An appropriately heavy and bleak start to 2026 from the -core side of the heavy music spectrum. Converge is back and still going strong, Danza just returned with a menacing new single, and Eyelet are carrying the screamo flag so far, but a bunch of new faces have already made a name for themselves. Pardon the older meme, but we are a little over two-months into the new year and I am already entering "how can we hold [cover/listen to] all of these good new releases" territory. There's truly been something for everyone thus far, in impressive quantity and quality. Need an Every Time I Die replacement that isn't the two bands who spawned out of them? Check out Funeral Language and Toothless. Tired of the same old approach to deathcore? Give Anna Pest a spin. So without much further ado, here's some of our favourite January and February releases from the worlds of grind, mathcore, metalcore, noise rock, screamo, hardcore and more!
The Wall of Death
Converge - Love is Not Enough
Love Is Not Enough is the first proper release from Converge in almost a decade. I say “proper” because the long interval between The Dusk In Us (2017) and Love Is Not Enough birthed Bloodmoon: I (2021), the experimental collaboration with Chelsea Wolfe featuring additional guests Ben Chisholm (Chelsea Wolfe), Stephen Brodsky (Cave In, Mutoid Man, Old Man Gloom), and Steve Von Til (Neurosis). I may be in the minority, but Bloodmoon: I never quite resonated with me. This may be harsh, but to me, it’s yet another addition to the fathomless pile of collaboration albums that are hardly the sum of their parts and are instead chock-full of half-baked ideas. In an interview with Guitar.com, Ballou emphasized the fact that Love Is Not Enough is Converge returning to a well-established “division of labor” with a “deliberate lack of collaboration” with musicians outside of the core quartet. Based on the quality of Love Is Not Enough, it’s safe to say that that approach works best for these legends of metallica hardcore.
A primary strength of Love Is Not Enough is how well it showcases the band’s broad stylistic range across the spectrum of heavy music. Integrating elements of noise rock, post-rock, and other disparate styles of music has been an approach that Converge has taken ever since Jane Doe (2001), but few albums in their catalog balance those influences as well as they have on their last few releases as a quartet, and Love Is Not Enough continues this trend. The first four tracks, “Love Is Not Enough,” “Bad Faith,” “Distract and Divide,” and “To Feel Something,” are four of Converge’s most collar-grabbing compositions. While the power of “Bad Faith” lies in its foot-stomping beatdown chugs, “To Feel Something” has blistering blastbeats coupled with a verse that uses noisy, anxiety-inducing natural harmonics performed in ⅝. The ominous interlude “Beyond Repair” marks a brief change of pace as it’s followed by “Amon Amok,” the heaviest, most lumbering track on the album.
While the first half of the album demonstrates the apex of the band’s songwriting abilities, there is a noticeable dip in song quality toward the end of the album with “Force Meets Presence,” “Gilded Cage,” and “Make Me Forget You.” Arguably, “Force Meets Presence” is the weakest track on the album, poorly juxtaposing a relatively clichéd punk riff with atypical (for Converge) guitarmonies. The impression that “Force Meets Presence” gives is that the band quickly threw together disparate ideas in the studio after realizing they didn’t have enough tracks for the album. “Gilded Cage” and “Make Me Forget You” fare better. Much of “Gilded Cage” drags, but the build-up to its climax and the utterly evil pitch-shifted lead that subsequently emerges nearly make up for it. Despite these criticisms, if any other band wrote “Gilded Cage” and “Make Me Forget You,” they would be considered two of the band’s best songs. But, since Converge have set such a high bar for themselves over their storied career, those tracks will have to wallow in the muck as two of the most underwhelming songs on Love Is Not Enough.
Much of the album’s themes point toward timely sociological and political struggles, and, according to vocalist Jacob Bannon, the lyrics explore how those struggles are mirrored in our internal lives. Even if, for example, you’ve not yet been directly impacted by the fascistic operations of the current US administration, it’s no less a turbulent source of anxiety and existential dread for many. “Distract and Divide,” for example, is almost assuredly a pointed criticism of how social media has contributed to the further fracturing of society. But issues such as this also have an individual component, as social media algorithms have the capacity to warp an individual’s sense of reality and even contribute to the strain or dissolution of relationships with friends and family. The lyrics can be rather obtuse at times, but the thematic approach is clear enough.
Love Is Not Enough may not go down as Converge’s best album, but for a metallic hardcore band that has been active for more over a quarter century, with its members now hovering around the age of 50 (which makes them great-grandfathers in hardcore years), Love is Not Enough is a welcome return to Converge doing what they do best: showing everyone else how it’s done.
