Dying Realm - Siege The Walls EP

Labels: Self-Released/Cavernous Records/Dry Cough Records

Formats: Digital/CD/Tape

Release Date: 12 Mar 2026

Tracklist:

1. Graves Of Gods

2. Villainous Incantation

3. Mace Buried Deep

4. Abundant Mutilation

Why does it feel so right to be reviewing this EP during the hellish inferno that is this early summer heatwave? Maybe it's the baying skeleton army and the backdrop of the burning castle, or it might just be that everything feels on fire today. I like the heat, but we're not geared up for it at all.

Birmingham, UK death metallers Dying Realm released their debut EP Siege The Walls in March of this year, making it available digitally. The EP also saw it's was onto physical formats with a CD run from Cavernous Records and a tape run from Dry Cough Records, as well.

Once again the UK death metal scene is the gift that keeps on giving. This time that gift comes in the form of Brummie newcomers Dying Realm. Members and ex-members of Nerve Agent, Bound by Blood, Iron Tomb, Odessa and more have formed a quintet of epic proportions. Kicking off their debut EP Siege The Walls with ‘Graves Of Gods’, Dying Realm’s death metal is a mix of both old and new (at least to my ears). Slamming, blasting, technical and filled with screeching leads. The vocals deliver both high-pitched screams and raspy lows. 

‘Villainous Incantation’ has a much higher tempo, as kick-drums lead the way. It’s not without its downtempo moments though, as Dying Realm infuse slower passages and bridges, where atmosphere and even subtle doom elements creep in. It’s super sick! This EP is such an awesome listen thanks to the recording and mixing job by the band’s own Jake Murray at Just Noise Audio, coupled with mastering from Brad Boatright at Audiosiege.

Moving into the second half of the EP, ‘Mace Buried Deep’ starts off with more slam-like riffs and furious percussion, giving way to verses that are filled with thrash influences and some really great technical guitar/solos. Looking past the experience Dying Realm have in their ranks. It’s impressive to hear what they’ve been able to put together.

‘Abundant Mutilation’ ends Siege The Walls with blistering intensity. Exactly as death metal should be played, Boatloads of heaviness, more than matched by melody too. David Blaney (vocals), Jake Murray (guitar). Sam Thompson (guitar), Tom Stokes (bass) and Mitch Dornan (drums) have delivered a really solid EP. 

There are more death metal bands than ever, from all over the world, trying to reach fans right now. Each country has its own sound and approach, but I have to say the UK is really moving forward with the quality of bands this island is producing. Dying Realm deserve to be right up there after this. Fingers crossed for more to come!

You can stream and purchase Siege The Walls digitally via Dying Realm's bandcamp page below:-

You can also grab physical copies and other merch from them here -https://dyingrealm.bigcartel.com/products

Physical copies are also still available from the labels below:-

Cavernous Records (CD) - https://cavernousrecords.bigcartel.com/product/dying-realm-siege-the-walls-ep-cd 

Dry Cough Records - https://www.drycoughrecords.com/product/dying-realm-siege-the-walls-cassette-dc85

Dying Realm Instagram - @dying_realm 

Cavernous Records Instagram - @cavernousrecords 

Dry Cough Records Instagram - @dry_cough_records

Moloch - Bend. Break. Kneel. Crawl

Labels: Self-Released/Howling Mine/SuperFi Records/Dry Cough Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 06 Feb 2026

Tracklist:

1. In Chrysalis

2. Bleeding Through The Interrogation

3. The Bunker

4. Slowly Chewing Umbilical

5. Another Family Slaughters Itself In The Countryside

6. 16.03.13

7. Mother Medusa

In February, UK sludge institution Moloch returned with their first new music in six and a half years. Bend. Break. Kneel. Crawl was self-released on vinyl and digital formats, while SuperFi Records handled a CD release and Dry Cough Records did the same on tape. A US vinyl pressing is due to come from Howling Mine too, so keep an eye out for that stateside.

