The Bad Penny (beta)

The phrase “most anticipated album of the year” is, when actually considered, an absurd thing to say. The phrase is inherently contradictory, given that music has an unwavering subjective appeal even among an artist’s devoted fanbase. Because fans typically don’t know what’s in store on an upcoming release, it’s illogical for fans to froth at the mouth over a record that hasn’t yet materialized. 

A more accurate comment would come from someone who has actually listened to the record in advance. If that arbiter thinks long and hard about the approaching album – and seriously considers the hopes and expectations of the fans of the artist who is putting it out – they might be able to predict, based on their musical expertise, that the album will hit the marks that the artist’s fanbase craves.

So let’s put it another way: Gaerea’s fifth album, Loss, is already positioned to be one of the most devastating and glorious (those words are interchangeable in the metal community) – and perhaps one of the best, metal records of 2026. We can base that theory on three principle pieces of evidence. 

First off, the arty, consistently costumed black-metal band from Portugal released Loss’ first single, “Submerged,” about fourth months ago, Those acquainted with Gaerea’s past work will notice how they pushed the song’s heavy segments even heavier than on previous efforts, and quieted the soft segments even further than before. Like Midas, Gaerea even turned the captivating video, which takes place underwater, into gold:

The second piece of evidence that Loss is primed to be a 2026 classic is found in “Helbound,” the second single from Loss, which Gaerea released two months ago. Childish as it may be to aver, the song is so next-level that we’re at a loss to adequately describe its magnificence. We count at least a dozen hooks and melodies in the song, which is bound to blow out many an amp when Gaerea perform it live. (In fact, they’re already running that risk, as Gaerea began opening their concerts with “Hellbund” starting October 22 in Berlin and will likely continue to do so until their European Loss preview tour concludes November 30 in Copenhagen.)

For those of us who who can’t afford to jet-set overseas and witness one of the performances – also featuring the other greatest metal band on the planet right now, Orbit Culture – we can still revel in this sumptuous, surrealist video that looks like a bonus scene from Tarsem Singh’s fantastical and sublimely colored film “The Fall”:

As for the third and final reason why Loss portends beauty and horror the likes of which Gaerea haven’t produced to date can be found here, here, here and here.

One more theory about Loss, and admittedly, this one’s a bit of a stretch: If you’re familiar with the 1993 alien abduction movie Fire in the Sky, you might notice a resemblance between the cover art for Loss and the poster for the aforementioned film. There’s certainly a cosmic aspect to Loss, as the last song on the record is titled “Stadust.” Are Gaerea plopping out an Easter egg suggesting their new record will revolve around UFOs – or at least space travel?

We’ll have to wait until Loss, Gaerea’s first album for Century Media, is released March 20.

PS: Gaerea posted the below image on their Facebook page two days ago, and we haven’t the slightest clue what it means … yet.

This entry was posted on 12/18/2025 at 5:40 am and is filed under News, Reviews with tags Gaerea. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.