⚔️ Sonic Selections (((o))): Artists/albums that defined October 2026

 

A snapshot of what I’ve been listening to this month — and the records that have been on repeat.
 
My listening cooled off in October after September’s surge, with fewer plays, artists, albums and tracks overall. But I still kept coming back to records from False Body, ambretta and Hippotraktor, giving them plenty of repeat plays. My busiest listening day of the month even topped September’s peak. This week, I also listened to The Great Ox in the belly of the Snake, Dissimulator and Great Falls — all of whom feature in our playlist below.
 
 
 
📊 1709 plays (-27%)
📆 55 avg plays/day (-29%)
⚔️ 30 artists (-19%)
💿 37 albums (-39%)
🎧 271 tracks (-34%)
⏱ 4 days, 23 hrs (-37%)
🔥 Peak: Oct 1 — 202 plays (+12%)
 
 
 
⚔️ Top Artists
 
⚔️ False Body — 152 plays
⚔️ Nott — 139 plays
⚔️ Hippotraktor — 129 plays
 
 
💿 Top Albums
 
💿 False Body — Tomorrow Starts Without You (2026) (152 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 17 full play-throughs
💿 Hippotraktor — Annihilist (2026) (129 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 18 full play-throughs
💿 ambretta — Something Has to Change (2026) (128 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 16 full play-throughs
 
 
🎧 Top Tracks
 
🎧 Hippotraktor — “Annihilist” (21 plays)
🎧 Hippotraktor — “Courageous Apathy” (19 plays)
🎧 Hippotraktor — “Oblivion Walker” (19 plays)

THE NEW FLESH INDEX: 🩸 Artists That Defined My Week #45 Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2026

🎧 In terms of this my listening this week, the volume bounced back dramatically after the subdued activity of #44, during my week off. In terms of total plays, they more than doubled, my listening time surged, and daily averages returned to levels not seen for several weeks. Despite the increase, the week was focused on just four artists accounting for virtually all listening and Entheos completely dominated proceedings through repeated spins of Empty on the Inside, and a subsequent deep dive in their discography
 
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⚔️ Weekly Breakdown
 
📊 333 plays (+117.6%)
🔱 4 artists (-42.9%)
💿 7 albums (-12.5%) 
🎧 52 tracks (0.0%)
⏱ 22 hrs (+144.4%)
📈 48 plays/day (+118.2%)
🔥 Peak: Nov 3 — 88 plays (+104.7%)
 
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🔱 Top Artists
 
🔱 Entheos — 259 plays
🔱 Frontierer — 65 plays
🔱 Frontierer & The Armed — 5 plays
 
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💿 Top Albums
 
💿 Entheos — Empty on the Inside (2026) (100 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 10.0 full play-throughs
💿 Entheos — Time Will Take Us All (2024) (74 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 6.2 full play-throughs
💿 Frontierer — Ultraviolet Parasite (2026) (65 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 4.6 full play-throughs
 
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🎧 Top Tracks
 
🎧 Entheos — “Hell is a part of me” (13 plays)
🎧 Entheos — “Empty on the Inside” (12 plays)
🎧 Entheos — “Call My Name” (10 plays)
 
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🎵 Playlists

 

 

 🎧 What's taken over your listening this week?  

THE NEW FLESH INDEX: 🩸 Artists That Defined My Week #44 Oct 23rd – Oct 29th, 2026

 
🎧 In terms of this week's listening, it dropped dramatically due the kids being off school due to half term holidays and overall, I didn’t really get the opportunity to check out much new music.  My total plays fell by more than half compared to #43, album count declined further, and listening became concentrated around an even smaller group of records. Despite the lower volume though, Patent's Anomie stood comfortably above everything else, topping both the artist and album charts.  It is an absolute rager and I definitely recommend that you check it out. 
 
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⚔️ Weekly Breakdown
 
📊 153 plays (-55.5%)
🔱 7 artists (0.0%)
💿 8 albums (-27.3%)
🎧 52 tracks (-30.7%)
⏱ 9 hrs (-65.4%)
📈 22 plays/day (-55.1%)
🔥 Peak: Oct 26 — 43 plays (-41.9%)
 
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🔱 Top Artists
 
🔱 Patent — 72 plays
🔱 Mental Cruelty — 39 plays
🔱 ACAUSAL INTRUSION — 19 plays
 
 
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💿 Top Albums
 
💿 Patent — Anomie (2026) (72 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 9.0 full album play-throughs
💿 Mental Cruelty — Echoes of a Forlorn Land (2026) (39 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 3.9 full album play-throughs
💿 The Fault Of Man — Hope Will Eat You Alive EP (2026) (15 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 2.5 full play-throughs
 
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🎧 Top Tracks
 
 
🎧 Mental Cruelty — “Weltennacht” (6 plays)
🎧 boon — “Ceux qui ne cèdent pas...” (6 plays)
🎧 boon — “Frayeurs et autres délicatesses” (6 plays)
 
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🎵 Playlists

 

 

🎧 What's taken over your listening this week?

