🎶🎮 September 2026 Roundup

01 Oct, 2026

Oh boy, oh boy! I'll tell you what, folks, I worked my ass off to catch up on all the stuff I wanted to include in this post. I listened to 71 new albums this month (a new PR btw), I've played through a game that I've wanted to finish for a long time, and I even have a TV show I'd like to promote. Imagine that!

Before we get to all that I'll just say that from a personal standpoint, September has been remarkably uninteresting. Nothing's really happened...

Apart from the announcement of WoW: Forever, that is!

Words cannot describe how stoked I am for this game. The graphical enhancements, the QoL improvements, the horizontal progression, the talent reworks, the new class combinations... Pretty much everything that's been presented and revealed about the game has me saying "Yeah, I like that", and it seems more and more like the classic version of WoW I've always wanted.

I have not paid for the beta, nor do I intend to. I will be going into it with fresh eyes, ready to discover all the new stuff and rediscover the classic WoW magic along with friends and family, some of whom will even be playing WoW for the very first time. I think it's going to be magical. 😁

Now, about that show...

Task is an HBO show featuring The Most Based Hulk himself Mark Ruffalo as the show's main protagonist. Now, I don't want to spoil anything at all here, so I won't be doing a plot outline or anything of that nature. What I will say is that I now consider this one-season show to be one of the best things I've ever watched on television. It was incredibly poignant, dramatic, thrilling, well-written, and it had amazingly deep characters that you really end up caring about. I honestly don't know why this show hasn't gotten more public hype, but I'm doing my part in correcting that.

It's only seven episodes, and believe me when I say it's worth every single hour you put into it. Take care however; This is not a "second monitor" show. You should give it your undivided attention and focus, and it will reward you for it.

Alright, now that we have that outta the way, let's get to the main event!

THE GAMES

Control

Third Person Action, 2019 (GOG)

I've tried and failed to play Control a couple of times since it came out. I don't really know why, but the first hour or so felt so oppressive, claustrophobic, slow and dense that I think my ADHD-riddled brain simply gave up. I always beat myself up about never pushing through that first hurdle to see what could be on the other side, because I could tell it was special. The art design and the way they build up the lore, the mystery of the Board and the Hiss, and of course the story behind the Oldest House made me crave more.

This month I finally decided to sit down and push through the first hour or so of the game, and it ended up becoming one of the most immersive action adventures I've had the pleasure of completing.

Don't get me wrong, everything I said about the mood and vibe of this game is true. It can genuinely feel mentally draining at times, and after playing through it I think that's actually the point. Brutalist architecture done well – as it is in this game – is both awe-inspiring and imposing at the same time. It's stark, mechanical, lifeless. Yet this building is somehow alive, and that mysterious artistic juxtaposition just gives this game such an identity and so much personality. I loved it!

The game can regularly be had for less than €10 on GOG at this point, and if you've never played it yourself I highly recommend it.

THE MUSIC

Alex Cameron - Late To Set

Alt Pop, 2026

The lyricism is what gets me about this one. The music is fine too, don’t get me wrong, but the way that Alex enunciates the very well chosen words of these songs is what sells it. The bluntness of the imagery as well is just so appealing to me. Especially the second track Statue Down made me do a couple of double takes the first time I heard it. One of this month's more pleasant surprises.

Beck - Ride Lonesome

Singer/songwriter, 2026

Way back in 2002 (holy shit) Beck released his landmark album Sea Change, and that album hit depressed 20-year old me in a very real way. This new record is quite clearly a spiritual successor, now 24 years later. This album is like a warm blanket that covers your soul. This will be my go-to for those days that I just feel like losing myself in a comforting soundscape. There's not enough music like this in my life these days so I'm very happy this exists.

Czarface - Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer

Hip-Hop, 2026

It's been a long time since we had a hip-hop album on the roundup, huh? It’s also been a long time since I listened to an entire hip-hop album without skipping half of it. I guess when you combine the old-school type beats with rappers that came up during what I consider to be the golden age of the genre, AND you get Tom Hardy of all people to rap alongside them under the Frankie Pulitzer alias, you get a winning combination. The track Mad Technology especially is a real banger.

Tinashe - Popstar

Pop, 2026

I just love the dark electronic beats on this one. For a pop album literally named "Popstar" it actually sounds very unpretentious, and yet it still has this diva attitude about it without being obnoxious. In fact, I’d even hesitate to call this a straight up pop album cause we even get freaking drum n’ bass beats on one of these tracks. Then suddenly jazz trumpet?? Regardless, with how unique this record sounds I could see myself loving it on repeated listens.

Lou Kelly - Snot

Crust/Grind Punk, 2026

You know, I'll admit that I don't actually know what genre this is, but I don't really care. Everything about this eclectic and grimy album appeals to me. It’s fun, it’s funny, and it’s easy to mosh to. I love this weird shit, man. It’s not quite SOAD levels of good, but it’s close!

God Mother - Köttvärld

Sludge / Hardcore, 2026

I love it when I find music that actually stands out in a genre where most of it sounds the same. This album is bursting with energy and innovative compositions without sacrificing what makes this genre great. Catch me moshing to this if I ever get to a show of theirs.

