October 2025: Matt Recommends

October was a pretty good month (for music) if we're being honest. This is gonna be a spitfire of recommendations with little insight. Strap in!

Raphael Weinroth-Browne - Lifeblood: The month started off really well with the latest from this dynamic cellist. Lifeblood is a captivating and passionate affair that draws you in as if you weren't freely giving yourself over to it already. Excellent work, as always.



M.E.L.T. - Innervate/Obliterate: High-energy psych/indie/fuzz/stoner rock power trio. Very high energy. Best enjoyed very high.



Verona Florrist - Verona Florrist: Stoner doom trio from Toronto. Big powerful sound with nuance. Not afraid to "get into'er" and crush some skulls. FFO AAWKS.



Frayle - Heretics and Lullabies: Heavy doom rock with haunting melodies and ethereal vocals. The atmosphere fills the room in a similar way to Alice in Chains.



Biohazard - Divided We Fall: I've been a Biohazard fan for over 25 years and I was not disappointed by this return! First album in 12 years! (Not on Bandcamp.)



Soulfly - Chama: I'm a big Soulfly fan. My first ever tattoo was the Soulfly wings logo. They sound a lot different than 1998 but Max always rules! (Not on Bandcamp either.)



Cattlemass - Alpha 1128: Kick-ass fuckin' doom. Fuzzed-out and dripping with groove. Crank it! Crush something!



Hawklords - Faith: Yes, this is an offshoot of Hawkwind. And they sound like it. Always a trip with these lads!



The Acacia Strain - You Are Safe From God Here: I don't always go for deathcore. If you can even call this deathcore. It's pretty doomy. And angry.



Space Witch - Mountains of Neptune: Instrumental space doom masterpiece! It's been eight years since their last album. Well worth the wait. Safe travels, friends.



Like I said, it was a good month and I wanted to highlight as many as I could. Check out my October Playlist for more good tunes.

Biohazard - Reborn In Defiance

I never really thought Biohazard would release another album. I thought they were done. The members had moved on to bigger and better boobs, I mean, things. But in reality, none of those things was bigger or better than the 'Hazard. So it was with great delight that I read they had reformed (sadly short-lived however) and were releasing a new album. So you could say, the band was "Reborn In Defiance" of my expectations.

On first listen, even the next couple, I thought it was actually kind of weak. I wasn't expecting them to beat down the door like it was '94 but I was hoping for more. This turned out to be one of those cases of overreaching expectations. The best course of action was to step back and take the music for what it is. It just happens to be a very strong album after all.

Sometimes I can hear the maturity that inevitably wiggles its way into the album. The choruses on songs such as "Decay" and "Vows of Redemption" reel back on the aggression a bit and the instrumental closer "Season The Sky" doesn't sound like Biohazard at all. The vocals of Evan Seinfeld and Billy Graziadei are such an integral part of the Biohazard sound that their absence really caught me off guard. The results however, are quite pleasant.

Back to the meat and potatoes of the album. Biohazard are known as being innovators in the fusion of rap and metal/hardcore. Reborn In Defiance doesn't stray far from the formula Biohazard has laid down. But it's not in the least formulaic. Songs like "Skullcrusher", "Come Alive" and album highlight "Reborn" are hardcore heavyweights with huge riffs/breakdowns, gang shouts and all the heft you need.  In fact, the majority of the album would translate well to the live environment.  The opportunities for singing along run rampant. Especially on the aforementioned "Reborn". "From sickness I am torn/ Through suffering reborn/ No compassion, no control/ Only black inside my soul". The rhythms are tailor made for headbangin' and when the mosh parts hit, someone's getting hurt.  They've got the feel of a hundred mountain gorillas stomping poachers to dust in unison.

I haven't been a fan of rap since grade school (Run DMC!!) but when Seinfeld raps, I can dig it. My assumption is that it's mostly context related. The backdrop isn't hip-hop and the lyrics aren't about bitches, blunts and poppin' caps. They're about real life. Coupled with Graziadei's shouts (Seinfeld's too) and that vicious heavy hardcore, I hardly think of it as rap at all. 

All in all, Reborn In Defiance offers a tremendous return from pioneers of a style freakishly distorted by "rap metal" bands of the '00s. Most of which have faded into obscurity. Thankfully, Biohazard has stuck to their strengths and given us what will most likely be "Comeback Album of the Year".

Hopefully a North American release date is announced soon. The album was released in Europe back in January on Nuclear Blast.  I'm also interested to see what they will sound like with new bassist/vocalist Scott Roberts.

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