Written By Keven McSweeney
Welcome to Seven Deadly Songs, Metal Lair’s weekly feature where we select a song or seven to send you to Hell or Heaven, depending on your preference.
What a week we’re having in the world of metal! We have new releases from some major artists, including Rotting Christ, with a re-recording of their classic 2010 album Aealo Via Season of Mist Records.
We also have the return of Poppy with her new album Empty Hands (ironically titled, given that her male fans often have at least one hand full when appreciating her body… of work.)
Oh, and we also have a self-titled album from some up-and-coming unknown band called Megadeth, so good luck to them, whoever they are.
As ever, it’s the releases that might otherwise escape your attention that we prefer to focus upon. So, on with the show!
Colossal Rains – Deadlights
I don’t know much about our opening outfit, which is odd. As someone who lives in the UK, you’d think I’d be highly knowledgeable about precipitation in enormous amounts.
I presume they’re named after the track from Paradise Lost’s magnum opus Icon. I know for certain that they’re from Philadelphia, and I believe that Feral Sorrow, which is due to be released on January 23rd via Memory Music, is their debut full-length album.
They’re billed as a blend of post-hardcore, alternative metal and grunge, but what I’m hearing is more than a little bit doomy.
Those lead guitar melodies could have come from the funereal fretboards of Mackintosh and Aedy, and the vocal performance isn’t as far from that of Nick Holmes on the aforementioned iconic album as Pennsylvania is from the Yorkshire’s mournful moors. This could actually be a case of Paradise Regained from Colossal Rains.
Concrete – Midnight Demigod
OK, so it’s maybe the sort of song title you’d expect from Electric Callboy, but this is actually a solid bit of death metal from Bulgaria’s Concrete, with huge Cannibal Corpse-style chromatic riffs and vocals reminiscent of erstwhile Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent.
The Eastern European quartet have been active since 2011, and they’ve been treating us to their particular brand of brutality since 2012’s Annihilation of Humans EP.
The breezeblock to the balls of a track that we’re focusing on today is from their fifth full-length album, Absent Mortality, which is due to be released on January 23rd, and Rebirth The Metal Productions are to be held responsible.
With a name like that, I’ll happily forgive the label for inflicting such blunt force trauma upon an unsuspecting public, quite frankly.
Hellrazer – Fight to The Death
I’m somewhat dubious about the nomenclature. To raze Hell and to raise Hell are two very different concepts, and it’s with the latter that we are more readily concerned in the raucous realm of rock and metal, surely.
I’m not dubious at all about the music, however, as these cacophonous Canadians have graced us with some gleaming sonic steel that is straight out of the Painkiller playbook.
It’s fast-paced, thrash-adjacent heavy metal with rolling kick drums and squealing solos all over the place.
It even commences with a drum intro and switches the snare to the first and third beats of the bar in the chorus in homage to the meisterwerk of the Brummie masters of metal, the mighty Judas Priest.
The track is from their fifth full-length album, due to be released independently on January 22nd, titled Serve The Machine. (I’m dubious about that name also. Aren’t we supposed to rage against it?)
Karloff – Crown Cult Fate
These noisy buggers from north-west Germany deliver barnstorming punk energy combined with black metal vocals on Crown Cult Fate, a standout track from their second full-length album Revered by Death, which is due to be released on January 23rd under the auspices of Dying Victims Productions.
It’s a busy week for that label, with releases such as Barbarian’s Reek of God and Syrion’s Symphony of Horror also on their plate.
Love the cover art on the latter!) Apparently, they’re a three-piece, though recent promotional photos suggest they might be a duo.
I’m not entirely sure, but one thing I would definitely love to see is Karloff collaborating with the Japanese band Boris. Make it happen, someone!
New Mexican Doom Cult – Cloudrider
What’s with all these cults this week? Furthermore, is this a new doom cult from Mexico or a doom cult from the US state of New Mexico?
It’s all so confusing. Well, the answer is neither as it turns out. In fact, they’re from Sweden, and their super-groovy stoner/doom metal sound is far removed from the melodic death metal and power metal that I have come to expect from the artists of that proud Scandinavian nation.
