Well, folks, it is time for a look into the depths of depravity. The Finnish metal scene is one of my favorites. It has a bit of everything. There’s over-the-top folky stuff, blitzing melodeath, the murkiest death metal you’ll ever hear, and some of the darkest, ritualistic black metal ever put to tape. I will be covering my personal top 10 all-time (as of this moment) in the Finnish scene. Buckle up, boys, here we go!
Ahhhhh, yes, the quintessential Finnish metal band. While Children of Bodom might not be the the ‘trvest’ band out there, they are responsible for getting many (including yours truly) into Finnish metal and metal in general.
Starting off in 1993 as Inearthed by world-class guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho, the band offered a somewhat different approach than what was happening in the Finnish metal scene at the time. Bands like Demilich, Rippikoulu and Funebre, just to name a few, were dropping some of the most disgusting-sounding death metal known to mankind. The boys of Inearthed/Bodom opted for a way more melodic, neoclassical-influenced sound with shredding riffs, bombastic keyboards and throat-tearing, high-pitched vocals.
Their opening trio of Something Wild, Hatebreeder and Follow the Reaper…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 27th, 2025. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: June 27th, 2025 –
Ashley Campbell: Goodnight Nashville
Genre: Country Label: Dot Records
Coil: Black Antlers
Genre: Industrial / Ambient Label: Threshold House
Deadguy: Near-Death Travel Service
Genre: Metalcore / Mathcore Label: Relapse Records
Drawn and Quartered: Lord of Two Horns Genre: Death Metal Label: Nuclear Winter Records
Greet Death: Die in Love
Genre: Shoegaze / Indie Label: Deathwish Inc.
Heaven Shall Burn: Heimat
Genre: Melodic Death Metal Label: Century Media Records
Katseye: Beautiful Chaos
Genre: Pop Label: Geffin Records
Late Night Drive Home: As I Watch My Life Online
Genre: Indie Rock Label: Epitaph Records
Laura Stevenson: Late Great
Genre: Indie Rock / Americana Label: Really Records
Lorde: Virgin
Genre: Indie Pop Label: Universal Records
Moving Mountains: Pruning of the Lower Limbs
Genre: Post Rock / Indie Rock Label: Wax Bodega
Orianthi: Some Kind of Feeling
Genre: Rock Label: Woodward Avenue Records
Pig Pen: Mental Madness Genre: Hardcore Label: Flatspot Records
Shadow of Intent: Imperium Delirium
Genre: Blackened Deathcore Label: Bloodblast Distribution
Sodom: The Arsonist
Genre: Death Metal / Thrash Label: Avalon
Will Carlisle: Winged Victory
Genre: Americana / Folk Label: Signature Sound Recordings
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The summer is solsticing and the halation is blinding. Need some cool blasts to beat the heat? Riff Index is your one-stop shop to stock up on all the week’s best new metal and metal accessories.
Shake off your Seppuku-punx blues, grab a molotov and join the Death Pill grrrrls rioting in Kyiv or start a Midsummer bonfire with Rites of Tara.
Hear the new decree from Valdrin now seated upon his lunar throne.
Get bewitched by the Diamanda Galás incanted Puppe Magnetik.
It took 17+ years but Destroyer Destroyer have found another destroyer to destroy and Insanity return to life after Death After Death.
Want to storm the Parthenon at the speed of black with the wild melodies of heavy metal? Aetos has you covered – just don’t get behind the gas-puffing dragon of Helms Deep.
-Azazzel
List of Recommendable Guitar Music:
June 16th – June 22nd, 2025
Compiled, checked, and recommended by ThyCrossAwaits, Azazzel, and yours truly
Welcome to a very special interview with My Epic’s Aaron Stone, conducted by DrGonzo and Tyman. Founded in 2005, My Epic are known for their deep-rooted Christian themes and lyrics, over a sound that has gone through various transformations over the years – from post-hardcore and post-rock to indie and pop, all carefully crafted with lush, ethereal soundscapes with powerful breakdowns. Both Tyman and Gonzo hold a huge amount of reverence for My Epic, and we got chance to sit down with Aaron Stone, the band’s vocalist, to discuss the band’s history, future and all things in between. So, let’s dive in.
Tyler: For those of you who are listening and may not know, we are joined by Aaron. He’s the vocalist of My Epic. If you don’t know My Epic, what are you doing now? Me and Simon absolutely love this band and thought it would be fun to have a good little chat with them.
Simon: Jumping straight into the My Epic stuff, could you just give us a brief overview of the band and its history, if that’s cool?
Aaron: The band started my senior year of college with my brother Jesse and my best friends, Jeremiah and Maddie. After college we moved to Charlotte together and the band sort of whittled down to me, my brother and Jeremiah, and that had been the core of the band for a long time. We signed to Facedown Records in 2008 and released our first full-length [I Am Undone],…
Welcome, fellow netherfiends, to the second inscription upon the unholy tablet of the Riff Index. Herein we humbly offer cuts deeper than skin deep, names that are not often spoken outside whispers below the fog of the leathery underbelly. Fresh slabs just unearthed from the depths!
