🎶🎮 July 2026 Roundup
Every year I grow more and more despondent as summer vacation comes to a close. With all my hobbies, interests and todos, it really is a blessing to have a longer period of free time so that I can feel like my brain actually has the space to process everything I want to experience.
This year's period was quite lucrative in that respect, at least on the gaming and relaxation front. I even managed to finish the last half of a book I'd been trying to get through for a long time, which was nice. Interestingly, my album listening log for July is actually shorter than for June. I'm not really sure why that is, as I had plenty of time to get through it all. Regardless, there are still plenty of recommendations to present this time around.
In other news; I've rediscovered my love for bicycles! In my younger years I used to ride my bike everywhere. Then as I got older and had to move around a lot during different periods of my early adult life, having a bike didn't always make sense for where I was living and what I was spending my time doing. Now that I have a more permanent place to live, and it seems like my working life is becoming more stable, it's starting to make sense again.
For the time being I'm only borrowing my dad's old all-road/hybrid bike. It's some random cheap brand that no one's ever heard of, and the components are all kind of shit, but he agreed to let me borrow it as long as I took good care of it, and so I did. I rehashed my old bike maintenance skill with some solid help from YouTube and made that bike better than brand new. Now it's actually quite nice to ride, and I actually want to go on random rides from time to time, as well as riding back and forth to work when the weather allows.
But hey, we have some games and some music to get to, don't we?
THE GAMES
Dispatch
Adventure, 2025 (Steam)
The buzz around this game was quite deafening when this first came out, but it didn't really look like my cup of tea so I bided by time. I'm glad I was able to catch it on the Steam Summer Sale and play it during my vacation.
The visual presentation here is nothing short of outstanding. The graphics and animation was so immersive and true to animation principles that at times I actually had a hard time realizing it was actually rendered within a game engine and not pre-rendered cutscenes.
The story was great, the voice acting was amazing, and I just had a plain good time with it. There's not much gameplay to speak of, but I also think that's not really the point. This is more like a choose-your-own-adventure type of experience rather than an actual RPG or Sim-type of game. I can tell you that I actually want to play through it again sometime simply to make different choices, and see how it affects the story. It definitely deserves its "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating.
No Rest for the Wicked
Action RPG, 2026 (Steam)
This game has been on my wishlist for a very, very long time. Despite that, it's still not out of Early Access quite yet, but according to the versions and patches the game has had, a full 1.0 release is certainly not far off.
Anyway, I loved Moon Studios' Ori games, and I found it very intriguing that they wanted to make a game in this genre. A genre that by all accounts is sort of hard to break into, and I would say is even relatively niche at this point in gaming history. I have to say though, this is a very well crafted game, both from a gameplay and a presentation perspective. It has a very unique art style, it looks absolutely gorgeous (just like the Ori games), the music is great, and it has very creative and menacing monster designs.
I've only levelled one character so far – not even to max level, and I think I'm barely halfway through what exists of the campaign – but the overall gameplay seems quite deep, and the systems and mechanics could easily be something concocted by a studio with decades of more experience in this particular genre. It's quite challenging, but very engaging, and the hallmark of a great game in this genre is that feeling you get when you can't seem to put it down, even when you should have gone to bed an hour ago.
Now, I will note that there are certain problematic things surrounding this game, mainly that the Moon Studios founders Thomas Mahler and Gennadiy Korol have said some really stupid stuff and apparently are really hard to work for. That's why I'm stating explicitly that I'm not actually recommending anyone to buy this game, I'm merely relaying my experience of having played it.
In light of the controversies surrounding the studio, buying the game could make out to be a moral question for some, which it also was for me. The news around the studio does seem to have quieted in the last year – maybe because Mahler figured out that it's better to stop being a sleazebag and focus on helping his team make games, who knows.
Anyway, your decision on whether or not to buy this game might differ from mine, which I wholly respect. It's important to be an informed consumer, especially in this day and age. I may come to regret my decision, only time will tell, but at least I'm enjoying the game itself thus far.
THE MUSIC
Cheekface - Podium
Indie Rock, 2026
Oh hey, look, Cheekface released a new album and it made Beanis' monthly roundup. What a shocker!
This album, just like most of their previous releases, is full of cheerful, catchy and uplifting tunes. High sing-a-long factor in the choruses, and silly yet deceptively deep lyrics with the usual deadpan delivery from Greg. Can’t help but love this, and there’s nothing else quite like it.
