Secret Cutter – /// (2025); Blunt Knife Castration – Blood & Oil (2026)

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It IS once again Bandcamp Friday, so if you’ve had your eye on something in your wishlist — or if you hear something today that catches your fancy — it’s a good time to make that purchase, since 100% of the cost ends up going straight to the artist!

For all my good friends and casual acquaintances out there reading these words: I’ve decided to close out the week with one album that was released last March by a band from the other side of the state that we’ve been fans of for a long time here in the Valley, and one that was released last Friday by an artist from the other side of the Atlantic whom we’ve only just learned about when they recently reached out by email. In both cases, we 100% guarantee you will love what you hear, or we’ll refund every penny you spent on your free subscription to valleyofsteel dot net.

 

Secret Cutter – /// (self-released, 20 March 2025)

 

Blunt Knife Castration – Blood & Oil (Remorseless Records, 27 February 2026)

 

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Fryktelig Støy – Incandescent (2025); Fayenne – The Calling from the Depth (2026)

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Hello friends!

I’m pleased to present you with the following — one album that came out a year ago, one that was just released a week ago. In my notes (where I keep track of everything I’ve listened to that I plan to keep, that I plan to write about here, that I expect to possibly be a contender for one of my year end lists, and basically I just jot down a few descriptive words or phrases to help me keep track of it all, since frankly none of us are getting any younger and it keeps getting harder with each passing year), I described one of them as “nasty, raw BM with some atmospheric stuff” and the other as “atmospheric, dusty-crusty Swedish BM.”

If either of those descriptions — or both! — seem like they may be up your alley, then read on, read on!

 

Fryktelig Støy – Incandescent (I, Voidhanger Records, 11 April 2025)

 

Fayenne – The Calling from the Depth (Void Wanderer Productions / Hamartia Records, 26 February 2026)

 

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Vibora – Zaldi Beltza (2023-2024), Egin Ez Dugun Guztia (2026)

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And just like that — another month gone, another page turned on the calendar. At long last, it’s looking like winter might eventually come to an end. But that’s about as much optimism as you’re likely to get from me right now, because it’s Monday, and well, (gestures vaguely at the state of the entire world right now).

I was actually planning to publish this last week, since the newer of the albums discussed here just came out the prior Friday, and I just learned about it that day via a Bandcamp notification for the band. By the way, life advice, make sure you check the box for notifications when you buy stuff on Bandcamp — I used to depend on record label (and PR company) mailing lists for everything, but artists bounce around so much (or sometimes will release a single or even a new album independently) and I can’t tell you how often I hear something based on a Bandcamp notification that I would’ve completely missed otherwise.

Anyway, I was saying, so my intent was to get this published last Monday but you know how sometimes work happens or life happens or shit happens. So yeah. But here we are now: two records of high-quality Basque hardcore. Enjoy!

 

Vibora – Zaldi Beltza (Zegema Beach Records, 29 September 2023 / Through Love Records, 22 March 2024)

Vibora – Egin Ez Dugun Guztia (Zegema Beach Records / BCore Disc, 20 February 2026)

 

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Remaining Warmth – Before the Years (2025); Domhain – In Perfect Stillness (2026)

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HAPPY FRIDAY y’all!

It has been a long-ass week and I’m kind of exhausted as we approach the end of it, so I won’t waste too much time or energy on introductory matters. Let’s just say I’ve got some atmospheric blackgaze to share with you.

One album that came out last summer and quickly found its way onto my list of 2025’s best releases; the other is just coming out TODAY and wouldn’t be terribly surprising if it ended up headed in a similar direction by next January…

 

Remaining Warmth – Before the Years (self-released, 06 June 2025)

 

Domhain – In Perfect Stillness (These Hands Melt, 20 February 2026)

 

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Gaupa – FYR (2025); Drowned in Silver – Mothers (2025)

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Hello, Internet friends! Guess what — it’s freezing outside. But this is GOOD news. Because for more than two weeks, we hadn’t seen any temperatures this high. Sub-freezing every day, and single digits (Fahrenheit) AT MOST every night. And I’ll be honest, I’m tired of it. Tired of the anxiety of waking up every couple hours and checking on the kitchen sink and the bathtub to make sure the pipes haven’t frozen in either place AGAIN, despite the supplemental electric heaters in both rooms plus one in the basement, when it has dropped below zero outside.

But then on Monday it crept slightly above freezing finally, and then Tuesday the temperature anomalously soared up into the 50s (Fahrenheit)! And while the rest of this week has been closer to normal for this time of year (highs in the 30s, lows in the 20s), at least I can rest a little easier for now. At least, until all those mountains of snow that have lined the driveways and roads all melt too quickly and then we have the potential for the river to flood.

Anyway, you haven’t come here for me to sit here like some elderly at a nursing home, chattering nonstop about what’s happening with the weather. Instead, I present you with not one but TWO excellent albums that dropped last year, in case you may have missed out on these…

 

Gaupa – FYR (digital: Nuclear Blast / physical: Magnetic Eye Records, 04 July 2025)

 

Drowned in Silver – Mothers (Pagan Records, 07 November 2025)

 

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Philip K. Discs – The Haunt (2026)

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Hey folks — from the record label that’s been making a reputation for itself over the past several years for your go-to spot for crazy experimental noisy sounds and truly unique merch options, perhaps we should have seen this one coming, but the latest Philip K. Discs release is here… and it’s a hand-built, fully customizable, fully modular, noise box you can use to make your OWN crazy experimental noisy sounds!

