2026 Metal Academy Awards Discussion - The Horde Edition

With Ben busy beavering away on developing the new site, I thought I would instigate the threads for the "Metal Academy Releases of the Year Awards" and begin them early in the hope of drumming up some interest in the concept and in promoting new releases.

There will be a "Release of the Year" for each clan and I will also compile a Top 10 for the site as a whole. In addition there will be an award for the "Cover of the Year" for each clan. These will be determined by the site rating for each release, based on a to-be-determined minimum number of ratings. It is necessary to implement a minimum number of ratings as it seems unfair for a release with, for example, one 5 star rating to be placed above a release with a 4.5 average from 5 ratings. This minimum number of ratings may be different for each clan as the participation levels vary so significantly, but I would expect the final minimum to be whatever meaningful number returns a reasonable quantity of contenders, say at least five, for each clan. In the event of there being a tie for clan winner the release with the highest number of ratings wins out.

Please use this thread to post recommendations for any Horde releases from 2026 that you think deserve a shot at ROTY for the clan and hopefully a bit of exposure will get folks rating it. Any suggestions and/or comments about the concept more generally are also more than welcome.

So far ten releases have gained sufficient ratings to be considered and currently sit thus:

1= Cryptic Shift - Overspace & Supertime [4.33]

1= Fires in the Distance - Circadian Promise [4.33]

3. Immolation - Descent [4.25]

4. Slaughterday - Dread Emperor [3.83]

5. At the Gates - The Ghost of a Future Dead [3.67]

6= Fossilization - Advent of Wounds [3.50]

6= Inferi - Heaven Wept [3.50]

6= Invictus - Nocturnal Visions [3.50]

9. Ectovoid - In Unreality's Coffin [3.13]

10. Enshine - Elevation [2.67]

I have listened to and rated a few of these but, tellingly, not the first two. I have just got my vinyl copy of the Immolation album and that would be my pick for the top at the minute, with Invictus and Fossilization not far behind.

Other decent-scoring albums in need of at least one further rating are:

Archspire - Too Fast to Die

Funebrarum - Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence

Ripper (CHL) - Towards Rebirth

Exhumed - Red Asphalt

Growth - Under the Under

At the Gates - The Ghost of a Future Dead

I have checked out the Cryptic Shift album and I hear why it is so well liked by so many, but I am not as on board with it as most at this point. Now I fully accept that it isn't an album that you can jump to conclusions about, certainly after only a single listen and I do intend to revisit it soon. However, for me, there is just so much going on that I can't really get my head round it and it is very long. Ironically, though, the track that jumped out at me is the longest of them all, "Stratocumulus Evergaol" which gave itself enough space (as in half a fucking hour) to make all that was going on there less jarring and more natural sounding, feeling like a genuinely epic piece of metal. I suspect this may be an album that might just 'click' with me all of a sudden, a bit like Archspire did, so I certainly haven't given up on it yet. Three and a half stars from me for now, but that may change at a future date.

So far ten releases have gained sufficient ratings to be considered and currently sit thus:

1= Cryptic Shift Overspace & Supertime [4.33]

1= Fires in the Distance Circadian Promise [4.33]

3. Immolation Descent [4.25]

4. Slaughterday Dread Emperor [3.83]

5. At the Gates The Ghost of a Future Dead [3.67]

6= Fossilization Advent of Wounds [3.50]

6= Inferi Heaven Wept [3.50]

6= Invictus Nocturnal Visions [3.50]

9. Ectovoid In Unreality's Coffin [3.13]

10. Enshine Elevation [2.67]

I have listened to and rated a few of these but, tellingly, not the first two. I have just got my vinyl copy of the Immolation album and that would be my pick for the top at the minute, with Invictus and Fossilization not far behind.

Quoted Sonny

I listened through Fires in the Distance earlier, cowering at the propspect of it being too melodic for my death metal tastes, but I was actually surprised how well it flowed.  I am also two tracks into that Cryptic Shift album and not overly alienated by it but at the same time I cannot say I am enjoying it as much.  The 29 minute track that is second up on the album doesn't help it if I am honest.

I too have Immolation on vinyl.  I am aware of Slaughterday and Fossilization but none of the others so will check them out as I go this week.  Archspire can fuck off though.

Coprolith - "Putresence" (2026)

Dropping a 2026 discovery in here that I bought on Bandcamp recently.

