Written By Kevin McSweeney
Welcome to Seven Deadly Songs, Metal Lair’s weekly feature where we bring you news, badly expressed, of seven of the best. That’s seven of the best new albums and EPs of the week, and the songs that have us excited for them.
Our focus is on the artists who have yet to receive the level of attention they deserve. But first, a word on the more prominent bands with new material out this week.
It will cause a great deal of excitement to many that Black Veil Brides have returned with Vindicate, their seventh studio album of a star-studded twenty-year career. The album will be available from May 8th via Spinefarm.
Even more significant than that, however, is the return of Norwegian black metal pioneers Darkthrone, who follow on from last month’s live album As Wolves Among Sheep… Live in Oslo with the release of, remarkably, their 22nd full-length studio album.
Pre-Historic Metal will be available from May 8th via Peaceville, and it will surely demonstrate that they have lost none of their Transylvanian hunger. Now, for the list…
Abuser – Suspended in Torture
We wouldn’t normally support an abuser here at Metal Lair, but we’ll make an exception when the Abuser in question is a Polish thrash metal band, and the only thing they want to abuse is our ear drums.
Suspended in Torture is taken from their debut full-length album, titled Blood Marks. The vocal style and some of the riffing sounds more like what was coming out of Florida in the early 1990s than anything from the 1980s Bay Area or indeed German thrash scene, but who cares?
This is excellent extreme music, due to be released on May 7th via Xtreem Music. For more of a damn good thrashing this week, check out Eradikated’s Wiring of Violence, Scraper’s Infinite Journey and an EP called Systemic Disruption from Bloodkill, who hail from India. Now there’s a hotbed of thrash!
Chronic Hate – The Wrong
There’s some outstanding death metal heading our way this week. Take for example two fine releases coming out of the USA in the form of Cruel Face of War by Wisconsin’s Jungle Rot, and No Place of Warmth by Fort Worth’s Frozen Soul. Hell, let’s add a third in the form of Vigil by Lago from Phoenix, Arizona.
We turn to Italy for our list’s second entry, however, as Chronic Hate’s third full-length album, Defeating The Oblivion of Life, is too good to overlook, judging by its incendiary opening track, The Wrong.
It’s a brutal affair from start to finish, with riffs, solos, and drums faster than a Ferrari and delivered with more style than Armani.
The album is released on May 9th via Time to Kill Records, and it’ll have you wondering how The Wrong can be so right.
Conjuring – Aura
Regular readers, if any such beast exists, will be aware that I am partial to a black metal solo project, and I’ve conjured up a fine example of one this week, courtesy of the ridiculously talented Swiss multi-instrumentalist Alvar.
His Conjuring project releases its fourth full-length album, Memento Mori, on May 8th via Hypnotic Dirge Records.
Aura is nearly seven minutes in duration, and is bleak, brutal and beautiful all at once.
It features a plaintive melody played on an instrument that sounds strikingly similar to Irish Uillleann pipes. That’s certainly one way to get my attention!
One thing puzzles me, though. Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries on this Earth. How could anyone gaze upon Lake Geneva, or look up at those stunning mountains and feel anything other than joy in their heart? You can’t make black metal with joy in your heart! That said, they did also give us Dignitas.
Restless Spirit – The Burning Need
It wouldn’t ordinarily be a need that’s burning when it comes to a stoner metal band. Something would be burning, of course, but not a need.
Obviously, I’m talking about joss sticks. What else would they be burning? Long Island’s Restless Spirit are about to release their eponymously-titled fourth full-length effort on May 8th via Magnetic Eye Records.
The nebulous New Yorkers open the album with this groove-laden belter of a track, the chorus of which is so catchy, you’ll have the munchies for it.
I have no idea how Paul Aloisio manages to play such intricate riffs whilst simultaneously handling lead vocal duties, but such is life when you’re the frontman of a heavy trio. Reward these sterling efforts with your attention, please!
Saasta – The Envy
Apparently, “saasta” means “filth”, “smut”, “impurity” or “dirt” in Finnish. This is unfortunate, as this band caught my eye due to their name being similar to the word “sasta” from my own native tongue, which means “happy”.
Don’t get the two confused. Also, don’t confuse them with sadza, which is a kind of cornmeal dumpling from Zimbabwe.
How to define their sound? Well, they had an EP called Black/Death/Doomback in 2023, and I guess that covers it. As alluded to earlier, they’re from Finland, which is usually a good sign when it comes to new heavy music.
As is the fact that Cesspool, their second full-length effort, is due to be released via Inverse Records. That label is a hallmark of excellence in Scandinavian metal.
The album is due out on May 8th, and you’ll be far from finished with Finnish music if you give it a listen.
Sense of Fear – Empathy to Darkness
The West Macedonian metal machine that is Sense of Fear are about to release their second full-length album Infernal Decayon May 8th via Sleaszy Rider Records.
Judging by Empathy to Darkness, which was the first single to be released from the album, and is also its title track, we can expect classic-sounding heavy metal that leans decidedly in the direction of thrash, very much in the same vein as Painkiller-era Judas Priest.
Frontman Ilias Kytidis might not threaten glass in the same way as Rob Halford but his is a fine metal vocal performance nonetheless, and the guitar solo is exquisite!
For more outstanding Greek metal, see the ever-reliable Yoth Iria. The Athenian black metal juggernaut release Gone With The Devil, also on the 8th, via Metal Blade.
Wolfpack Heading Nowhere – Over The Tide
We’re ending our list back where we started it: in Poland. Over The Tide was the first single from the eponymously-titled debut album from Gdańsk goths Wolfpack Heading Nowhere, which is due to be released on May 8th via Piranha Music.
Comparisons with Him will surely abound, and they will not be entirely misplaced, though comparisons with heavier bands of a dark and brooding bent such as Tiamat or Moonspell wouldn’t be entirely baseless either.
I can also hear the influence of the English gothic rock bands of the 1980s, particularly The Mission.
Astonishingly, they only formed last year, or so I’m led to believe. And they’re debuting with music of this quality already!
Ironically, Wolfpack Heading Nowhere are definitely heading somewhere, and fast! For more glorious gothic metal released this week, see Motus Tenebrae’s In Sorrow’s Requiem and Draconian’s In Somnolent Ruin, and we’ll see you in seven for another seven.
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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: Infected Dead’s Invicta Is Technical Death Metal With Teeth
EP Review: Knowing It Shall Wake by Olympus
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