distorted FUZZED out surroundings.

Second track Entombed with the Pharoah is another slice of Extreme Metal that’s been down-tuned to pure Doom/Sludge Metal perfection with Ian’s twisted vocals once again allowing the listener to fully become part of Sea Bastard’s dark world. The music is brutally soulful with a fucked up Industrial and Grind sound that becomes quite riff-centric even when the music once again become pure nightmare quality of the highest order. The despairing grooves are superbly played and quite long with sonic soundscapes having a demonic energy to them. 

The rest of the band (George Leaver - Drums, Steve Patton - Bass and Oliver Irongiant - Guitar) deserve credit for creating such a true apocalyptic sandbox that sees many different styles of Extreme Metal and Heavy Metal emerge that is always thought provoking and quite violent until the very end.

The final two tracks of Prophet Of The People and Nameless Purgatory explore the huge Lovecraft influence that I feel resides within the lyrics with the music once again never settling down for a standard style of Doom/Sludge Metal. Everything is always constantly changing with Sea Bastard revisiting sounds they’ve created on their earlier albums especially within the standout third track Prophet Of The People.

The second half of the album is perhaps more riff heavy but it’s still quite Drone obsessive with Ian’s vocals impressing yet again. The sudden influx of distorted themes and violent apocalyptic melodies is perhaps too violent for the casual music fan but it will be absolute heaven for Sea Bastard’s established fanbase and perhaps within the wider Extreme Metal community.

The end result is quite nihilistic which Sea Bastard offer no apologies for and nor should they. As Cyclopean is a masterful album with Sea Bastard releasing their best record and most uncompromising vision to date. 

Don’t say that I didn’t warn you!!!!

Words by Steve Howe

Cyclopean is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Road To Masochist

Links

LinkTree | BandCamp

Screaming Mad Dee Releases Album Video Teaser For His Upcoming New Album AN AFFRONT TO ALL THINGS HOLY

The new album from singer/songwriter Screaming Mad Dee, the final voice of doom legends Iron Man. 

Armed with only his voice, acoustic guitar, and raw storytelling, Dee delivers what many have called acoustic doom — songs steeped in darkness, redemption, and the grit of lived experience. His performances are haunting yet deeply human, channeling the heavy spirit of doom metal through stripped-down arrangements that hit as hard emotionally as any wall of amps. 

Known to fans as “Screaming Mad Dee,” Dee has toured internationally, released acclaimed albums under both band and solo banners, and earned a reputation as one of the most powerful voices in underground heavy music. 

His work resonates — not just with metal audiences — but also with listeners who crave authenticity, intensity, and soul in songwriting. 

Imagine Johnny Cash walking the same shadowed roads as Black Sabbath — that’s where you’ll find Screaming Mad Dee. 

Coming in 2027 via Combat Records/Mindsnap Music.

You can watch the Album Teaser Video for his upcoming new album An Affront to All Things Holy below.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp

OSSIFIER - DSDM DEMO (EP Review)

Release Date: October 26th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

DSDM Demo - Tracklist 

We Are The Endtimes 13:05

Members

Angry Fanny - Guitar/Vocals

MicHellhammer - Bass/Vocals

Tchang - Drums

Additional percussions by Chaton666.

Review

DSDM Demo is the debut release from Funeral Doom/Drone Metallers OSSIFIER is a highly atmospheric release that only features a singular track called We Are The Endtimes. The song runs for a massive thirteen minutes where OSSIFIER explores the Blackened Elements of the Funeral Doom scene with harsh instances of Sludge, Drone and Ambient Metal. There’s a violent Psychedelic energy lurking in the background with OSSIFIER channeling the likes of WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM and SUNN 0))).

The vocals move between clean chants and harsh growls which work superbly well together though sometimes they’re quite hard to understand which is probably the point of the whole record. The music is constantly violent and brutally heavy with slow-to-mid played Post-Metal soundscapes moving further into the Funeral Doom and Drone Metal vortex. 

There’s small pockets of uplifting Atmospheric Doom that briefly appear with an aggressive mix of Ambient Metal and Post-Rock themes leading the way. This shows a different side to OSSIFIER at times where they’re quite content to allow a more forgiving style of music to appear but mostly it’s that violent destructive energy that gives the song it’s epic cinematic scope.

