Written By Kevin McSweeney
Welcome to Seven Deadly Songs, Metal Lair’s weekly feature where we bring you news of some of the week’s best new releases in the world of rock and metal, with a particular emphasis on those who have yet to achieve the level of recognition their talents deserve, with a word or two about releases from a few bigger names before we get started.
So, what do we have to offer you in terms of such releases from more established artists this week? Well, there’s the small matter of the return of Alestorm’s Christopher Bowes and his madcap Caledonian escapades in the form of the fifth full-length album from Gloryhammer. Space 1993: Wrath of Kor-Virliath is due to be released on October 16th via Napalm Records.
It’s sure to be an experience of some sort! We would also be very keen to steer you in the direction of Songs to Moon, the second installment of what I believe will be a trilogy from Ukrainian doom/stoner metal trio Stoned Jesus.
The album is also due to be released on the 16th, this time via Season of Mist, and a very fine review of it by Chris Norris can be found right here at Metal Lair. And with that, we present this week’s list.
Seven Deadly Songs: Carnation – Labyrinth of Silence
These Belgian bruisers are not to be confused with Green Carnation, the Norwegian progressive metal powerhouse of whom we are so fond, we saw fit to award them their own hub on our website.
Nor is their music to be confused with anything melodic, despite the introductory clean guitar arpeggios.
This is full-on death metal, though it does have a kind of dreamy quality to it, similar to the sound achieved by Morbid Angel on their charmingly-titled World of Shit (The Promised Land) from the Covenant album.
This bit of bludgeoning Belgian brutality is from Symphony in Flesh, their fourth full-length album, which is due to be released independently on October 16th. It’s one of a number of superb death metal albums to be released this week, as will become evident as the list progresses. It’s a heavy week this week!
Seven Deadly Songs: Insomnium – Arch of The Sky
Finland never lets us down. Melodic death metal veterans Insomnium are due to release Netherworlds, their 10th full-length album, via Century Media Records on October 16th, and if this elegant but intense track is anything to go by, it’ll be an example of the subgenre at its finest.
It’s just one of the week’s outstanding offerings from a nation that truly punches above its weight in terms of its musical output. For more melodic death metal finesse from Finland this week, we recommend the Raisu EP by Of Spite, which was released on the 14th via Inverse Records.
It’s a busy week for Inverse, as they will also be releasing the Horrors Unearthed EP by death metal band Erase This Earth on the 15th, and the Marionettes EP by melodic death metallers Morbid Intent on the 16th.
There’s also Illusion of Life by melodic metallers Plusminuszero, which is due on the 16th via Downfall Records. Like I said: Finland never lets us down.
Seven Deadly Songs: Master – Twas Always a Plan
I’m certainly glad somebody has always had a plan. If anything, I’ve mastered not having one. This is the first of three American offerings on our list this week.
We’ve neglected the USA in recent weeks, so we’re making up for it now. The Chicago-based trio are not just masters by name, as they have been purveying their particular blend of death metal and thrash metal for four decades.
They really ought to be in the legends section. This incendiary track is the opener on Among The Seeds of Death, which is due to be released on October 16th via Hammerheart Records.
Astonishingly, it will be their 16th full-length release in a career that has produced many other releases besides. Now that truly is masterful.
Seven Deadly Songs: Mother of Graves – The Silent Weight of The Stars
How could I fail to include something with such a poetic title? The Indianapolis melodic death/doom metallers clearly have a penchant for the poetic, as is evidenced by the title of their third full-length album, The Light That Keeps Us.
This follows on from 2024’s The Periapt of Absence and 2022’s Where The Shadows Adorn. Their latest euphonically-titled opus will be available from October 16th, courtesy of Profound Lore Records.
Other songs from it include A Moonlit Tryst and The Beggar’s Allegory. So, approach it with an expectation of beauty as well as brutality, and maybe have a dictionary handy.
For an equally appealing blend of melodic death metal and doom metal, we recommend Homesick, the fifth full-length album from Italy’s Shores of Null, which is also due on the 16th, courtesy of Dusktone.
