July wrap-up 2026

Feat. Psycroptic, DevilDriver, Moonspell, The Hu, Five Finger Death Punch et al.

Another month, another round of albums I didn't review because I also have to sleep. This time around, I will simply start and go forth chronologically.

With "Far From God", Portuguese pride Moonspell stayed true to the under-represented genre of gothic metal. The opener was oddly uptempo and Major-key, but apart from that, it sounded like anything but the summer during which it got released: Somber, Minor-key atmospheres and even a bit of death metal, collectively channeling heyday-Anathema, Paradise Lost, and Type O Negative (R.I.P.). That inconsolably bleak note on which the album ended should stand as a point of reference for anyone who claims to perform gothic metal or simply be into it.

I heard the first half of the new DevilDriver LP – a comeback of sorts, apparently. It presented some cool riffs, razor-sharp, breathtaking drums, and impressively brutal vocals from main man Dez Fafara at – are you ready for this? – age sixty. But overall, it was too monotonous, emphasizing grooves too much ahead of riffs, and not the least of all, had too many of those fucking breakdowns, which I have just heard way too many of by now. It would have probably excited me around 30 to 35 years ago, but today it just comes off as generic. Not taking anything away from the energy or the musicianship, but in that genre, it takes more finesse and originality to impress me.

With a name like Protest the Hero, I'd been skeptical enough up until now to avoid them. But these guys know exactly what they're doing. Granted, the vocals on their new album "Within" were a bit wimpy and hysterical, but it was extremely impressively played and arranged progressive metal. However, it wasn't much more than 10 minutes until it landed in a dirge of intolerably sugary pop punk, and the way that it leaned over into the attitude from the old DragonForce albums – which I otherwise fucking love – almost made me feel a bit dirty and taken advantage of. So I'm out.

Psycroptic is one of the death metal bands that's kept the genre evolving and interesting in this century, and "The Pulse of Annihilation" is another record that makes it hard to leave a review lying on the table due to time restraints. While it didn't adhere to any red thread or overarching coherence, the band's technical level somehow magically managed to be as impressive as when I got to know them. Especially midway were some perfectly neck-breaking and, indeed, finger-breaking riffs, and while the vocals got a bit monotonous, the energy was still breathtaking. Along with aforementioned Moonspell record, this one is unreviewed album of the month.

The new Madball album was probably great if you're into hardcore, and it even had some catchy moments – one chord progression actually sounded like Nirvana. But ultimately it didn't have enough compelling songwriting features to keep someone likes yours truly interested beyond the first half.

The new LP from The Hu was not only quite interesting, but as it turns out, some of those indigenous Mongolian elements, like throat singing and Ozark harp, are incredibly well-suited for metal. Especially this one song called "Horsemen" had a cool galloping power to it. However, the whole thing remained gimmicky rather than memorable, and one song, featuring some wimp from something called "Nothing More", was a bunch of over-compressed club pop bullshit. Maybe next time.

German heavy rock institution Sinner (a.k.a. bassist/vocalist Mat Sinner) put out their (i.e., his) farewell album, which did start out with a pretty solid bang, but eventually became more of a display of tired clichés standing in line and trying not to step on each other's toes. If you'd never heard hard rock music before, it would probably be amazing and eye-opening. If you've heard as much as yours truly, however, there was nothing truly interesting on there except for the guest appearances, counting, among others, Night Flight Orchestra vocalist extraordinaire Björn Strid. Haven't been following Sinner in many years, but perhaps better to wrap it up.

I tried setting myself up to listen to the new Five Finger Death Punch album with an open mind and find something positive therein. And I lasted one and a half minutes (phrasing). Because it sounded like it did the other sorry times when I've heard them: As though created so as to be marketed towards that extremely specific kind of metalhead from the Boston/Jersey area that pumps iron, drives a hummer, votes Trump, and either goes for a career in the military, as a mall cop, or in what Americans call football. The production was just as digital as the album cover. The lyrics and verse meter read like nursery rhymes. The concrete expression of groove metal would have been hackneyed even 10 years ago. Everything these guys are doing has long been heard infinitely more faceted, challenging, inspiring, intelligent, and dangerous from Slipknot – Hell, even Lamb of God and aforementioned DevilDriver.

Finally, with "En Skog av Nidstang", norwegian black metal pride Taake has put out one of their (i.e., his) most experimental and, as such, uncompromising records. If I had granted this a review, that review might not have included a rating. And this is neither to be understood in a downright positive or negative way; this is simply because the album is so experimenting, bordering on avant-garde, that I am unable to properly assess whether it is extremely successful in what it sets out to accomplish, or fails at being a proper black metal album. It seems to have split the waters pretty solidly. And you can like it or not, but you can't argue with the fact that it's daring and that it tries out new things. Also, all else being equal, and unlike Five Finger Death Punch, it was still much, much better than "Lulu".

In the category of albums I didn't hear, there was a new Combichrist LP out that only got put on YouTube in the form of those playlists consisting of separate videos that only the fewest of uploaders actually take the time to put in proper order and often interject with videos from their own bands as a promotional stunt. So I couldn't be bothered. Guess we can all consider ourselves lucky.

I had time for one review in July, namely of the fine new record by Deep Purple. Apart from its Hammond-organ-tinged, all-round organic vibe, and, not the least, the quality level of songwriting that takes decades to accomplish, you couldn't necessarily tell that it was channeled and performed by guys in their late 70s and early 80s. Because the energy level, while far from, say, that of "Speed King" or "Fireball", was still impressive. You should give it a couple of spins. Ideally, of course, you already have, because of course you are into hard rock.

Travel-wise, I spent another couple of weeks in Bansko, Bulgaria, from whence I have  just recently moved on to Romania. Stay tuned for updates, and stay true to your goddamn scene.
 – Andy

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