Y’all. This is not a drill. New NEUROSIS album just dropped.
Neurosis – An Undying Love for a Burning World (Neurot Recordings, 20 March 2026)
SoftSun – Daylight in the Dark (2024), Eternal Sunrise (2025)
Hello, Dear Readers! Hope you are all having a splendid Thursday.
Yesterday I told you about this weekend’s Mojave Experience festival taking place Friday and Saturday in the California desert.
Well today, I’d like to call your attention to another group who will be making an appearance in the Yucca Valley this Friday night (20 March): SoftSun, a collaboration between Norwegian bassist/vocalist Pia Isaksen (also known for her solo act Pia Isa as well as being a member of Superlynx (reviewed here) and Californian guitarist Gary Arce (whose other band Yawning Man will ALSO be at the Mojave Experience on Saturday) with the trio rounded out by a different drummer on each of their first two albums.
SoftSun – Daylight in the Dark (Ripple Music, 08 November 2024)
SoftSun – Eternal Sunrise (Heavy Psych Sounds, 07 November 2025)
Borracho – Ouroboros (2025) || Mojave Experience (Yucca Valley / Joshua Tree, March 2026)
Following up this post from last week, we here at Valley of Steel HQ are pleased to present to you ANOTHER article about ANOTHER new (well, it was new last year) album from a band we’ve written about a bunch of times, who ALSO will be playing at a festival at the end of the week (in addition to a few stops through southern California leading up to it). It’s like déjà vu all over again.
Borracho – Ouroboros (Ripple Music, 08 August 2025)
Stone Machine Electric – Faces (2025) || Stoner Jam (Austin TX, March 2026)
Greetings, friends! I come bearing good news for those who live in or within driving distance of central Texas, and for those who just enjoy good music no matter where in the world they are…
Stone Machine Electric – Faces (Argonauta Records, 26 September 2025)
Philip K. Discs – This Boombox is a Compilation (2026)
I know what you’re thinking, didn’t we just do this?
But just announced last week and currently available for pre-order, here’s some more craziness from the creative minds at PKD.
Philip K. Discs – This Boombox is a Compilation (03 April 2026)
Secret Cutter – /// (2025); Blunt Knife Castration – Blood & Oil (2026)
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)
Fryktelig Støy – Incandescent (2025); Fayenne – The Calling from the Depth (2026)
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)
Vibora – Zaldi Beltza (2023-2024), Egin Ez Dugun Guztia (2026)
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)
Remaining Warmth – Before the Years (2025); Domhain – In Perfect Stillness (2026)
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)
Gaupa – FYR (2025); Drowned in Silver – Mothers (2025)
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)
Valley of Steel 