As I mentioned, Dry Cough Records released a limited tape version of the album and did so with alternative artwork, which I've shared below too. I purchased a copy when it was launched and I apologise for how long it's taken me to sit down to review it.

This release definitely heralds the early days of Dry Cough’s existence. Doom and sludge were DC’s sub-genre mainstays back then, and coming from the label that helped release Moloch’s previous splits with Haggatha, Lich and Groak, it was ace to see them working together again. There is a certain weight that comes with writing about Moloch’s music. It’s hard to explain why as it’s not something I usually feel with other bands, but it’s definitely there. Opener ‘In Chrysalis’ is the first taste you get of Moloch in 2026 (being a year shy of the 20th anniversary of their first demo) and it’s got a groove to it that stands out. It may have always been there but I remember the tempos being a lot slower on previous recordings. Whatever, it’s still a proper gut-wrenching listen that epitomises UK doom/sludge. 

‘Bleeding Through The Interrogation’ is a bass and feedback-drenched song that’s hard to adequately describe. It’s off-kilter at times and truly heavy all the way through. I think you need to listen to it to really appreciate what I’m trying to say. For a song to last almost three and a half minutes but feel like it lasts double that, something has to be going right. The further you get into this album, the nastier it gets. The low growls and bass-heavy doom that follows the screeching feedback at the start of ‘The Bunker’ sets the tone for what’s to come and Moloch don’t hold back at all. It’s mesmerising, showing yet again how a tried and tested formula can be moulded into something new. 

As stark as its title, ‘Slowly Chewing Umbilical’ takes a lumbering form. There’s a driving tempo to its first half and by that I mean it’s not too slow. The latter half though is where that slowness comes in, which is to be expected. Considering what I said when talking about the previous song, changing things drastically would have been a bad idea for a band so revered for their honest and bludgeoning music. ’Another Family Slaughters Itself In The Countryside’ conjures up all kinds of images and those images are interpreted in musical form here. The bass/low-end guitar duo work together to weave a foreboding atmosphere, while the percussion and vocals sit either side in unforgiving union.

Penultimate song ’16.03.13’ is filled with suspense as it builds. There’s something so enjoyable (to me at least) about the mix of dissonant heaviness and screeching feedback that just can’t be beaten. The fact that it comes in the form of an instrumental song as well is even sweeter. It’s the perfect, noisy precursor to the album’s closing number. ’Mother Medusa’ is both the harrowing and the euphoric ending that nobody expected (or maybe you did?). A true mix of Moloch’s mesmeric heaviness and tempo shifts, it’s the perfect send off for an album that’s been a long time coming. Honestly, this is such a good album. Great in fact! To have a band like Moloch delivering doom and sludge like this again is just epic.

You can stream and purchase the album digitally from Moloch below, where their self-released vinyl and a solitary CD copy can also be purchased:-

Moloch Instagram - @moloch.scum

Physical copies can also be purchased from the labels below:-

SuperFi Records - https://superfirecords.limitedrun.com/products/872432-moloch-bend-break-kneel-crawl-cd-lp

Dry Cough Records - https://www.drycoughrecords.com/product/moloch-bend-break-kneel-crawl-cassette-dc84

Also keep an eye out for news on the US vinyl release, which hopefully will come from Moloch soon.

SuperFi Records - https://superfirecords.neocities.org

Dry Cough Records - https://www.facebook.com/DryCoughRecords

Howling Mine - https://noladiy.org/howlingmine.html

SuperFi Records Instagram - @superfirecs 

Dry Cough Records - https://www.facebook.com/DryCoughRecords

Culloden - Lords Of A Lawless Land Single Premiere

This evening I'm very excited to be able to premiere the newest single from Newcastle heavy metallers Culloden. 'Lords Of A Lawless Land' has been officially released today and I'd like to thank Andrew, and the band for allowing me to share it.

The song is based on stories about a group of raiders called the Border Reivers, who roamed around the Anglo-Scottish borders in medieval times. To help tell this tale, Culloden have drawn inspiration from traditional heavy metal bands like Saxon, as well as heavier bands from the same era including Bathory and Venom.

