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?

THE NEW FLESH INDEX: 🩸 Artists That Defined My Week #41 Oct 2nd – Oct 8th, 2026

 

This week marked a shift away from the tightly contested three-way battle of week #40. The overall listening numbers barely moved, but the records occupying most of my listening time certainly did. Dissimulator, The Great Ox in the Belly of a Snake and God Mother took over the week, with Artifice Dissolves, Euphoric Dread and Köttvärld accounting for the bulk of the listening.
 
As always, I would definitely recommend checking out all of these three bands, along with ambretta, who also featured in this week’s curated playlist.
 
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📊 Weekly Breakdown
 
🎧 486 plays (+1.3%)
 👤 9 artists (-10.0%)
 💿 12 albums (+20.0%)
 🎵 90 tracks (+83.7%)
 ⏱️ 28 hrs (-15.2%)
 📅 69 plays/day (0.0%)
 🔥 Peak: Oct 6 — 173 plays (-13.9%)
 
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👑 Top Artists
 
🥇 Dissimulator — 106 plays
🥈 The Great Ox in the Belly of a Snake — 99 plays
🥉 God Mother — 83 plays
 
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💿 Top Albums
 
🥇 Dissimulator — Artifice Dissolves (2026) — 106 plays
 ↳ Approx. 11.8 album listens
🥈 The Great Ox in the Belly of a Snake — Euphoric Dread (2026) — 99 plays
 ↳ Approx. 14.1 album listens
🥉 God Mother — Köttvärld (2026) — 83 plays
 ↳ Approx. 6.9 album listens
 
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🎵 Top Tracks
 
🥇 The Great Ox in the Belly of a Snake — “Threshold Dweller” — 15 plays
🥈 The Great Ox in the Belly of a Snake — “Black Tar” — 14 plays
🥉 The Great Ox in the Belly of a Snake — “Lavish Torment” — 14 plays
 
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🎧 THE NEW FLESH INDEX #41

🎧 What's taken over your listening this week?

⚔️ Sonic Selections (((o))): Artists that defined September 2026

 

Welcome to Sonic Selections (((o))): September Edition — my monthly recap of the records that shaped my listening throughout September. This curated list is drawn from my listening habits and the key releases that became my ultimate earworms.
 
Overall Mastodon, Chat Pile, and Cancer Bats were the artists that defined my listening, and all three brought something genuinely distinctive to the month. The albums that follow held my attention most, shaping September’s sonic landscape and giving me plenty to revisit. I’d definitely recommend exploring all three artists, along with my curated playlists below, that included the most played tracks by Anthrax, Rorcal, Fog Wall & Hypaethral
 
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⚔️ Monthly breakdown
 
📊 2351 plays (+41%)
📆 78 avg plays/day (+44%)
⚔️ 37 artists (+19%)
💿 61 albums (+24%)
🎧 412 tracks (+31%)
⏱ 7 days, 21 hrs (+40%)
🔥 Peak: Sep 2 — 180 plays (+1%)
 
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⚔️ Top Artists
 
⚔️ Mastodon — 461 plays
⚔️ Chat Pile — 331 plays
⚔️ Cancer Bats — 212 plays
 
💿 Top Albums
 
💿 Chat Pile — Who Loves the Sun (2026) (198 plays)
↳ Approx. 20 album listens
💿 Anthrax — Cursum Perficio (2026) (135 plays)
↳ Approx. 12 album listens
💿 Februus — Construction of Conflict (2026) (115 plays)
↳ Approx. 14 album listens
 
🎧 Top Tracks
 
🎧 Chat Pile — “Creature” (23 plays)
🎧 Chat Pile — “Deep Blue” (21 plays)
🎧 Chat Pile — “Christabel '26” (20 plays)
 
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🔗 My biggest tracks of September 

THE NEW FLESH INDEX: 🩸 Artists That Defined My Week #40 Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2026

 

🎧 This week’s listening was effectively a three-way fight between Burner, Hypaethral and False Body, separated by only a handful of plays, with all three records receiving heavy repeat listens. While Burner narrowly topped the artist chart, Hypaethral’s “Odyssean” emerged as the defining album through sheer replay value, claiming all three top tracks and the highest estimated album-listen count of the week.
 
These were the artists that defined my listening, and all three bands offer something genuinely unique. Hypaethral and False Body were both new discoveries for me, which made their impact especially rewarding. They are bands I’m excited to revisit and explore further, as both bring a distinctive approach to heavy music that speaks directly to my own sensibilities. I’d definitely recommend checking out all three bands, along with my curated playlist, which this week also includes tracks from the incredible new Rorcal record.
 
