Welcome once again, Hellions one and all, to the Death's Door mid-year report. Pop a squat and listen to our objectively correct opinions on 2026's current output. We are the overlords, and our word is law.
JK (kind of). We sure as hell listen to a lot of death metal around here, and 2026 has thus far been an interesting beast in this particular branch of the extreme music tree. While all of the albums listed here have received a significant amount of spin over the past several months, I feel much less sure of my list placements than I normally do at this point of the year. Sure, a host of these selections will end up in my top 25 come years end, but in what order lord only knows. The genre has felt more slippery than we've become accustomed to over the past few years, and I would classify that as a cause for celebration. Death metal is evolving, expanding, contracting, and bludgeoning with a weird sort of force this year and I'm all the way here for it.
Below you'll find the albums Eden and I have enjoyed the most so far this year, and there are some potential classics among their ranks. As is tradition, we always love to hear what's been speaking to you at the year's mid-point. So always feel free to leave your picks in the comments of our socials. We won't judge you (too harshly).
Death metal. Forever.
-Jonathan Adams
Top 10 of 2026 So Far
Jonathan’s List
Cryptic Shift - Overspace and Supertime
Fans of the more esoteric, technical, and progressive sides of death metal have been eating GOOD over the past few years. Blood Incantation, Tomb Mold, Archspire, Fallujah, An Abstract Illusion, Horrendous, and Ulthar have been burning that particular candle brightly with releases that yours truly still listens to on a regular basis. Back in 2020, Cryptic Shift landed squarely in the ranks of these greats with their debut record Visitations from Enceladus. It’s an excellent collection of tracks that certainly pointed toward even more thrilling things to come, but nothing contained in that record could have prepared me for the sheer mindfuckery awaiting my unsuspecting ears in their sophomore full-length, Overspace and Supertime. Proggy, technical, thrashy, bombastic, sci-fi drenched, and slathered in god-tier riffs, it’s an opus for the ages and far and away the best death-adjacent record of 2026.
If there were one word I could use to describe the journey Overspace and Supertime takes listeners on, that word would be epic. Both in length and compositional ambition, there’s little left off the table when it comes to Cryptic Shift’s songwriting approach. These are utterly gargantuan compositions that feel like worlds unto themselves in terms of sheer scope, but credit must be given to the band’s militant approach to synchronicity. Every track, every riff, every weird ass interlude feels planned and rehearsed with exacting detail, rivaling (and in several ways surpassing) Blood Incantation’s Absolute Elsewhere in terms of sheer spectacle and audacity. It’s a truly brilliant display of a band’s talent coming to full fruition.
If there were a second word I would utilize to describe the best possible listening experience of this record, it would be surrender. Clocking in at nearly an hour and a half, this thing is the Titanic of technical thrash/death records. There’s so much here that skipping through tracks is almost an impossibility. Lately, records of such length have been a huge turnoff for me. Three minutes of acoustic noodling in the middle of a track does not a good album make, but Overspace and Supertime is shockingly bereft of excessive bloat. Each track here unfolds, contracts, expands, and bristles with a propulsive life that is as fun and engaging an experience I’ve ever had with an album of this runtime. The more you allow it to take you on the journey it’s created, the more enriching your experience will be.
So open your third eye and let Cryptic Shift transport you. You won’t be disappointed. It’s my favorite genre release of the first half of 2026 by a country mile, and I have a hard time imagining a world where it gets supplanted in the back half of the year.
Immolation - Descent
There’s absolutely no reason that Descent, old school kings Immolation’s twelfth full-length studio release, should be as good as it is. Yet here I sit, writing about it as my second favorite death metal release of 2026 so far. It deserves the accolade in spades. Building upon the band’s resurgence starting with 2016’s Atonement, Descent is the meanest, tightest, and most straightforwardly punishing record of Immolation’s late career. Band mainstays Bob Vigna and Ross Dolan in particular deliver some of their most engaging and punishing performances to date, leveling cities with tracks like “The Ephemeral Curse” and “Adversary” that are replete with crushing and off-kilter guitar work and vocal nastiness. There’s an energy to Descent that feels both inevitable and undeniable, culminating in one of the band’s best overall records to date. There’s plenty here for fans old and new to enjoy, and I can’t stop listening to it. Fantastic stuff from the legends.
Mylingar - Út
There’s no band in the death metal space that peddles as much uncompromising nastiness as Sweden’s Mylingar. Since the release of their debut Döda vägar back in 2016, Mylingar has shared a sonic space occupied by early Altarage, Ulcerate, and Revenge in terms of pure dissonant lethality, but also sound nothing like these bands in terms of execution. Mylingar’s is a sound that’s as close to an embodiment of utter sonic hopelessness and violence as I have ever heard, and Út may be the closest they’ve come to perfecting that sound. It’s bleak, chaotic, deeply unhinged, and thoroughly nihilistic to the nth degree, and while this sound may exhaust some, it utterly transfixes me. As a soundtrack to our current cultural Armageddon, I can think of nothing more fitting and spiteful. It’s a masterclass in dissonance that I cannot recommend highly enough.