Nils Ahnland’s vocals are like a blend of Ozzy Osbourne and Ian Astbury, and it’s an intoxicating blend indeed.
Cloudrider is taken from their second full-length album Ziggurat, which is due to be released independently on January 23rd. I shudder to think what kind of cloud they’re riding, however.
Nite Stinger – Only You
The name under which these boys from Brazil are operating is like something I’d expect to find in Roger Mellie’s Profanisaurus.
The sound, however, is more like something you’d have encountered on the Sunset Strip in the 1980s.
Only You takes us straight back to that celebrated decade, not least because the song shares a title with the UK Christmas Number One single from 1983 by The Flying Pickets.
It’s the kind of smooth and slickly-produced hair metal that you used to get from the likes of Dokken and Tesla back in the day.
The track is taken from What The Nite is All About, their second full-length album, which will be bestowed upon us by Pride & Joy on January 23rd.
The only drawback is that it has me mourning the loss of the head of hair that used to be my pride and joy. Now that’s what I call a stinger.
Shadowmass – Into Wastelands
Look, it wouldn’t be like me not to do things arse-about-face, so it’s with that particular predilection in mind that I’ve decided to close this week’s column with an offering from an album that came out at the beginning of the week.
Wastelandsis the second full-length outing for this glorious Greek trio, and was released on January 19th courtesy of Floga Records. The (sort of) title track was the first single to be released from the album.
Some define their sound as speed/thrash metal; others categorise it as blackened heavy metal, though they’re leaning to the more extreme end of things on this number, with those carpal tunnel syndrome-inducing opening riffs, which lead into full-on, pedal-to-the-metal fury and vocals that are raspy and rhapsodic at the same time.
And with that over-the-top image, I bring matters to a close for another week. See you in seven days for seven more deadly songs!
Missed last week’s Seven Deadly Songs? You can find it right here
Seven Deadly Songs is A Metal Lair™ Original Series
SEVEN DEADLY SONGS Q&A
Q: What is Seven Deadly Songs?
A: Seven Deadly Songs is Metal Lair’s weekly roundup of the heaviest new releases across the full metal spectrum. Each week we spotlight seven standout tracks you shouldn’t miss.
Q: When does Seven Deadly Songs update?
A: We post a new edition every Friday, typically highlighting weekly new releases.
Q: Where can I find the best new metal songs?
A: Right here. Seven Deadly Songs is your go-to source for discovering the latest metal tracks including fresh black, death, thrash, doom, and speed metal releases, all curated in one place.
Q: How can I listen to the songs featured?
A: Every featured track links out to the artist’s official release, streaming platform, or label page so you can dive deeper and support the bands directly.
Q: Does Metal Lair have other weekly series?
A: Absolutely, Try:
- Deep Cuts – Hidden gems and lost recordings from rock and metal history.
- Metalhead Horoscopes – Weekly forecasts laced with riffs, attitude, and a lucky song for every sign.
- World Metal Weekly – A global passport through the underground, one country at a time.
- Women in Metal –
A series celebrating the voices, pioneers, and rule-breakers reshaping heavy music’s DNA. - Ministry of Metal – A satirical authority devoted to the laws, rituals, and unspoken rules of heavy music. Proclamations, decrees, cultural edicts, and metal lore delivered with humor and bite.
- Metal Legacy Profiles –
Deep dive essays honoring artists who shaped metal’s sound, culture, and philosophy. These aren’t timelines or greatest-hits lists, but examinations of impact, conflict, evolution, and what each figure left behind.
About The Author
Kevin McSweeney is Metal Lair’s resident scribe of the underground, eternally rummaging through the global metal scene for riffs worth your time.
As the guiding hand behind Seven Deadly Songs every Friday, he has an uncanny knack for finding the track you didn’t know you needed, usually before finishing his pint.
Equal parts loyal, kind, and quietly razor-witted, Kevin brings deep knowledge, impeccable taste, and a steady, reliable presence to Metal Lair.
Support Metal Lair
Metal Lair runs on passion, riffs, and far too much coffee. If you enjoy the interviews, reviews, and recurring series, you can support the site here: