Written By Keven McSweeney
Welcome to Seven Deadly Songs, Metal Lair’s weekly feature in which we highlight a song from seven of the best newly-released albums and EPs of the week, with a particular emphasis on those artists who have yet to achieve the level of exposure their talents deserve.
There’s a lot of exciting stuff coming out this week. Most exciting of all for me is the return of NYHC heavyweights Madball, whose 10th full-length album, Not your Kingdom, will be released on July 24th via Nuclear Blast.
Formed in the late 1980s by Roger Miret and Vinny Stigma of Agnostic Front, and still featuring Miret’s half-brother Freddy Cricien on vocals, they are hardcore royalty and should be treated with all the reverence that entails.
Also, keep an eye out for Hun, the third full-length album from Mongolian folk metal band The Hu, who are fresh from their appearance at Eddfest in support of Iron Maiden at Knebworth in England.
The album is due to be released also on the 24th via Better Noise. If they’re good enough for Iron Maiden, they’re good enough for us.
Lastly, we dedicate this week’s column to L7 bassist Jennifer Finch, who sadly lost her battle against an aggressive form of brain cancer last week. The Bricks Are Heavy album will always be an enduring classic of the grunge era, and they were one of the best things to come out of LA when the world’s eyes were on Seattle. Rest in power, Jennifer.
Seven Deadly Songs: Coven Japan – Samurai Rising
I bet you can’t guess where this band is from! The trad metal titans from Tokyo open our list this week with a scintillating track from Promised Land, their second full-length album, which is due to be released on July 24th via No Remorse Records.
It is the follow up to their 2023 debut Earthlings. With its harmonised lead guitars, strong sung vocals and supremely catchy chorus, Samurai Rising could very easily be from the golden era of classic metal.
There’s also a chanted section, which must be great fun in a live setting, before a splendid solo. Vocalist Taka is flying the flag for women in hard rock and metal, something of which Jennifer Finch would surely be proud.
Seven Deadly Songs: Faustian – I Curse You
I can only assume that Melbourne-based black metal trio Faustian are actually meant to be called Fanhausen with a title like that! (IYKYK!) It’s actually brave to commit to a black metal aesthetic in Australia, as all that hot, sweaty weather is not as forgiving on corpse paint as the icy fjords of Norway, and it’s not a kind environment for wearing lots of black clothing.
The track is taken from their gloriously-named debut album Parable of The Sewer, which is due to be released on July 24th via Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings.
Why not make a pact with them to give it a go? On a related note this week, check out Litosth’s Dreaming. Also, check out Ripper’s Towards Rebirth. The latter is not black metal, but “ripper” is my favourite bit of Aussie slang.
Seven Deadly Songs: Into Darkness – Uranus
The band is called Into Darkness and the song is called Uranus. It’s going to take a tremendous amount of will power for me not to descend into Beavis and Butthead mode.
On this one. There’s an astral theme with all the song titles on Route To The Outer Side, which is the debut full-length album from this female-fronted Italian doom/death metal trio, despite them having been around since 2011.
They could have gone to Uranus and back in that time! The album is due to be released on July 24th via Dying Victims Productions.
I think it will have been worth the wait! We also recommend Austrian band Castiel’s EP All Returns to Hollow and Silence, released via Seek and Strike on the 24th also, for more deathly musical dealings.
Seven Deadly Songs: REZN – Rites of Passage
I’ve no idea what the band’s name means, nor why it’s all in capitals. I could do some actual journalism, I suppose, but where’s the fun in that? The Chicago natives deal in psychedelic doom and stoner metal, so it could be an oblique reference to cannabis resin, but I’m not sure.
What I am sure of, however, is that this is an absolute belter of a track from their sixth album in nine years, with plenty of other releases under their belts besides. They might be stoners, but they’re certainly not slackers. The album is due to be released on July 24th via Sargent House, and is titled Cycles in The Infinite Dream.
I can’t deny them. Infinity is hard to comprehend. I couldn’t hear music that’s this good even in my wildest dreams.
Seven Deadly Songs: Sallow Moth – Distended in Panglacial Advent
I’m old enough to remember when Carcass used to give their songs titles that sent you scurrying in the direction of the dictionary.
The Dallas-based progressive death metal band, whose name sounds like that of a World War II aircraft, have given us an entire album full of bafflingly-titled songs in the form of Hydrophilous Brood.
It’s their fourth full-length effort, and is due to be released on July 24th via Willowtip Records. The sesquipedalian Texans bestow upon us a sound that is as complex musically as it is lyrically, and as crushingly heavy as it is complex.
It won’t be the only occurrence of progressive music on this week’s list either, so keep those dictionaries handy.
Seven Deadly Songs: Spread The Disease – Gods and Politics
Canada’s Spread The Disease, who may or may not have taken inspiration from Anthrax for their name, present us with a first here on Seven Deadly Songs, as I don’t think we’ve ever covered blackened metalcore before.
Having said that, the lead single from The Darkness, The Dread, The Suffering, which is their third full-length album – and first in 27 years! – skews heavily towards the blackened element of their sound.
In fact, on this track at least, I’m not hearing much metalcore at all. The album is due to be released on July 21st via Hypaethral Records. Once again, I’m sure it’s worth the wait.
For more metalcore-related music released this week, look no further than Grave Seeker, the second full-length album from Washington’s Tyraels Ascension. You’ll definitely hear the metalcore on that one.
Seven Deadly Songs: The Vicious Head Society – The Edge of Time
For our final entry this week, we head to the historic town of Ennis, Co. Clare in the mid-west of Ireland. It wouldn’t be a hotbed of progressive metal, but it has given us The Vicious Head Society, and with a name like that, they could only be Irish.
The Edge of Time is taken from Call of The Void, their third full-length album, which is due to be released via Crime Records on July 24th.
There’s a lot in this track, with elements of prog, but also nu-metal and industrial metal, sounding at various times like Korn, Muse, Devin Townsend and even Static X with that “losing my mind” refrain.
It’s an excellent way to bring the column to a close in a sad week when we remember Jennifer Finch and thank her for her immense contribution to the music we love. See you in seven for another seven, hopefully under happier circumstances.
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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 – Metal’s 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. Features proclamations, decrees, cultural edicts, metal lore, and an original comic book series, all 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.
- Road Riffs: Metal On The Map – We take metal beyond the speakers and onto the highway, exploring legendary venues, scene-defining cities, historic landmarks, local haunts, and travel stops tied to real
metal scenes around the world that every metalhead should experience.
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.
Read More From This Author:
EP Review: The Liminal Tapes by Mercers
Wailin’ Storms The Arsonist Review
Witchsorrow Album Review: The Devil and All His Works
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