DSDM Demo is unforgivingly slow for the most part but it allows OSSIFIER to explore many different levels of Distorted Drone and Funeral Doom that becomes brilliantly dark and aggressively violent in the later stages of the song. 

Helping OSSIFIER on their musical journey is the legendary talents of Sanford Parker who mixed and mastered the record. This allows OSSIFIER to have a heavier and cinematic scope to their music which left me wanting to hear more. As this song is superbly put together from every angle despite this being an actual demo. It sounds impressive from the start and will no doubt become a firm favourite within the underground Doom/Drone Metal scene. 

This is an exquisite and bleakly unforgiving release that will hopefully allow OSSIFIER to release more great records in the near future as I’m desperate to hear more.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

BandCamp

Dread Witch - CULT (Album Review)

Release Date: October 31st 2026. Record Label: Various. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

CULT - Tracklist 

1.Born Again 01:53

2.Cult 04:56

3.The Summoning 05:39

4.Cyclops 02:21

5.Altar 06:44

6.Marrow 04:20

7.Vesexuff 02:18

8.Omen of Oblivion 08:18

Members

Mikael Rise - vocals and rhythm guitar

Dennis Larsen - drums

Jesper Kragh - lead and rhythm guitars

Leifur Nielsen - bass and backing vocals

Andreas Cadaver - rhythm and lead guitars

Review

Doom/Sludge Metallers Dread Witch return with their second album CULT which builds upon the foundations created within their celebrated 2023 debut album Tower Of The Severed Serpent. That record allowed Dread Witch to include a heavy style of extreme metal such as Death Metal and Thrash Metal into the mix whilst keeping a gloomy Occult Metal element into the overall sound. 

CULT is perhaps more heavier and violent compared to their debut album with Dread Witch fully selling their fucked up OCCULT METAL imagery to the underground masses. The record is super DOOM METAL obsessive which makes it the perfect album to listen to within the upcoming gloomy winter months. Dread Witch develops a thrilling backdrop of COSMIC soundscapes and stripped back psychedelic passages that remind me of YOB and UFOMAMMUT. 

The record lasts around thirty six minutes across eight tracks with the right amount of ferocious delivery being played within each of the tracks that sees Dread Witch perfectly balance the EXTREME and NON-EXTREME metallic parts of the whole record. The album can be quite down-tuned and violently intense at the best of times with the harsh vocals and guttural screams adding an uneasy atmosphere into the whole experience.

The music is a mixture of slow-to-mid paced grooves, fast-paced Thrash Metal beats and multiple breakdowns which adds an almost CRUST PUNK/METAL flow to the album. There are some great Prog Metal sounds and themes appearing out of nowhere that never feels out of place even when DREAD WITCH return to their Occult Metal roots. 

Dread Witch have three members playing guitars and that’s what gives CULT such a great mix of highly atmospheric Doom/Sludge Metal sounds that always feel grounded and completely over the top which sees the album become quite cinematic on tracks such as Cult, The Summoning, Altar, Marrow and Omen Of Oblivion. It’s within these tracks you begin to experience Dread Witch delivering their most intense rhythms and musical passages on the whole album with an unstoppable Punk Rock attitude forming. 

Dread Witch’s debut album feels quite pale in comparison when compared to CULT. This record is more fully fleshed out with stunning COSMIC musical passages allowing the band to explore musical themes and ideas that were only hinted briefly on their debut record. I’m still a huge fan of Tower Of The Severed Serpent but CULT is a different beast altogether where nothing feels off limits and DREAD WITCH are finally showing the world their true selves. 

The production contained and explored within CULT is simply masterful with massive amounts of VOLUME being played from every corner possible. The song can be quite nuanced even within the heavier moments which allows Dread Witch to play to their absolute strengths from start to finish.

CULT is an absolute marvel of an album and should be considered one of the year’s best EXTREME records you’ll hear this year.

Words by Steve Howe

"CULT" is available to buy now on LP via DHU Records, CD via Bottomless Pit and digital via Gateway Music.

Links

LinkTree | BandCamp