THE NEW FLESH INDEX: 🩸 Artists That Defined My Week #43 Oct 16th – Oct 22, 2026

 

🎧 In terms of this week's listening, my total plays fell by almost thirty percent, artist count halved, and album and track variety both dropped sharply. Despite the reduced spread, Great Falls emerged as the my focal point of the week, dominating the artist, album and track charts through repeated listens of The Bite That Grows Up.  

These were the artists that defined my listening, and all bands offer something genuinely exciting. boon and Sundowner were both new discoveries for me, and in terms of Great Falls, they add another stunning record to their exemplary discography, and Throes, well fuck, they just destroy.  Do yourself a favour, check out all these bands, along with my curated playlist below.  2026 continues to deliver so much excellent heavy music and week 43 produced two of the best heavy records so far, from Great Falls and Throes.

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⚔️ Weekly Breakdown

📊 344 plays (-29.2%)
🔱 7 artists (-50.0%)
💿 11 albums (-42.1%)
🎧 75 tracks (-49.7%)
⏱ 26 hrs (-31.6%)
📈 49 plays/day (-29.0%)
🔥 Peak: Oct 16 — 74 plays (-35.1%)

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🔱 Top Artists

 
🔱 Great Falls — 113 plays
🔱 Throes — 90 plays
🔱 Sundowner — 53 plays
 

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💿 Top Albums

 
💿 Great Falls — The Bite That Grows Up (2026) (113 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 14.1 full album play-throughs
💿 Throes — The Colorless Light of Emptiness (2026) (90 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 9.0 full album play-throughs
💿 Sundowner — Cesspool (2026) (53 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 5.3 full album play-throughs
 

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🎧 Top Tracks

🎧 Great Falls — A Small Weakness (16 plays)
🎧 Great Falls — Pinned Against Time (16 plays)
🎧 Great Falls — Worse Than Sleep (15 plays) 

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🎵 Top 30 Tracks Playlist

🎧 What's taken over your listening this week?

DISCOG DISSECTION: Nott - "The Wretched Sounds" to "As All Is Undone"

 

🎤 Artist: Nott
📍 Location: Seattle, Washington
🎼 Genre: Death metal / metalcore / doom
💿 Studio albums ranked: 3
 
 
For this next instalment of Discog Dissection, the focus today is on Seattle, Washington duo Nott. Ostensibly, the act seem to begin as the creative endeavour of founder, principal songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Tyler Campbell.
 
Now on their third full-length, they developed into a fully-fledged live act and, judging by the clips I have seen online, the addition of drummer Julia Geaman was an absolute masterstroke. Released on 4 September 2026 via our friends at Silent Pendulum Records, As All Is Undone is easily their strongest album to date, at least from my perspective. Following multiple listens, I decided to dive into their back catalogue to get a sense of their beginnings, how their sound may have changed over time, and how they developed into the juggernaut they have become today.
 
According to their bio, Nott occupy a brutal space where dissonant death metal, doom and sludge collide. That description feels particularly appropriate given the sheer weight of their music. There is an oppressive quality to their sound, but also enough variation in dynamics and atmosphere to make the experience feel like far more than simply an exercise in heaviness.
 
What I particularly enjoyed about this deep dive was hearing that sound develop across three successive records. The foundations are there on The Wretched Sounds, they become increasingly established on Hiraeth, and then, for me, everything comes together on As All Is Undone.
 
Going backwards through the catalogue also gave me a better appreciation of where Nott started and the progression that followed. Whilst all three albums clearly belong to the same creative vision, As All Is Undone feels like the most complete representation of what Nott have developed into.
 
Ultimately, that is exactly why I enjoy doing these Discog Dissection features. The ranking is obviously part of it, but it is equally about exploring the journey between records and hearing how an artist's identity develops over time. In Nott's case, As All Is Undone initially caught my attention, but exploring the records that preceded it gave me a much greater appreciation of the project as a whole.
 
Honestly, Nott have made a considerable impression on me during this deep dive. As All Is Undone remains comfortably my favourite of the three, but each record contributes something to the story of how they arrived at this point. If you haven't already heard them, I would absolutely recommend checking them out. 

