{"id":23552,"date":"2026-07-31T21:30:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T16:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=23552"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:30:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T16:30:37","slug":"best-underground-metal-albums-of-july-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=23552","title":{"rendered":"Best Underground Metal Albums of July 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a0480995139_16.jpg?quality=80\" \/><\/p>\n<div data-id=\"1615143\" data-title=\"Mining Metal: \u00c6nigmatum, Amargor, Anatomy of Habit, Arise from Worms, Cabinet, Coprolith, Hexorcist, Torpor\" data-url=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/07\/mining-metal-july-2026\/\" data-page=\"1\" data-pages=\"1\">\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/category\/mining-metal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mining Metal<\/a> is a monthly column from Heavy Consequence contributing writers Langdon Hickman and Colin Dempsey. The focus is on noteworthy new music emerging from the non-mainstream metal scene, highlighting releases from small and independent labels \u2014 or even releases from unsigned acts.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Death metal has always felt like a magical portal to me. So much of this is the chimerical nature of it; it is just as capable of emulating the manic laughter and mad color of psychosis as it is the grime and darkness of overbearing sorrow. It can be mild or feral, extravagant or direct, psychedelic or straightforward. So much of my life has been spent trying to parse why I love it so much and why it moves me so deeply, why I gravitated to it as a child after seeing the music video for \u201cWhere the Slime Live\u201d and hearing \u201cHammer Smashed Face\u201d on cassette. All of those efforts have, in my eyes, failed. I\u2019ve heard from others about them being moving or inspiring them toward stabs at art criticism themselves which sometimes have turned into careers, which is deeply flattering, but I am still unable to see the thing I wish to convey and that which came out on paper.<\/p>\n<p>An aspect of the problem is that death metal is a mind-bogglingly wide musical world. It emerged from thrash initially, itself an emergence from speed metal, which came in turn from traditional heavy metal, which came itself from the heavy rock, psychedelia and progressive music of the mid \u201960s to early \u201970s. Because of this, death metal has always been more an energy or an approach to metal music rather than a specific sound. It\u2019s why you can have bands that do blastbeats and bands that do backbeats, bands that do gnarly trem riffs and bands that do proggy finger twisters and bands that do Neanderthalic chugs derived from hardcore, bands that break any conceived notion you have about songwriting structures and norms and bands that deliver verse-chorus anthems. It begins to raise the question of what even is death metal, one that feels obvious until you immerse yourself in its world and start finding connections and separations that feel unexpected.<\/p>\n<p>Related Video<\/p>\n<p>For instance, most melodic death metal to me does not read as death metal. Why? I can\u2019t precisely say; there is a lack of a certain kind of energy that feels\u00a0<em>death metal<\/em>, the thing that unites bands as different as Cynic, Cannibal Corpse, Immolation and Mortuary Drape, while also being riven by the pop metal underpinnings of most European heavy rock. It\u2019s not a knock, to be clear, just that it often feels more like an extreme version of otherwise radio-friendly music rather than something connected deeply to the crusted tape-trading scene of the early \u201980s where death metal began to percolate. Meanwhile, an album like <em>Pianic Dismemberment<\/em> by Effluence, an album which replaces guitars with piano, reads absolutely as death metal to me, as does Onkos, a project that is fully acoustic and features bongos and other percussion alongside growled vocals. The only commonality I can find is with jazz, another genre you feel more than you hear, a sense that can unify smooth jazz combos and the world of the avant-garde but somehow excludes Michael Buble despite his admitted incredible jazz chops. I\u2019ll spend a lifetime chasing this dragon, I believe, and not really get any closer. It\u2019s a boon that art is wider than a single mind\u2019s ability to categorize, describe or define it, though.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">\u2013\u00a0<em>Langdon Hickman<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>\u00c6nigmatum \u2013 Infinitude\u2019s Passage<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>A comment on Bandcamp calls this record \u201cshape-shifting death metal\u201d and there isn\u2019t a more apt way to describe it. \u00c6nigmatum transition between the avant-garde and the direct, the abstract and the concrete, the progressive and the straight ripping, often within a single song. It\u2019s a progressive album at heart, but more by the combination of elements rather than exclusively being wild Dream Theater instrumental excursions in a death metal context. When I talk about death metal being the greatest musical invention of history, this is the kind of record I am referencing, one that is so wide in its scope it seems like a kaleidoscope unto itself, capable of moving anywhere and having it always feel emotionally gainful and not a distraction. It\u2019s simply brilliant. Buy it on <a href=\"https:\/\/20buckspin.bandcamp.com\/album\/infinitudes-passage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bandcamp<\/a>. \u2013\u00a0<em>Langdon Hickman<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0;width: 100%;height: 120px\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2798912841\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" width=\"100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/listen.20buckspin.com\/album\/infinitudes-passage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Infinitude\u2019s Passage by \u00c6nigmatum<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Amargor \u2013 <em>Serem l\u2019urna de l\u2019honor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>DSBM can be a misnomer when it comes to albums like <em>Serem l\u2019urna de