HAS THE BEST OF THE YEAR HELD UP? Spooky Essentials Dungeon. New Metal, 10-Years, & More | MRP #072
Ten years ago, Metal Robot Reviews launched on YouTube with a simple premise: one guy talking about metal albums on the internet and somehow convincing people this counted as a productive use of time. Shockingly… it worked.
Episode #072 of the Metal Robot Podcast celebrates a full decade of Metal Robot history with a packed episode full of reviews, riffs, ghosts, and enough sarcasm to power a small Ontario city.
We kick things off by looking at three very different new releases from across the metal spectrum. Canadian thrashers W.M.D. bring high-speed riff carnage with Against All Warnings, proving that modern thrash can still sound sharp, memorable, and energetic without collapsing into riff soup. Then things get emotionally devastating with funeral doom outfit Abysmal Growls Of Despair and their crushingly slow and deeply personal album Torn, an album exploring illness, grief, and emotional exhaustion through suffocating atmosphere and mournful brass arrangements.
Thankfully, the mood doesn’t stay trapped in existential despair forever, because August Burns Red storms in with Season of Surrender, a technical and explosive metalcore record that reminds everyone why the band has remained one of the genre’s most respected names for over two decades.
Later in the episode, the Essentials Dungeon creaks open once again as Tom revisits King Diamond’s legendary concept album Abigail. Between the iconic falsettos, horror storytelling, and classic heavy metal riff work, the episode explores exactly why the album remains one of metal’s most beloved concept records decades later… even if the ghosts are literally begging people to stop entering haunted mansions.
The episode closes with a special conversation featuring Influencers of Metal Podcast co-host and Thrashers Paradise mastermind Collin Sterling. Instead of the usual artist interview, the two take a look back at the year in metal so far, revisiting their favourite albums of 2026 and seeing which picks have actually survived the test of time halfway through the year.
What albums for you started the year as amazing? Is it still shredding? Is it forgotten?
Hit play now and join the fun!
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MUSIC
CREDITS
Written & Directed by: Tom McKay
Produced by: Tom McKay
Podcast Mixed with: Presonus: Studio One
Original Music by: Tom McKay
DISCLAIMER: Copyright Exceptions under the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42), allowance is made for "fair dealing" for the purposes of criticism or review.
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