Left to Die - Initum Mortis
Thrashy Death Metal, 2026
Here we have some powerful OSDM which just absolutely barrels through its barely 27 minute runtime. The grooves are undeniable, the mood is absolutely perfect, and the production is nice and punchy. One of the best pure metal albums of the month. The only thing I'm missing is slightly more powerful vocals, but that's a nitpick. Very, very good stuff.
Protest The Hero - Within
Progressive Alt Metal, 2026
I haven’t really been blown away by any Protest The Hero record since their sophomore release Kezia, but this one might even surpass my fondness for that album. This is a wildly energetic and uplifting piece of progressive alt metal that is incredibly infectious, technically impressive, and bursting with personality. It’s a bit eclectic and spastic, which might turn some people off, but that’s just PTH doing what they do. 🤷
Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship - 二次元コンプレックス 2D Complex
Japanese Slam/Cyber Metal, 2026
This is the record you wanna check out this month if you want something weird and unique without the usual pretension, and is still technically impressive, works musically, and goes absolutely hard as fuck. You could definitely call this novelty if you want, but I call it personality.
Devildriver - Strike And Kill
Groove Metal, 2026
I was very into Devildriver for their first two or three albums back in the day, but haven’t really enjoyed their music since. On this album however, they seem to have modernized their production and approach to songwriting a bit, and I have to admit that I think this is the best they’ve sounded in a long time. Unfortunately, the album is way too long at 50 minutes, and the best songs are all up front. Still enjoyable but definitely loses its momentum along the way.
Boundaries - Yearning: The Unbeautiful After
Metallic Hardcore, 2026
A very angry and extremely heavy album, with genre-perfect gravelly coarse vocals and powerful, punchy production. The grooves on this thing are so insanely thick and juicy, and even though the band strays into pop-metal territory every once in a while with the vocals on their choruses, the sheer power of the chugs and breakdowns throughout the record more than makes up for it. I think this might be my favorite album of the month.
No Cure - It Is Going To Get Dark
Metallic Hardcore, 2026
This is probably my second favorite hardcore record of July, only surpassed by the Boundaries release. This band understands how to get a heavy groove going, do consistently good breakdowns, dabbles in death metal riffs, and still has the sonic energy and power that’s needed for this genre to be interesting.
Sallow Moth - Hydrophilous Brood
Death Metal, 2026
This disgusting and filthy recorded-through-a-sock album is actually the best death metal I’ve heard all month. Sallow Moth has those gurgle vocals nailed, and the slightly progressive tint to their songwriting not only ensures that their music is creative and interesting, but also that they have unique sound signature of their own. I would definitely prefer slightly crispier production, but it’s not completely awful as-is, and I think it might actually take away from the band’s sound a bit.
Loathe - A Stranger To You
Alt Metalcore, 2026
I knew when I heard Loathe for the first time a couple years ago that they’re quite a special band, and I had their 2020 record I Let It In And It Took Everything on regular rotation. This new album right here completely surpasses everything they’ve ever done. It is probably the most creative and sonically diverse metal record of the year, all without being too saccharine or sheepishly trying to appeal to a certain demographic. It sounds unique, modern, uncompromising, pure, and still manages to smash your face in regularly.
Honorable mentions
- Fuming Mouth - The Ringing Bell :: I very much enjoyed this band’s 2019 release The Grand Descent. I’m sad to say that I think they haven’t quite been able to match that record’s power and mood again with their later efforts, but it’s still good hardcore with a doom metal bent.
- Black Winter - If God Just Gave Me One More Chance :: The production on this record is annoyingly blown out, but the music itself is actually some fairly creative old-school metalcore with emphasis on the ‘core’. I might’ve actually recommended it if the production wasn’t shit.
- Madball - Not Your Kingdom :: It’s bouncy, it’s groovy, it’s raw, it’s unapologetic. Perfectly fine NYC hardcore.
- Crime Zone - Beach Thrash :: A raunchy and punky piece of music from this Norwegian small-timer which manages to stay entertaining throughout without ever blowing my socks off.
- Tierra Whack - Whack's Museum :: An album by a very talented lyricist with very hit-and-miss beats underneath. More rollers than bangers. Enjoyable, but I'd say you need to be in the mood for it.
Epilogue
That's all, folks! Remember that you can check out my entire listening log on Albumwhale if you're curious. See you next month, hopefully on time. ✌️😁