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)