Weekly Review Roundup: Monday 15th September 2025 – Friday 19th September 2025
From powerful gothic doom, to nostalgia laden metal, and profound experimentation, to potent post and blackgaze, modern core chaos, and harsh, but beautiful, heaviness. We’ve reviewed some great releases this week, and here’s our weekly reminder of what has been covered.
Paradise Lost – Ascension (Nuclear Blast)
With an over-three decade career, some of the most iconic metal albums ever released, and with a reputation for reinvention, it should come as no surprise that this new album from Paradise Lost is as attention-grabbing and head-turning as any that came before. An album that is varied, sees them lean into more ‘straight-forward’ metal territories, and deliver a cacophony of glorious gothic heaviness, dark doom, solemn melody, as only they can.
Check out the full review here.
Kittie – Spit XXV (Sumerian Records)
There’s nothing to complain about here, and these versions don’t replace the originals, so if you prefer them, have at it. However, for the rest of us, it’s a chance to drown in nostalgia and appreciate just how far this band has come. All hail Kittie.
Check out the full review here.
Igorrr – Amen (Metal Blade Records)
I think it’s fair to say that you never know quite what you’re going to get with Igorrr, but you can be confident that it is going to be unique. There are few bands as respected as them, no matter a person’s taste, and that’s all because they constantly push boundaries. Which, to what should be the surprise of no one, is the case again here. Where, alongside a list of impressive collaborators, Igorrr push the limitations of music, force minds to open, and create a sonic landscape that is impossibly layered. Without any hyperbole at all, what we have here is profound music.
Check out the full review here.
Heretoir – Solastalgia (AOP Records)
Describing emotional and existential distress caused by the loss of the natural world, environmental change and the concept of home, Solastalgia is a very powerful listen. One that expands well beyond the genre trappings of post metal and blackgaze, even if it will find a lot of fans from both those sides. Alongside those who like their metal to have emotional depth, layers of soaring melodic beauty, and intense heaviness. A lot of people are going to love this, and for good reason.
Check out the full review here.
Soulkeeper – Join Us In Creating Excellence (Pure Noise Records)
There are some really cool ideas here, and some real talent to put them into practice, especially when you take into account that the overall goal of Soulkeeper seems to be to create chaos, if these four tracks are anything to go on.
Check out the full review here.
Æl-Fierlen – All Is Far Away (Self Released)
A haunting style of blackgaze that stays with you long afterwards, Æl-Fierlen’s All is Far Away is an easier album to digest, as far as heaviness goes, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that it’s not an intense listen, because it is. It just so happens that the intensity comes from a more melodic place, a more atmospheric place, and a more beautiful place.
Check out the full review here.
Sunniva – Hypostasis (Svart Records)
Come, wallow, if you dare. Putting it simply, it’s harsh and horrible, but also beautiful and immersive. A spectacular combination of heavy noise.
Check out the full review here.
