Written By Kevin McSweeney
Welcome to Seven Deadly Songs, Metal Lair’s weekly feature in which we show that we’re grateful for tracks that are fatal. This week, we’ll be looking at some of the best albums and EPs to be released between the 24th and the 30th of November, and highlighting the songs that have us hungering for them.
We have the small matter of a live album by some little-known band called Dream Theater during that period. You might want to check that out to give them a start in their career. Also, we have the highly emotional event that is the final album by Lynch Mob, the hard rock institution founded by former Dokken guitarist George Lynch all the way back in 1989.
Dancing With The Devil is available from November 28th if you want to bid them a fond farewell. Our preference however is to look at bands who might not otherwise get the attention they deserve. So, with that in mind, here’s this week’s selections.
All We Leave Behind – Nailed to A Dark Fate
We begin with an exhausting trek up the French Alps – a journey for which it would be well advised to leave behind anything too weighty. So, goodness knows how they got anything as heavy as this to Grenoble.
All We Leave Behind deal in gothic-tinged doom/death metal, and this track, from their second full-length album In Absence of Light, bears a notable resemblance to Icon/Draconian Times-era Paradise Lost, albeit with a more conspicuously death metal vocal style.
The album is due to be released on November 28th, with the considerable backing of Argonauta Records. If you like your music dark and sombre, with a hint of Gallic sultriness, then this is your dark fate. Don’t leave it behind.
Darklon – Mind Reaper
What an immense contribution the Greeks have made to the world! Any country that gave us philosophy, democracy and moussaka is a country that knows what it’s doing.
They’ve also given us some incredible metal over the years, and Darklon’s third full-length album, Mind Reaper, is going to be a fine addition to that noble tradition, judging by the title track.
The Athenians might have a name that sounds like some kind of cleaning product, but more importantly, their riffs sound immense, the vocals are classic, and the drums sound as if they’re being pounded atop Mount Olympus.
Those with a penchant for power/epic heavy metal should note that, on November 28th, the new album will be gifted to us by the Gods, or by No Remorse Records. Either way, it’s a win.
Defamatory – Degrading Being
Next up, we head to South America for some superb death metal from Defamatory, who return with new material that has been seven deadly years in the making – not literally, we hope.
The Colombians release their second full-length album, Path of No Return, on November 28th via Awakening Records – their first release since 2017’s Premature Burial.
Degrading Being is the opening track from the new album, and its introductory tsunami of tremolo would have Kerry King nodding his approval.
The bulk of the track reminds me of Brutal Truth on their phenomenal debut album, Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses, but there’s some Cannibal Corpse trills in there as well. It’s a tour de force of classic extreme metal, and we can’t wait to hear the rest of the album.
Devilhusk – Vitriol
And vitriolic it most certainly is! This track was a single taken from the forthcoming Sleep LikeThe Dead EP from the Brighton-based metalcore band Devilhusk, which is due to be released independently on November 28th.
They’re fairly new, having only been around since 2023, and this is a highly promising way for the young British band to introduce themselves. It’s the good kind of metalcore as well – the shouty kind, in which the prevailing emotion is anger.
It’s very much at the Code Orange end of the spectrum, with just a little bit of a dalliance with techno to deviate from the metal. Their stated aim lyrically is “…tackling disillusionment with ideals and religion, self-doubt, anxiety or escapism.” Musically, their intention is clearly to kick some arse!
Malefic Throne – The Voice of My Ghost
I was drawn in by the album cover, which features some kind of horned angel, probably of the fallen variety, standing atop three coiled serpents and flanked by crepuscular rays, seemingly emanating from heaven.
I stayed, however, for the awesome death metal, which is all super-fast chromatic riffs, superhuman drumming and vocals seemingly emanating from the bowels of Hell. Comparisons to the likes of Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel will likely be made, and that’s no bad thing.
If you like your death metal distinctly old school, then the band’s debut album, The Conquering Darkness, which will be available from November 28th via Agonia Records. Oh, and where else could they possibly be from but Florida? There must be something in the water; alligators, in all likelihood!
Mourning Wood – End of Days
If only it were Beavis and Butthead reviewing this, rather than me! Finland’s Mourning Wood are sticking out from the rest of the releases this week as they go rock hard on their debut album, Murder of Crows, (which happens to be my second favourite collective noun, after a conspiracy of lemurs.)
Having been taken in hand by Inverse Records, their album will be popping up on November 28th. They’re certainly holding their own in the Finnish heavy metal scene with this sizable offering from an album that is bulging with big ‘uns.
Tunes, that is! They’ve got some impressive stuff under their belts, though some keyboards would have been nice. You can’t go wrong with a throbbing organ, in my opinion. Still, we can’t get enough of Mourning Wood here at Metal Lair, and can’t wait to get our hands on the 12-inch version.
Puritan Bone – Awaiting Lunar Absolution
Aren’t we all, chaps? Puritan Bone is quite a way to follow on from Mourning Wood, it has to be said!
This is some classic-sounding atmospheric black metal from the Dutch duo of T and Lethargor, whose debut album Ecstasy on The Frontier of Blood – I’m resisting the temptation to make a drug-related joke – was released on November 26th via Into Endless Chaos Records.
They certainly come up with some great titles! The production is rougher than any treatment that might be meted out in an Amsterdam sex dungeon, which is exactly how it should be with black metal.
We urge you not to wait for lunar absolution to indulge in their fare, otherwise we’ll have a bone to pick with you when we return in seven days for seven more deadly songs. Until then, keep it heavy!
Missed last week’s Seven Deadly Songs? You can find it right here
FAQ: Seven Deadly Songs (November 28th – December 4th 2025)
Q: What is Seven Deadly Songs?
A: Seven Deadly Songs is Metal Lair’s weekly roundup of the heaviest new releases across the metal spectrum from black and death to doom, thrash, and speed metal. 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 Metals Hidden Gems for rare, overlooked tracks or unreleased demos.
World Metal Weekly, your passport for metal around the world.
Metalhead Horoscopes shows you what the stars have in store, translated into metalhead language and paired with a lucky song of the week.
A Rip in Time: Women in Metal, A series celebrating the voices, pioneers, and rule-breakers reshaping heavy music’s DNA