The 100% Pure Antifascist Scrub – April 2026 Edition
Welcome back to The 100% Pure Antifascist Scrub! As a reminder, my goal with this monthly feature is to introduce you to the best of antifascist music from the prior month. Antifascist themes are not required. Rather I look for the bands/projects to be publicly antifascist. Look for the article on the first Friday of each month. Every release included here has been vetted by me through conversation with the band, looking at their socials, talking to people in the scene who know, and/or through a long reputation of consistency in this regard.
There are still clearly plenty of fascist shit-stains to scrub away in this world, so we continue with the Scrub. Welcome to the April 2026 edition.
Palmar De Troya – III (4/3/2026, Reptilian Records) [Punk]
This Spanish quintet is a fantastic new (to me) find for this month, though they’ve been an active project since 2019. Playing weirdo (complimentary) punk which pulls from many different styles of the genre, as well as from outside of it. The first band which comes to mind for me by way of comparison is the mighty Sonic Youth. Dig in, then backtrack through the prior material.
Starer – Skeleton Claim His Being (4/3/2026, Snow Wolf Records) [Black Metal]
Though I’ve written extensively about this project at my prior site, this is the first time I’ve done so here. It boils down to exceptional black metal with symphonic elements made by a stellar human being. This particular release is a fund-raiser for ESMA Animal Rescue in Egypt, an organization with which the creator has worked for a long time, including having adopted animals from them. Help support this worthy cause and hear what may be the world’s first black metal John Mellencamp cover.
Sunken Basilica/Spife – The Churn Beneath (4/3/2026, Fiadh Productions) [Fantasy Synth]
Rich synth tones call forth fantasy worlds of danger and adventure. This split features two of my favorite artists in the synth world. As an interesting side note, the artist behind Sunken Basilica and the artist behind Starer from the prior entry have shared the stage together as a part of Primeval Well.
Zanjeer زنجیر – Seher-e-Maqhoor سحرِ مقھور (4/3/2026, Neon Nile Records) [Crust]
Sung in Urdu, a language from both India and Pakistan, this Berlin-based band takes on social inequalities with a driving urgency that hits like a high-speed throat punch. When I reached out to them, the band stated that they are “against all forms of fascism, religious extremism, and ethno nationalism.” These tracks hit fast and hard, with a righteous fury born of being entirely done with all oppression.
Fainting Dreams – The Silence of Birds That Rarely Sing (4/6/2026, Softseed Music) [Blackgaze]
The genre designation above is really just a placeholder, because this is one of those projects which is nigh impossible to define. It definitely veers into deafheaven territory sometimes, but also dream pop and singer-songwriter and post-rock and…and…and…territory. What I can say for sure is that this is astonishingly beautiful. Though shipping would be as much as the cost of the cassette, I’m very much debating buying this one.
Emily Rach Beisel – Sumptuous Branching (4/10/2026, Amalgam) [Experimental]
Vocals, chants, sound manipulation, and a bass clarinet. This album is as hard to define as it is stunning. Dynamic soundscapes go in unexpected directions. The album is beautiful, but also deeply challenging. I highly recommend it.
Dental Office Parking – Water Park Tattoos EP (4/14/2026, Tomb Tree Records) [Cybergrind]
This release is absolutely bonkers, with strange samples and wildly, ecstatic, aggressive mayhem. Belligerent yells and screams meet cyber insanity. The physical is just as wild, as this is apparently available as a 3″ CD. Hold on tight before pressing play.
.gif from god – Dissimulation (4/16/2026, Prosthetic Records) [Grindcore]
One of the real heavyweights of the modern grind scene is back for another round of pummeling. For those not in the know, tis sextet lean towards cybergrind at times, but can play with face-melting brutality. This latest album holds up well against their prior work and against the larger grind scene.
Snake Eater – پرومو 2026 (4/16/2026, Self-Release) [Hardcore Punk]
Blistering hardcore punk from the Netherlands. A friend saw them at Roadburn this year and said they gave a stellar performance. I’m thankful he did, because I now know about them. This is my kind of mosh music, in that it’s hard AF, but also speaks truth to power.
Drang – De Doorbraak (4/17/2026, Fiadh Productions) [Black Metal]
Second wave-influenced black metal, in Dutch, by this solo project from the Netherlands. We are told that the lyrics “reflect on radicalization, organization, comradery, and self-actualization.” Musically, the album is raging black metal with a delightful amount of filth.
Hecate/Tree of Hell – Osculum Infame (4/17/2026, Fiadh Productions) [Synth/Grind/Black Metal]
Both of these solo artists like to experiment in the worlds of the extreme, as evidenced on this mind-bending split. Element of grind collide with synth dreamscapes, while a blackening persists across the release like the plague. Yet another experimental release. I guess this is the month for it. That’s cool though, because we love boundary-pushing around these parts.