-JD
Zu - Ferrum Sidereum
At their core, the long-running Italian trio of baritone saxophonist Luca T. Mai, bassist Massimo Pupillo, and drummer Paolo Mongardi makes hard prog in the vein of Ni and PoiL. But their style has vacillated over their career as they have leaned into the chaos of free jazz, the structured rhythmic punishment of industrial, or the abstract nature of drone and dark ambient, depending on the release. The trio’s numerous collaborations with artists such as Mike Patton (ex-Faith No More, ex-Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk) and Eugene Robinson (ex-Oxbow, Buñuel) most likely also impact which of their influences are brought out to the forefront. But Ferrum Sidereum is arguably their most expansive, focused, and intricate work since their critically-acclaimed 2009 album Carbinoferous.
Arguably, the most prominent feature of Ferrum Sidereum, and a large part of those “focused” and “intricate” aspects of the music found therein, is the band’s rhymical complexity and density. Tracks such as “Charagma,” “The Celestial Bull and the White Lady,” and “A.I. Hive Mind” demonstrate a similar polyrhythmic approach to that of Meshuggah and Tool. At times, Mongardi employs the same trick as Tomas Haake: keeping a steady 4/4 quarter-note pattern on the cymbals and snare while more technically demanding rhythms are played on the bass drum that the bass guitar punctuates. Mongardi more frequently utilizes Danny Carey’s tom-heavy tribal rhythms. “Kether” even features a bass line and tone that are strikingly similar to those of Justin Chancellor.
You might notice that there is no guitarist in the lineup, which may be surprising given how integral the guitar is to the vast amount of rock-based music, whether prog rock, noise rock, or metal (all represented on Ferrum Sidereum to varying degrees). But that matters little considering how deftly the members of Zu are able to extend the traditional functions of their instruments and occupy harmonic space usually reserved for the guitar or other instruments. Mai and Pupillo often accomplish this by simply using distortion or octave pedals, but a lot of the work of bridging that harmonic gap is also done with electronics, keyboards, and other instrumentation. This is all to say that Zu are able make up for the instrument that is most often associated with the genre to the extent that you may not even notice its absence. And that’s much more than most guitarless rock-oriented bands can say.
While not often explicitly dark, the atmosphere on Ferrum Sidereum is ominous and esoteric. One interviewer broached the idea of our living through pre-apocalyptic times and asked if that was an intentional feeling the band was attempting to capture. Considering that the album and song titles reference “Judaic mysticism, Gnostic ideas of completeness…artificial intelligence and astronomical phenomena,” that doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Regardless, there does seem to be a consistently unsettling mood, as if something terrible is on the horizon, that the band’s music expresses throughout the album.
At 80 minutes, Ferrum Sidereum is an exhausting listen — especially given how dense and unsettling it can be. But the band’s excessive attention to detail and masterful performances make this an album not to be missed.
-JD
Under – What Happened In Roundwood
In the UK we have a saying, “It’s grim up North”, which references that life is considered harder in the North of the country than it is down South. Harsh weather and industrial landscapes helped fuel this stereotype for decades. Now it’s often seen as more of a cliché, but the North/South divide and imagery remain. So, it’s fitting that Northern (Stockport to be exact) trio, Under, use everything in their arsenal to create a devastatingly bleak soundscape on, What Happened In Roundwood. They are not an easy band to pin down in terms of their sound, as this album treads muddy ground between noise rock, sludge and avant garde prog. I should also mention that this is a concept album with a narrative akin to a David Lynch movie; A mother murders her child in a supermarket, and to alleviate their trauma the people of Roundwood create a myth around the incident, which leads to the formation of a cult who worship the child they now call ‘Isaac’. This culminates in the cult summoning a monstrous entity, but once the cultists realise their mistake they decide to burn down the town. Like I said, it’s bleak…but that doesn’t mean it isn’t immensely enjoyable.
What Happened In Roundwood opens with the dark and disorientating “Tantrum”, which considering the subject matter is appropriately uncomfortable. It meanders and creeps forward with a drunken determination while the lyrics paint a monochrome picture of frustration, anger and violence. The eeriness is dialled up to new heights on “Ma” with delightfully twisted vocal harmonies from all three members, before a huge off-kilter finale blows the doors clean off. “Isaac” starts with a decidedly tribal vibe, which clearly ties into the cult worship narrative and acts as a moment of tuneful respite. This does not last very long, as at the four-minute mark we are bludgeoned with ludicrously heavy stabs of down tuned filth that could possibly cause structural damage to your house if played loud enough.
