MY TOP LIST OF FEBRUARY 2026

 


February 2026 was a proper month for the UG. It delivered some very good new releases, especially in the black metal area. My list here demonstrates this exactly. It is packed with solid black metal and, here and there, some death metal albums. I enjoyed the month, as I was in a particular BM mood. I am going to carry with me many of these releases into the year, and I believe most of them will make my end-of-year (black metal) lists. 

I was hesitant about the album of the month - either MAYHEM or DIABOLUS, MECUM SEMPERTERNE!. I put MAYHEM in the end, although all the albums below are very close to one another, and listing them in a somewhat particular order does not really matter. There is a small comment next to each one, describing my thoughts, so I won't spend much time here discussing the albums and what is good and what disappointed me. To make a long story short, all these albums released in February 2026 deserve a listen (or a lot of listens). 

GO!



MAYHEM - Liturgy of Death (Spotify) I love Daemon, and Liturgy is a great continuation. Still, for me it is not at the level of Daemon, but I like the progression they made.  
DIABOLUS, MECUM SEMPERTERNE! - Diabolus, Mecum Semperterne! (Bandcamp) A spiritual cleansing, what a BM album!
DRAWN INTO DESCENT - Onrust (Bandcamp) Once again they are drowning me into a descent, an emotionally packed record with superb mood. 
GALIBOT - Ech'Mau Noir bis (Bandcamp) French BM never disappoints, brutal, intense and catchy in the same time. 
NAZGHOR - A World Ablaze (Bandcamp) Upsala BM, how not to love, especially with my Watain affair. 
SLAGMAUR - Hulders Ritual (Bandcamp) The long-awaited album. Desecrating Norwegian BM of the highest order. 

SPEGLAS - Endarkenment, Being & Death (Bandcamp) FFO of early Tribulation?
MISOTHEIST - De Pinte (Bandcamp) Another slab of hatred towards God. A massive, dark Nodrosian album. 
WINTER ETERNAL - Unveiled Nightsky (Bandcamp) Been a fan of WE since Realm of the Bleeding Shadows. Imo Unveiled Nightsky puts Soulreaper at another level!
DE L'ABÎME NAÎT L'AUBE - Rituel: Initiation (Bandcamp) Post metal, atmospheric BM, doom metal.. If you like Amenra, early Opeth, Heilung, Dordeduh.
INCANDESCENCE - Hors Temps (Bandcamp) They already occupied my lists before. Quebec!
POSSESSION - The Mother of Darkness (Bandcamp) Always a fan of this type of UG black/death - chains, fires and riffs. 

WORM - Necropalace (Bandcamp). Well, it is, in fact, overhyped. Super polished attempt of returning to the second wave BM, too many 97-98 Dimmu Borgir references. Pretentious, operatic, symphoic and with high-pitched leads. Overall, a good album, but mostly for those who don't know much. 
PHASMA - Purgatory (Bandcamp) I was thinking of Hate Manifesto here...
HARROWED - The Eternal Hunger (Bandcamp). Once again, a fan of this kind of "Crusty, Musty, Non-Triggered, Maggots-hanging-outta-the-ass Death Metal from Stockholm, Sweden" 
OLHAVA - Memorial (Bandcamp) Another trip into the void, Olhava does what he does best.
ENNUI - QROBA (Bandcamp) They didn't disappoint before, and now they are even better. Funeral-doom done right, a lot of atmosphere, ultra-heavy growls and time to cut the veins. FFO Evoken, Eye of Solitude etc.
TRANCE OF THE UNDEAD/CHAOS PERVERSION - Trance of Perversion (Bandcamp) Chaos, devastation, graves desecration and deadly underground. 

FOSSILIZATION - Advent Of Wounds (Bandcamp). I expected more. Somehow this album didn't hit me as I wished. Their previous works were better. 
MEK NA VER - Noctivaga (Bandcamp) A black metal discovery that I enjoyed - darkness dwelling, introspection and legendary line-up.
BLODØRN - Det Finnes Ingen Trone (Bandcamp). Very good third album. Rawer, traditional Norwegian Viking BM, but I hear pinches of DM...
MASTICATION OF BRUTALITY UNCONTROLLED - The Epoch Of Anthropogenic Deities (Bandcamp). Ultra chopping technical, brutal death metal infused heavily with slam... This artwork, man...
SLAUGHTERDAY - Dread Emperor (Bandcamp). Another one in their style. It is a slaughteday, MF!
DE-SOLACION - ELKI (Bandcamp) Chile UG, fires, occultism, rituals and black metal

COSCRADH - Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld (Bandcamp) "The blood-forged power and cosmic gnosis of the ancient Celtic Druid, who gazed far beyond our comprehension of spirit and sky, lie dormant in the ancestral vein". Black/Death. 
BIZARREKULT - Alt Som Finnes (Bandcamp) This second album is more BM than I expected. 
UNVERKALT - Héréditaire (Bandcamp) Avant-garde BM for the lovers of experiences. 
CRYPTIC SHIFT - Overspace & Supertime (Bandcamp) I had much higher expectation having in mind Visitations from Enceladus.  Maybe I was not in the mood for so much technicality and progressiveness.
FINAL GASP - New Day Symptoms (Bandcamp). FFO of The NIGHT ETERNAL
NECROFIER - Transcend into Oblivion (Bandcamp) 

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