Master’s Ashes – How The Mighty Have Fallen (4/17/2026, Time To Kill Records) [Sludge Metal]
Given that this is something of a supergroup featuring past members of bands such as Voivod, Crisis, and Dystopia (just to mention a few), I had very high hopes. I was not disappointed. Thrash, sludge, death, groove, and more are woven into a tapestry of rage against the system in which we live. The band made it clear, when I was messaging with them, that they stand on business when it comes to anti-fascism in all aspects of their life. Love to see them on what is fast becoming one of my favorite labels too.
Mound of Orchids – Silhouettes (4/17/2026, Fiadh Productions) [Blackgaze]
For hazy days and languid nights. Mound of Orchids gives us a beautiful take on blackgaze, melancholy and meditative. Lots of reverb and patient pacing draw the listener into a dreamy liminal state.
Muerto – Eclipsed Realms (4/17/2026) [Black Metal]
Though this is their third full-length, this Mexican trio is new to me. The vocals cut through the oppressive atmosphere with the clarity of a well-sharpened blade. Rather than providing relief, they work in concert with the instruments to add head shots to the body blows of the guitar, bass, and drums. I don’t often think of black metal as brutal, but Eclipsed Realms fits the bill.
Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead – collected (4/21/2026, Zegema Beach Records) [Screamo]
This is technically a compilation of past releases, not a new release, which is generally not what I’m doing here. However, this is an opportunity for fans to grab everything released up to this point by this passionate screamo band. Also, when a band speaks up so clearly on anti-fascism, I do like to support that. Their statement to me includes the following: “Our band and members all publicly stand for anti-fascist action and praxis, trans rights, animal rights, labour rights, anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism and pro class war.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Kaatyra – Caminhos de Água (4/24/2026, Fractions of Life Records/Flowing Downwards) [Acoustic Black Metal/Folk]
There is a mix of traditional sounds and blackened atmospheres on this beautiful album. I’ve been a fan since Inpariquipê (2021), so I was very excited to see this pop up. This is everything I hoped it would be, once again.
Nequient – Avarice (4/24/2026, Nefarious Industries) [Metallic Hardcore]
Avarice is an absolute ass beater of an album. Hard riffs, hard vocals, hard drumming, hard bass. This is a very mosh-worthy album. That said, Nequient is not afraid to experiment with different rhythms and sounds. Knuckle dragging, but with sophistication.
Nixil/Drouth – Toward Dead Temples (4/24/2026, Self-Release) [Black Metal]
I wrote a lot of words about this a while back, which you can read here, so I’ll just share this statement from the bands, found on the Nixil Bandcamp page: “Nixil and Drouth detest fascism, white supremacy and nationalist ideology. NO GODS, NO MASTERS, NO BOOTLICKERS.”
Porous – Despotic Rot (4/24/2026, Fiadh Productions) [Blackened Post-Hardcore]
It’s always fun when you get to talk about a friend’s work. Porous and I were just hanging out at the Imipolex/Plague of Carcosa/Abuse Repression/The Formal Nightmare show in Detroit, where he took photos of the festivities (you can find his photo work here). Much like that show, Despotic Rot rips. Give it a spin.
Shadowlands – 004 (4/24/2026, Seeing Red Records) [Post-Goth]
My cassette collection sits in a drawer under my bed. Among the many tapes are ones from my teen years in the second half of the ’80s into the ’90s. The Cure, The Mission, Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy, and more. It’s so great to find a modern band that hits similar sad vibes here in 2026, and even more fantastic to have them confirm that they are antifascist. TLDR; this is excellent and you should listen.
Terror – Still Suffer (4/24/2026, Flatspot Records) [Hardcore]
I don’t have too much to say. Terror are hardcore royalty for a reason and this album absolutely bangs. The Iron Goddess of Mercy gave Still Suffer the full review treatment here.
Burnt Lodge/Veytik – Anchors Plunged Off Helluland (4/29/2026, Fiadh Productions) [Black Metal]
Another exceptional split in the Scrub this month. Excellent black metal meets excellent black metal, and black metal is my favorite musical style (though I hate black metal for the obvious reasons). Professor Guanaco gives this one the full treatment here.
мир – molidae. (4/29/2026, Ten Plagues Tapes) [Blackened Screamo]
molidae. is a very new find for me. Like, I stumbled on it yesterday. I have reached out to the band for confirmation, but at this point, I’m relying on statements from an interview with Idioteq that they are antifascist. The statements in the interview did seem pretty clear, so here we are. Musically, the album is beautiful and powerful. A great example of a mix of styles to heighten what is essentially screamo at its core.