🏆 Ranking
 
🥇 1 — As All Is Undone (2026)
🥈 2 — Hiraeth (2023)
🥉 3 — The Wretched Sounds (2018)
 
📈 Share of total plays
 
📀 As All Is Undone — 59.1%
📀 Hiraeth — 20.9%
📀 The Wretched Sounds — 20.0%
 
 
📊 Nott listening stats during this deep dive:
 
🎧 Total plays: 220
 ↳ Equivalent to approximately 30.6 complete album listens
 
 
💿 As All Is Undone — 130 plays
 ↳ 18.6 album-equivalent listens
💿 Hiraeth — 46 plays
 ↳ 6.6 album-equivalent listens
💿 The Wretched Sounds — 44 plays
 ↳ 5.5 album-equivalent listens
 
 
🎵 Top tracks:
 
🔥 "Under the Weight" (As All Is Undone) — 21 plays
🔥 "Stare" (Hiraeth) — 8 plays
🔥 "The Carbon Lens" (The Wretched Sounds) — 7 plays
 
 
🏆 Most-played album: As All Is Undone — 130 plays
🔥 Most-played track: "Under the Weight" — 21 plays
 
 
💬 Discussion
 
❓ Are you a fan of Nott?
❓ How would you rank these albums?
❓ What's your favourite?

THE NEW FLESH INDEX: 🩸 Artists That Defined My Week #42 Oct 9th – Oct 15, 2026

 

🎧 In terms of this week's listening, the variety of artists increased significantly despite total plays remaining unchanged. Artist, album and track counts all climbed sharply, which highlighted a much broader listening week. Despite the wider spread of artists and sounds, Hippotraktor's Annihilist emerged as my defining record of the week, topping the artist and album charts while Hippotraktor also claimed all three top track positions.

These were the artists that defined my listening, and all bands offer something genuinely unique. Hippotraktor and Sickmind were both new discoveries for me.  I’d definitely recommend checking out all these bands, along with my curated playlist, which this week also includes tracks from the classic Slayer album, Seasons in the Abyss, which celebrated its 26 year anniversary.  Also featured on my curated playlist were ambretta, Acausal Intrusion and a reentry for Nott, the latter two artists I was completing deep dive into their back catalogues

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⚔️ Weekly Breakdown

 

📊 486 plays (0.0%)
🔱 14 artists (+55.6%)
💿 19 albums (+58.3%) (not full run-throughs)
🎧 149 tracks (+65.6%)
⏱ 38 hrs (+35.7%)
📈 69 plays/day (0.0%)

🔥 Peak: Oct 14 — 114 plays (-34.1%)

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🔱 Top Artists

 

🔱 Hippotraktor — 129 plays
🔱 ACAUSAL INTRUSION — 70 plays
🔱 Nott — 66 plays

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💿 Top Albums

💿 Hippotraktor — Annihilist (2026) (129 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 18.4 full album play-throughs
💿 ambretta — Something Has to Change (2026) (57 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 7.1 full album play-throughs
💿 Slayer — Seasons in the Abyss (1990) (40 plays)
↳ Equivalent to approx. 4.0 full album play-throughs

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🎧 Top Track

 
🎧 Hippotraktor — Annihilist (21 plays)
🎧 Hippotraktor — Courageous Apathy (19 plays)
🎧 Hippotraktor — Oblivion Walker (19 plays)

🎵 Top 30 Tracks Playlist

 

 

🎧 What's taken over your listening this week?

DISCOG DISSECTION: Februus, "Surveillance Orgy" to "Construction of Conflict"

🎤 Artist: Februus
🎼 Genre: Progressive/technical death metal
💿 Studio albums ranked: 2
 
This is my personal deep dive into the discography of Februus, following the release of their second album, Construction of Conflict, through Transcending Obscurity on 4 September 2026.
 
Februus is the one-man project of Swedish musician Andreas Karlsson. My introduction to the band came through Surveillance Orgy when it was still an independent release, prior to its subsequent reissue through Transcending Obscurity.  Even then, it was obvious that Karlsson possessed a unique creative vision. Surveillance Orgy was ambitious, unpredictable and packed with ideas, but at the same time it was not an easy listen.
 
When Construction of Conflict arrived, I expected a similar reaction. In reality, I found it even more challenging, at least initially. From a purely subjective standpoint, the album did not immediately grab me and there were several occasions where I considered moving on entirely.
 
What initially felt difficult to absorb, gradually became easier to engage with  repeated listens, and the ideas underpinning the album began to make more sense.
 
Overall, Februus are unlikely to become one of my favourite bands. However, this is unquestionably a unique and ambitious project, and I would strongly recommend checking them out.

🏆 Ranking
 
🥈 2 — Surveillance Orgy (2024)
🥇 1 — The Construction of Conflict (2026)
 

📈 Share of total plays
 
📀 Construction of Conflict — 71.4%
📀 Surveillance Orgy — 28.6%
 

📊 Februus listening stats during this deep dive:

 🎧 Total plays: 175

💿 Construction of Conflict — 125 plays
↳ 15.6 album-equivalent listens
💿 Surveillance Orgy — 50 plays
↳ 10.0 album-equivalent listens

 

🎵 Top tracks:
 
🔥 "Genocide by Default" (The Construction of Conflict) — 18 plays
🔥 "Gentrification of the Soul" (Surveillance Orgy) — 12 plays
 

💬 Discussion
 
❓ Are you a fan of this band?
❓ How would you rank these albums?
❓ What's your favourite?