The premiere is live to stream via my YouTube channel below:-

My first impression of the song is very positive. It's got both melody and genuine bite, as you'd expect from a heavy metal band. The North East is a bit of a hot bed for the traditional end of the metal spectrum and Culloden pull it off really well. It's also refreshing to hear a band taking lyrical inspiration from historic events that took place closer to their home.

I hope you'll join me in championing another fine band from the UK.

'Lords Of A Lawless Land' is also available to stream and purchase digitally from Culloden via bandcamp below here - https://cullodenuk.bandcamp.com/track/lords-of-a-lawless-land.

You can also find all of Culloden's social/streaming links here - https://linktr.ee/culloden.

Sulphuric Deity - Demonstration MMXXVI

Labels: Self-Released/Iconoclasm Conquest

Formats: Tape/Digital

Release Date: 06 Feb 2026

Tracklist:

1. Introduction

2. Gas Guts

3. Mutant Plague Assault (The Plague Becomes The Sword)

4. Foetus Christ

5. Subterranean Eradication

These are bleak times. Grey Britain is definitely living up to its name. From an island nation that gave birth to Black Sabbath's doom and the driving tempos of Motörhead, the bedrock for extreme metal was laid (at least in the UK). War metal, which shares its roots with black and death metal, has branches that stretch from South America to India and across every other country/continent if you look hard enough.

A new band emerged last year going by the name Sulphuric Deity and quickly released their first demo in February. Needless to say it sold out quickly, leading to a repress via German label Iconoclasm Conquest. My review this evening is of the digital version that contains five songs, while the tape version includes an additional exclusive cover of Blasphemy's 'War Command'.

Starting with ‘Introduction’, which was a collaboration between Sulphuric Deity and Mike Blenkarn-Durning, the sound of distorted air raid sirens, gales and disconcerting explosions provide the perfect backdrop to Sulphuric Deity’s intense barbarity. ‘Gas Guts’ unleashes hellishly loud, feedback-laden instrumentation as well as high/low-pitched vocals. It’s an instant impact that you never recover from.

‘Mutant Plague Assault (The Plague Becomes The Sword)’ takes the band’s grind influence and dials it up as high as it’ll go. There’s a metallic edge but not one that’s too obvious, as the recording and the rest of the instrumentation drags it back into darker territory. Demos can sometimes be overlooked but not by fans of extreme music and this one demonstrates why (sorry).

Sulphuric Deity’s sound leaps forward throughout this release and nowhere is that more obvious than on ‘Foetus Christ’, where bestial back metal is joined by death metal groove and screeching solos, causing a rousing opening salvo that leads to more crazed musicianship. Closing with ‘Subterranean Eradication’, there’s something immediately satisfying about the power of the instrumentation. Slightly powerviolence-esque, it continues on alongside scathing vocals that harness the true hatred that exists within black metal.

This is a powerful demo. One that justifies constant rotation alongside its recent tape repress. I’ve witnessed a lot of bands go silent after one or two releases. Hopefully, it isn’t the case with Sulphuric Deity.  

Demonstration MMXXVI is available to stream and purchase digitally from Sulphuric Deity below:-

Limited 2nd press tape copies are available from Iconoclasm Conquest here:-

https://iconoclasmconquest.com/products/sulphuric-deity-demonstration-mmxxvi-mc

Sulphuric Deity - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586266141454

Iconoclasm Conquest - https://www.facebook.com/iconoclasmxconquest

Greet - I Know How To Die

Labels: Dry Cough Records/Fiadh Productions

Formats: Vinyl/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 17 Oct 2025

Tracklist:

1. Keening

2. No More

3. Revelry

4. The Leather Knight

5. May

6. The Mire

7. The Seer

8. The Dig

9. The Battle

10. Eulogy

There's a part of me that felt like this blog had run its course over the last twelve months. It's grown bigger than I could've imagined over the last fifteen years, yet I've held back from allowing it to grow even more, which is my own failing I guess. With all that said though, I'm wanting to give it another proper push. Let's see...