Row of Ashes drags post-hardcore through thick, bloodied mud, creating a muck monster that thrashes in the bog water. Elsewhere, Dr. Lipoma churns melodic death riffs and goregrind in a filthy medieval cauldron, his voice bubbling and pus-choked like the sounds of Dark Age surgery. Not to be outdone, Draugveil present potentially the most majestic and romantic album cover in recent memory. Do not be fooled by the blonde page boy coif or the bed of roses; the album delivers thunderous melodic black metal spurred by remarkably vibrant drumming.
There is and shall always be darker corners to explore. Dig through and dig deep. May you find yourself a treasure in the murk.
-ThyCrossAwaits
List of Recommendable Guitar Music:
June 9th – June 15th, 2025
Compiled, checked, and recommended by ThyCrossAwaits, Azazzel, and yours truly
Somnvs Mortis – Onírica Evocación de las Auras Condenadas Genre: Chilean Black Metal Streams: Bandcamp | YouTube
Karçaz – Estrela Palída do Silêncio Mórbido Genre: Black Metal Streams: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
It’s that time of the month again. No, I’m not talking about the single sunny day in London or the sleep-depriving full moon. What? No, no, no—this isn’t about the eleventh Hawks list written in all caps. It’s time to measure extremely! We’ve hastily installed whatever patches we could dig up from our dusty 8-inch floppies in a desperate attempt to translate the transmissions below for you, our valued readers. Let’s hope it worked.
In the Sput corner:
CottonSalad, skronk birb
normaloctagon, clearly a circle
Yours truly, dripping host
You’re so not ready for our special guests this month! It’s…
Sam and Alex (Artificial Brain, third from right and second from right)
In Dub — 05.02.2025 — At War With False Noise — Spotify
I admit that I don’t often care for new music that falls under the umbrella of OSDM. For one, I’m still discovering such surprising, inspired records from the early years of the genre. Perhaps more importantly, early death metal…
Here’s a list of some new releases for the week of June 13th, 2025. It’s okay to be a little stitious. Please feel free to jam the playlist and request reviews from the staff and contributors.
“Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words.”-Goethe
Sun sheaths into twilight, a rising moon pales dimming eyes and wearied ears, whose echoing memories are etched now, in the Riff Index – a weekly inscription of all things metal spawned from the clutch of a new brood.
A serpent uncoils, teeth gnash. The crypt’s grinding lurch; flesh sloughs onto rot-stenched soil. From iron rusted barrows anguish bellows across long fallow battlefields, up gale blasted ruins of towered stone. Smoke curls around snow-bedded branches bowed over churning embers, the night howls.
We convoke to witness these sonorous rites in brief violent blossoming from the skein of unknowing. Each offering a fleeting wound; a cairn of proclamation. Into the shadow of vanishing silence, a procession of flames dance and beckon.
Hark! Will you hear their song?
List of Recommendable Guitar Music:
June 2nd – June 8th, 2025
Compiled, checked, and recommended by ThyCrossAwaits, Azazzel, and yours truly
Can it be? Everyone’s favorite year-end list is finally here! Yes, it may be deep into June of the following year, but I wasn’t going to let these fantastic artworks go unnoted as I begin culling my list for 2025. As always, these one hundred artworks are not ranked but are arranged in a diverse yet overwrought combination of art styles, shapes, and colors. As exhaustive as I attempt to be each year, there are always excellent covers I miss, so feel free to share them in the comments. Scroll to the bottom for the full 10×10 collage.
Enjoy the eye candy!
– <3 Neek
Charli XCX // BRAT Rapsody // Please Don’t Cry Middle Kids // Faith Crisis Pt. 1 Geordie Greep // The New Sound Rosie Lowe // Lover, Other Crippling Alcoholism // With Love from a Padded Room London Grammar // The Greatest Love Tides from Nebula // Instant Rewards Ana Tijoux // Vida Allie X // Girl with No Face Everything Everything // Mountainhead Dora Jar // No Way to Relax When You Are on Fire Tzompantli // Beating to the Drums of Ancestral Force Frail Body //Artificial Bouquet DIIV // Frog in Boiling Water No Cure // I Hope I Die Here Brume // Marten …
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 6th, 2025. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: June 6th, 2025 –
A-Z: A2Z2
Genre: Progressive Metal Label: Metal Blade Records
Addison Rae: Addison
Genre: Columbia Records Label: Synth-Pop / R&B
Beatie Wolfe & Brian Eno: Luminal
Genre: Electronic Label: Verve Records
Black Moth Super Rainbow: Soft New Magic Dream Genre: Trip Hop / Dream Pop Label: Rad Cult
Caamp: Copper Changes Color
Genre: Americana Label: Lilliput Records
Cypress Hill & London Symphony Orchestra: Black Sunday
Genre: Hip Hop Label: Acoustic Sound
Dawn of Ashes: Infecting the Scars
Genre: Industrial Metal Label: Metropolis Records
Death In Vegas: Death Mask
Genre: Electronic Label: Drone
For your Health: This Bitter Garden
Genre: Hardcore / Emo Label: 3Dot Records
Jimmy Barnes: Defiant
Genre: Rock / Soul Label: Mushroom Records
Katatonia: Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State
Genre: Progressive Metal / Atmospheric Metal Label: Napalm Records
Lil Wayne: Tha Carter VI
Genre: Rap / Hip Hop Label: Young Money and Republic Records
Little Simz: Lotus Genre: Hip Hop / Experimental Label: Forever Living Originals
Good evening ladies, gents, theys and everyone else! Apologies for yet another late weekly releases column, I’ve spent my week off work busy with DIY and procrastinating uni applications and other worthwhile things like the column I said I would do a week ago. Oops. It looks like this week is set to be another stormer (as it often is this time of year) with new yeule, Swans, and a suprisingly promising (based on the singles) Miley Cyrus joint to partake in, amongst a wealth of other releases. Oh and I can’t forget the absolute queens Red Velvet had a sub-unit mini-album come out on Tuesday, serving the most lesbian non-lesbian possibly lesbian aesthetics this side of a boygenius fanclub. ‘Til next week!
