New & Noteworthyis Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. Kicking off 2026, this week’s new music includes albums from the likes of Excavated Graves, Fuath, Wildhunt and Dawnbreaker amongst the many outstanding works hitting shelves. Don’t forget to check out our weekly playlist below. Enjoy!
January 02, 2026 Release Highlights:
Excavated Graves, Life Isn’t For Everyone (Selfmadegod)
The latest project from Polish death metal rockers Piotr Sabarański and Michał “Stoker” Stopa releases its debut mini album, which the band describes as in the vein of 1980s/1990s European death metal with “sheer heaviness, unrestrained ferocity, and a twisted sense of melody enhanced by a touch of chaos and crushing breaks.”
Fuath, III (Northern Silence)
SAOR frontman Andy Marshall’s atmospheric black metal side project releases its third studio effort.
Wildhunt, Aletheia (Jawbreaker)
After 10 years, the Austrian metalers return with their sophomore full-length, which the band describes as continuing their debut’s “mix of detail-loving, energetic metal and epic song structures.”
Dawnbreaker, Pactum Sanguine Novo (Vision of God)
The Christian black metal band releases its sixth studio album. Originally recorded around the same time as their third LP, the record is “a concept album mostly about the blood covenants and rituals of the Christian people.”
Norwegian experimental giants Ulver have kicked off the new year with a surprise, digitally releasing their new album, Neverland, today, on New Year's Eve (31). The physical edition is scheduled for release on February 27, 2026. Neverland marks the band's fourteenth...
Rainbow will celebrate the earliest and most influential years of their career with The Temple of the King 1975–1976, a comprehensive 9-CD box set arriving March 6, 2026, via Edsel Records. Newly mastered by Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham, the collection marks the first...
If you’re American, the easiest way to understand Gluecifer is to imagine what it would feel like if a band like the Ramones, or maybe the MC5, disappeared for two decades and then returned without any interest in explaining themselves. No oral history, no apology...
New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week sees new muisc from the likes of Peter Criss, Dead Sun and Lychgate amongst the many outstanding works hitting shelves. Don’t...
New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This New Music Friday sees new releases from the likes of Volumes, Lord Of The Lost and Windswept, as well as the debut full-length...
New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. Kicking off the month of December, we will see new releases from the likes of Enthroned, Upon A Burning Body, and Blood Red Throne, as...
