March 2026 Roundup

Ah, March, when Canada doesn’t know what the fuck season it is and the weather goes from 20°C to -2° in the same week. March has historically been one of the hardest months for me, dealing with the seasonal depression on top of the regular depression, so this roundup gets real personal. Nonetheless, lots of goodies this month so let’s get into ‘em.

Albums are ordered by release date, with the exception of #1.

I’m a newer Moodring fan, having heard them for the first time in 2023 when frontman Hunter Young debuted the maniacal deathcore band PSYCHO-FRAME — which you should listen to if you enjoy deathcore without all the artificial symphonies and that’s actually inspired by death metal. But even so, there’s one thing I’m certain of: If Moodring ever has zero fans, I’m dead.

This alternative metal band instantly captivated me, and as far as I’m concerned, there still hasn’t been an EP that’s topped YOUR LIGHT FADES AWAY. As someone who’s transmasculine, having a higher voice (even after HRT) is something that I’ve struggled with accepting for over a decade, so hearing higher-register male vocals sound so beautiful and emotive was beyond inspiring. It was euphoric.

Right off the bat, Death Fetish is much more raw and stripped back, and Hunter’s range as both a vocalist and an artist really shines through. It’s got nu-metal riffs, moody melodies, gut-wrenching screams, and choruses catchier than top 40 hits — all completely drenched in pure emotion. You’ve been warned, this album is heartbreaking. We’re only a quarter of the way through 2026, but this album is without a doubt the most viscerally personal release I’ve heard, which earns it its place at the top.

Hunter has been open about his health for years, even before his ME/CFS [Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome] diagnosis in 2023. Death Fetish takes this vulnerability to a new level, with the agonizing grief of living with a chronic illness completely pouring out into the open. Fair warning: Suicide is a common theme throughout this album.

I only recently at 30 discovered I've been dealing with a weirdly specific chronic pain since I was about fourteen, after several misdiagnoses of "it's just muscle pain" and the ever so lovely medically misogynistic "it's just your period". I'm currently going through another medical mystery, which I've been trying to figure out for the past two months. I’m hoping answers come sooner rather than later, ‘cause it’s brutal. I’m pretty sure I don’t have ME/CFS, but having fatigue just as a symptom of whatever’s wrong with me is torturous. It affects your job, your relationships, your hobbies, and your ability to create art. That’s the lyrical theme throughout the album, and it’s why Death Fetish is going to stay close to my heart.

Half-Life gave me that same catharsis that the songs on YOUR LIGHT FADES AWAY gave me with those gorgeous, desperate sounding clean choruses. The pre-breakdown teases us with a not-so-subtle nod to BLACK_WAVE, and the breakdown itself is mighty. I can feel those guitars shaking my core.

Cannibal isn’t my favourite track as a standalone single, but it’s meaty as fuck and adds a ton of edge to the album. Masochist Machine gets industrial, like if Spineshank and Emmure had a baby, and that earworm of a chorus is fun as hell. Gunplay (Suicidal 3way) completely flips the mood on its head, getting uncomfortable at times. And as grim as it is, sole-ballad Ketamine comes in clutch as a perfectly placed, low-energy palette cleanser. Anywhere But Here brings back that shoegazey Stargazer sound that so many fell in love with, and STFA gives us that bouncy nu-metal sound with a huge soaring chorus that balances out the song so well.

Oxidized got real personal, and god is it tough to listen to — in a good way. In my eyes, art that can get under your skin and inside your bones like this is the best feeling. It’s the thought that your loved ones’ lives would be better if they didn’t have to factor you in. It’s the worst fucking feeling on Earth and Hunter translated it into song beautifully. I’ve skipped over it a few times, but I’m eternally grateful for it.

Bleed Enough? made me scream with excitement because right off the bat it reminded me of The Time Has Come from Devil May Cry and I got nostalgic. That being said, if Gunplay was uncomfortable, this is straight up invasive. It’s heavy, it’s energetic, it’s a weird industrial metalcorey marriage of disturbing and erotic.