October saw the release of the newest album I Know How To Die from Leeds, UK dark folk act Greet. Greet's sole-member and songwriter Matthew Broadley gathers together all manner of instruments from guitars and percussion, to flutes, synthesisers and a harmonium to create drone-laden folk music that befits the act's surroundings. It was released on tape via US label Fiadh Productions and on vinyl, also via Fiadh Prods and one of my favourite UK labels Dry Cough Records.

Beginning with the teasing opener ‘Keening’, Greet is joined by Steve Von Till, who provides spoken-word lyrics to a backdrop of choral vocals and droning synth/harmonium. It’s eerily soothing, especially when set against the swirling winds of Storm Bram outside. It’s also surprisingly full of volume, as ‘No More’ shows. There are so many elements at play here, so many different instruments, all led by the harmonium. I’ve never been drawn to folk music before but Greet’s association with Dry Cough/Fiadh and bands that shall remain nameless here drew me in.

The upbeat Celtic influence that flows through ‘Revelry’ could make it the perfect song to see in the New Year. Please excuse the tweeness of that last sentence but ‘Revelry’ reminds me of how the Scots celebrate Hogmanay, to name but one example. As the album progresses, you begin to notice that Greet’s other instrumental elements come to the fore over and above the harmonium. ‘The Leather Knight’ sees the vocals sitting in a more prevalent spot, alongside layered choir-like backing singing and the medieval tones added by a flute.

‘May’ is initially mournful in tone but it’s mood is lifted by vocal melodies that sound way jollier than they should. It’s not a lengthy song and it goes by fairly quickly. It is engrossing though and I’m really warming to this album. Folk is such a broad term when it comes to music and even dark folk seems to have a spectrum all of its own. ‘The Mire’ feels like an interlude at just over a minute in length, but it’s one that’s filled with the haunting voices of those who have walked the moors and valleys where Greet calls home.

As ‘The Mire’ fades and flows into ‘The Seer’, there’s a feeling of unease and tension as rhythmic percussion beats beneath the characteristic melody of Greet. It has its own persona amongst the more upbeat songs on this album, making it standout somewhat. The beautiful birdsong and almost rhythmically ambient sounds of ‘The Dig’ make up the album’s final interlude and lead to ‘The Battle’, which is ominous in its title.

Again, authoritative percussion joins the musical fray, helping to keep the rhythm alongside the harmonium. It’s solely instrumental and as it finishes with a trance-like passage, it leads into album closer ‘Eulogy’. A fitting title perhaps, as it’s where Greet delivers a more expansive sound with guitar melodies and glorious violin provided by Simon Barr. The vocals draw you in one last time, hypnotically so. 

As a music listener, I have often stuck to my own stubborn tastes; moving from the immediacy of hardcore and extreme metal, to post-rock/metal and experimental heaviness with the odd pop record infiltrating my listening habits as years have passed. I Know How To Die left me with such a sense of calm this evening that I think I might be moving into another phase of that musical journey. This album is fantastic and I’m so glad I took a chance on it.

You can stream and purchase the album digitally below, where it's also available on physical formats (albeit they're running low!):-

You can also buy the album on physical formats from the labels below:-

Dry Cough Records - https://www.drycoughrecords.com/product/greet-i-know-how-to-die

Fiadh Productions - https://fiadh.bandcamp.com/album/i-know-how-to-die

Dry Cough Records - https://www.facebook.com/DryCoughRecords

Fiadh Productions - https://www.facebook.com/fiadhproductions

Irk - The Seeing House

Labels: Nefarious Industries

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital

Release Date: 26 Sep 2025

Tracklist:

1. Idiot Plot

2. Toothache in Prison

3. Eating All of the Apple

4. The Finer Things in Life

5. Lifetime Achievement Award

6. The Great Wasp of Reluctance

7. Abraxas Casino

8. My Life in Bins

9. Love is a Windsock

10. Wedding, Berlin

A couple of months ago I wrote about the return of Yorkshire's Trudger after nine years. In that write-up I also hinted at the return of another band that have been silent for too long. It just so happens that said band is also from Yorkshire. Math/noise-rock band Irk are from Leeds and almost seven years after their last full-length Recipes From The Bible, they returned in September with their newest album The Seeing House, released via Nefarious Industries.