l\u2019honor<\/em>. The latest record from Barcelona-based Amargor speaks through the miasma of black metal, post-punk, and industrial metal that formed the DSBM framework rather than DSBM as dogma. Lyrically, it\u2019s not depressive, though stylistically it\u2019s a downer, albeit it appears Amargor never dealt with anhedonia. No, \u201cTomba de plaga i tirania\u201d has too much drive as an eight-minute epic, and \u201cMisteris en clau d\u2019occisi\u00f3\u201d is too much of a gothic romp for <em>Serem l\u2019urna de l\u2019honor<\/em> to be joyless. Tracks like \u201cL\u2019Esbarzer\u201d will drain your soul with their manic vocals, yet even it is energetic and bouncy. That\u2019s why the DSBM moniker doesn\u2019t quite fit here, even though it\u2019s by all means the right word. The midtempo stomp and enthralling atmosphere are simply too full of life. Buy it on <a href=\"https:\/\/amargor-dsbm.bandcamp.com\/album\/serem-lurna-de-lhonor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bandcamp<\/a>. \u2013\u00a0<em>Colin Dempsey<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0;width: 100%;height: 120px\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1424764140\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" width=\"100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amargor-dsbm.bandcamp.com\/album\/serem-lurna-de-lhonor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Serem l\u2019urna de l\u2019honor by Amargor<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Anatomy of Habit \u2013\u00a0<em>Paired Sentinels<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Anatomy of Habit is a band that always has my ear when it comes to new material. They built their legacy over the past 15 years with an approach to industrial that mirrored the then-newly resurrected Swans. This new album adds more coherent senses of melody and color to their existing sound, moving away from the protoformal industrial of early Throbbing Gristle or Nurse With Wound toward something more akin to the goth rock sound that emerged from early post-punk mixed with a touch of the Scandinavian progressive alt rock that emerged in the 2000s. Previous records were forbidding stone that, upon remit, opened themselves up into emotionally intense transformative sequences.\u00a0<em>Paired Sentinels<\/em> is significantly more approachable without abandoning their mission, acting as a perfect entry point for those who want to understand their approach before diving into their denser material. I love you, Anatomy of Habit. Buy it on <a href=\"https:\/\/anatomyofhabit.bandcamp.com\/album\/paired-sentinels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bandcamp<\/a>. \u2013\u00a0<em>Langdon Hickman<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0;width: 100%;height: 120px\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=52470908\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" width=\"100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anatomyofhabit.bandcamp.com\/album\/paired-sentinels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Paired Sentinels by Anatomy of Habit<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Arise from Worms \u2013 <em>A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The elements here even on paper don\u2019t make sense. The band is comprised of Flo Mournier of Cryptopsy on drums, Steve Tucker of Morbid Angel from\u00a0<em>Formulas Fatal to the Flesh<\/em>\u00a0forward on vocals, Derek Sherinian formerly of Dream Theater and keyboardist of his own ultra-techy fusion-metal projects, bandled by a former Incantation guitarist who was too weird even for them. What comes out can only be described as death metal and Dream Theater; not mixed, but side-by-side, with no overlap musically, as though you are hardcutting between two unrelated albums. For those of us who like bizarre and catching songwriting, it\u2019s addictive. You genuinely have no idea where the next riff or section might go; the only knowable object is that it will be played by some of the best instrumentalists in the world. As a diehard of both its contained elements, this was made for freaks like me. Buy it on <a href=\"https:\/\/arisefromworms.bandcamp.com\/album\/a-bleeding-tree-hanging-self-destruction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bandcamp<\/a>. \u2013\u00a0<em>Langdon Hickman<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0;width: 100%;height: 120px\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3832407914\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" width=\"100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/arisefromworms.bandcamp.com\/album\/a-bleeding-tree-hanging-self-destruction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction by Arise From Worms<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Cabinet \u2013 <em>Deracinated Into Soiled Reliquaries (Sarcophagus Odyssey)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Deracinated Into Soiled Reliquaries (Sarcophagus Odyssey)<\/em> is an ambient album dressed in death metal robes. That\u2019s been Cabinet\u2019s MO since they broke off from main group Sxuperion earlier this decade, and they\u2019ve no reason to stray from it given <em>Deracinated\u2026<\/em>\u2019s quality. The following sentences must be kept in context that this is a death metal record, one with gurgled vocals and deep-fried production. Got that? <em>Deracinated\u2026<\/em> soothes the ears by maintaining a steady and unflustered pace, varying dynamics and notes only slightly. It\u2019s the same methodology of ambient music, guiding one through an underground surgical lair. The cobwebs and allergens are part of the d\u00e9cor. Evidently, Cabinet could disturb, but they keep a healthy distance from any bloodshed. It\u2019s not as if Cabinet are a funeral doom band, even\u2013the opening solo on \u201cPerpetual Corridors Of Pungent Choledocholithiasic Smudge\u201d is downright chaotic. It\u2019s that they understand that death metal can be anything, even calming. Buy it on <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodymountainrecords.bandcamp.com\/album\/deracinated-into-soiled-reliquaries-sarcophagus-odyssey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bandcamp<\/a>. \u2013\u00a0<em>Colin Dempsey<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0;width: 100%;height: 