PLAYLIST: 🩸 THE NEW FLESH INDEX — WEEKLY ROTATION #9 Friday, February 20th to Thursday, February 26th, 2026

Welcome to The New Flesh Index— A clear snapshot of the sounds shaping the period February 20th–26th, built from the tracks that demonstrated the strongest presence and impact throughout the week. This isn’t a playlist; it’s a curated index of movement, momentum, and measurable force within contemporary heavy music.
 
This rotation highlights February’s closing developments — riffs engineered with weight and precision, rhythms that maintain focused structural intent, and vocals that cut through the mix with controlled, intentional pressure. These are the tracks that consistently registered, held their ground, and left a sustained imprint across repeated listens.
 
This week’s selections are drawn from the following releases — projects that showed the most resilience under continued play and defined the week’s sonic profile:

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1) Converge – “Love is Not Enough” (125 individual track streams)
 
This release captures Converge’s continued refinement of their highly disciplined, emotionally charged sound. The album balances abrasive energy with structural clarity, demonstrating the band’s ability to sustain intensity without sacrificing coherence. It showcases mature songwriting, sharper production choices, and a clear sense of purpose, reinforcing Converge’s long‑established position as a defining force within modern heavy music.
 
2) Embittered – “Archatron” (52 individual track streams)
 
“Archatron” presents a compact, tightly executed blend of metallic hardcore that favors precision over breadth. The album maintains a consistent level of aggression while avoiding unnecessary complexity, resulting in a focused and streamlined listening experience. Its strength lies in its directness—each track serves the same clear aesthetic goal, making it a cohesive and efficient entry in the band’s catalogue.
 
3) Mädätys– “Kuoleman Ulottuvuudet” (34 individual track streams)
 
This album delivers a raw, fast, and deliberately unpolished take on extreme punk and metal crossover. Mädätys lean into a harsh, abrasive aesthetic that values immediacy and confrontation, creating a release that feels urgent and uncompromising. The record’s rough edges are part of its identity, offering listeners a faithful representation of the band’s underground roots and traditionalist approach.
 
4) Worm – “Necropalace” (30 individual track streams)
 
Necropalace emphasizes atmosphere, scale, and slow‑burn intensity, positioning Worm firmly within the more expansive side of extreme metal. The album’s pacing is deliberate, with extended passages that build mood through texture rather than speed. It rewards patient listening, revealing depth through layered instrumentation and careful production choices. As a full release, it demonstrates a strong command of tone and space.
 
5) Sundecay – “The Blood Lives Again” (21 individual track streams)
 
This album is defined by its weight and measured pacing, drawing from doom metal’s foundational traits while maintaining a modern sense of clarity. Sundecay focus on thick, resonant riffing and controlled tempos, creating a sound that is heavy without feeling stagnant. The record’s cohesive construction and tonal consistency make it a solid entry for listeners seeking methodical, slow‑burn heaviness
 
6) In Aeternum – “…of Death & Fire” (11 individual track streams)
 
“…of Death & Fire” offers a direct, tradition‑minded interpretation of blackened death metal, built on speed, sharp riffing, and concise arrangements. The album favors efficiency over experimentation, delivering a straightforward but well‑executed set of tracks that reflect the genre’s classic characteristics. Its clarity and focus make it a reliable release for listeners who appreciate extreme metal that stays close to its roots.

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⚔️ Total Streams: 289 ↓ 17% — A continued reduction in overall listening, following last week’s already‑lower activity levels.
🩸 Total Artists Streamed: 20 ↓ 17% — Listening narrowed across fewer artists, reversing last week’s broader spread.
⚔️ New Albums: 20 ↑ 27% — Despite the decline in total activity, new releases still entered rotation at a strong rate, maintaining consistent interest in fresh material.
🩸 New Tracks Streamed: 70 ↓ 39% — A significant decrease in new‑track exploration, indicating more focused, deeper listening rather than wide variety.
⚔️ Total Listening Time: 1 day ↓ 16% — Listening sessions were shorter overall, continuing the reduced engagement trend from the previous week.
🩸 Average Streams per Day: 41 ↓ 18% — Daily output followed the overall decline, settling below last week’s reduced pace.
⚔️ Most Active Day: 93 streams on February 23rd ↓ 13% — A solid peak still occurred, though at a lower level than last week’s highest‑activity day.

