Let's start with the obvious problem: How can a band named after a juvenile punchline release an album titled Saudade? That’s Portuguese for a deep, melancholic yearning for something absent, for that sweet sorrow of missing something that might never come back. This is Deez Nuts, the band that basically defined Party Hardcore for a generation. It’s like watching your grizzled, perpetually drunk uncle suddenly start reciting Romantic poetry.
And yet, it works.
Saudade is the sound of frontman JJ Peters and the crew looking back over two decades of absolute chaos and realizing that even the most hedonistic party eventually stops. This album is leaner, punchier, and far more focused than their earlier work, ditching some of the previous filler for ten tracks of pure, concentrated fury that rarely break the three-minute mark. It's the sound of maturity delivered via a baseball bat to the face.
The Australian/International line-up is tight as hell, laying down a foundation of propulsive, two-step rhythms laced with their signature hip-hop cadence. ICU explodes out of the gate with relentless energy, serving as a brutal reminder that speed and aggression are still the priority. But the darkness immediately creeps in with Kill This Shit, a self-aware, venomous track that balances Peters' signature spitfire vocals against chunky, pit-ready breakdowns.
The thematic shift is what holds the attention. Tracks like Russian Roulette and Uncut Gems tap directly into that Saudade concept, they aren't just angry, they're reflective, dealing with past relationships, personal loss, and the mental toll of life on the road. The swagger hasn't evaporated, it's just been weaponized with emotional depth. When you hit Hang The Hangman, featuring Andrew Neufeld of Comeback Kid, you get that perfect fusion of melodic hardcore urgency mixed with that metallic street grit. It’s impossible not to throw a chair.
If you thought Deez Nuts were just a gag, Saudade is the album that demands you pay attention, even as they throw the party. It's heavy, it's honest, and it’s a brilliant realization that being sentimental doesn't mean you can't still burn the house down. It’s Hardcore, refined and slightly heartbroken. You need this. 8/10
Wretched - Decay (Metal Blade Records) [Sasa]
If you like bands like Infant Annihilator or Dying Fetus then you will love wretched, they are a band formed in 2005 and have worked on tour along side bands like Trivium and Job For A Cowboy. This new album is definitely something.
Decay is a great album; it gives us diversity within the album which is 12 songs and over an hour in length. It has you head banging to dancing to the beautiful riffs that feel like it is calling for you. My favourite song is Radiance, and it has a slow melodic riff and heavy deathly vocals, the drums do not overpower but synchronise with the guitar and it is honestly just beautiful, this song is slightly more instrumentally focus than the other songs and it is just so well done.
Another song I quite liked is Clairvoyance it gives off a country/game soundtrack, vastly different from the earlier tracks on the album. It just seems like the band did whatever they wanted, and I am here for it; I love when bands do not set on a genre, explore many others, and incorporate it. They definitely experimented and they achieved all the remarkable results that were possible. The instrumentals are amazing on every track, especially in the song the Golden Tide, I loved how much bass there was it added that oomph it was definitely the star of the show, the drums were fast paced, and the guitar was so melodic, you just cannot hate it or find anything wrong with it.
I genuinely can not find any faults with this album whatsoever, I love it every song was excellent from the vocals to riffs, it is definitely one of my favourite new albums. 8/10
Old Year – No Dissent (Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings) [Spike]
If the Doom/Death scene ever decides to name its official sound, it should just point a microphone at whatever Old Year is doing. This four-track, thirty-six minute slab of pure Idaho misery is exactly what you need when you realize existential dread is actually quite a comfortable blanket. This isn't just heavy; this is tectonic pressure applied directly to your eardrums. It’s the kind of album that makes you feel the weight of the entire planet pressing down.
The key to this entire record, the thing that immediately draws you in and then pins you down, is the distortion. It’s not simply fuzz or crunch. the guitars on No Dissent sound less like instruments being played and more like heavy objects being dragged across rusted concrete. It’s a pure, grating friction that gives the entire production a sepulchral weight. Every chord shift feels less like a progression and more like a decaying building collapsing in slow motion, yet somehow, it all holds together with a sickening, rigid structure.
The tracks themselves are massive, atmospheric environments. Death Frequency sets the tone with a deliberate, agonizing pace. It establishes the central rhythm, a slow, relentless beat that functions like a death knell before gradually introducing layers of melody buried so deep beneath the distortion that they feel like distant, forgotten memories. It’s an eight-minute masterclass in how to build tension without ever speeding up.