Irk's trio J.S. Gordon (vocalist), Ed Snell (bassist) and Matthew Deamer (drummer) are joined on this album by guests Jamie Chambers (strings arrangement),  Jenn Chubb (cello/gang vocals), Jack Evans (guitar), Stewart Ramsay and Kerry Ramsay (gang vocals).

There’s a glut of great new mathcore/math-rock bursting through at the moment, most of which is coming from the US; however, the UK has a proud tradition of musical weirdness too and having Irk back on the scene is nothing short of amazing, honestly! Kicking off with ‘Idiot Plot’, Irk’s noisy/sassy math-rock approach gives much more than it’s tempo suggests. The percussion/bass provides a solid base for the vocals that are delivered in a truly British rock/punk style (a cross between belligerence and showbiz). From the slightly laidback tempo of the album opener to the more frenetic and experimental ‘Toothache in Prison’, which allows the instrumentation more room to show through. It’s urgency obvious but tempered by a mid-section where bass is king.

The Seeing House is a mixed bag when it comes to songs and indeed song lengths, as is demonstrated by ‘Eating All of the Apple’. It’s a slow-build with authoritative bass and sinister, almost spoken-word vocals. I’m trying to recall “similar” sounding bands and all I can come with as a comparison (for what it’s worth) are Part Chimp, Idylls and Beecher maybe! Basically, I’m trying to say that I really have no clue. ‘The Finer Things in Life’ is that sweet spot between order and chaos without going over the edge. There’s an element of melody from the vocals here that gives a semblance of order before things get properly heavy, sludgy and weird.

From a song that doesn’t pass three minutes to one that smashes the seven minute mark, ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ is a stark mix of Irk’s math-rock, excellent cello playing from Jenn Chubb and string arrangement by Jamie Chambers. The addition of the strings provide an extra element of unease that’s been missing so far. After such an enjoyably mammoth song, you’re pulled into the album’s second half by ‘The Great Wasp of Reluctance’. As somebody who hates wasps, their reluctance to die plays on my mind constantly and the noise that Irk create here does nothing to ease it despite the addition of gang vocals from Stewart Ramsay, Kerry Ramsay and Jenn Chubb.

Given that the mathcore tag is assigned to Irk, it’s only correct that one or two of their songs don’t surpass two minutes. ‘Abraxas Casino’ is the shortest song on the album and honestly; it’s the closest to the sub-genre they’ll probably ever get. ‘My Life in Bins’ shows how comfortable and loose Irk have become on this album. It’s familiar in sound yet the added guitar from Jack Evans provides a layer that’s conspicuous by it’s absence on the rest of the record.

Penultimate song ‘Love is a Windsock’ is another glorious slab of noise-rock that goes way beyond that sub-genre. It’s a song that’s filled with a driving tempo and instrumental approach. Closing out the album with ‘Wedding, Berlin’, Irk go all out with the math-rock time-signatures and general oddness. It’s a lot more stripped back initially and is filled with unnerving atmosphere before it grows in intensity later on. Alongside the trio’s delivery, the gang vocals of Stewart Ramsey, Kerry Ramsey and Jenn Chubb are employed one final time to help round things out in terrifying style.

If this is Irk’s way of re-announcing themselves as a math/noise-rock force to be reckoned with, then they’ve totally achieved it! Again, it’s a great time to be a fan of the UK’s heavy music community, irrelevant of whether your’’re on the metal or punk side. Here’s hoping though that Irk waits less than seven years before releasing more music.

You can stream and purchase The Seeing House on all formats from Irk below:-

For those in the US, etc; you can order the album from Nefarious Industries here:-

https://www.nefariousindustries.com/collections/irk-the-seeing-house

Irk - https://www.facebook.com/irkband

Nefarious Industries - https://www.facebook.com/NefariousIndustries