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⚔️ Top Artist: Converge (125 individual track streams)

🩸 Top Album: Converge – “Love is Not Enough” (125 individual track streams)

⚔️ Top Track: Converge – “Bad Faith” (14 streams)

⚔️🩸 The New Flesh Index Playlist #9 (30 biggest tracks of the week)

PLAYLIST: 🩸 THE NEW FLESH INDEX — WEEKLY ROTATION #8 Friday, February 13th to Thursday, February 19th, 2026

Welcome to The New Flesh Index—a weekly descent hammered into shape by the tracks that ruled February 13th–19th with absolute violence. This isn’t a playlist; it’s a slow-motion collision, a grinding maw of new metal tearing itself forward through grit, blood, and blown‑out amplifiers.
 
This rotation drags you face‑first through February’s ugliest mutations—riffs that crush like collapsing concrete, rhythms that stalk with cold intent, and vocals that rip through the mix like exposed wiring. These are the sounds that left dents, split teeth, and carved their presence into the room long after the last vibration died.
 
This week’s choice cuts were torn from the bone of the following releases—records that bled hardest under repeat impact and refused to let go:
 

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1) Ritual Arcana – “Ritual Arcana” (69 individual track streams)

A debut steeped in occult‑charged heavy rock and doom, forged by a trio with deep lineage in classic doom and supernatural hard‑rock traditions. The album blends stalking riffs, ritualistic atmospheres, and a vintage heaviness shaped by its veteran lineup, creating a sound rooted in mysticism and slow‑burn power.
 
2) Toothless – “Past Futures” (56 individual track streams)

A technical, aggressive metalcore release built on mathy structures, sharp rhythmic shifts, and high‑precision execution. It leans heavily into progressive metalcore tendencies — dense, tightly wound, and designed for listeners who like complexity fused with force.
 
3) Gorrch – “Stillamentum” (46 individual track streams)

A suffocating, dissonant black‑metal record from Italy, steeped in claustrophobic tension, harsh chord structures, and unrelenting intensity. It marks the duo’s return with a style that pushes into experimental territory while remaining firmly rooted in bleak, atmospheric extremity.
 
4) Remote – “Parish” (39 individual track streams)

A blackened sludge work defined by thick low‑end pressure, dragging riffs, and a hypnotic, ritualistic sense of pacing. The album leans into darkness and slow‑burn immersion, drawing from the heavier, more meditative edges of sludge and doom traditions.
 
5) Under – “What Happened in Roundwood” (29 individual track streams)

An unclassifiable collision of sludge, noise rock, doom, avant‑garde impulses, and warped prog sensibilities. Angular riffs, dissonant harmonies, odd time signatures, and a confrontational atmosphere make this album intentionally uncomfortable, narratively strange, and sharply original.
 
6) Cattle Hammer – “Dark Thoughts With Lights Out” (18 individual track streams)

A towering, bleak fusion of doom, drone, sludge, and blackened doom. Long, crushing tracks move with agonizing slowness, loaded with oppressive atmosphere and thick, noise‑drenched heaviness. A debut built entirely around weight, misery, and suffocating sonic density.
 
7) Matriphagy – “From Nothing to Nothingness” (18 individual track streams)

A brutal death‑metal outburst driven by frantic blast beats, savage riffing, and guttural‑to‑screeching vocal extremes. Chaotic, violent, and unrelenting, the EP also includes a twisted reworking of a Cryptopsy track, underscoring its commitment to technical ferocity.

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⚔️ Total Streams: 348 ↓ 31% - A noticeable reduction in overall listening, largely because time was spent with family during half‑term rather than at full listening capacity.
🩸 Total Artists Streamed: 24 ↑34% - Despite the lower stream count, listening was spread across more artists — a broader range than last week.
⚔️ New Albums: 24 ↑ 27% - More new releases entered rotation, showing continued interest in fresh material even with reduced total listening time.
🩸 New Tracks Streamed: 113 ↑38% - A strong increase in new tracks explored, highlighting variety over volume this week.
⚔️ Total Listening Time: 1 day, 5 hours ↓ 27% - Listening sessions were shorter overall, consistent with spending more time offline.
🩸 Average Streams per Day: 50 ↓ 31% - Daily activity followed the same downward trend as total streams for the week.
⚔️ Most Active Day: 106 streams on February 13th ↓ 2% - The week still started with a solid peak before the slowdown set in.

