Written By Kevin McSweeney
Seven Deadly Songs: Your Essential Weekend Playlist
Welcome to Seven Deadly Songs, Metal Lair’s weekly metal roundup where we look at some of the best new metal songs and releases of the week in the world of rock and metal and highlight the songs that have us excited for them.
The month of March is upon us, and we have a number of significant releases by some of the biggest names in metal to look forward to over the next few weeks, with perhaps the most noteworthy of this week’s offerings being the live album by groove/industrial metal pioneers Prong, Live and Uncleansed.
Available from March 6th via Steamhammer, sees the innovative New Yorkers at their brutal best in front of an enthralled audience.
They were making the music of the 1990s before the 1990s even happened, and Metal Lair salutes them accordingly.
As ever, though, it’s the legends of tomorrow that we prefer to focus on here, and with that in mind, here’s this week’s list.
Acranius – Prove Them Wrong
Speaking of brutality at its best, we will open our account this week with one minute and 42 seconds of snarling intensity from Rostock-based rage merchants Acranius.
The German brutal deathcore band have been battering our eardrums for fifteen years at this stage, and they return with their fifth full-length album Whiteout on March 6th, via the aptly-named Blood Blast Distribution. It is indeed a brief and bloody blast of bludgeoning brilliance.
The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that this track has a very similar title to that of an album by the NYC legends mentioned in the intro. This is absolutely true, but it’s not why I’ve included it. I’ve included it purely and simply because it kicks “das Gesäß.”
Desert Storm – Law Unto Myself
I suppose Oxford is a southern city, insofar as it’s located in the south of England. Still. this is the sort of sound you’d expect to emanate from Birmingham, Alabama, rather than a prestigious and prosperous city some sixty miles south of Birmingham in the UK.
One might argue that their southern-tinged stoner metal sound is incongruous with regard to its surroundings, and perhaps even inauthentic, but you’d struggle to make a case that it’s not good.
I was reluctant to include a band named after a Middle Eastern conflict, given the unfortunate nature of current global events, but the apparent quality of their seventh full-length album Buried Under The Weight of Reason, which is available via Heavy Psych Sounds Records from March 6th, gave me reason enough to overlook the nomenclature.
Mega Colossus – Battlefront
Mega Colossus have been tearing up and down the Rhodes… Sorry, roads since 2005. Originally known simply as Colossus, the traditional metal troubadours from Raleigh, North Carolina changed their name to avoid being confused with umpteen other American bands named Colossus.
Their fifth full-length album will be available via Cruz del Sur Music from March 6th and is titled Watch Out!
The riffs are raucous, the vocals are voracious and the solos simply shred! Above all else, it’s tremendous fun, and will leave you with a big smile on your face, and isn’t that exactly what you want from old-school metal? It’s mega! It’s colossal! It’s Battlefront!
Nefastis – Stardust
This is not to be confused with the Nat King Cole classic, nor is it to be confused with the dance act that gave us Music Sounds Better With You or indeed the questionable character portrayed in WWE by Cody Rhodes.
In fact, it’s quite an odd choice of title for a melodic death/thrash metal number, but the second single from the second full-length album by Milan’s mosh pit maestros Nefastis kicks no less “didietro” for that.
The album is titled Shadows at The Light of Dawnand will be available from March 6th via Rockshots Records.
I love the intricate interplay between the guitars and synths – immaculately stitched together, as is only to be expected, coming as it does from one of the fashion capitals of the world.
Temple of Void – Soulburn
I’m going to let Temple of Void’s Bandcamp bio do the heavy lifting here, as it describes them excellently, plus I’m lazy. ToV is an uncompromising collaboration from the depths of Detroit,” that “…entered this world with singular focus and methodical execution from the start.”
The start in question came for the Michigan quintet in 2013, and they are about to release their fifth full-length album, The Crawl, on March 6th via Relapse Records.
As the bio continues: “ToV harkens back to the somber sound of early British doom, while channeling the energy and devastation of old school American death metal.”
I love the way the guitar arpeggios and eerie synths hint at a mournful melody that is at odds with Mike Erdody’s vocals, which remain resolutely death metal throughout.
Having voided myself after many a “crawl”, I’m glad to be able to savour one that doesn’t involve a change of clothes.
Triumpher – Black Blood
The more pedantic among you might be irked by their name, though I’m going to bear in mind that their English is a lot better than my Greek.
What won’t irk you, however, is the quality of their music, if you happen to be of a power metal persuasion.
The Athenian-based purveyors of Hellenic heaviness are handing down a triumphant third full-length album from Mount Olympus, in the form of Piercing The Heart of The World, which will be available from March 6th, courtesy of No Remorse Records.
Frontman Mars Triumph might have an odd name but there’s no denying the superhuman capacity of those godly Greek lungs, nor the fact that the standard of musicianship throughout is as high as the peak of Mytikas. (I’ll be cringing to myself over that one later.)
Vreid – From These Woods
Our final selection of the week is a truly beautiful piece of music in many respects, which is not something of which I would once have imagined black metal to be capable – particularly at the time when the churches of Norway were being reduced to smouldering ruins.
From These Woods is a plaintive piece of melodic black metal, though it still contains much in the way of blast beats and banshee shrieks, as is customary for the subgenre.
The Norwegians, who have been around since 2004 and whose name means “wrath” in their mother tongue, are about to release their tenth full-length album, The Skies Turn Black, via the confusingly-named Indie Recordings on March 6th.
That sort of longevity should be rewarded with your attention, just as surely as bears defecate in these woods. And on that charming note, we’ll see you in seven for another seven.
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. 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.
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