– List of Releases: May 30th, 2025 –
Aesop Rock – Black Hole Superette
Genre: Abstract Hip-Hop Label: Rhymesayers
Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles – Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles
Genre: Americana / Folk Label: Sub Pop
Amy Millan – I Went to Find You
Genre: Singer-Songwriter / Folk Label: Last Gang
Anyma – The End of Genesys
Genre: Melodic Techno Label: Interscope
Athletics – What Makes You Think This Is How It All Ends?
Electronic and dance music are in a great place right now. DJs and producers are increasingly more eclectic and not afraid to incorporate their wide-ranging musical influences in their sets or productions. One of the frontrunners of this mindset is UK producer and DJ Felix Manuel, aka Djrum, who has never backed himself into a corner stylistically. On Under Tangled Silence, we see him blending folk, IDM, techno and bass music together with his own personal twists. On paper this may sound overwhelming, but Djrum weaves everything together effortlessly with live instrumentation and his signature production style. Take a track like “Let Me”, it begins with an improvised piano jam backed by bubbling synths and breakbeat drums reminiscent of classic IDM before releasing the tension at the halfway mark with an explosive jungle break where you can’t help but nod your head to the combo of percussion and subbass taking over your body. This is just one of many examples of Djrum’s extensive sonic palette on this record. I love that every song on here feels like it has its own identity and despite those differences, the album itself is cohesive in its range of influences and continuity.
“I don’t think I’d be in Skinny Puppy with Ogre if it was based on friendship – I don’t really see eye-to-eye with him all that much; he’s always been on a different plateau to me. He’s gone through his drug addiction and he’s basically put the face of the band as the face of his lyrics, turmoil and troubles, when in actuality, there’s a wide variety of opinions going on in this band.” – cEvin Key, 1992 telephone interview, Minneapolis.
While Skinny Puppy rightfully resides in the pantheon of industrial greats, the band never garnered the success or the same cultural impact as some of their peers. Indeed, Skinny Puppy’s influence, particular in their 80s and early 90s run of records, left an indelible mark on not just heavy and challenging music, but the arts in general. Unfortunately, their demise in the 90s was one of the leading factors in why the band never quite cut through the mainstream membrane, despite riding high during the impetus of the scene’s burgeoning popularity. What caused the band’s implosion in 1995 and subsequently stalled their trajectory? Well, predictably, the first reason was internal strife within the band; the second factor to consider was their unwavering tenacity in wanting to deliver something challenging and different, which ultimately made their appeal extremely limiting and niche. Ironically, as the scene was getting more mainstream attention in the early-to-mid 90s, Skinny Puppy were in the throes of making the most challenging music of their career, before…
What’s up everyone! It’s me again, doing another interview, surprise. I had the chance to sit down and talk with Alex Bacey, the guitarist of Ominous Ruin, this past week and talk about their newest album, Requiem, which came out May 9. Alex was an awesome dude to talk with, and he gave a lot of great insight into how he went about with songwriting and producing the band’s second album. If y’all haven’t checked out Ominous Ruin, definitely give Requiem a spin if you’re a fan of some fun, guitar-focused death metal. But enough about my rambling at the beginning, let’s just right into the interview. You know the drill, click below to listen to the interview, but if you don’t feel like hearing our voices, scroll down and keep reading!
Before we jump into all things Requiem, can you tell a little bit about the band, how you guys started, and how you ended up where you are today?
If you’ve been following us, you probably know it’s not a secret that we’ve been around for a while, but that’s just kind of a product of most of us have never really wanted to be like full time musicians, like full time touring musicians, and really, we care more about like the product; the product is the music more so than it is us. I’ll try to keep it kind of short. I’m technically the only original member left in the band, but our original bass player, his name…
I admit that I don’t often care for new music that falls under the umbrella of OSDM. For one, I’m still discovering such surprising, inspired records from the early years of the genre. Perhaps more importantly, early death metal…