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⚔️ Top Artist: Ritual Arcana (69 individual track streams)

🩸 Top Album: Ritual Arcana – “Ritual Arcana” (69 individual track streams)

⚔️ Top Track: Gorrch – “Vorago” (9 streams)

⚔️🩸 The New Flesh Index Playlist #8 (30 biggest tracks of the week)

PLAYLIST: 🩸 THE NEW FLESH INDEX — WEEKLY ROTATION #7 Friday, February 6th to Thursday, February 12th, 2026

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A curated descent into the tracks that defined February 6th – February 12th: the most vital, corrosive, forward‑leaning new metal of the week, delivered with the slow, air‑starved crush of something sinking under its own mass. This rotation sinks fully into February’s churn, crawling through the filthiest new strains on offer and locking onto the sounds that bruised deepest, smothered the room, or clung like a tightening coil long after the final impact.

 

This week’s choice cuts were stripped from the following release(s)
 

Eximperitus – “Meritoriousness of Equanimity”

The gravitational centre of the entire week, streamed 90 times, making it both the top artist and the most‑played album. Its labyrinthine death metal architecture set the tone for the rotation from start to finish.

MØL – “Dreamcrush”

A major presence throughout the cycle with 79 track streams, its soaring blackgaze intensity cutting through the week with relentless momentum.

Shine – “Wrathcult”

With 77 streams, this release carved deep into the mid‑week sessions, its serrated edge leaving a clear mark on the week’s overall texture.

Shields – “Death Connection”

Although not included in the playlist, it still landed 59 streams, becoming one of the most significant outside‑rotation forces of the week.

Nightmarer – “Hell Interface”

A dense, disorienting slab that contributed 45 track streams, adding weight and atmosphere to the darker corners of the rotation.

Blacklight Holywater – “Not Here Not Gone”

Another off‑playlist standout, streamed 42 times, its bleak, shadow‑drenched tone fitting seamlessly into the week’s overall mood.

Syberia – “Quan tot s'apagui”

A sweeping instrumental counterbalance with 42 streams, offering atmosphere without easing the intensity of the broader cycle.

Urne – “Setting Fire to the Sky”

With 27 streams, this track added a dose of muscular, melodic heft to the week’s listening profile.

Armed for Apocalypse – “Fist Like Feathers”

The most‑played individual track of the week at 17 streams, standing out as the blunt‑force highlight amid heavier full‑length rotations.

Pilori – “Lèse-Majesté”

A venomous single that pulled in 15 streams, holding its own against the week’s dominant albums and adding a sharp, caustic edge to the rotation.

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WEEKLY LISTENING REPORT — FEBRUARY 6–12
 
⚔️ Total Streams: 504 — a 32% increase, marking one of the heaviest surges in recent rotation. The bulk of that weight came from a handful of records that demanded repeat immersion, with Eximperitus and MØL in particular pulling the week into deeper, more obsessive territory.
🩸 Total Artists Streamed: 18 — down 38%, reflecting a much tighter focus. This was a week defined by fixation rather than exploration, with a small circle of bands dominating the atmosphere from start to finish.
⚔️ New Albums: 19 — a 35% drop, though still a substantial intake for a week where repeat plays carried most of the load. Even with the narrowed scope, new material continued to carve out space in the rotation.
🩸 New Tracks Streamed: 82 — down only 4%, holding nearly steady despite contraction elsewhere. Fresh tracks continued to feed the edges of the listening cycle, but the gravitational pull of a few dominant releases kept the centre of the week firmly anchored.
⚔️ Total Listening Time: 1 day, 15 hours — a 30% rise, signalling longer, more immersive sessions. Much of that time was spent locked into the dense, ritualistic weight of Eximperitus and the atmospheric punishment of Nightmarer.
🩸 Average Streams per Day: 72 — up 31%, showing consistent pressure throughout the week rather than isolated spikes. The rotation stayed heavy from start to finish.
⚔️ Most Active Day: 108 streams on February 11th — a 15% increase, standing as the week’s clear peak. This was the day where the listening pattern tipped fully into saturation.

