Hello, and welcome one and all to our first Album of the Month post of 2026! Our New Year’s Resolution, you ask? Why, to bring you more great music, of course! The year doesn’t always start with a bang, but 2026 has got off to a strong start, as you’ll see. What’s more is that we have a cadre of new writers joining the site who you’ll get to know over the coming months, and a special project reaching completion that should hit the site soon… So without any further mystification, let’s look at the best of January! We’ve got a grandiose rock opera, psychedelic black metal, zany jazz fusion, thunderous deathcore, some vituperative Romanian prog black, and epic doom metal with a delightful retro gloss. Fight off the January blues with our selection!

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Exxûl – Sealed into None
For fans of: Fates Warning, Queensrÿche, Crypt Sermon, Sacred Outcry
Picked by: Justin

What happens when a bunch of Canadian technical death metal powerhouses get together to write an epic doom metal album? How the fuck should I know, I wasn’t there!

What I do know, however, is that Exxûl‘s debut album Sealed Into None is an early highlight of 2026. Epic doom metal riffs swagger across vast soundscapes, propelled forward by the incredible lead guitar work of ‘Wroth Septentrion’. Progressive metal shading helps justify the substantial track lengths, while also injecting a healthy dose of early progressive metal influence in the vein of Queensryche, Fates Warning, and Crimson Glory. An over-the-top-in-all-the-right-ways vocal performance from newcomer to the scene ‘Stargazer’ is what truly sells the experience, though. Perhaps the most (and only) controversial aspect of Exxûl‘s sound: ‘Stargazer’ WOOOOOAAAAHHHH’s and YEAAAAAHHHHHHHHH’s his way through impressive vocal runs covering an even more impressive range, calling to mind the early stylings Geoff Tate (Queensryche) combined with the obtuse melody crafting of John Arch (Fates Warning). Despite being released so early in the year, Sealed Into None‘s compelling performances and freshly retro songwriting give it a real chance at ending up on many year-end lists, my own included.

Recommended tracks: Walls Of Endless Darkness, The Screaming Tower
Related links: Bandcamp | original review

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Anna Pest – Dark Arms Reach Skyward with Bone White Fingers II: Be (Not) Afraid
Recommended for fans of: Cattle Decapitation, Distant, Within Destruction, To The Grave, Lorna Shore
Picked by: Vince

Forged from band leader April Hutchins’ experiences over the last five years, and inspired in part by Hideaki Anno’s towering anime franchise, Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-2021), Anna Pest’s fourth LP is a tour de force of violent deathcore excess and mathcore skronk tempered against autotune cleans and electronic atmosphere. Hutchins and fellow string-slayer John Angel are absolute nightmares across the album, descending upon the tracklist like Arael on Tokyo-3 to deal catastrophic damage via mile-a-minute riffage that ensures every cut runs deep with excellent moments. I’ve always enjoyed deathcore, but rarely has an album made such an impact on me as Dark Arms Reach Skyward with Bone White Fingers II: Be (Not) Afraid—a collectivist effort inspired by and honoring the community Hutchins has cultivated for themselves. Staggeringly ferocious, blisteringly technical, fueled by love and hope, Dark Arms II blew me away. 

Recommended tracks: Position Target, Pull the Switch, Moongazer, Do You Want To Become One With Me?, A Benediction
Related links: Bandcamp | original review

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Juodvarnis – Tėkmės
Recommended for fans of: Enslaved, Borknagar, Arkona, Moonsorrow
Picked by: Daniel

To listen to Tėkmės is to be swept into a desolate winter, perfectly mirroring the stark, shifting beauty of my favorite season. The title itself—Lithuanian for “currents” or “flow”—provides the essential key for connecting with such musical gloom. As the record unfolds, it moves with the force of a roaring river into the lake of its closing title track that acts as a final, cathartic release. Juodvarnis have crafted a sound rooted in progressive black metal, yet modern and unpredictable. Their tasty riffs, knack for restraint, and Paulius Simanavičius’ vocal prowess have made an impact at the beginning of the year, and I can’t wait to hear where the next river takes us.

Recommended tracks: Dvasios Ligos, Laikui Varvant, Tėkmės, Juodos Akys
Related links: Bandcamp | original review

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The Protomen – Act III: This City Made Us
Recommended for fans of: Queen, Meat Loaf, Gunship, Dirt Poor Robins
Picked by: Christopher

Seventeen years is a long time to wait for a conclusion, but The Protomen’s final installment in their mammoth rock opera based loosely on the plot of the video game Mega Man made it utterly worth it. Galloping grooves, neon-soaked synthwave, and enormous vocal hooks dominate on their melodramatic opus, which sees them delve further into their hard rock influences. Raul Panther III and Gambler Kirkdouglas throw out some incredible vocal feats on every track straddling a neat line between theatricality and sincerity. But this is also the conclusion to a tale twenty-one years in the making, of the rivalry between Thomas Light and Albert Wily, and the fate of the city plunged into darkness by The Good Doctor. Act III: This City Made Us isn’t just an album, it’s an event.  

