So. It turns out that I like Metalcore.
I know. Sit down. Breathe. We’ll get through this together.
For years, Metalcore has been a genre I’ve either side-eyed suspiciously or avoided entirely, filed away under Not For Me alongside Nu-Metal revivalists and bands who think emotion means whinging over a breakdown. But lately, something’s been happening. A few releases have slipped through the cracks, not asking permission, not dressing themselves up for mass appeal, just turning up and smashing my expectations to pieces. And the latest — the one that really drove the point home — is Following Omens, the third full-length from Semper Acerbus.
And yes, before you ask: album of the year contender. Easily.
This is not Metalcore as a lifestyle accessory. This is Metalcore as blunt force trauma.
From the opening seconds of Suffering Awaits, Semper Acerbus make their intentions violently clear. There is no warm-up, no easing in, no polite introduction. The album hits like a door kicked open mid-sentence, and once it starts moving, it never loosens its grip. The pace is relentless, the atmosphere is suffocating, and the aggression feels genuinely hostile — not theatrical, not pre-packaged, but ugly, personal, and furious enough to spend a long time planning your murder.
What immediately sets Following Omens apart is its musical manifesto. Every riff, every rhythmic shift, every vocal eruption feels like it exists for a reason. This isn’t technicality paraded as intelligence, this is a nuclear fucking warhead pointed right at your fucking face.
Semper Acerbus know exactly what kind of violence they’re delivering, and they control it with discipline. The songs are tight without being rigid, savage without becoming shapeless, and heavy in a way that doesn’t rely on gimmicks or trend-chasing.
The guitar work is vicious but measured, swinging between serrated riffing and moments of oppressive, grinding weight that feel closer to Black Metal than anything traditionally associated with Metalcore. There’s a physicality to it — riffs that don’t just sound heavy, but feel heavy, landing with the impact of concrete blocks dropped from a great height. When the band locks into a groove, they ride it just long enough to tear skin from bone before pouring salt into the bleeding wound.
The rhythm section deserves serious credit here. The drums are merciless, constantly pushing forward, but never falling into that sterile, over-triggered trap that drains so much modern heavy music of its soul. There’s swing, there’s power, and — crucially — there’s menace. The bass isn’t just a background rumble either; it thickens the sound into something oppressive, giving the album its depth and sense of mass.
Vocally, Following Omens is feral at heart, but knows when to clean up its act and put on a suit and tie. The delivery is raw, violent, and emotionally unhinged, moving between full-throated fury, moments that feel like someone screaming through clenched teeth because they’ve got nothing left to lose, and then suddenly you’re listen to a man who wouldn’t sound out of place in a Symphonic Metal band. It’s not about range for the sake of showing off — it’s about expression, about making the words feel like they’re being ripped out of the chest rather than delivered from a script.
Lyrically, this isn’t misery porn, and it isn’t melodrama. It’s the sound of someone staring straight at the worst parts of themselves and the world around them and refusing to blink. There’s an honesty here that elevates the brutality — you believe every word because it feels lived-in, not written for effect.
What really impressed me, though, is how Following Omens sustains its intensity across a full album without burning out. So many heavy records blow their load in the first third and limp to the finish. Semper Acerbus don’t make that mistake. The pacing is immaculate. The album surfaces for air when it needs to, tightens the vice when it should, and never feels like it’s repeating itself or padding its runtime. Every track earns its place.
By the time the final moments roll around, you’re not relieved it’s over — you’re stunned it managed to maintain that level of violence and focus for so long without slipping.
Following Omens didn’t just make me rethink my stance on Metalcore. It tore that stance down and set fire to the remains. This is heavy music made without compromise, without apology, and without concern for whether it fits neatly into a scene or playlist. Semper Acerbus have delivered something ferocious, controlled, and genuinely dangerous.
If this is what Metalcore can be in 2026, then I’m done pretending I don’t care.
Because this?
This fucking rips.
Following Omens by Semper Acerbus is available January 9th via Eclipse Records.
CHOICE CUT: The Gallows
BLACK METAL ARCHIVES VERDICT: Violent, focused, and merciless to the core — Following Omens hits like a sustained execution. No filler. All killer. Album of the year behaviour.