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⚔️ Weekly Breakdown (listening stats over the last 7 days)
 
 
📊 480 plays (+7.1%)
🔱 10 artists (+42.9%)
💿 10 albums (-9.1%) (not full run-throughs)
🎧 49 tracks (-30.0%
⏱ 33 hrs (-17.5%)
📈 69 plays/day (+7.8%)
🔥 Peak: Oct 1 — 201 plays (+64.8%)
 
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🔱 Top Artists
 
 
🔱 Burner — 124 plays
🔱 Hypaethral — 112 plays
🔱 False Body — 108 plays
 
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💿 Top Albums
 
 
💿 Burner — No One Is Coming to Save Us (2026) (124 plays)
↳ Approx. 11.3 album listens
💿 Hypaethral — Odyssean (2026) (112 plays)
↳ Approx. 16.0 album listens
💿 False Body — Tomorrow Starts Without You (2026) (108 plays)
↳ Approx. 12.0 album listens
 
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🎧 Top Tracks
 
🎧 Hypaethral — Abyssal Hymn I: The Spellbound Reverie (16 plays)
🎧 Hypaethral — Abyssal Hymn II: Psalms of Cataclysm (16 plays)
🎧 Hypaethral — Ire of the Gods (16 plays)
 
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🎵 Top 30 Tracks Playlist

🎧 What's taken over your listening this week?

THE NEW FLESH INDEX: 🩸 Artists That Defined My Week #39 Sep 18 – Sep 24, 2026

 

🎧 Anthrax, Februus and Remote Viewing dominated the rotation through repeated full-album listens, while Chat Pile continued to carry momentum from the previous week. Despite lower play counts, my listening time remained high

 

 

⚔️ Weekly Breakdown

📊 448 plays (-17.2%)
🔱 7 artists (-50.0%)
💿 11 albums (-52.2%) (not full run-throughs)
🎧 70 tracks (-53.3%)
⏱ 40 hrs (-9.1%)
📈 64 plays/day (-16.9%)
🔥 Peak: Sep 23 — 122 plays (-3.9%)

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🔱 Top Artists

🔱 Februus — 136 plays
🔱 Anthrax — 134 plays
🔱 Chat Pile — 91 plays

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💿 Top Albums

 

💿 Anthrax — “Cursum Perficio” (2026) (134 plays)
↳ Approx. 12.2 album listens
💿 Februus — “Construction of Conflict” (2026) (91 plays)
↳ Approx. 11.4 album listens
💿 Remote Viewing — “State Violence” (2026) (69 plays)
↳ Approx. 9.9 album listens

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🎧 Top Tracks

🎧 Anthrax — The Long Goodbyes (16 plays)
🎧 Anthrax — Persistence of Memory (14 plays)
🎧 Anthrax — Everybody's Got a Plan (13 plays)

 

 

🎵 Top 30 Tracks Playlist

🎧 What's taken over your listening this week?

TRACK PREMIERE: THRAKIAN Drag You Into the Abyss with “In the Grips of Illusion”

 

Six years since our last track premiere, THE SLUDGELORD returns with “In the Grips of Illusion,” the closing track from THRAKIAN’s debut record, The Way. Originally from the coast of Bulgaria and now based in Wales, THRAKIAN fuse atmospheric sludge/post-metal weight with mythic introspection.

After three years of delivering ferocious, high-impact performances across the UK metal scene, the band now present The Way, a 35-minute reflection on the human condition shaped by ancient philosophies, personal upheaval, and the turbulent process of rebuilding identity in a new land.

Recorded at Cardiff’s renowned Longwave and Woodcroft Audio Studios, and shaped with the expertise of engineer Timothy Vincent, known for work with Evile and Brutality Will Prevail, the record channels THRAKIAN’s immigrant experience through pummelling riffcraft, expansive atmosphere, and immersive post-metal soundscapes.

Drawing on Thracian mythology and themes of loss, endurance, and resilience, The Way feels both ancient and immediate, moving between widescreen atmosphere and punishing sludge-weight.
As the album’s final track, “In the Grips of Illusion” brings that journey to an imposing close: dense, brooding, cathartic, and full of mythic scale.

The Way will be released on October 16 via Aonair Records and is available to pre-order here. Listen to the exclusive premiere of “In the Grips of Illusion” below and the band had the following to say about the track

"In the Grips of Illusion draws on the myth of Orpheus’ descent into Hell and the illusion that we can alter what has already happened or control what is yet to come. We wrote this track last, just as we were about to enter the studio, and in many ways it became a summary of the whole process of creating 'The Way'."

Band info: instagram | facebook | linktr.ee