Recommended tracks: No Way Back, Hold On (The Distance Between), Hold Back the Night, The Good Doctor ⋅ Part 2
Related links: Bandcamp | original review

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Tomoe Magvs – Zelren
Recommended for fans of: Rush, Snarky Puppy, Sungazer, Arch Echo
Picked by: Ishmael

“We’d rather make ugly art instead of using generative AI” is a statement which prominently features on Tomoe Magvs‘s Bandcamp page. While some artists tastefully utilize generative AI to complement their art, many more users of the technology are wannabes who use it as a crutch. In January, Bandcamp announced that, henceforth, “music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted” on the platform. Which is fantastic. In the past, sifting through unknown artists on the site could be a slog; pressing play and really connecting with something, then finding out it was AI-generated can feel like a punch in the gut. Which is why the unknown Japanese fusion outfit Tomoe Magvs were such a breath of fresh air this month. Their latest EP, Zelren, instantly hooks you. Its twists and turns, technical competence, and substantial breadth of genres at times makes it feel like a superhuman effort. But that self-proclaimed “100% human” guarantee puts your mind at ease: these guys aren’t musical robots, they’re just really good at what they do. If you want a high-octane sprint through about half a dozen genres, from nu jazz to neoclassical, from djent to progressive rock, Zelren is just the EP for you.

Recommended tracks: Divine Intervention, Zelren
Related links: Bandcamp | original review

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The Ruins of Beverast – Tempelschlaf
Recommended for fans of: Blut Aus Nord, Enslaved, Borknagar
Picked by: Andy

A one-man band is always a stone’s throw away in black metal, and that most are bad isn’t a surprise to anybody familiar with the genre. Writing, performing, and recording everything yourself is a herculean effort; most simply aren’t up to the task. But for all the not-so-talented people called to black metal, the genre is full of many musical geniuses. Alexander von Meilenwald is one such figure, with his project The Ruins of Beverast. After two decades of steady evolution—and a bona fide magnum opus in Exuvia—The Ruins of Beverast has cemented his niche as hard-to-categorize, goth-tinged experimental black/doom metal. His newest album, Tempelschlaf, is impenetrable and dreamy, with long-form songwriting which takes the listener through dreams and nightmares alike, guided by swirling, buzzing guitars and Meilenwald’s increasingly assured clean vocals. In a largely atmospheric, vibes-based record, Meilenwald still makes sure there are plenty of grounding moments to stand out; psychedelic guitar solos, like the one one at the end of the title track, are particularly effective. Tempelschlaf is a great start to the year, as well as another gem for one of black metal’s most talented solo artists.

Recommended tracks: Tempelschlaf, Cathedral of Bleeding Statues, Alpha Fluids
Related links: Bandcamp | original review

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Alga – Terceiro Solstício
Recommended for fans of: Wardruna, Natural Snow Buildings, Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir
Picked by: Andy

I admittedly pursue music more as an intellectual endeavor than an emotional one. Once in a while, though, an album strikes a certain chord within me that elicits strong emotions. Alga effects an almost entirely new feeling as I’m overwhelmed by… minimalism? The solo artist Cláudia Simões’ live performance is enchanting, and her spectral voice baptizes me in a stream of dopamine each time I listen. Preternatural microtones and shifty compositions craft the perfect environment to trigger my frisson response. I’m terrified of Cláudia Simões’ album Terceiro Solstício because of its eerie beauty but also because of it’s darkly sublime effect on me. It’s a strange and unsettling record, and a feeling I’m unaccustomed to but intrigued by.

Recommended tracks: Maud the Moth, Heinali, David Hykes, Galya Bisengalieva, Alora Crucible
Related links: Bandcamp | original review

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Non-Subway Picks

Megadeth – Megadeth (heavy metal, thrash metal)
Time comes for us all, and Megadeth met it with an appropriately war-like, yet introspective, final offering. Megadeth fuses the band’s revivalist 2010s thrash with the melodicism of their 90s output to create a fitting send-off for one of metal’s pillar acts.
Picked by: Vince

Summer of Hate – Blood and Honey (psychedelic rock, shoegaze)
Stacked as 2026 has been so far, the latest release from underground Portuguese act Summer of Hate belongs right up there with the best. Offering a unique blend of classic and contemporary psychedelic rock, shoegaze, and touches of dream pop and Hindustani music, Blood and Honey’s balance of accessibility and sonic intrigue is something to behold.
Picked by: Cory