 

 

Introducting: The Haunt

 

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Bog Wizard – Journey Through the Dying Lands (2024), Satanik Panik (2025)

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It’s Bandcamp Friday once again — hope you all are having a happy one!

Feels like a good time to check in on our Michiganian friends Bog Wizard. Back when we published a review of their 2020 and 2021 releases, there were a few specific references to the “Satanic Panic” of the late 20th century. Well, since that time, the band went and released a whole damn album named for that concept. They also put together an album with literary tie-ins, both of which are highly recommended for you to check out!

 

Bog Wizard – Journey Through the Dying Lands (self-released in collaboration with Madness Hearts Games, 25 October 2024)

 

Bog Wizard – Satanik Panik (self-released, 31 October 2025)

 

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Gavran – Indistinct Beacon (2022), The One Who Propels (2026)

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Hello, friends. Hope you’re having a pleasant Friday.

Here, we’re still slowly but surely shoveling ourselves out from last weekend’s storm, trying our best to keep ourselves warm and keep our pipes from freezing, with recent high temperatures refusing to rise above the tweens (Fahrenheit), and Alexa blinking its caution-colored yellow light at us every day with a new notification about a severe cold warning, with overnight lows hovering around zero or below (also Fahrenheit).

Meanwhile, I haven’t ventured out anywhere since last Saturday morning (to pick up groceries and library books) — in the days since, I’ve only been outside to shovel the front walkway, the driveway, and as much of the surrounding street as I could, given that the borough either felt it was unnecessary to plow all the way to the end of our road OR they were unable to get past our neighbors’ annoying arrays of vehicles parked all over the place.

Nevertheless, without leaving the house or any contact with outsiders, I’ve somehow managed to now find myself practically bedridden with some kind of dreadful sinus infection or cold or perhaps turtle flu. But there’s new music out today and I’d be derelict in my duties if I didn’t take some time out of my day to share it with you folks!

 

Gavran – Indistinct Beacon (Dunk! Records, 02 December 2022)

 

Gavran – The One Who Propels (Dunk! Records, 30 January 2026)

 

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1994 Called…

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The Afghan Whigs – Gentlemen (RIYL: Soul Asylum, Dig)

 


 
Corrosion of Conformity – Deliverance (RIYL: a rendering of Master of Reality dripping with southern-fried sludge)

 


 
Sugar – File Under: Easy Listening (RIYL: Matthew Sweet, Urge Overkill)

 

I know all of you are looking at the title of this article, then looking at those three album covers I posted up there, and immediately you’re saying “Hey wait a minute, wasn’t Gentlemen released in 1993 though?” And you’re absolutely correct, it did hit stores in the fall of that year, on the heels of the title track’s music video hitting the airwaves, but my recollection was that this Queen City band really started getting attention around the time this (their fourth album)’s second single dropped in early ’94.

In any case, the point of this article is to draw attention to a trio of bands who are embarking on major 2026 tours, each including a stop in Pittsburgh, any which would have been a huge deal to my ninth-grade self. And my BMG Music Service membership.

See below for full lists of dates, along with some relevant links. Enjoy!

 

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Sacri Suoni – Time to Harvest (2026)

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Well good morning, and happy Friday (I guess)!

After about a day and a half of reprieve during which I turned off all our auxiliary heaters in the kitchen, bathroom, and basement — because the outdoor temperatures actually had hovered just slightly above freezing for a brief while — we’ve dipped back into frigid cold and it’s projected to continue to get worse over the next day or two.

Plus the entire eastern part of the USA is bracing for the worst snowfall we’ve had in quite some time. Around here (western Pennsylvania), folks are already making comparisons to the Snowmageddon of 2010 or even the Blizzard of ’93 … and we haven’t even seen a single flake yet.

So obviously it seems like a perfect day to be listening to music that comes from a region known for its extreme cold and winter weather! Presenting the first new 2026 release we’ll be checking out: Time to Harvest by Sac—

Err, whoops. I’m being informed (pretend for a second I’m wearing an earpiece) (and that you can see me rather than just reading these words I’ve written) that I’ve apparently misread the band’s name, which is Sacri Suoni (which means “Sacred Sounds” in Italian), not Suomi, and as it turns out the band is therefore not actually Finnish as I had initially thought, but they’re from Milan, Italy. Where it’s currently — (checks notes) — in the mid-40s. (Degrees Fahrenheit, that is.) And probably significantly higher than that during harvest time.

Well since we’re all here already, let’s listen to this album anyway. Brand-new off the presses today! (Also, don’t you hate when people say “checks notes”? Isn’t that so annoying? It’s just the worst, right?)

 

Sacri Suoni – Time to Harvest (Electric Valley Records, 23 January 2026)

 

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