The KoRn influence is evident on Sickf_ck — it’s all bass with no guitars, and Hunter just relentlessly talks shit. It’s a song I’d love to send to all those who didn’t (and don’t) take us with “invisible” conditions seriously. Die Slow has a pretty familiar sounding chorus and catchy pop melodies, but the lyrics cut deep. It tackles the inner turmoil of knowing you’re dying and in your darkest moments wanting death to end your suffering, though it also seems to hint at not literally wanting to die.

coldmetalkiss is the perfect closer for this. It’s much easier on the ears like Ketamine but not nearly as light, and makes use of muted industrial beats and autotune. Then you listen to the lyrics and it’s like “Oh shit, this is the acceptance phase” and it hits so much harder.

I’m just so glad this album exists. I know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, as my peers are much more about extreme metal and would probably rather pass on so much nu-metal/metalcore influence. But I can’t think of any other musician who’s been so blunt about chronic conditions and I cannot overstate how emotional it’s made me that something like this finally exists. Thank you Hunter and Moodring!

Also, take my favourite tracks here with a grain of salt, ‘cause I feel like I’ve changed them every time I’ve listened to the album. Oops.

For fans of: Static-X, Dir En Grey, Fear Factory
Favourite track(s): Half-Life, Masochist Machine

Listen on YouTube or Spotify

The screams are raw and visceral, and the cleans are dreamy — both in the sense that they’re soft and tender and that they have me swooning. I’m gonna echo what I said about Moodring’s Hunter Young about Erra’s Jesse Cash: hearing these gorgeous higher-register male vocals brings me so much joy, and it’s so inspiring. Not to mention he’s a beast on the guitar as well, in fact the technicality of all the instruments on this album is absolutely nuts.

Most tracks have a pretty positive and digestible sound, but reflecting on personal hardships and the state of the world seems to be March’s theme. Harsh vocalist J.T. Cavey said in an interview, "We accidentally wrote a dark album again." Further Eden contemplates our tendency to become cynical and let ourselves “sink into the abyss”, and urges us to instead find community and fight against it. Gore of Being goes deeper, exploring human extinction.

Black Cloud was inspired Jesse losing his father — who was described as “always having a black cloud above him — and it’s a fucking hard-hitter. Erra tend to keep their lyrics vague enough to be open to interpretation, but this one’s pretty clearly about loss and what goes on in your head afterwards. I’m still finding myself processing losing my own dad in 2019, and losing my dog who was with me for 12 years still feels fresh after a year. My grandparents are all in their 80s and I feel like I’m constantly anticipating it and how it’s going to feel. I recommend watching the music video for this one too, ‘cause fuck I bawled my eyes out.

A brilliant and perfectly balanced album that’s equal parts heavy as it is dreamlike, and will rip your heart out if you let it.

For fans of: Currents, Veil of Maya, Above, Below
Favourite track(s): Black Cloud, Cicada Siren

Listen on Bandcamp
Artwork by Dan Barkle

“Manic”, the first single to be released, covers how the inaccessibility to mental health services can have gruesome results. The second single, “Ley indígena” (translating to “Indigenous Law”), references a pretty brutal law in the Ecuadorian city of Cuenca. According to frontman Roger Rivadeneira, “As extreme as that sounds, people are taking justice into their own hands.” […] “It encapsulates the idea that sometimes, without violence, there can be no peace.”

That’s an idea I wish I could drill into the heads of many. When a government has been kidnapping, starving, and abusing its own people for years, a peaceful protest is probably not going to change any minds. Luigi Mangione has sadly been reduced to a pretty boy meme, but let’s not forget the message to be taken from his case: Regardless of political affiliation, the 1% is fucking us all and they won’t stop until they’re afraid of us.