If you’re going to essentially name your band “fossilized faeces” then you darn well better had make sure that your sound is some heavy shit. I can assure you dear reader, that box is firmly ticked on Putresence. Canadians, Coprolith waste absolutely no time whatsoever on their debut full length, coming straight out of the stocks fully armed with all manner of limbs, torn from previous unsuspecting listeners, being brandished like weapons and trophies at the same time. Ranging somewhere between the near crawl of death doom and the more mid-paced muddiness of modern acts like Fetid, Coprolith tread a consistent path in terms of quality yet are unafraid to stretch just enough to show that they have varied influences also.

Except you don’t pick up records such as this to find dashes of progressive wankery or lightning-fast solos. You pick up albums like these because they have ghastly artwork (a modern Altars of Madness take is what jumps to mind here) and even nastier, in fact fucking filthy, contents. Riffs carry weight and groove in equal amounts. The vocals are cavernous, reverberating around the room as you listen. The bass motoring along as but a distant rumble in the background whilst the drums chart a solid yet varied path across the tracks. Pacing and tempo ease down through gears seemingly effortlessly and just when you think we can’t go any lower you come back into consciousness face down on the floor of the bowels of Hades itself.

‘Defiling Incantation’ is a real standout track for the overall journey it takes you on as it shifts effortlessly in front of your very ears and eyes. Yet ‘Birthed by Remorseless Flames’ is straight out for the jugular, coming immediately afterwards with an almost jaunty, bouncy rhythm being deployed. Putresence is almost like a lesson in controlled ultra-violence, pitching that the speed of the attack is no more or less important than the intensity you generate in building into the offensive. In a way, you could argue that there is a bit of a loss of identity, or more likely a lack of clarity in some regards as the album does make changes regularly. However, to my ears at least, Coprolith have made a fantastic debut. It is a clear and believable statement of intent. Bring on the sophomore folks!

4/5

That definitely sounds like one I need to check out Vinny. Thanks for the heads up.

I spent a LOT of time with the Cryptic Shift release. I probably listened to it about 12 times while driving to really come to grips with it. The more I listened, the more I think it's fantastic. I couldn't quite reach for the 5 star rating, but 4.5 felt fair to my tastes. I'll revisit it for sure over time.

I certainly plan to check out the new Immolation before the year is out.

Immolation - "Descent" (2026)

Since I found my way to the Horde and I finally got to grips with death metal, Immolation have been a band that stood out to me as being something a bit special. Not special in an innovative, envelope-pushing way, but in a truly-getting-it, well-oiled machine kind of way. Their songwriting chops are unbelievably good and although they don't strive to break new ground, they always manage to make their tracks interesting and vital and seem to unerringly hit the spot with me. It often feels like they tap into an earthiness that feels redolent with the iron scent of spilled battlefield blood and which has the ability to make this old man feel properly alive and alert to the endless incoming of lethal death metal riffs and the hot shrapnel of searing solos. They are also incredibly consistent and while some of their releases may be genuine standouts, I haven't yet heard an Immolation album I didn't enjoy. The last couple, "Atonement" and "Acts of God" were really solid efforts that once more gave me enough of a fix to carry me through until the next one came out, but in "Descent" I think they may have turned in their best work for quite some time, an album able to sit comfortably beside "Close to a World Below" or "Unholy Cult".

The production is crisp and clear and allows the band to showcase how tight they are, allowing perfect expression of the brutality of the riffs and rhythm section. The drums in particular seem really well recorded, the kicks, snares, toms and cymbals all perfectly distinguishable and seeming to come at the listener from all angles, surrounding them in a percussive straightjacket that holds them in place while the riffs pummel the shit out of them. I love filthy-sounding, abyssal, old-school shit above almost all other styles of death metal, but Immolation achieve a similar effect on me with a clarity and precision normally employed by more technically-focussed acts that speaks volumes for their ability to generate a brutally evil atmosphere by sheer skill, not having to turn to production tricks to achieve it or to hide technical deficits.

So, a question I am sure many will ask is "do Immolation do anything new on "Descent"?" Well, no, but what they do do they do better than virtually anybody else, so does that mean you should listen to this? Abso-fuckin'-lutely it does. Is it better than their first five albums? No, not really, but if they aren't to hand or you now know them so well you can replay them in your sleep, then "Descent" will give you a fresh take on an old friend and should satisfy your craving for quality no-frills death metal.

4.5/5 [90/100]