“Escape Roundwood” marks the midway point of the album and acts as a resplendent bridge to the more untamed and spontaneous final act. This track is what can be coined as a “proper song”, with hooks and earworm moments aplenty thanks to its tuneful vocal harmonies and restrained guitar work, which instantly reminded me of modern-era Alice In Chains. It’s a brilliant slice of grungy, post-hardcore and an obvious choice as the album's single (a music video was made too), but it does feel like somewhat of a mis-sell compared to the jarring compositions that follow.
The final third of the album sees Under really letting go and doing whatever the hell they want. Covering everything from minimalist drone to prog rock, jazz and much more. Album closer “Felling” somehow ties everything together in a satisfying yet haunting manner, with its melancholy chorale vocals ringing out the conclusive lyrics of “In the end, there’s nothing to learn…we burn”. So, if you want something to chill out to on a quiet evening this probably isn’t the album to reach for, however, if you want a meticulously crafted piece of twisted, sludgy, noise rock look no further than What happened In Roundwood. It’s dark, dismal, determined and perhaps in some way proves that it really must be grim up North.
-PK
Eyelet - Solenoid
Baltimore’s Eyelet returned last month with their 3rd full-length, and first in six years. The band builds on their ragged approach to screamo, bringing some atmospheric sludge influence along with plenty of the raw fury that the genre is known for. This blend of sounds is among my favourite directions that screamo can take, the angsty sass and wailing is dialed back for a looser, aggressive and darker sound that has a certain maturity to it often lacking among modern bands in the scene. Put bluntly, it sounds like screamo written for metalheads.
Solenoid alternates between these spirited upbeat moments that remind me of Alexisonfire's more punk oriented songs, and the bleak, blackened sludgy vileness of bands like portrayal of guilt. This dynamic, shifting approach to their songwriting makes this really listenable in an album setting. Every song feels distinct, yet an important part of a bigger picture. It’ll make you want to swing fists in the pit one moment, and reflect on the damage you’ve caused while staring out a bus window moments later. A lot of that goes back to that maturity I mentioned earlier. I don’t typically like using that word to describe music, (I certainly enjoy plenty of music that could be called immature) but it’s the relativity to most music under the screamo umbrella where that feels pertinent. Sludge being something of a grizzly genre in itself doesn't hurt. The ideas feel fleshed out, and deliberate and intentional, and this is reflected in the song-writing, the production, and every individual delivery.
There’s a number of ideas and different emotions at play and the dual vocals from both guitarists are a huge part of that. They’re often layered creatively between these more vicious and pained shrieks and a more echoed and war-call like shout. The song-writing gets a lot of variation out of them as well, with mid and slower tempos being used well to maximize the weight of the emotion behind the music. But it’s not all grim and depressing, surprisingly uplifting and triumphant guitar melodies of “Cascade” feel like they could have been on the last State Faults album. Solenoid has a bit of everything that I love about screamo and post-hardcore music, all executed at an elite level, and largely without the need for clean vocals. This is one of the first great screamo albums of 2026, of which there has already been a handful.
-TB
The Crowdkillers
Death Cult - Death Cult
This album was like a breath of fresh air slap bang in the middle of the horror month commonly known as January. The French know how to do sludgy hardcore rather well (Fange, Death Engine, Love Sex Machine, Cowards, etc), so it was no surprise that Death Cult, hailing from Limoges, unleash the hounds on their debut self titled album. The whole damn thing is dripping with heaviness from the outset, as opener “Hier Ist Kein Warum” pounces and proceeds to claw at you like a feral coyote. This track is a masterclass in intimidation, with the doom-laden middle section being particularly satisfying, as Romain Prouzet's usual raspy screams give way to bellowing howls. And the beatdown, oh my word the beatdown. You can just picture the small sweaty room full of grimaced faces with limbs being flung in every direction when this is played live. It's glorious. The album production is so intense and claustrophobic that even moments of atmospheric restraint (such as slow burn instrumental offering “Surrender.release”) carry immense menace. “Cradle of Doom” is three minutes of galloping caustic brutality that harks back to old school bands like Zao and Arkangel. Can I get a “fuck yeah!”. This album is just plain nasty and you should be listening to it right now!
-PK
The Absolute Worst or The Absolute Worst - calculus_
Some brilliant new mathgrind chaos out of this new duo from Virginia. Their debut calculus_ is 18-minutes of staggeringly heavy and complex music drawing from Ion Dissonance, and The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. The dazzling tapping riffs make the world around you feel like kaleidoscopes of black and white geometry spiralling into a cacophonous oblivion. Yet, what makes this album stand out is both its willingness and ability to let the chaos breath. To write music that “breathes” well requires a unique skill distinct from the technical chops behind their mathcore riffs, so it’s impressive that both are able to come together here. This is part of what makes albums like The Contortionist's Exoplanet, and most of Rolo Tomassi's discography so revered and memorable. It’s not all stretched out post-rock sections, in mathgrindy fashion they have to pull this off using subtlety and brevity given the mostly sub 2-minute song lengths. But they nail it again and again. The deathcore influence isn’t overbearing, and the technicality doesn’t overstay into wankery. Just a really strong balance of their strengths. This is the absolute best, actually.
