Welcome to Patch Notes V.666, your weekly system update straight from the depths of Hell
Every Friday, we wade through the carnage so you don’t have to—separating the world-ending riffs from the glitch-ridden duds, the blast-beat assaults from the uninspired filler. 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 San Fran thrash/speed metal supergroup, NEFARIOUS, United States Black Metallers, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, Chilean groove gods, MAWIZA, and Seattle subterranean death metallers, REBURIED.
NEFARIOUS – ADDICTED TO POWER (RELENTLESS METAL RECORDS)
From the heart of SF’s legendary thrash metal scene comes Nefarious, a punishing new speed metal force with deep roots and some super serious pedigree. Fronted by Katon W. De Pena (Hirax), with riff legends Rick Hunolt (Exodus) and Doug Piercy (Heathen, Blind Illusion), the band channels the golden age of Bay Area thrash and speed with renewed fire. Tom Gears (Blind Illusion) anchors the low end, while Will “Beastman” Carroll (Death Angel) brings cacophony from behind the kit. The debut album, Addicted To Power, is pure, unpretentious old-school thrash—melodic, aggressive, and razor-tight. This is classic San Francisco metal, reborn like a phoenix rising! [9]
ABIGAIL WILLIAMS – A VOID WITHIN EXISTENCE (AGONIA RECORDS)
Abigail Williams returns with A Void Within Existence, their long-awaited sixth album. Produced by frontman Ken Sorceron and mixed by Dave Otero, the album pushes their atmospheric black metal into even darker, more emotional extremes. With Mike Heller (Fear Factory) on drums, the album is a bleak mashup of humanity’s existential dread colliding with interstellar horror, with cosmic ruin and inner collapse as its foundation. Formed in 2004, Abigail Williams has been a pillar of USBM, evolving across two decades of black, death, and symphonic metal. A Void Within Existence may be their most raw and honest offering yet. [8]
MAWIZA – ÜL (SEASON OF MIST)
Mawiza’s ÜL (meaning “chant” in Mapuzugun) is a powerful fusion of Indigenous resistance and modern groove metal. Rooted in Mapuche (south-central Chile) spirituality, the album channels ancestral energy, honoring nature as a conscious, living force. Tracks like ‘Wingkawnoam’ and ‘Ngulutu’ blend ritualistic rhythms with heavy riffs, while ‘Ti Inan Paw-pawkan’ features community chants and Gojira’s Joe Duplantier on guest vox. Dream-inspired lyrics and traditional healing sounds amplify ÜL‘s message of ecological balance and cultural survival. It is both a spiritual offering and a rallying cry that Duplantier calls “a conversation between past, present, and future.” [8]
REBURIED – FLESH MOURNING (TRANSLATION LOSS RECORDS)
Reburied return with Flesh Mourning, their second full-length slab of ritual death metal reverence. Crawling from the Seattle sewers, the guys channel the putrid spirit of early Incantation and Autopsy, binding cavernous riffs, double bass punishment, and bile-drenched gutturals into a doom-infused rite of decay dripping with old-school rot. Featuring members of UN and Deconsecration, Reburied have sharpened their sound into something heavier, darker, and more deliberate. Fans of classic death metal will find plenty to sink their teeth into. This is unrelenting, no-frills brutality.