Seven Deadly Songs: Sépulcre – Abyssum Drakon
No, not them! This isn’t the iconic Brazilian thrash/death/groove metal institution of a similar name, though the sound achieved by this Britanny-based band is not dissimilar to that of the Cavaleras and Co. on their first three albums.
This is French death metal at its finest, taken from their splendidly-named debut album, Cryptic Temple of Otherworldly Abhorrations, which is due to be released on October 16th via Invictus Productions.
For more French musical finery this week, we recommend Bury Me Beneath The Stars – how else would you bury someone? – by post-metal band Cloudy Skies, which is due to be released via Argonauta Records on the 16th, and bluesy progressive rock band Birdstone’s IV, which is also due on the 16th, courtesy of Harpyes Records.
Seven Deadly Songs: Streamer – Rock All Around
I’d be disappointed if we didn’t have at least a little bit of old-school heavy metal on our list, being both old and heavy myself.
Spanish metal señores Streamer have duly obliged us with this unashamedly ‘80s-style cut from their third full-length album, Into The Void, which is due to be released on October 16th via High Roller Records.
I berated Swedish thrashers Razorvoid for pilfering the title of my favourite Black Sabbath song in the October 2nd edition of Seven Deadly Songs. It would be remiss of me not to subject Streamer to similar censure.
As with the aforementioned Swedes, however, the music is so good, they may be forgiven for such a flagrant transgression! For more traditional metal this week, look to Germany’s Generation Steel, whose third full-length album, Steelmachine, is also out on the 16th, courtesy of Fireflash Records.
Seven Deadly songs: Throes – Eat Glass
We conclude this week’s list with a little something from our friends at Church Road Records, in the form of the second full-length album from Boise, Idaho’s Throes.
Their sound is a captivating blend of: “sludge, metallic hardcore, and doom-steeped aggression”, according to the label, whom I will quote at length.
The album: “…finds the band further exploring themes of loss, grief, self-hatred, corruption, climate collapse, and human fragility”, in their new material that: “…continues their tradition of confronting bleak emotional landscapes through dissonant punishing sonic intensity.”
They are notable not least for the fact that drummer Morgan Mechling provides lead vocals, which is highly unusual. The Colorless Light of Emptiness is due to be released on October 16th, and it’s a bleak but brilliant way to bring matters to a close this week. See you in seven for another seven!
Catch up on last week’s Seven Deadly Songs weekly weekly roundup”
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: 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:
Fail The Enemy Sandcastles EP Review: Gothic Synths Meet Alternative Metal
Album Review: Keep The Fire Burning by Mikey Ball and The Company
THE COLLAPSE OF A BITTER END ALBUM REVIEW: THE CARTOGRAPHER
Album Review: The Scars by LUGOSi
EP Review: Beyond The New Horizon by iAtlas
No algorithms. No fluff. No watered-down corporate metal coverage.
Subscribe to Metal Lair and get weekly underground features, Seven Deadly Songs, Deep Cuts, interviews, and original metal journalism sent directly to your inbox.
Join the patrons of Metal Lair
MetalLair.net is a metalzine muttering to itself about seo and blastbeats at 3 AM powered by caffeine, riffs, a severe lack of sleep, and a dog wondering why the human is still awake.
Sometimes it’s Kevin passing out mid Seven Deadly Songs.
Sometimes it’s digging up forgotten records no one else is talking about.
Always, it’s built for people who actually live this music.
If that sounds like you, you’re already one of us.
Supporting Metal Lair means keeping it independent, loud, and real with no corporate filters, no watered-down takes. If you want to help keep it alive…
Become a patron of Metal Lair.
HAVE A METALHEAD COMPLAINT?
“People roundhouse-kicking” in the pit grinding your gears? Gatekeepers questioning whether you’re “metal enough”? Frustrated with getting hit in the head by peoples smelly shoes at a concert?
Whatever’s poisoning your particular corner of the metal community, file an unofficial complaint with The Metal Lair Complaint Department.
Vent your venom. Name the offense. Make your case.