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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
Another couple of months
are behind us, and as we close the book on October and November, it’s time for
my latest recap of the incredible music that landed during this stretch — my
Top 10 Records from the past two months, otherwise known as our essential Sonic Selections (((o))). In October, I clocked up
7360 minutes of listening — over 122 hours — spanning 69 artists and 487
individual tracks. November was a much
quieter month, but still full of quality: I listened to 3487 minutes of music,
explored 36 artists, and played through 212 tracks. Across the two months
combined, I dug into 126 albums — 87 in October and 39 in November — before
narrowing the field down to the 10 new releases that made the final cut for
this feature. The standard was so consistently high that choosing just ten felt
almost cruel. From a personal
standpoint, October and November delivered a phenomenal run of new music. I
hope you’ll dive into my favourite albums below and discover something that
hits you just as hard. When the releases are this good, who even needs words to
review them? See you next month — and
don’t forget to check out my weekly playlists and essential records of the
week, which I share regularly.
⚔️ Artist: Oromet 🩸 Title: “The Sinking Isle” ⚔️ Release date: November 7th, 2025
🩸 genre/tags: atmospheric doom, funeral doom
2). 🥈
⚔️ Artist: Blindfolded and Led to the Woods 🩸 Title:“The Hardest Thing About
Being a God is that No One Believes Me” ⚔️ Release date: October 10th, 2025
🩸 genre/tags: progressive death metal, technical
death metal
1). 🏆
⚔️ Artist: The Acacia Strain 🩸 Title: “You Are Safe From God
Here” ⚔️ Release date: October 24th, 2025
🩸 genre/tags: metalcore, deathcore, post metal, sludge, doom
After a fraught and very
busy few weeks, I find myself playing catch up again, so apologies, but were
back and today I present week 48 of THE SLUDGELORD’sweekly selection of Essential Albums, bringing you five
crushing releases from the underground. Whilst each record is uniquely heavy in
their own right, they will certainly shake foundations and melt speakers. Kicking things off was an
easy pick for my album of the week and that record is Oromet – “The Sinking
Isle”(Funeral Doom / Atmospheric Doom). This record is a
masterclass in bleak, immersive doom— suffocating and utterly devastating. Orometconjure a soundscape that
feels like drowning in slow motion, and it’s nothing short of hypnotic. It also
feel weirdly emotive too, so please check it out.ORM – “Guld”(Atmospheric Black Metal /
Progressive Black Metal) follows with a sweeping, atmospheric black metal
opus that feels totally unique. Honestly, they have a unique ability to weave
melody into a progressive storm of riffs and thunderous percussion, making this
album a towering achievement in modern black metal and for me, it is arguably
one of the best black metal albums of the year. Next up, Primitive Man – “Observance”(Sludge / Doom / Noise). As expected, this is pure sonic annihilation. Primitive Man continue
to redefine heaviness with suffocating walls of distortion and nihilistic
despair. Few bands can make you feel the weight of existence like they do. Pupil Slicer– “Fleshwork”(Mathcore / Progressive Metal / Experimental Metal). Rather than the pure chaos of previous records, “Fleshwork”
leans into a more expansive and progressive approach. It’s intricate and
dynamic, blending mathcore precision with atmospheric passages and layered
textures. The result is a record that feels ambitious and emotionally
resonant—balancing technicality with moments of clarity and depth. Finally, Qrixkuor – “The Womb of
the World”(Death Metal / Cavernous Death / Blackened Death) a
harrowing cavernous colossal death metal record, this album is a suffocating,
meticulously crafted descent into cosmic horror—ambitious, overwhelming, and
utterly consuming. This is THE SLUDGELORD’sEssential Albums of the
Week, WK48. Plug in and black out. The ‘Lord has spoken.
⚔️🩸 Album of the week:
#325 ⚔️ Artist: Oromet 🩸 Title: “The
Sinking Isle” ⚔️ Release date: November
7th, 2025
⚔️🩸 My biggest tracks from November
28th, 2025 to December 4th, 2025
⚔️ Total streams: 241 ↑
168% vs. last week 🩸 Total
Artists streamed: 17 ↑ 55% ⚔️ Total Albums
streamed: 19 ↑ 59% 🩸 New Tracks
streamed: 82 ↑ 91% ⚔️ Total Listening Time: 1 days 11
hours ↑ 120% 🩸 Average Streams: 34 per day ↑
162% ⚔️ Most Active Streaming Day: 58 on December
3rd ↑ 4%
⚔️ Top Artist: 1914(56 streams)
🩸 Top Album: 1914– “Viribus
Unitis”(56 streams)
⚔️ Top Track: 1914– “1915 (Easter
Battle for the Zwinin Ridge)” (9 streams)