Funebrarum - Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence
Funebrarum’s second full-length The Sleep of Morbid Dreams is, in my not-so-humble and quite obnoxious opinion, the best example of effective old school death metal revivalism that I’ve heard in the 21st Century. An utter barrage of punishing and riff-forward death metal goodness, I have always held the opinion that it would be hard to top. The band’s third full-length release doesn’t quite reach those epic heights, but doesn’t need to. It’s a doom-laden and sonically destructive affair that more than competently lives up to the reputation the band have established, and I find myself not even remotely disappointed by it. Phil Tougas is on a roll as of late, and his guitar work here is as measured, effective, and punishing as I’ve heard from the master in years. It may not eclipse its all-timer forebears, but that’s unnecessary for it to still be one of the finest slabs of death metal to be released thus far this year. A genuinely fantastic return.
Archspire - Too Fast to Die
There are arguments to be made about each of Archspire’s previous three releases being their apex, but to my ears Too Fast to Die is the band’s most complete release. Not quite as adventurous as Bleed the Future but every bit as hooky as Relentless Mutation, Too Fast to Die feels like the measured, airtight culmination of everything the band has set out to achieve with their music thus far. It’s memorable, fast as all hell, and as fun as anything in their catalog. Have listened to this thing several times and am not coming anywhere close to being tired of it. It’s Archspire doing what Archspire does best, and I’m all the way here for it.
Devourment - Pious Impiety
Devourment’s triumphant return in 2019 with Obscene Majesty resulted in their most punishing, brutal, and uncompromising work since Molesting the Decapitated, and is in my mind their crowning achievement. The fact that a three track EP made this list should give you an indication of the quality of the music. Picking up where Majesty left off, Pious Impiety contains some of the band’s best material to date, presenting 11 minutes of unhinged brutality that are as complete in songwriting and execution as I’ve heard from the band. If last year’s Brodequin release tickled your fancy for all things nasty, Devourment are here to retake the throne as brutal death metal’s most talented purveyors. Short, disgusting, and brilliant. Cannot wait for another full-length release.
Vomitory - In Death Throes
Swedish death metal’s nastiest (and most consistent) legendary act is back with another absolute banger. 10 albums and 30 years into a storied career consisting of literally zero duds, Vomitory continue to unleash a buzzsaw hell that is a wonder to behold. In Death Throes does nothing to diminish their reputation, delivering a collection of tunes that are universally fantastic. Not the flashiest, most melodic, or overtly technical of their geographic scene peers, Vomitory have always driven firmly in the lane of straightforward, Cannibal Corpse-style death metal whose only intent is to rip your face off. Unsurprisingly, rip and tear is exactly what In Death Throes does. In similar vein to Immolation’s latest, it’s one of the best examples of an old school death metal band pounding faces by sticking to what they do best, resulting in a record utterly bereft of filler or useless noodling. Prepare to be pounded into dust.
Fossilization - Advent of Wounds
Brazil’s Fossilization have been quickly on the ascent when it comes to the list of best grimy, nasty death metal bands around. Their 2023 debut Leprous Daylight was an absolute banger, and their latest release Advent of Wounds fulfills the promise of their early recordings with their most mature and adventurous record to date. Unafraid to delve into the doomier and roomier aspects of their sound, Advent is a more measured, patient, and equally punishing record that begs for repeat listens. Much more of a grower than their debut, I’m afraid this release has been less positively received. But give it time and commitment and I assure you that there’s little here to scoff at. An excellent release from a band still on the rise. Can’t wait to see where they go next.
Ordh - Blind in Abyssal Realms
From the opening moments of “Apis Bull,” the opening salvo of Ordh’s fantastic debut Blind in Abyssal Realms, I must confess thinking to myself “…is this record this year’s Blood Incantation copy?” This was a fundamentally incorrect take. While both bands share a similar love for progressive riffs and long-form songwriting, Ordh are no one’s replicant. Blind in Abyssal Realms is a thoroughly enjoyable, songwriting-rich record that’s as confident a debut I’ve heard so far this year. Their incorporation of doomier elements helps set them apart from their peers, while their utter lack of fear in tackling mind-mending progressive sections reminiscent of Opeth’s early death metal work is admirable and deeply pleasing to the ear holes. Adore this record and am officially placing Ordh on the “bands to watch” list as their career unfolds. Great stuff.
Stabbing - Eon of Obscenity
Texas’ Stabbing are unfortunately one of the most underappreciated bands in the brutal death space. While 2023’s Extirpated Mortal Process certainly turned some heads in the scene, it’s Eon of Obscenity that to me represents their full potential. A deeply adventurous record for this particularly uncompromising space, Eon features marked improvement in songwriting and musicianship, putting on display a sonic variety that’s deeply welcome. There isn’t a dud of a track on this record, and it only grows more enjoyable with repeat listens. A lean, mean, head smashing machine of an album that is utterly unafraid of expanding into uncharted sonic territory, it’s easily one of the most ambitious and enjoyable brutal death metal records of 2026 so far.