120px\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1774994995\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" width=\"100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bloodymountainrecords.bandcamp.com\/album\/deracinated-into-soiled-reliquaries-sarcophagus-odyssey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Deracinated Into Soiled Reliquaries (Sarcophagus Odyssey) by Cabinet<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Coprolith \u2013 <em>Putrescence<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you want rock music for its hardness and might, why stop at Queens of the Stone Age? Why not follow that desire to its endpoint and reach <em>Left Hand Path<\/em>? You\u2019re listening to rock music for how muscular it is; don\u2019t settle for noobie gains. Much good death metal thrives on this logic\u2013rock music, played heavily and quickly. Toronto\u2019s Coprolith create death metal without rock music. When they flex their chops, it\u2019s to capture the body bleeding life and soul and decaying into a husk. Much of their debut album <em>Putrescence<\/em> is, therefore, quietly impressive, devoid of overt technicality and speed. Death-doom without shock or shlock, to put it another way, providing a thrill that death metal descended from rock music couldn\u2019t. Coprolith remind that there are forces beyond those we can perceive in the land of the living. Forces not attuned to rocking and rolling. Buy it on <a href=\"https:\/\/mesacounojo.bandcamp.com\/album\/putrescence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bandcamp<\/a>. \u2013\u00a0<em>Colin Dempsey<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0;width: 100%;height: 120px\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2105087681\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" width=\"100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mesacounojo.bandcamp.com\/album\/putrescence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Putrescence by Coprolith<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hexorcist \u2013\u00a0<em>Crucificial Imprecations<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important, spiritually, to include some death metal that is more bestial than challenging. Hexorcist truck in thrashing death that feels closer to the Costa Rican or Chilean scenes than anything from America. There is a raggedness here that feels like it comes from those concentrated abysses of extreme metal, where black, death, thrash and the weirder rims of heavy music all brew in one noxious cauldron. There are strings, horns and synths here, bringing a variety of tones to intros of songs that resolve inevitably to straight-forward burly thrashing death in a way that feels cheeky for those in the know of the tropes of the genre. Still, none of this is played in a mocking way, just one self-aware of the long history of a well-practiced form, one which these players reproduce with fierce animal love. Death metal is the best. I love you, death metal. Buy it on <a href=\"https:\/\/godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com\/album\/crucificial-imprecations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bandcamp<\/a>. \u2013 <em>Langdon Hickman<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0;width: 100%;height: 120px\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1139761291\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" width=\"100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com\/album\/crucificial-imprecations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Crucificial Imprecations by HEXORCIST<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Torpor \u2013 <em>Dungeon Descent<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dying Victims Productions have an insane batting average this year. They cornered the market on blackened heavy metal, or just traditional heavy metal with more salt in its wounds. It was wise to curate an entire label roster based on their proximity to Bathory\u2019s sound, and Torpor admit to the similarities, even if what they\u2019re doing is more interesting than they present it. <em>Dungeon Descent<\/em>, the group\u2019s debut album, softens Norwegian black metal and denatures it until it becomes USPM. A strange comparison, but listen to the melodies and riffs on \u201cArmoured Skeleton\u201d and note how, with more tape hiss and a crustier demeanor, they\u2019d fit under a funeral moon. Torpor gesture to worlds more epic and more cursed than theirs as if they\u2019re worldbuilding through contrast. Their flirtations on both ends are the core of <em>Dungeon Descent<\/em>, with that versatility feeling like an adventure novel translated into music. Buy it on <a href=\"https:\/\/dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com\/album\/ungeon-escent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bandcamp<\/a>. \u2013\u00a0<em>Colin Dempsey<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0;width: 100%;height: 120px\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=274104693\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" width=\"100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com\/album\/ungeon-escent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">\u0189ungeon \u0189escent by Torpor<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\n\t\tn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=1;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\n\t\tdocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\tfbq('init', '1753966171496536');\n\t\tfbq('set','agent','tmgoogletagmanager', '1753966171496536');\n\t\tfbq('track', \"PageView\");\n\t<\/script><script defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&#038;version=v7.0&#038;appId=434175690014\" nonce=\"6gwmbCtM\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mining Metal is a monthly column from Heavy Consequence contributing writers Langdon Hickman and Colin Dempsey. The focus is on noteworthy new music emerging from the non-mainstream metal scene, highlighting releases from small and independent labels \u2014 or even releases from unsigned acts. Death metal has always felt like a magical portal to me. So&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/consequence.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a0480995139_16.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}