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⚔️ Top Artist: Eximperitus (90 individual track streams)

🩸  Top Album: Eximperitous – “Meritoriousness of Equanimity” (90 track streams)

 

⚔️ Top Track: Armed for Apocalypse – “Fists Like Feathers” (17 streams)

⚔️🩸 The New Flesh Index Playlist #7 (30 biggest tracks of the week)

PLAYLIST: 🩸 THE NEW FLESH INDEX — WEEKLY ROTATION #6 Friday, January 30th to Thursday, February 5th, 2026

 

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A curated descent into the tracks that defined January 30th – February 5th: the most vital, corrosive, forward‑leaning new metal of the week, delivered with the slow, air‑starved crush of something sinking under its own mass. This rotation hauls in some of the final January releases — the last convulsions of the month — crawling through the filthiest strains they offer, locking onto the sounds that bruised deepest, smothered the room, or clung like a tightening coil long after the final impact.

 

This week’s choice cuts were stripped from the following release(s)

 

Poppy – “Empty Hands”

Aendsnigh – “Sun Eater”

Gros Enfant Mort – “Les Sang Des Pierres”

Concrete – “Absent Morality”

Temptress – “hear”

Furi Helium – “No Altar Stands Eternal”

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⚔️ Total streams: 384 ↓ 1% vs. last week

🩸  Total Artists streamed: 29 ↑ 53%

⚔️ New Albums: 29 ↑ 39%

🩸  New Tracks streamed: 116 ↑ 4%

⚔️ Total Listening Time: 1 day, 2 hours ↓ 14%

🩸  Average Streams: 55 per day ↑ 0%

⚔️ Most Active Streaming Day: 92 on February 2nd ↑ 14%

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⚔️ Top Artist: Poppy (62 streams)

 🩸  Top Album: Poppy – “Empty Hands” (62 tracks streams)

⚔️ Top Track: Gros Enfant Mort – “Paillason 4ever” (8 streams)

🩸 The New Flesh Index Playlist #5 (30 biggest tracks of the week)

PLAYLIST: 🩸 THE NEW FLESH INDEX #1 - MONTHLY ROTATION - January 2026

 

My Top January 2026 compiled by Deezer
 
⚔️ Total minutes streamed: 6147
🩸  Total Artists streamed: 54
⚔️ Total Tracks streamed: 352
 
🩸  Top 10 Artists (minutes streamed): 
 
1). Will Haven (916 minutes)
2). The Ruins of Beverast (361 minutes)
3). Megadeth (330 minutes)
4). Vesseles (290 Minutes)
5). Null Existence (265 minutes)
6). Death Cult (251 minutes)
7). Ov Sulfur (227 minutes)
8). Pict (205 minutes)
9). Kreator (196 minutes)
10). Vermocracy (190 minutes)
 
⚔️ Top Tracks (most streamed)
 
1). Gravity Chasm – “Decompiled” (25 times)
2). Pict – “III.Searching” (11 times)
3). Pict – IV. The Nomad (10 times)
4). Pict – “II. Condemned” (10 times)
5). Redivider – “Bask in the Rot” (10 times”
6). Redivider – “Quartred & Devoured” (10 times)
7). Deadwood – “Tales of Massacre” (10 times)
8). Vesseles – “Perpetual Chasm of Black Mirrors” (9 times”
9). Semper Acerbus – “One Day At A Time” (9 times”
10. B e s o t – “feral escalation” (9 times”
 
🩸  The New Flesh Index Monthly (Jan 2026) 49 tracks, 3hrs 31mins of music featuring, Pict, Redivider, Semper Acerbus, b e s o t, Lionheart, Deadwood, Death Cult, Will Haven, Denominate, Kreator, Force Carrier, Viserion, Bite Down, Megadeth, Aendsnigh, The Ruins of Beverast, Vesseles, Null Existence, Carrion Vael, Blanket.

