Basement, Blackbraid, and Portrayal of Guilt give us a diverse pack of new songs to chew in, questions on what is the greatest musical city and generationally phased out songs, and we respond to the news that industrial giants Godflesh are hanging up their live instruments for good.

Releases:
Rob Zombie - The Great Satan
Carpenter Brut - Leather Temple
The Gloom in the Corner - Royal Discordance
Nothing - A Short History of Decay
Final Gasp - New Day Symptoms
Matador - Above, Below and So
Harrowed - The Eternal Hunger
Possession - The Mother of Darkness
Necrofier - Transcend Into Oblivion
Erra - silence outlives the earth
Lost Society - Hell is a State of Mind
Whiplash - Thrashquake
Surfbort - Reality Star
Temple of Void - The Crawl
Bosse-de-Nage - Hidden Fires Burn Hottest
Vreid - The Skies Turn Black
Blackbraid - Nocturnal Womb
Black Stone Cherry - Celebrate
Moon Tooth - Bastard
Nailed Shut MA - A Promise Made, A Promise Kept

This month brings us one of the most daunting, monolithic, and outlandish reviews bags we've ever had, as we tackle Converge, Sylosis, Mayhem, Worm, Pony, Cryptic Shift, Hällas, and Killing Pace. Slap on your spacesuit, we're adventure rocking.

Converge 27:36
Sylosis 56:02
Mayhem 1:12:56
Worm 1:30:33
Pony 1:43:00
Cryptic Shift 1:52:40
Hällas 2:12:10
Killing Pace 2:30:20

Party time at TNM: the mythical drought comes to an end, alongside new tracks from the Foo Fighters and Don Broco/Nickelback and grand line-up unveilings from Arch Enemy and Nevermore.

Releases:
Sylosis - The New Flesh
New Found Glory - Listen Up!
Killing Pace - HCPM
Exhumed - Red Asphalt
Coscradh - Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld
The Magus - Daemonosophia
Lead Injector - Witching Attack

Hyperblasts is back to cover what we missed from the Grammys, UK live shows from Home Front to Korpiklaani, Knocked Loose and Denzel Curry's collab single, and the discussion around While She Sleeps' video announcement for their stepping back from touring.

Releases:
Hällas - Panorama
Softcult - When a Flower Doesn’t Grow
Karnivool - In Veses
Puscifer - Normal Isn’t
Tailgunner - Midnight Blitz
Tumour - Human Salvage
Uncultivates - This Will Become Clear Later, Like the French Revolution
Mayhem - Liturgy of Death
Night of the Vampire - The Enchanting Winds of the Dreamweaving Masquerade
Kanonenfieber - Soldatenschicksale
Power Snatch - EP1
Afraid to Die - Hell is a Place In My Mind
Predatory Void - Atoned In Metamorphosis
Infinite Misery - Altar of Extracted Teeth
Converge - Love is Not Enough
TX2 - End of Us
Angel Du$t - COLD 2 THE TOUCH
Mariachi El Bronx - Mariachi El Bronx IV
Pony - Clearly Cursed
Yakkie - Kill The Cop Inside Your Head
Worm - Necropalace
Fossilization - Advent of Wounds
Guilt Trip - God Forgives

Looking back at the records January gave us we give an honest assessment of the final album from Megadeth, alongside Kreator, Urne, Møl, Joyce Manor, The Ruins of Beverast, and Backengrillen. Thanks for all the riffs, MegaDave.

Megadeth 20:11
Kreator 1:06:31
Urne 1:22:47
Møl 1:38:35
Joyce Manor 1:49:44
The Ruins of Beverast 2:02:15
Backengrillen 2:14:11

TNM talks bands we would have introduced to ourselves at an earlier age, a breadth of new tracks from Def Leppard, Exodus, Immolation and Haggard Cat, and Cryptopsy take to the UK with 200 Stab Wounds for 30 years of None So Vile.

Releases:
Megadeth - Megadeth
Poppy - Empty Hands
Crystal Lake - The Weight of Sound
Textures - Genotype
The Damned - Not Like Everybody Else
Backengrillen - Backengrillen
Barbarian - Reek of God
Ligation - After Gods

2025 Album Clubs come from the land where the mullet attacks: Sabaton's Swedish concept album Carolus Rex, Hatebreed's hardcore benchmark Satisfaction is the Death of Desire, Visigoth's dungeon-keeping The Revenant King, and Family Force 5 give us Business Up Front/Party in the Back.

This episode was originally published January 2025 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

New album singles from Poison the Well, Lamb of God, and Static Dress keep 2026 starting up, along with a killer first band announcement from Damnation Festival, and announcement of our first Patreon special for 2026.

Releases:
Kreator - Krushers of the World
Kid Kapichi - Fearless Nature
Greywind - Severed Heart City
Ov Sulfur - Endless
Blanket - True Blue
Serpent Column - Aion of Strife
Rifle - Rifle
Push - Plowing Ahead
Crush Your Soul - Ice Water
I Promised the World - I Promised the World
Lights Out - Fall on Your Sword
Gylt - In 1,000 Agonies, I Exist
Sin Against Sin - Demo 2

TNM usher in the new year with hopes, questions and predictions for 2026, and some familiar faces already poking their heads above the parapets for the year ahead.

Releases:
Ulver - Neverland
Fuath - III
Woe - Legacies of Human Frailty
Paleface Swiss - The Wilted EP
Alter Bridge - Alter Bridge
The Ruins of Beverast - Tempelschlaf

Right before Christmas our last bash for 2025 is TNM Awards looking back over the highs and lows, the stories, the icons, the presidents, and the circuses that made the year in rock music what it was:
Most Improved Band
Song of the Year
Worst Song of the Year
Hero of the Year
Villain of the Year
Best New Band
Biggest Disappointment
Gig of the Year
EP of the Year
Artwork of the Year
Movie of the Year
Comeback of the Year
Surprise of the Year
Outstanding Achievement
Worst Band of the Year
Unsung Heroes
Story of the Year
Band of the Year