-TB
Kicked in the Head by a Horse - BLOOM/DECAY
You should have a sense of what you’re getting into here based on the band name. Belligerently chaotic mathcore, with a balance of caveman deathcore moments that will have dudes in steel-toe work boots stomping around dangerously, and emotive vocal deliveries that should have the vocalist rolling around on the stage in screamo fashion. BLOOM/DECAY feels like taking a grimy journey through the damp, darkly lit underbelly of some dystopian future city. Yet, like The Absolute Worst…beyond the general bleakness of this album, there’s some From a Second Story Window reminiscent melodies, some two-steppable riffs, and things get surprisingly catchy, not ignoring that ‘fun’ can be a thing in heavy music. An impressively nuanced little EP here for a band who have been kicked in the head by a horse.
-TB
Heavy Heavy is Heavy (Chaver / Smother / Tearaway)
February delivered 3 new releases I want to lump in together here, of similar metallic/beatdown/powerviolence influenced hardcore/metalcore. In other words, the heaviest sort of -core you can find. Germany’s Chaver returned with a 6-track EP Cruzifiction, showing a nice blend of upbeat death metal buzzsaw riffs and earth-shaking beatdown. These guys have consistently been writing some of the best music of this style for almost a decade and this is no different.
The next two bands here are both new to me and relatively new in general. The Suicide of Heaven is the second EP from the UK-based Smother. While similarly heavy, the hm-2 and powerviolence gives way to more deathcore influenced and typical modern metallic metalcore production comparable to bands like END. The vocal delivery, breakdowns and dissonant riffing are fuelled entirely by anger, with a good supply of those big red bouncy balls from gym class for the snare drum. Lastly, we have the debut full-length from Iowa’s Tearaway, aptly titled Irrefutable Aggression. The most grindcore of this trio package, the buzzing powerviolence tones return for a relentless assault of heavy grindcore riffing, stomping slam breaks and a more minimal but equally effective use of beatdown.
The Circle Pit
Ablaze - Slow Death (metallic hardcore)
Above Below - I Guess It Was Nowhere (prog metalcore)
Abrichten - aufheben (german noise rock)
Afraid to Die - Hell is a Place In My Mind (old-school hardcore)
Anna Pest - Dark Arms Reach Skyward With Bone White Fingers II: Be (Not) Afraid (prog/tech deathcore, mathgrind)
Ascend the Helix - To the Surface (prog metal, djent)
Biological Fathers - S/T (screamo)
Calm and Secure - Glass in the Mouth of the Sun (mathcore, emoviolence)
Death of Youth - Nothing is the Same Anymore (melodic/post-hardcore
Funeral Language - Thank You For the Dead Body (metalcore, ETIDcore)
Gros Enfant Mort - Le Sang Des Pierres (post-hardcore, screamo)
The Hirsch Effekt - Der Brauch (progressive metal, post-hardcore)
Holder - Ruin the Best of Me (revivalcore, screamo)
House Of The Blood Choir - Mom's Anxiety (japanese skramz)
Killing Pace - HCPM (hardcore punk metal)
Knumears - Directions (screamo)
La Petit Mort / Little Death - Disco II (sasscore, math rock)
Letterstoyou - …maybe someday became today (emoviolence)Limbs - Like a Poet, Keen to the Rustle of Leaves (screamo, metalcore)
Merit - Sweetness Fades (blackened hardcore, sludge)
Oresteia - The Life You Left For Me (progressive deathcore)
Palace of Mourning - S/T (metallic hardcore, powerviolence)
Puke Wolf - Descend (screamo, post-rock)
Right on Target - Tales You’ve Heard Before (throwback metalcore)
Ronker - Respect the Hustle, I Won’t Be Your Dog Forever (noise rock)
Sealer - Sealer (noise rock, post-hardcore)SOPLÓN- s/t (peruvian powerviolence)
Sun Guts - Killanova (mathcore, math metal)SUPERWORLD - Super World (post-hardcore, midwest emo)
Swallowtails - the truth about bridget (emoviolence)
Toothless - Past Futures (ETIDcore, mathcore)
Uncultivates - This Will Become Clear Later, Like the French Revolution (mathcore)
Youth Novel - I Went Trhough This Experience Smiling (screamo, metalcore)
72% - I’m Not Happy and That’s on You Three (noise rock)