January 2026 Reviews Round-Up (Pt.1)

• BEYOND THE BLACK – ‘Break the Silence’
• BULLET – ‘Kickstarter’
• EDENBRIDGE – ‘Set The Dark On Fire’
• TEXTURES – ‘Genotype’
• VENGER – ‘Times Of Legend’

We’re only a handful of days into 2026, and already the year has thrown up some very tasty releases to jockey for position in the traditional end-of-year Top 20s. In nothing more scientific than alphabetical order, first off the pile is ‘Break the Silence’ by German symphonic metallers BEYOND THE BLACK (Nuclear Blast, 9th January). If their debut album, 2015’s ‘Songs Of Love And Death’ was a careful toe in the water, over recent releases the band fronted by Jennifer Haben have become confident enough to throw themselves headlong into the pool and their sixth studio outing builds on the foundations of their stunning self-titled 2023 release. It is apparently a concept album which “explores themes of communication, inner strength, resilience and the urgent need to reconnect in a divided world,” but don’t let the dread of another ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ scare you. There’s nothing in the running order that screams ‘concept’, and nothing disturbs the flow of what is a most excellent album. Stylishly grandiose, and easily accessible yet punchy at the same time, it’s a treasure trove of delights with so, so much to commend it. Lord Of The Lost’s Chris Harms pops up to duet on ‘The Art Of Being Alone’, Lovebites’ Asami shares the spotlight on ‘Can You Hear Me’, ‘(La Vie Est Un) Cinéma’ is sung partially in French (but you probably guessed that already) and the German-language ‘Weltschmerz’ wraps things up. What can you say? This is a band that just gets better and better.

Video clips:
‘Let There Be Rain’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR0BmiZ6Mis
‘Ravens’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-0fv0StQIw
‘Rising High’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtwTsPc6Puk

Formed in 2001 Sweden’s BULLET have never deviated from their vision of hammering out traditional heavy metal for the masses. ‘Kickstarter’ (Steamhammer, 9th January) is an unyielding and exciting blast from the past and doesn’t sound unlike anything Accept did back in the Eighties. And that really is no bad thing, in my books. Razor-sharp riffing, catchy solos and a seemingly relentless bass-and-drums backbone all add up to 40 minutes of prime-time metal, topped off by Dag ‘Hell’ Hofer’s barbed wire vocal inflection. It’s an exceptionally exhilarating release with 11 tracks all vying to be top dog, although opener ‘Kickstarter’ itself and ‘Chained By Metal’ (with its monstrous chorus line) both give a very good impression of what the band and the album are about.

Video clips:
‘Chained By Metal’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GbNFm62olg
‘Kickstarter’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfxCHAp45Sw&list=RDVfxCHAp45Sw&start_radio=1
‘Keep Rolling’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8sRt1fA9PM&list=RDx8sRt1fA9PM&start_radio=1

Getting a little further into the alphabet, Edenbridge have returned to the Steamhammer stable after a brief dalliance with Another Famous Manufacturer for their 12th studio album ‘Set The Dark On Fire’ (Steamhammer, 16 January). The ever-reliable Austrian quintet centred around multi-instrumentalist / producer / genius Lanvall and vocalist Sabine Edelsbacher rarely disappoint with their releases and although ‘Set The Dark On Fire’ perhaps doesn’t break any new ground it’s still an exciting and effervescent outing with a cracking opener in ‘The Ghostship Diaries’, an almost traditional metal romp (with the most glorious vocals, it must be said) in ‘Our Place Among The Stars’ and a nod to the Celts in the utterly splendid ‘Where The Wild Things Are’. Of course, it wouldn’t be an Edenbridge album without a suite and the 13 minute, four-part ‘Spark Of The Everflame’ wraps things up with, as you’d expect, some degree of style.

Video clips:
‘Where The Wild Things Are’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Y73RBtfX0
‘Cosmic Embrace’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDUH8--gDr4

Residing in the MIA file since they spilt in December 2017 TEXTURES are back with a new album ‘Genotype’ (Kscope, 23 January). Apparently the Dutch progressive metallers had recorded an album of this name at the same time as their previous outing, February 2016’s ‘Phenotype’, the two being different sides of the same coin. But with the band calling it a day ‘Genotype’ Mk.1 never saw the light of day and this is now a wholly new release, but still very much in the Texture’s mould; although the opening instrumental ‘Void’ might hint at a less overt approach to their trademark sound ‘Genotype’ is very much cut from the band’s usual, well, texture. It’s heavy, multifaceted, and quite unforgiving at times, and all the better for it. The strident ‘Measuring The Heavens’ is probably a pretty good showcase of what the album is all about while the Charlotte Wessels duet ‘At The Edge Of Winter’ displays the band at its most accessible and ‘Vanishing Twin’ is quite a smart and savvy piece of work. ‘Genotype’ is a relentless reminder that Textures should be much better known than they are and, hopefully, will open a few more doors for them.

Video clips:
‘Closer To The Unknown’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj_lXDzhdHo
‘At The Edge Of Winter’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQDkZeKkMrQ&list=RDrQDkZeKkMrQ&start_radio=1
‘Vanishing Twin’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8xJv-WGZgo&list=RDv8xJv-WGZgo&start_radio=1

And finally, with Maiden’s Adrian Smith moonlighting with Richie Kotzen, Saxon’s Doug Scarratt has also been out ’n’ about, burning the midnight oil with James Fogarty (from In the Woods and Old Forest), and by roping in vocalist Franz Bauer and drummer Sven Rothe they’ve created VENGER. It’s appropriate that they’ve taken their name from a Dungeons & Dragons character because ‘Times Of Legend’ (Silver Lining Music, 9 January) is quite a fantastical album with tracks about UFOs, Egyptology, folklore, old horror films and make-believe. “I like the idea that ‘Times Of Legend’ could be like a heavy metal version of those 1950s’ schoolboy books where every chapter was a different story,” says Fogarty in the band’s biography, and that does make for an interesting way of gathering material for the album. It’s an old school metal album, as British as the rain and queuing up, and it revels in its traditionalism as songs like ‘Crystal Gazer’ and ‘Pharaoh’s Curse’ beguile and enthral. And it is worth noting that Scarratt – no slouch in Saxon – is on fire across this album.

As there was no promo photo of the band here's Doug at the day job - pic (c) John Tucker

Video clips:
‘From Worlds Unknown’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW2z9x-GhQQ
‘Navigate The Labyrinth’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YpnHWTOhS0&list=RD7YpnHWTOhS0&start_radio=1
‘Crystal Gazer’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEF3HFWGkJQ

 John Tucker January 2026