Notable Releases 4/24/2026

After many weeks with something of interest, last week there was nada. Nothing at all. It was almost weird not having new music to listen to. This week? A little different. It was a big week in the world of metal. A bittersweet release dropped, and we were all holding our breath, wondering how it would be. Good news — it’s really fucking good.

Let’s jump in.

Sepultura – The Cloud of Unknowing

Oh my, Sepultura. What a complicated journey it has been. Long one of Brazil’s most influential bands, there has been a lot of turmoil over the years. Founding brothers Max and Igor Calavera left years ago (Max in 97, Igor in 06), and have been bitching about the band continuing with the same name ever since. Never mind the fact that Paolo Jr. has been in the band the entire time, and Andreas Kisser has been lead guitarist and one of the main songwriters since 87. Anyway, there are those who think that every Sepultura album since Roots was bad and not Sepultura.

They are fucking morons.

Sepultura has been releasing absolute bangers for two decades since Max left the band. Sure, there have been some ups and downs, but seriously, so much good music in the last twenty years. But they have called it quits. This is the swan song EP. Farewell, and fuck off to the haters.

Grief Collector – The Death of All Dreams

Grief Collector plays epic, classic doom metal. With Rob Low on vocals, it seems like they just have to. The Death of All Dreams is their fourth album, and continues that classic doom sound. I don’t listen to Grief Collector as much as I ought, and firing this up reminded me of that fact. There is a feel to classic doom metal, something that harkens back to the roots of heavy metal, and I am here for it.

Avertat – Dead End Life

I’ve been a fan of the death-doom delivered by Décembre Noir for a number of years. They have delivered some of the most gut-wrenching music I have listened to in a long time. In 2024, founding guitarist and one of the primary songwriters, Sebastian Görlach, exited the band. Avertat is the result of that, and it hearkens back to his previous band, but doesn’t just repeat. Sebastian handles all the instruments here, as well as the death growls. However, he balances this with the clean vocals of Enrico Langguth, and that balance is excellent. I’ve only listened a little, but one minute of the first track was enough to get me to rush to Bandcamp to purchase this one.

A Dream of Poe – Katabasis: A Marriage Among Ashes

Boy, there must be something in the water, because shit is heavy.

Oh, wait, that’s just called every day. I suppose I will just embrace it by adding another platter of doom to the pile, this time with gothic and symphonic elements. I’d never heard of A Dream of Poe until I read the review of this one over on AngryMetalGuy.com. One listen of track 5, “The Captivity of Hesperus,” and I was again on my way to Bandcamp. Born out of personal tragedy, Katabasis is dark music for our dark reality.

Also, can I just say how great it is that we can connect from all over the world? A primarily one-man band from Portugal releases music, and main man, Miguel Santos, has the kindness to personally email me thanking me for buying his music.

That aside, this is great, beautiful, dark music. I love it.

At The Gates – The Ghost of a Future Dead

This is it, folks. One of the big releases of the year, and for a few different reasons. At The Gates is a legendary band. In 1995, they released Slaughter of the Soul, forever changing and influencing death metal, and even helping to give birth to what is still known as the Gothenburg sound. Then they split.

Almost 2 decades later, they got back together and in 2014 released At War with Reality, an excellent return to form. They’ve been continuing to release top-notch melodic death metal since. With that history, any At The Gates album is an event. Tragically, vocalist Tomas Lindberg was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma and subsequently died from the terrible and rare disease during the process of recording Ghost of a Future Dead. He’d recorded all the vocals in a single day before undergoing surgery and treatment for his cancer, and after he passed, the band finished the album.

The weight of the backstory could easily lead one to judge the album with a gentle touch. The good news is we don’t have to. The Ghost of a Future Dead is an excellent album and a powerful final statement from Lindberg. It isn’t clear what the future of the rest of the band is, but this is a hell of a final album if that is what it ends up being.