ninehertz

A round up of nine recent releases in bitesize review form...

A bloated Christmas consuming mince pies, booze and end of year lists has left me with a few pounds added, tired legs and a horde of music I missed in 2025. As such, we’re allowing a bit of a stretch on the word “recent” here to shine a light on nine releases from the year prior we have only just found.

Let’s start in our familiar territories of doom. Germany’s vold impressed with their two track twenty minute duck and cover release, nice tone even in its early low-lying grasses hinting at the doom to come, building momentum in its own time, nearly lapsing into full on droning doom, before it drops into a cool, fried stoner feel, jamming forth. A two piece, they recall the rich history of doom duos (Black Cobra, Beehoover, Big Business – and a little more niche, Storm of Void – in particular). The nuclear fallout theme of title is picked up in samples on the second track and a wailing guitar that sounds uncannily like a warning alarm as the riff dissolves.

Another doom two-tracker piqued my interest in December, this time down in Melbourne from Isua and their II EP, confusingly their third release and as they state, their darkest. The first track begins as grim doom, purposeful with its slow pace, dragging on its riffs. There’s some post-metal in its construction perhaps, hinting towards a sludgieness at times. The second has a slow chugging engine of a riff pulling the weight, latter moving into a stylish stoner groove. There are times it feels slightly aimless, even when the individual passages are good, but they remain a band full of promise and worth keeping an eye on.

Returning to Europe and a doom of a lighter flavour, in the proto- realms with Homegrown and their self-titled album out on Majestic Mountain Records. They’re from the Gothenburg suburb island of Hisingen, known to me and presumably many others due to Graveyard’s …Blues album, which serves notice somewhat on the musical style here. Homegrown are keen to flit between a variety of styles from nods to Witchcraft to light psychedelia and open air jazz-inspired jams. At its best I am reminded of their compatriots in Dexter Jones’ Circus Orchestra; at the other end of the scale tracks can sometimes tire quickly, particularly without the presence of vocals. It is an intriguing album throughout and holds hints of magic in moments.

Megadrone Spacedoom released a superb album in the middle of 2025 and end it with a 21 minute song – Spaceman, loosely based on the 90’s pop song of the same name (not that you can tell much). As always, they are roaming the cosmos emitting a doom-drone signal, ambient early on, the ethereal vocals that enter adding to the vibe, soothing and cinematic. It traverses from gently rolling post-rock to doom through chanted vocals from out of nowhere before a repetitive riff hammers a path forth that wasn’t visible prior. It is an adventure, in keeping with everything this great band create.

Weirdo Finnish sludge lot Ilon Lapset are a cult favourite here at ninehertz and a member (or members) of the band also play in Cicutoxin, who released Raised by Disgrace on Gate of Deliria in October. This is truly desperate sounding sludge, messy, depraved and aching in its doom base, the vocals beseeching and pained, the instruments sluggishly ploughing forward. At its best, on Outsider Freaks it uses that bleak and wretched outlook to turn at first post-metal and then dissolve towards funeral doom. And just as it feels like it is tiring, they change up, a dash of blackened punk in Lust for Abandonment bringing reminders of old Okkultokrati.

Carrion Sky released As Our Hearts Devour Us in August but never had a promotional push due to band sustained injuries, until now when it comes across my ears for the first time. I’m glad it did – the Warsaw band have created something truly impressive, welding hefty, tight post-metal to Blade Runner 2049 or Dune style sci-fi soundtrack ambience, where powerful, sludgey passages lurch outwards. They play with textures and tempos expertly, creating myriad atmospheres that are fascinating to explore.

Moving into darker realms brings us to Cerebral Curse from Catalonia and their Rotted Life released Promo ‘25. This is putrid death metal from the swampy death-doom end of the genre and they really lean into the musical aesthetic – so encumbered it strains against any forward progression, resistant to time itself and barely moving in a most turgid of death-doom staggering gait. You can’t help but wallow in its murkiness as rolling riffs irresistibly wrap their tendrils around your throat. Their manta appears to be, if you’re going death-doom, why not push the swampy sluggishness to its extreme. It fades a touch from an irresistible start, but never-the-less, this is my kind of death metal.

We reviewed Warcake, from Minneapolis, a few years back, which lead us to discover the Tern and Crow label and ultimately the band Falcon Arrow from the same city. A review of the latter’s latest album in December had several other bands from the city reach out to us, Unstable Shapes included. It’s been lovely to hear so much from a far away scene. Delicate Machinery, out on Learning Curve Records (US home to the upcoming Hey Colossus album), is outside of my usual listening realms but I had it on a few times over Christmas and enjoyed it regardless. This is post-hardcore of the Drive Like Jehu, Fugazi school, and despite reading a book on In the Kill Taker recently, I am not well placed to describe the genres subtleties. What is evident, even to me, is they can write a great tune, and add variance through Jimmy Eat World end emo, particularly later on, and some angular awkwardness through noise rock at times. It’s a great album, even to my wizened doom ears.

And finally, back to Europe once more, where we find dún, a solo artist from Limerick. Their Transient Gloom album reminds me of another solo act we reviewed not too long ago, Doubtsower. This combines bold, priggish space-synth drenched post-rock with a distinctly gothic end doom, with cosmic fringes – Paradise Lost in Space if you will (sorry). That combination of styles makes for a fascinating listen, even touching towards Type O Negative worlds near its end. They have a new album out soon, so worth keeping tabs on them.