GD Gear Nerds!

Big week. India’s Godless are dropping one of the year’s most purposeful death metal tracks, Mayhem’s 25-year-old live beast is getting a proper reissue, and EarthQuaker has a new preamp/EQ that’s already messing with my budget. There’s tour news, band drama, a new Wailin Storms record on the way, and Monolord plus Elder on the upcoming releases radar.

Let’s go…

India’s Godless have been sharpening their death metal for over a decade, and “Architect of Torment” — premiering via Decibel this week — is what a decade of patience sounds like when it finally pays off. This isn’t chaotic, finding-their-feet death metal. This is precision. Ruthless, organized, increasingly severe.

There’s something genuinely worth stopping to appreciate here: a heavy band operating entirely outside the traditional Western death metal circuit earning a Decibel premiere. The underground is global. Godless has been proving that from Bangalore for years, and most people in this space still aren’t paying enough attention to what’s coming out of South Asia.

The fact that this sounds like a band with ten-plus years of grinding — rather than a buzzworthy newcomer playing catch-up — tells me everything about where their next full-length is headed. “Architect of Torment” is a slow-building, precisely engineered nightmare. I mean that as the highest compliment possible.

If you only click one link this week, make it this one.

Watch “Architect of Torment” via Decibel →

→ Mayhem — Live in Marseille 2000 — Season of Mist is dropping a 25th anniversary reissue of the Norwegian black metal institution’s live document from their notoriously unhinged post-De Mysteriis era. Essential vinyl if you don’t already own it.

Get details →

→ Bask + Elder — U.S. Tour — Blue Ridge heavy Americana meets one of the best live acts in the game right now. This pairing makes more sense than most booking decisions in this space.

Tour dates →

→ President — Blood of Your Empire — Debut album out September 4 via Atlantic. Lead single “Doom Loop” was “born out of existential crisis and trying to make sense of belief, mortality and humanity’s relationship with faith.” That is the correct origin story for any heavy band worth caring about.

Stream “Doom Loop” →

→ Goetia — “Corpse Candle” — Rising death metal trio premiering via Decibel. Three words that do exactly what they advertise.

Watch it →

→ Non Serviam ft. Mirai Kawashima (Sigh) — “Victory to Kali” — Experimental French black metal collective, noise-laden new track, Sigh collab. This is either going to be your new favourite thing or genuinely confuse you. Either outcome is fine.

Listen →

EarthQuaker has a new preamp/EQ pedal — the ZEQD-Pre — reviewed this week on Premier Guitar. EarthQuaker has consistently been one of the most thoughtful builders on the market: not flashy-for-its-own-sake, but genuinely solving real tonal problems. A preamp/EQ from them is either going to be the most useful thing in your chain or the beginning of a very expensive GAS spiral. Probably both.

Read the full review →

Also on the radar: Airline Guitars dropped the Dirty Birdy Fuzz this week. Airline making a dedicated fuzz box is… actually kind of perfect branding? Something a little weirder than the standard Big Muff for those who want their fuzz with personality. Check it out →

→ Tailgunner — Drama in the rising heavy metal camp: guitarist Rhea Thompson has stepped down following allegations against the band’s bassist, claiming she was dropped from a tour without being told and then ignored by her ex-bandmates. Messy, public, and not a good look. Full story →

→ Borknagar — Season of Mist is reissuing Winter Thrice, the Norwegian prog-black institution’s 2016 record. Over 30 years in and still releasing records people actually care about — that’s the goal. Details →

→ Wailin Storms — Durham, NC Southern gothic rockers announced new album The Arsonist via Season of Mist. Bluesy riffs, swampy rhythms, NPR-approved — which is a phrase that sounds like a backhanded compliment but isn’t, because this band genuinely slaps. Announcement →

→ Mama Doom — New York retro occult rockers dropped an NSFW “Woven Linen” video via Decibel. “Bloody good time” is how Decibel described it. That’s enough for me. Watch (NSFW) →

→ Ealdor Bealu — Boise’s doom/post-metal crew just announced their fourth album, Graves of the Silent Plain, out July 10 on Ripple Music. Single “Ponderay” is streaming now via The Obelisk. Worth your ears. Stream →

→ Fu Manchu — The Obelisk streamed The Return Of… Live in full this week — the 2025 live record pressed to a limited 1,500 copies. If you missed the physical run, this is your chance to actually hear it. Stoner rock institutions doing stoner rock institution things. Stream →

That’s the week. Indian death metal, Norwegian black metal history, swamp rock from the Carolinas, EarthQuaker doing EarthQuaker things, and a band imploding with maximum transparency. The riff is eternal.

Got thoughts? Hit reply — I read everything.

Catch you next Friday.

Richard.