PLAYLIST: 🩸 THE NEW FLESH INDEX — WEEKLY ROTATION #5 Friday, January 23rd to Thursday, January 29th, 2026

 

January 23rd → January 29th, 2026

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A curated descent into the tracks that defined January 23rd – January 29th: the most vital, corrosive, forward‑leaning new metal of the week. This rotation drags through the sounds that actually left a mark — the ones that scraped bone, rewired pulse, or refused to let go once they sank in.

This week’s choice cuts pull from across the spectrum: the final, self‑titled statement from Megadeth, a closing chapter delivered with cold precision; the first full‑length from hateful hardcore metal unit DEATH CULT, featuring ex‑Purgatory (FR) members — a debut that swings like a rust‑pitted blade and leaves the wound open; Vesseles – “Home”, a symphonic black metal odyssey built on piano‑driven motifs, towering orchestral surges, jagged dissonance, and wounded melodic turns carved straight from personal upheaval; Soen – “Reliance”, a progressive metal offering that tightens their melodic discipline while sinking deeper into shadowed emotional terrain, each movement shaped by shifting dynamics and a relentless sense of control; the fire‑and‑fury assault of Viserion – “Fire and Blood”; and the surgical brutality of Carrion Vael – “Slay Utterly”. Every entry earned its place by force, not familiarity.

What remains is a leaner, more volatile rotation — built on impact rather than excess, every cut chosen for the way it bruised, rattled, or refused to loosen its grip throughout the week. A clean incision to open 2026 — and the flesh only gets stranger from here.

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⚔️ Total streams: 387 ↑ 29% vs. last week
🩸  Total Artists streamed: 19 ↑ 27%
⚔️ New Albums: 21 ↑ 45%
🩸  New Tracks streamed: 112 ↑ 18%
⚔️ Total Listening Time: 1 day, 6 hours ↑ 31%
🩸  Average Streams: 55 per day ↑ 28%
⚔️ Most Active Streaming Day: 79 on January 23rd, 2026 ↑ 5%

⚔️ Top Artist: Megadeth (85 streams)

🩸  Top Album: Soen – “Reliance” (73 streams)

⚔️ Top Track: Vesseles– “Perpetual Chasm of Black Mirrors” (9 streams)

🩸  The New Flesh Index Playlist #5

PLAYLIST: 🩸 THE NEW FLESH INDEX — WEEKLY ROTATION #3 Friday, January 9th to Thursday, January 15th, 2026

January 9th → January 15th, 2026

 

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A curated descent into the tracks that defined January 9th – January 15th: the most vital, corrosive, forward‑leaning new metal of the week, stitched together with a few choice relics from the vault. This rotation drags through the sounds that actually left a mark — the ones that scraped bone, rewired pulse, or refused to let go once they sank in.

This week’s choice cuts open with the hardcore‑driven ferocity of Lionheart – "Valley of Death II", a record built on concrete‑thick groove and street‑level venom. Bite Down – "Violent Playground" detonates with a hybrid of nu‑metal, deathcore, and metalcore, swinging between swaggering bounce, serrated breakdowns, and full‑throttle aggression. Voidhammer – "Noxious Emissions" drags things into a suffocating strain of death‑doom, thick with decay and pressure, while Inborn Tendency – "Let There Be Sin" pushes into progressive death metal, all sharp turns, technical muscle, and shifting structures.

What remains is a leaner, more volatile rotation — one built on impact rather than excess, each cut chosen for the way it bruised, rattled, or refused to loosen its grip throughout the week.

A clean incision to open 2026 — and the flesh only gets stranger from here.

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If you want this to lean even more venomous, more atmospheric, or more stripped‑back, I can tune it further.

⚔️ Total streams: 467 ↑ 34% vs. last week
🩸  Total Artists streamed: 25 ↑ 109%
⚔️ Total Albums streamed: 29 ↑ 45%
🩸  New Tracks streamed: 152 ↑ 64%
⚔️ Total Listening Time: 1 day, 8 hours ↑ 28%
🩸  Average Streams: 67 per day ↑ 34%
⚔️ Most Active Streaming Day: 100 on January 11th, 2026 ↓ 3%

 Top Artist: Lionheart (66 streams)

🩸  Top Album: Lionheart – “Valley of Death II” (66 streams)

⚔️ Top Track: Lionheart– “Icecold” (9 streams)

🩸  The New Flesh Index Playlist #3