Need something new to listen to? I got you covered with a few choice cuts fresh from the proverbial market.
Frayle – “Summertime Sadness”
Following their hauntingly dark single “Walking Wounded”, Cleveland, Ohio doom metal dealers Frayle have revealed their upcoming third full-length album, Heretics & Lullabies, set for release on October 10, 2025 via Napalm Records.
Over recent years, Frayle have emerged as one of the fastest-rising and most distinctive forces in modern doom, blending occult-driven heaviness with elements of blackgaze and ethereal darkwave. The band calls their approach “lullabies of chaos,” a phrase that perfectly encapsulates their ability to balance fragility and ferocity.
Alongside the album announcement, Frayle have unveiled a stunning reinterpretation of Lana Del Rey‘s hit Summertime Sadness. Their version transforms the original into a slow-burning, shadow-drenched lament, rich in melancholy. Subtle ambient textures swirl around ghostly vocals and doom-laden guitar riffs, making it a fitting farewell to summer as autumn’s chill approaches.
The band comments: “We’ve always been fans of songwriting with notes of melancholy, no matter the genre. Hearing ‘Summertime Sadness’ for the first time was special. Everything seemed to fall into place for us with little resistance on this song. It was the first rough mix we got back from our producer. He added the pause before the breath leading into the first chorus, and upon hearing it, we knew we had something special.”
Hooded Menace – “Portrait Without a Face”
For over 20 years, Finland’s Hooded Menace have been a towering figure in the death-doom underground, and their upcoming seventh album, Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, sees them continuing to evolve while staying rooted in their macabre foundations. The lead single, “Portrait Without a Face”, is an ominous, cinematic plunge into horror-inspired doom, blending eerie atmosphere with crushing heaviness.
The track opens with drummer Pekka Koskelo pounding out a rhythm like death knocking at your door. The song soon spirals into a labyrinth of funereal riffs courtesy of founding member Lasse Pyykkö, whose playing is as suffocating as it is hauntingly melodic. The influence of ’80s heavy metal — carried over from their last LP The Tritonus Bell — is still present, but “Portrait Without a Face” also evokes the theatrical eeriness of King Diamond, making it both bone-chilling and unexpectedly grand.
A standout element is the ghostly moan of a cello woven into the track, adding an extra layer of eerie elegance to its funereal march. Lyrically and visually, the song continues Hooded Menace‘s morbid fascination with horror cinema. The album’s artwork by Wes Benscoter draws on imagery from director Amando de Ossorio‘s The Blind Dead films, bathing the release in ghoulish splendor.
The video, directed by Tekla Valy with additional footage by Mikko Saastamoinen, matches the track’s sinister grandeur with imagery that could have been torn straight from an unholy horror anthology.
Howling Giant – “Canyons”
Nashville cosmic stoner metal trio Howling Giant return with “Canyons”, the first single from their forthcoming third full-length album Crucible & Ruin, set for release on October 31, 2025. It’s a galloping, riff-fueled journey that Howling Giant guitarist and vocalist Tom Polzine describes as “a fast-paced exploration of a planet abandoned by its celestial origin.” The track’s shifting dynamics — from aggressive riffing to a shimmering acoustic outro — create a sense of a constantly unfolding adventure.
Crucible & Ruin marks a new chapter for Howling Giant, featuring for the first time their newest member, Adrian Lee Zambrano, on guitar and synth. Though he joined toward the end of the writing process, his contributions add depth and texture, giving the band’s already rich sound an even heavier and more dynamic edge. Compared to their previous album Glass Future in 2023, this record takes a more aggressive approach while retaining their trademark cosmic storytelling.
Significantly, this is Howling Giant‘s first album recorded entirely in a professional studio rather than their home setup (“the bunker”), allowing them to capture raw live energy and lush production detail. Lyrically, the album explores a grand cosmic mythos, telling the tale of a novice deity locked in a struggle against primordial chaos. This is reflected in the album’s unique cover art, painted by Polzine‘s mother using alcohol ink on yupo paper — a personal and artistic touch that complements the album’s otherworldly themes.
Mors Principium Est – “Summoning the Dark”
Finnish melodic death metal veterans Mors Principium Est are set to unleash their new album Darkness Invisible on September 26, 2025 via PERCEPTION – A Division of Reigning Phoenix Music. Their latest single, “Summoning the Dark”, is an epic return to form, featuring the band’s first performance-based music video since 2016’s Reclaim the Sun.
The video follows a faceless, cape-wearing protagonist navigating a sinister landscape of macabre visions: crucified figures swaying in the shadows, crawling horrors writhing across burning ground, rotting corpses left to decay, helpless victims drowning in blood-soaked waters, and a fallen angel marking the journey’s grim climax. The quest ends with the ritual summoning of a monstrous, otherworldly sea beast.
Mors Principium Est guitarist Jori Haukio explains: “We’re returning with a haunting new visual for our new single ‘Summoning the Dark.’ Directed by JP Kaukonen and shot deep within the mystic and ancient woodlands of Finland, the video blends modern high-end production with a subtle fantasy-horror narrative. A dark, immersive journey to a summoning beyond the point of no return.”
Musically, the track blends razor-sharp riffing, soaring orchestration, and Ville Viljanen‘s commanding vocals into a sound that is both technically precise and emotionally charged. Recorded at Ansa Studio in Finland and mixed/mastered at Sweden’s renowned Fascination Street Studios by Jens Bogren and Tony Lindgren, the production is as rich and cinematic as the visuals.
