The Sludgelord: THE NEW FLESH INDEX 🩸 Artists That Defined My Week #14 Friday, March 27th to Thursday, April 2nd, 2026

Welcome to The New Flesh Index #14 — a chronicle of the music that shaped my last seven days of listening, the records that cut through the noise between March 27th and April 2nd, 2026, and left their mark. This is a guided walk through the artists/albums that hooked me, the ones I actually lived with this week rather than skimmed past, the ones that settled in with weight and intent.

Across this week my listening pushed on even higher. Earbuds at work, headphones on during the dog walks or on my run, pressing play while making dinner or whenever the moment allowed — it all added up to 619 plays, 41% above week #13’s 442. The artist count fell to 13, 52% lower than the previous 27, while the album count moved to 29, about 7% higher than last week’s 27. Tracks in rotation climbed to 269, a 186% increase on the 94 new additions logged before. Total listening time reached 1 day and 18 hours, roughly 10% higher than the 1 day and 11 hours previously recorded. The average stream count held at 88, sitting 40% above last week’s 63, and the peak rose to 150 plays on 29 March, a 25% lift from week #13’s high of 120 on 20 March.

Following on from last week’s article, I hit a point halfway through where I realised I wasn’t living with the bands enough. I was skimming new releases instead of sitting with the artists themselves. Music — especially the stuff that matters — isn’t meant to be background noise, so I shifted my approach. Instead of jumping to a new album every day, I started diving into the full discography of whatever band had just dropped something new. That change is written all over the stats.

In week #13 I tore through 27 new releases, but most of them were quick passes until I found the ones that stuck — Pipe Bomb, Neurosis, Crouch, MAGNITUDO, Dying Realm, and the new Norna split. To cut down the skippage, the plan going forward is simple: if a band I already love puts something out, I’ll run their whole catalogue; if it’s a new name, the release has to hit hard enough to earn a deep dive. Bearing that in mind, I only started this halfway through the week, so bands like Great Falls and Terratoma didn’t get the full treatment even though their new records landed hard.

The ones that did get the full run ended up ranking in a loose tier list. Black Label Society led the cycle with 218 plays across their twelve‑album discography. Chamber followed with 140 plays across their three records. The new Great Falls release pulled 78 individual track plays, then Growth with 57 across their two albums, and finally Teratoma, whose new release accounted for 56 individual track plays.

Artists That Defined My Week

1)

⚔️ Artist: Black Label Society (218 plays)
🩸 New Title: “Engines of Demolition”
⚔️ Genre/tags: heavy metal, southern rock, groove metal

Back in the day I was a huge Zakk Wylde fan — No More Tears–era Ozzy and the first four BLS albums (Sonic Brew, Stronger Than Death, 1919 Eternal, The Blessed Hellride) are simply classic albums to me, the kind that locked me in early. As an aspiring guitarist too, his tone and technique felt unparalleled — and those pinched harmonics alone were enough to get me hooked (never did master them). With such consistency, though, a reduction in quality was almost inevitable, and so from Mafia onwards — driven in part by his vocals which, to my ears at least, drifted further into an Ozzy cadence — what defined his music began to blur, and the x‑factor that ran through that five‑album stretch gradually faded.

For me, since the last truly consistent record, Order of the Black, every subsequent release has felt like diminishing returns, and with that my enthusiasm waned. Which leads me to their latest: Engines of Demolition, carrying all the usual BLS trademarks — the Ozzy cadence, the Sabbath‑leaning riffing, the southern, no‑fucks‑given swagger — yet nothing here really hits, so, what we’re left with is solid and familiar, just not the kind of record that leaves a mark once it’s done.

Black Label Society — Albums ranked

12) Grimmest Hits (2018)
11) Engines of Demolition (2026)
10) Hangover Music IV (2004)
9) Doom Crew Inc. (2021)
8) Shot to Hell (2006)
7) Catacombs of the Black Vatican (2014)
6) Order of the Black (2010)
5) Mafia (2005)
4) The Blessed Hellride (2003)
3) 1919 Eternal (2002)
2) Sonic Brew (1999)
1) Stronger Than Death (2000)

⚔️ Artist: Chamber” (140 plays)
🩸 New Release: “This Is Goodbye..”
⚔️ Genre/tags: metalcore, chaotic hardcore, mathcore

Admittedly, mathcore can be hit or miss, but the new record from Chamber delivers the right amount of chaos without descending into an unlistenable mess. “This Is Goodbye..” continues their weaponised, incendiary hardcore — a pressure cooker of jagged rhythms, panic‑attack pacing, and riffs that feel like they’re collapsing in on themselves, yet somehow remains wholly accessible and addictive. Yes, every track can disorientate, with lurching guitars, drums detonating beneath you, and vocals clawing their way into your psyche. And yet, beneath all that violence is a frightening level of control. After revisiting their full discography, “This Is Goodbye..” is unequivocally their most focused, volatile, and emotionally engaging work to date.

Chamber — Albums Ranked

3) Cost of Sacrifice (2020)
2) This Is Goodbye (2026)
1) A Love to Kill For (2023)

⚔️ Artist: Growth (58 plays)
🩸 New Release: Under the Under
⚔️ Genre/tags: progressive death metal

Coming six years after their debut, Growth return with a sophomore release that takes the blueprint of The Smothering Arms of Mercy and pushes further into dissonant, off‑kilter death metal while keeping everything lean and deliberate. The long tracks move through jagged riffs, sudden rhythmic breaks, and calm, open passages that land as stark counterpoints to the extremity. The Ulcerate‑adjacent tension is there, sharpened by short flashes of melody and clean layers that cut through without softening the impact.

The record focuses on reconstruction rather than collapse — the slow, brutal work of trying to move forward when nothing resolves cleanly. Vocals carry real strain, guitars shift between force and unease, and the rhythm section keeps the pressure constant. No repetition to lean on, no easy catharsis; the album only makes full sense as a complete run.

Under the Under is heavy in a way that reflects emotional turmoil, one of marked extremes. As such, the music mirrors the grind of trying to fix what feels broken, folding in on itself and pulling back together piece by piece. A focused, unflinching step forward for Growth

Growth – Albums Ranked

2). The Smothering Arms of Mercy (2020)
1). Under The Under (2026)

⚔️ Top Artist: Black Label Society (218 plays)