Then you have Rotting Illusion, which takes the core atmosphere and injects a subtle but palpable malevolence. It’s here that the composition truly shines, moving beyond simple genre adherence into something far more psychological. The vocals are precisely what they need to be: a hollow, guttural growl that sounds perpetually buried, like the earth itself trying to spit out a secret it promised to keep. This track, and indeed the entire EP, refuses the typical Doom/Death pitfall of meandering aimlessly. These aren’t songs you put on in the background. they are environments that envelop you completely.
The genius of Old Year is how they manage to sound both subterranean and vast. That colossal guitar texture creates immense walls of sound, yet the minimal production keeps everything raw and personal. This isn’t a clean, clinical statement. this is raw emotional decay delivered with crushing force. This album refuses to let you relax. there is No Dissent allowed, not in the music, and certainly not from the listener. They just wrap you in sonic cement and leave you to contemplate the ceiling for half an hour. Fantastic. 9/10
Perishing - Malicious Acropolis Unveiled (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Sasa]
A band form Costa Rica that makes doom death metal have released 6 songs totalling up to 44 minutes in length. The bands new album titled malicious acropolis unveiled. This is their first album, and it is honestly exceptionally good. This album is slow yet somehow still dark and heavy and honestly it is a really unique album. To find something so slow but heavy is rare but to find bands who can combine the two and do it well is even more rare.
Old Year – No Dissent (Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings) [Spike]
If the Doom/Death scene ever decides to name its official sound, it should just point a microphone at whatever Old Year is doing. This four-track, thirty-six minute slab of pure Idaho misery is exactly what you need when you realize existential dread is actually quite a comfortable blanket. This isn't just heavy; this is tectonic pressure applied directly to your eardrums. It’s the kind of album that makes you feel the weight of the entire planet pressing down.
The key to this entire record, the thing that immediately draws you in and then pins you down, is the distortion. It’s not simply fuzz or crunch. the guitars on No Dissent sound less like instruments being played and more like heavy objects being dragged across rusted concrete. It’s a pure, grating friction that gives the entire production a sepulchral weight. Every chord shift feels less like a progression and more like a decaying building collapsing in slow motion, yet somehow, it all holds together with a sickening, rigid structure.
The tracks themselves are massive, atmospheric environments. Death Frequency sets the tone with a deliberate, agonizing pace. It establishes the central rhythm, a slow, relentless beat that functions like a death knell before gradually introducing layers of melody buried so deep beneath the distortion that they feel like distant, forgotten memories. It’s an eight-minute masterclass in how to build tension without ever speeding up.
Then you have Rotting Illusion, which takes the core atmosphere and injects a subtle but palpable malevolence. It’s here that the composition truly shines, moving beyond simple genre adherence into something far more psychological. The vocals are precisely what they need to be: a hollow, guttural growl that sounds perpetually buried, like the earth itself trying to spit out a secret it promised to keep. This track, and indeed the entire EP, refuses the typical Doom/Death pitfall of meandering aimlessly. These aren’t songs you put on in the background. they are environments that envelop you completely.
The genius of Old Year is how they manage to sound both subterranean and vast. That colossal guitar texture creates immense walls of sound, yet the minimal production keeps everything raw and personal. This isn’t a clean, clinical statement. this is raw emotional decay delivered with crushing force. This album refuses to let you relax. there is No Dissent allowed, not in the music, and certainly not from the listener. They just wrap you in sonic cement and leave you to contemplate the ceiling for half an hour. Fantastic. 9/10
Perishing - Malicious Acropolis Unveiled (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Sasa]
A band form Costa Rica that makes doom death metal have released 6 songs totalling up to 44 minutes in length. The bands new album titled malicious acropolis unveiled. This is their first album, and it is honestly exceptionally good. This album is slow yet somehow still dark and heavy and honestly it is a really unique album. To find something so slow but heavy is rare but to find bands who can combine the two and do it well is even more rare.
Autolysis is the first song of the album and already tells you the vibe straight off the bat, it sounds like so, etching you’d hear if you were to go to a haunted castle, it has a medium pace at the start but slow downs but the vocals remain the same. It is very gloomy which matches the instrumentals so well. My favourite song on the album, Las Ruinas Del Palacio, starts off faster than the other songs but not a brutal death fast, it feels like the guitar and drums are the main focus compared to the vocals, it is dark and deep, it’s easy to keep up with but it’s not slow enough to get tired or bored of.
The album is definitely a great starting point for the band it’s already highlighted what they are and made it so that you know it’s them as it’s got that unique element to it which I love. The cover art as well is definitely what you’d see for a death album but it actually does align with the theme and vibe of this album the gloomy dark and haunted music. My only con to the album is that the songs followed the same formula I wished there were more difference between them. I can not wait to see what Perishing have for us next and what new music they will bring into the doom/death scene. 7/10
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