Scroll to the bottom of this article to listen to tracks from all of the new releases this week.
Here is the Cutting Edge Metal team’s roundup of this week’s essential new metal releases…
Rise of Kronos — Slaves of Time
Genre: Death Metal
About: Rise of Kronos is a Hamburg, Germany-based death metal act that formed in 2021 as a rebirth of the members' previous band, Surface — a name itself borrowed from a 2015 Surface album. Blending Swedish death metal aggression with progressive precision and hardcore intensity, the band has been remarkably prolific since their rebirth. Slaves of Time, their third album in two years, digs deeper into the Greek mythology and existential themes the band has made their trademark, this time centering on mortality, the passage of time, and enslavement to forces beyond human control. Released independently via the band's own channels. Listen on Spotify.
Warside — Cognitive Extinction
Genre: Death Metal
About: Formed in Lyon, France in 2018, Warside built their underground reputation through relentless live work — including European tours alongside Vader and Vomitory as part of the "40 Years of the Apocalypse" tour, and a follow-up run with Vader spanning 15 countries. Drawing influence from Dying Fetus, Vomitory, and Misery Index, Cognitive Extinction is their debut full-length, arriving via Gruesome Records with a renewed lineup and a rawer, more direct sound. Lyrically, the album addresses the collapse of critical thinking and the erosion of culture in the digital age. Listen on Spotify.
Lividus — Scarabaeus
Genre: Progressive Melodic Death/Thrash Metal
About: Portland, Oregon's Lividus formed in 2017 and have been building a discography of technically adventurous, genre-crossing metal through prior EPs Tetany (2022) and Teratorns (2023). Scarabaeus is the band's debut full-length, released via Nameless Grave Records, and channels the eccentric spirit of Voivod, Hammers of Misfortune, Death, and Nevermore into an intricate, dissonant, and emotionally charged record. Fronted by vocalist Uta Plotkin (ex-Witch Mountain), the album draws on themes of trauma and its aftermath, set against a sound that bridges the melodic and the dissonant with a deliberately older, more adventurous sensibility. Listen on Spotify.
Reeking Aura — On the Promise of the Moon
Genre: Death Metal
About: Reeking Aura are a five-piece death metal outfit rooted in the New York/New Jersey underground scene, formed in 2019. Self-described practitioners of "agricultural death metal," the band draws lyrical inspiration from nature, mortality, Long Island farm country, and the experiences of longtime friends — themes that run throughout vocalist Will Smith's writing. Their sophomore album On the Promise of the Moon follows their 2022 debut Blood and Bonemeal and the 2025 Fires in Deep Frost EP, and was tracked at OK Recording Studios in Kinderhook, NY and mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö. Out now on Profound Lore Records. Listen on Spotify.
Vile Light — Deceiver's Blight
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
About: Vile Light are a five-piece blackened death metal band from Akron, Ohio who have been self-releasing material since a 2022 demo, followed by the The Black Dawn EP in 2024. Self-described as an "infernal war machine," the band draws from Canadian war metal and USBM traditions. Deceiver's Blight is their third release and first fully recorded effort featuring the complete five-member lineup, tracked at Mercinary Studios in Avon, Ohio. The EP delivers five tracks of raw, apocalyptic blackened death metal. Listen on Spotify.
Infestuous — Unfathomable Mutagenic Abominations
Genre: Brutal/Technical Death Metal
About: Infestuous is the long-gestating project of Matt Tluchowski (Doctor Smoke) and Alan Cassidy (The Black Dahlia Murder), a collaboration that dates back to 2009 with initial recordings made in 2012 before being shelved for years. Hailing from the American Rust Belt, the duo revisited and completed the material between 2020 and 2024, resulting in Unfathomable Mutagenic Abominations, their debut full-length. Released via Silent Pendulum Records, the record is a groove-heavy, technically-minded slab of brutal death metal with both members sharing vocal duties. Listen on Spotify.
And the unearthed and on rotation underground bands this week include: These Cursed Hands, Verba Serpentis, and Upiór
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