WELCOME TO PATCH NOTESV.666, YOUR, NOVEMBER 7TH, 2025 SYSTEM UPDATE STRAIGHT FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL!
Every Friday, we wade through the carnage so you don’t have to. Whether it’s blackened, brutal, or bugged beyond repair, we’ll tell you what’s forged in fire and what deserves a permanent rage-quit. So equip your best armor, chug a stamina potion, and step into the pit this week with albums from Brazilian thrash veterans THE MIST, the funeral doom of OROMET, crossover thrashers DENIAL OF LIFE, Veteran NYC hardcore kings AGNOSTIC FRONT, German death metallers MY DARKEST HATE, modern metal extremists COLD STEEL, mathcore maniacs PUPIL SLICER, Swedish hard rockers HELL IN THE CLUB, Icelandic black metallers ZAKAZ, and dark folk minimalists THE MON.
DENIAL OF LIFE – WITNESS THE POWER (CREATOR-DESTRUCTOR RECORDS)
Creator-Destructor Records has signed Tacoma, Washington’s thrash/crossover outfit Denial Of Life for their new EP, Witness The Power. Forged in the Pacific Northwest, the band channels the speed of Slayer, the fury of Sepultura, and the death-soaked grime of Entombed into a merciless, metallic hardcore assault. With Brenna Gowin’s searing vocals over razor-sharp guitars, crushing bass, and pulverizing drums, Denial Of Life delivers pure rage and ruin. Engineered by Jason Brooks, mixed by Taylor Young (Nails, God’s Hate), and mastered by Brad Boatright (Obituary), Witness The Power cements Denial Of Life’s mission: burn it all the fuck down. [7.5]
AGNOSTIC FRONT – ECHOES IN ETERNITY (REIGNING PHOENIX MUSIC)
NYC hardcore legends Agnostic Front return with Echoes In Eternity. True to their roots, the band delivers pure adrenaline-fueled riffs, unrelenting energy, and sharp social commentary. Vocalist Roger Miret calls it “fresh, current, and personal,” with massive production from Mike Dijan and a powerful mix by Zeuss. Highlights include the raging opener ‘Way Of War,’ the defiant ‘You Say,’ and ‘Matter Of Life & Death’ featuring Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels. From the anthemic ‘Sunday Matinee’ to the blistering ‘Hell To Pay,’ Echoes In Eternity reaffirms Agnostic Front’s dominance in modern hardcore. [8]
MY DARKEST HATE – RUST AND BONES (MASSACRE RECORDS)
German death metal veterans My Darkest Hate return with their long-awaited sixth album, Rust And Bones. Produced with Andy Classen (Krisiun, Destruction), it delivers ten tracks of crushing old-school death metal pushed to new extremes. The stark artwork by Remy Cooper (Napalm Death, Kreator) channels the album’s raw aggression. Guest appearances include Dave Ingram (Benediction, ex-Bolt Thrower) on ‘He Who Never Sleeps’ and TZ (Pessimist) on ‘Flammenland,’ the band’s first-ever German-language song — a brutal, atmospheric highlight that cements Rust And Bones as a must-hear for death metal purists.