Oskaal - (A)live

Death Metal, 2026

Rumour has it that this entire album was recorded in one take at one of this band's concerts. If that is indeed the case, I find it extremely impressive. Not just from a musical standpoint, but from a technical one; This genuinely sounds like it could be a studio recording. These guys have got the groove down, the attitude, the power, the fierceness. The songs are dynamic and interesting as well, so it’s the complete package. They’re even a local band for me (from Oslo I believe), which is very exciting.

Nott - As All Is Undone

Post Deathcore, 2026

Giving this the award for the grimmest album cover of the month! 🏆

This one is dark, y’all. This is a fantastic, grandiose and sinister piece of work that is both excruciatingly heavy and haunting to listen to. Don't expect the usual deathcore fare with extreme for extreme's sake, this is much more mature than that. The most interesting deathcore-adjacent album of the month for me, no contest.

Ninth Realm - Damnation's Veil

Blackened Heavy Metal, 2026

This is one of those records that you pull out if you want to give someone an example of good and modern underground metal. It sounds big, angry, and those drums are mighty as hell. The vocals have a nice gravelly quality to them and the guitars are just working overtime on those riffs. I’m missing those “fuck yeah” moments that I can get from other genres, but this band just has the fundamentals down so well that I can’t be too mad about it.

Nekrodawn - Covenant Of Carnage

Modern Death Metal, 2026

I really enjoyed Nekrodawn’s last record, and although this new one doesn’t quite match the fantastic groove of their previous outing, this still has plenty going for it. The absolute rumble and sheer energy blasting from your speakers from the second you hit play is undeniable. The songs have plenty of variation and power, but not quite the same levels of catchiness that the last album had. Still, one of the better releases of the month IMO.

Nothingness - Godslaughter

Death Metal, 2026

This caused serious stankface for me within the first ten seconds of the first track, and that feeling remained through most of the runtime. We have some extremely downtuned and heavy death metal here, and it just tickles my cockles. There’s good variation in the vocals, great rhythms and grooves, and it has the sonic brutality that this genre needs to work.

Brat - Manslayer

Death Metal, 2026

Holy crap, we have a winner here, folks! It’s groovy, it’s heavy, it’s punchy, and it’s pissed off in the best possible way. The whole record is like a barreling train of righteous feminist rage. Dark and menacing riffs in songs that are full of attitude and personality, with great variation throughout. Inventive and catchy songwriting makes it feel like the album and the band have an actual identity instead of just being another death metal release.

Might be my favorite album of the month, and there were plenty to choose from. Give it a listen!

Half Me - King

Deathcore, 2026

This EP is the musical equivalent of a sledgehammer to the sternum. Just listen to the absolute pounding that these guys inflict on us about 40 seconds into Fear Is The New Belief. It’s compressed to shit, which serves to accentuate the power and energy contained in this music. I’m generally not a fan of this production style cause it gets quite fatiguing very quickly, but I’m not sure how this band would come across if they didn’t do it this way.

Anyway, this one may be the straight up hardest release on the list this month, which I love. But, it’s not a full album, even if I doubt I could stomach listening to an entire album of clipping like this anyway. Still fun, though!

Evisarize - Bound In Flesh

Blackened Thrash Metal, 2026

I was blown away by this! An absolutely blistering and relentless thrash album that does not take its foot off the throttle for even a minute. The production also has a delightfully organic taste to it where you can immediately tell that the drums here are not beatmatched or synced to a grid, and yet the music still sounds punchy and tight.

The most immediate comparison I can make to the guitar work is actually Dragonforce, but this band seems to have none of the pretense that Dragonforce does. I mean, just listen to this shit! This is the best and most fun thrash album I’ve heard so far this year.

Harlott - Exsequiis

Thrash Metal, 2026

A pleasant surprise! This leans into the style of Slayer (especially in the vocals), only with a much better and grittier production. There’s quite a visceral sound signature here too. It sounds alive, which I really appreciate in this genre. They also know how to throw in the occasional whimsical guitar solo.

Between this and the Evisarize release, thrash fans are eating well!

Nithing - Agonal Hymns

Brutal Death Metal, 2023

We're saving the worst for last, folks! I came across this on YouTube on a video essay about BDM, and I’m actually amazed that I didn’t hear about this when it came out three years ago.

This is one of the most extreme and brutal albums I have ever heard in my entire life. Everything about it is pushed to its maximum limits, from the toilet gurgle vocals to the absolutely blistering double bass drums and death metal chugs and pinch harmonics. And the (almost) best part is that the production isn't shit.

I know this is very niche, and I might be the only person in a 1000-mile radius to actually like it, but god damn; I can’t help but be awestruck by how intense and wild music can get without devolving into plain noise. There’s actual musicianship and a creative vision here, but it takes a trained ear to tell, and I think that’s what I love about it.

Epilogue

Like I mentioned earlier in the roundup, I listened to 70 new albums this month, which is a new personal record. It's also why I'm not listing my honorable mentions this month cause there'd just be way too much to read through. If you really want to see the complete list of every single album, you can find it in my listening log on Albumwhale. Anything rated a B- or higher is worth checking out.

October is usually a busy month for metal so I'm anticipating great things for the next roundup. Until such time, my friends; Peace! ✌️

#🎮 #🎶