For fans of: Pig Destroyer, Napalm Death, Nasum
Favourite track(s): Overthrow, Leech

Listen on Bandcamp
Artwork by Brian Sheehan

The world has been fucking exhausting — the album closer, Withdrawal, says it all. It’s a constant battle between the burning desire to fight and being too exhausted to exist. It's nice to let myself be halfway shut off for a while, and that's where this heavy shoegaze album by Mascara has come in clutch. The album only lasts about 1/4 of my ride, but powering down and letting these Deftones-inspired Parisians narrate what swirls in my head on the daily is much needed sonic self-care.

For fans of: Deftones, Nothing, Split Chain
Favourite track(s): N_E_S_N_S_J_W

Listen on Bandcamp
Artwork by amalcrossing

This album goes fucking hard. Old Technology is bratty and gives no fucks. Crank is raunchy and aggressive. YES GODDD is straight up grimier and heavier than some of this year's metal releases, with Slayyyter literally screaming over crunchy guitar riffs. There's of course some needed breaks in all this energy, with soft and sweet pop tracks like Gas Station and Unknown Loverz letting us relax.

But then I'm Actually Kinda Famous bears its fangs, and in the most complimentary way, listening to it feels like this:

I need more pop to feel like this. I need mean bitch pop music that threatens the listener and has teeth dripping with venom. $T LOSER starts off in the same way, and toward the end Slayyyter’s voice exhibits crazy range.

This album rules, and it’s safe to say WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA is the most multifaceted, most realized version of Slayyyter.

For fans of: Kesha, Charli XCX, Kim Petras
Favourite track(s): CRANK, YES GODDD

Listen on YouTube

Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite) is the high point for me. I love the Motörhead-esque rock ‘n’ roll guitars and the rare times when vocalist and sole member James McBain lets those low, demonic growls take the wheel. Go figure it’s the most personal song on the album as well.

Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm is just silly in the best of ways. Like I said last month, I love when blackened metal isn’t afraid to get whimsical and a little unserious. Of course, the titular track Coronach is such a grand closer — a huge finale for this mythological saga.

Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags took 2023 by storm, but Coronach may have surpassed it. Time can only tell, but one thing’s for certain: Hellripper never misses.

For fans of: Venom, Midnight, Bewitcher
Favourite track(s): Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite)

Listen on Bandcamp
Artwork by Adam Burke

Some more great releases worth mentioning:

Xenobiotic - Dante [Technical Deathcore]
Fire Magic - Memories of Fire [Blackened Thrash]
The Leaving - The Leaving [Death / Doom]
Putrisect - Putrisect [Brutal Death Metal]
Denzel Curry - Strictly 4 The Scythe [Hip-Hop]
Eternal Champion - Friend of War [Traditional Heavy Metal]
Aberrant Extermination Impulsion - Grindcore Is Dead… Long Live Grindcore [Grindcore]
Mauled - When Your Eyes Are Shut [Deathcore]
Skeltima - Soul Keeper’s Eternal Longing [Blackened Heavy Metal]
What the Fire Left - What the Fire Left [Crust-Punk / Metalcore]
Wielded Steel - Sins of Your Domain [Death Metal / Hardcore]
Crouch - Breaking the Catatonic State [Post Metal / Sludge]
Ethereal Darkness - Echoes [Melodic Death / Doom]
Fulci - Risorsero dalla Tomba e Fu… L’apocalisse! [Death Metal]
Gutvoid - Liminal Shrines [Death Metal]
Neurosis - An Undying Love for a Burning World [Post-Metal / Sludge]
Poison the Well - Peace in Place [Post-Hardcore / Metalcore]
Türböwitch - Under Haunted Skies [Blackened Thrash]
Aldheorte - The Wild Divine [Black Metal]
Dystopia - De Verboden Diepte II: De Weg van de Meeste Weerstand [Black Metal]
New Dawn Fades - LORES [Heavy Metal / Doom]
The Oldest House - The Art of Abysswalking [Blackened Doom]
Zerre - Rotting on a Golden Throne [Speed / Thrash]

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