COLD STEEL – DISCIPLINE & PUNISH
(SPINEFARM RECORDS]
Cold Steel unleash their debut full-length Discipline & Punish, a furious blend of thrash riffs, hardcore breakdowns, and metalcore muscle they call “aggressive metal.” Produced by Arthur Rizk (Blood Incantation, Power Trip, Cavalera) in Philadelphia, the album channels influences from Metallica, Machine Head, and Slipknot while carving out a sound that’s distinctly their own. Formed in 2021 in Tampa, Florida, the six-piece earned attention with EPs Will Of Spiritual Cleansing and Deeper Into Greater Pain, and live shows alongside Trivium and Obituary. Discipline & Punish cements Cold Steel as a rising force in modern extreme metal. [7]
THE MIST – THE DARK SIDE OF THE SOUL (ALMA MATER RECORDS)
Thirty years after Gottverlassen, Brazilian thrash veterans The Mist return with The Dark Side Of The Soul, led once again by vocalist Vladimir Korg (Phantasmagoria, The Hangman Tree). Keeping their Circle Of The Crow lineup intact, the band delivers a conceptual, three-part work blending lightning-fast riffs, furious vocals, and philosophical depth. Exploring life, death, and the “anatomy of the soul,” each track connects emotion to bodily organs in poetic metaphors. Produced by Tue Madsen with artwork by Michael Whelan, the album channels raw Brazilian thrash energy into a visceral, introspective, and punishing modern statement. [7]
OROMET – THE SINKING ISLE (HYPAETHRAL RECORDS)
OROMET, formed in 2022 by guitarist/vocalist Dan Aguilar and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Hills, craft monumental funeral doom where melody guides the weight of despair. Their debut established a vision of beauty amid crushing heaviness; The Sinking Isle pushes deeper into darkness. Adrift on cataclysmic seas, melody remains their compass through loss and nostalgia. Recorded and mastered by Hills at Earthtone Recording Company, the album opens with the 21-minute ‘Hollow Dominion,’ a slow-burning odyssey of transcendent harmonies and cavernous howls. The Sinking Isle stands as a haunting, melodic monolith in the modern funeral doom landscape. [7.5]
PUPIL SLICER – FLESHWORK (PROSTHETIC RECORDS)
Fleshwork sees Pupil Slicer reemerge sharper and angrier than ever. The mathcore trio fuses the feral chaos of Mirrors with the melodic precision of Blossom, creating a visceral hybrid of industrial aggression and cathartic hooks. With new bassist Luke Booth joining drummer Josh Andrews and vocalist/guitarist Kate Davies, the band pushes boundaries toward a darker, more organic sound. Recorded at Nø Studio with producer Joe Clayton, Fleshwork explores societal dehumanization through an industrial hellscape of self-destruction and empathy collapse. Fans of Nine Inch Nails and Oathbreaker can expect an incendiary, concept-driven evolution in extreme metal. [8]
HELL IN THE CLUB – JOKER IN THE PACK (FRONTIERS MUSIC S.R.L.)
Hell In The Club return with their seventh studio album Joker In The Pack—their first with Swedish powerhouse vocalist Tezzi Persson (Infinite & Divine, Venus 5). Known for their hard rock sound rooted in the classic ’80s vibe with a modern edge, the band launches a bold new era with ten tracks of pure adrenaline. From fiery opener ‘The Devil Won’t Forget Me’ to the emotive closer ‘When The Veil Of Night Falls,’ expect gritty guitars, driving rhythms, and soaring vocals. Joker In The Pack brings an all-new hell to this raucous and entertaining club of hard-rocking miscreants, proving to the world that rock and roll is far from dead… it’s only just getting started! [7]
THE MON – SONGS OF ABANDON (SUPERNATURAL CAT RECORDS)
The Mon’s double album Embrace The Abandon unfolds in two massive parts — Songs Of Abandon and Songs Of Embrace — exploring duality through loss and rebirth. Created by Urlo (Ufomammut) in solitude and isolation, Songs Of Abandon is by far his most intimate work: nine raw, acoustic tracks built from daily songwriting sessions using only guitar and voice, later layered with subtle textures to preserve their fragility. Merging dark folk minimalism with a ton of emotional depth, the record channels solitude and transformation. Songs Of Abandon releases November 7th via Supernatural Cat Records, with Songs Of Embrace arriving in the Spring of 2026. [7]
ZAKAZ – MERKI SÓLAR
(GYMNOCAL INDUSTRIES)
Icelandic black metal act Zakaz returns five years after Hof úr Holdi with Merki Sólar (“The Mark Of The Sun”). The album channels ritualistic intensity rather than traditional songcraft—invoking ancient Norse symbols and pre-linguistic spiritual states. Zakaz‘s sound serves as a conduit for ancestral memory and psychospiritual descent, blending raw black metal with meditative, otherworldly atmosphere. The solar mark, etched into bone and mind alike, becomes their guiding motif: a relic of purity illuminating cultural decay and the abyss of modern entropy. Expect an immersive, transcendental descent into primordial darkness. [8.5]