Eden’s Top Five of The Best Riffage
Defect Designer - Depressants
Nothing kills the vibes of an album faster than the band trying too hard. To be honest with you, it might be the binding factor of all of the music I don’t enjoy, across genres. Not to say that this is the only reason I don’t like albums, just that it’s the one that’s most common and in common between styles. The inverse is also true. Or, rather, we might say that being effortless is a necessary but not sufficient condition for an album being cool; it’s the entry ticket but not necessarily the whole show.
Luckily, Defect Designer have a lot more going for them than “just” sound effortless. Depressants is impressive, tight, groovy, and wild. But it’s also effortless and I think that’s what ends up making the album so good. Even when the band are doing silly stuff, like the slowed down, creaking riff on “Daily Dose of Gloom”, barely three minutes into the album, it all feels natural. You don’t get the feeling that Defect Designer sat around in the studio saying “what kind of weird and random stuff can we add here?” but rather that this is how the music flowed when it left their brain.
This makes Depressants a rarely satisfying listen, as you are swept away in a smooth storm of riffs, ideas, unexpected vocals, and inventiveness. From anyone else, the album would feel contrived and artificial. From Defect Designer, it feels keen, honed, containing just the right amount of everything to do its job without overflowing into plastic.
Growth - Under the Under
I put this album right after the one above it to make sure that people understand that I don’t mind that albums cannot be ambitious for fear of being perceived as contrived. Under the Under is a massive album, perhaps the “biggest” album on this list. Growth have gone all out on it, pushing their chaotic and heavy style of progressive death metal to the brink. Whether it’s the breakneck drumming, the absolutely unhinged approach to guitar composition (which blends deathcore breakdowns, massive groove riffs, and many-noted licks) or the expressive vocals (both clean and harsh), Under the Under pulls zero punches.
And yet, just like Depressants above it, it feels like it fits in seamlessly. Here it’s like a flow and more a meticulous work of welding, attention spent on every edge, seam, and intersection so that all of the intricate parts of the work work together in harmony. This is, at the end of the day, what contributes to the feeling of size - there’s so much happening but instead of each part standing alone, it all rises into a monolith of death metal. Sort of like the cover art of the name of the band would imply, a tower spiraling above you, facets blending into one edifice.
Temple of Void - The Crawl
Baby, you know I can’t resist heavy metal in my death metal! The Crawl is such a tasty example of how to do that, blending flamboyant, heavy metal licks with absolutely filthy death-doom riffs and deep, aggressive vocals. From the first second of the album and all the way to its end, The Crawl is in service to one thing and one thing only - the riff. Whether that’s a pummeling, armor-clad piece of death metal steel or a flashy, emotive flash of the heavy metal blade, Temple of Void understand what makes a guitar work and how the rest of the elements on the album work with the instrument.
The Blind Philosopher - Innergazer
Progressive death metal seems to be having a moment in the last few years and 2026 is no different. Innergazer might be the best example, as the album is willing to draw from further and wilder influences than progressive death metal usually does. What if instead of taking notes from technical death metal and thrash, progressive death metal would be based in death-doom? You’d get Innergazer, an album that has that “fullness” of the death-doom sound but the intricacy of a progressive metal album. It took me a few listens to understand that this is what the band was going for. I kept waiting for the death-doom riffs to fully collapse and go super heavy but instead got flamboyant solos and many-noted sweeps. It was odd but once I understood that this was the intended result, I started massively enjoying the album.
Opener “Indomitable” is honestly the best example of this. The second quarter of the track is dominated by this interchange, between groovy, muscular riff and over the top, verbose solos. It all ends up coalescing back into a heavy riff supporting the return of the harsh vocals but the journey along the way immediately recalls the star-dotted cover of the album. That space theme is then briefly picked back up by a touch of synths before the track once again explodes into the heavy/intricate dynamic. This dynamic sets the pace for the rest of the album, as The Blind Philosopher continue to explore just what progressive death-doom might sound like.
Devoid of Thought - Devoid of Thought
OK, you know there was going to be at least one avant-garde release on this list, even though it’s a short one, right? This is it. Devoid of Thought are unsurprisingly, if you are well versed in who makes what kind of music where, Italian. Their self titled sophomore release belies the fact as agile and unpredictable drums blend with even more unpredictable guitars to create an album that I can only describe as “a miasma”. It’s hard to overstate the degree to which Devoid of Thought is hard to pin down; it is constantly swirling, pinging between complex progressive time signatures that feel on the verge of fusion jazz and a sort of churning, deep, oppressive death-doom. There is very little thought (get it) to the orientation of the listener, of course by design, as the compositions explore the fruitful spaces between these sounds. And then there’s also ambience and even drone, spoken word, and, of course, a high flying science fiction concept backed by effect-laden vocals. In short, press play on this one to hear it for yourself and give it some time to simmer. There are a lot of flavors in this soup.