Written By Keven McSweeney
Welcome to Seven Deadly Songs, Metal Lair’s weekly feature where we bring to you crazy licks and buttock-bound kicks, courtesy of seven acts with standout tracks.
You find your humble scribe feeling weather-beaten and weary this week, as he ventured out a few days ago in Biblical wind and rain to witness the mighty Cryptopsy and 200 Stab Wounds live.
I still haven’t recovered from the pounding I took from the storm, nor the pounding I took to the ears courtesy of those fantastic bands.
Let us subject my tympanic membranes to another tempest here and now, courtesy of seven bands vying for your attention with new releases this week. These seven songs are going to be a Force 12 on the Beaufort Scale, so brace yourselves.
Hot Ram – Vimana Swamp
I really don’t want to know how our first entrants came up with that name, but the low-tuned trio from Atlanta, Georgia are giving it to us long, slow and hard for our opening selection.
We are treated to seven-and-a-half minutes of Sabbath-style stoner metal on the opening track of their forthcoming Near Fall EP, which is due to be released independently on January 30th.
It’s their first collection of songs to be released since 2021’s Electric Medicine and, if this colossal composition is anything to go by, it’ll be best enjoyed with a side order of somewhat illicit substances. Hell, I feel slightly under the influence just listening to it! Hot Ram? Hot damn!
Indica Blues – The Raven
What are Indica Blues? Are they like Parma Violets? Or are they little blue pills? I could probably do with some of those at my age, though the chance to use them would be a fine thing.
I digress. I was a bit worried that the second entry on our list might be a bit too similar to the first, as the psychedelic doom metal of this Oxfordshire quartet, much like the stoner metal of the previous entrants, is stamped indelibly with the mark of Iommi, Osbourne, Butler and Ward, Both were too good to omit, however.
The Raven is taken from their third full-length album Universal Heat Death, which will be available from January 31st courtesy of Majestic Mountain Records – a label that is a hallmark of quality when it comes to all things sludgy and stoned. Quoth the raven: let’s hear more!
For Ruin – The Blood of Earth
What in the blazes is going on in Cork at the moment? There’s some incredible music currently emerging from Ireland’s southernmost county, with alternative rockers The Last Vinci releasing a tremendous new single and a debut album about to drop from post-hardcore Cowboys from Hawlbowline, Uncultivates. (More about them next week!)
The veterans of the Rebel County metal scene are not to be outdone, however, as melodic black/death metal masters For Ruin have returned with their fifth full-length album, Painted in The Colours of War, which was released on January 29th via Gate of Doom Records.
This particular track is the perfect blend of plaintive melody and pummeling intensity from the Munster men, to whom all I can say is: maith sibh, a chairde!
Rave in Fire – Still Standing
At first, I thought this might be a techno remix of an Elton John classic from some EDM festival with a strong emphasis on pyrotechnics.
Instead, it’s retro 1980s-style heavy metal, featuring riffs that could have graced the Blizzard of Oz album and a superb vocal performance courtesy of the sublime Spanish pipes of Selene Perdiguero.
The Madrid-based melodic metallers are due to set us ablaze with their second full-length album Square One on January 30th via High Roller Records.
It’s a busy week for that label, as they will also be releasing Death is Your Master by Fili Bibiano’s Fortress and Exequiae by Lone Wanderer all of which are also worth your time.
Roth – Alles Endet
The title means “Everything Ends”, which immediately made me think of Everything Dies by the gothic metal grandees Type O Negative, but in truth, Alles Endet sounds more like Rammstein covering Paradise Lost.
Let’s be perfectly honest: any music featuring lyrics in the German language sung in a gruff baritone voice is going to end up being compared to Rammstein, but I defy anyone to tell me it doesn’t sound like the German icons of industrial metal covering something from the Icon album by the aforementioned English doom lords.
This is a father-and-son duo, comprising Michael and Quentin Roth. I believe this is their second album, after 2021’s Nachtgebete. It’s dark, brooding and beautifully bleak.
“Alles Endet”, set for release on January 30th, 2026 via Massacre Records on 2CD Mediabook and limited Vinyl LP.
Shine – Wrath of The Hammer
If I planned on forming a band that dealt primarily in a blistering blend of black metal and death metal, I probably wouldn’t call it Shine.
Any music-related searches of that name on YouTube will probably either bring up a soulful and earnest alternative rock anthem by Collective Soul, or the song of the same name by British boy band Take That.
I’d probably call the band Satanic Scrotal Abnormalities, or something along those lines, just to be on the safe side, but these pummeling Poles clearly don’t mind a bit of irony in their nomenclature.
I don’t actually know much about them beyond that, except that their album Wrathcult is due to be released on January 30th via Dark Descent Records.
Oh, and they don’t sound at all like Collective Soul or Take That. Of that much I can assure you!
Urne – The Spirit, Alive
We bring matters to a close this week with a bit of metropolitan metalcore from the loud and lively Londoners known as Urne.
They are set to release their third full-length album, Setting Fire to The Sky, via Spinefarm Records on January 30th, and it’s sure to be a benign blaze, judging by The Spirit, Alive.
From the pounding tom-toms of the intro and the iron-clad riffing of the verse, through to the bold and anthemic chorus, it all reminds me of when I first heard Killswitch Engage, evoking the exact same emotions.
It has to be said: it’s a brave choice to have a name that’s just one letter away from urine, but you can get away with it when your music is this good. And on that wee note, I’ll bid you farewell. Keep on rocking and I’ll see you next week.
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.