The Portuguese masked bandits, GAEREA, released their fifth studio album “Loss” on March 20th, 2026, via Century Media. Since this bunch is a relatively new hyperfixation for me, I simply cannot let it pass unreviewed. Yeah, sure, I must have seen the name pop up in the metal scene once or twice over the past few years, but I never bothered to check them out until last year, their surprise single “Submerged” hit me in the head. Now, I must consider this course of action, having been a cardinal mistake. Then again, with this band being a brand new musical acquaintance for me, I’ve been entirely unaware of the usual, ideological shit-flinging contest of some online forums, revolving around the topic of yet another black-metal band abandoning their roots by opting for a tad more polished sound. Are we still going to go this route in 2026? Who gives a shit, really? Well, I don’t, but I’m a sucker for all kinds of post-rock sensibilities, which, in this case, constitute the building blocks of that polished and more accessible sound. That’s true. Plus, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the tr00-kvlt tenets of any genre, let alone those of black metal, which I found relatively late and, thus, missed the part where not being a pureblooded creature of darkness was of any concern for me. So, maybe this album isn’t even black metal, but it still kicks some serious ass.
The said single was released in August 2025 as the first soundbite from the upcoming album, and it didn’t take long for it to reach my ears – and when it did, it hit like a ton of bricks. Maybe I was vaguely aware that the band was mostly associated with the black-metal scene, but this song was something else entirely. Is it post-black metal? I’m not really sure; there are some nice blast beats, and the atmospheric, post-rock antics would certainly suggest something like that. On the other hand, Guilherme Henriques‘s vocals resonate with the air of Joe Duplantier of GOJIRA rather than the usual black-metal shrieks, which certainly tones down the black-metal feel of the music. Some critics have likened this style to metalcore, even, but I’m not so sure about that either. It’s always easy to pull out the BRING ME THE HORIZON card when a metal outfit flirts with pop hooks. Maybe, if you mixed BMTH‘s earlier and more brutal sound with the delicate sounds of post-rock and sprinkled a little bit of black-metal seasoning on top, you might get something even remotely close to this beautiful sound. Once again, I have to say that the bands that are hard, if not impossible, to pin down to a clean-cut style are the best.
So, when the album finally came out, I was already poised to like it – and it didn’t let me down. Yeah, I could see where some of the seemingly odd comparisons to SLEEP TOKEN originated from: the last two tracks flirt with electronic pop flourishes rather prominently. However, when the going gets rough, the beauty of contrast is simply haunting. Besides, these rogues have listened to remarkably better pop influences than SLEEP TOKEN. If the clean-sun refrains in the closer, “Stardust,” do not induce a good number of goosebumps, there must be something wrong with you. To me, the comparisons to BRING ME THE HORIZON make more sense than SLEEP TOKEN, and mostly because of the delicate balance between the pop hooks and high-octane riffs. It is somewhat reminiscent of “That’s the Spirit”-era BMTH, albeit the riffages are way more intense on this album. It’s funny that a black-metal band should deserve a shit-storm for pulling stunts like this, since there’s an entire black-metal off-shoot sub-genre dedicated to blending the black-metal aesthetic with shoegazey pop hooks – and people love it. Maybe I just shouldn’t visit those dumpster-fire music forums so often.
Is this the new paradigm of post-black metal, then? The hell if I know, to be honest. I’ve seen anything from straight-up post-rock to atmospheric doom rounded up under the label in recent years, but if this were to become the norm, I certainly wouldn’t mind. GAEREA tiptoes the fine line between hipster blackgaze and metalcore and whatnot with genuine talent. The opener, “Luminary,” for instance, wouldn’t feel out of place on any ORBIT CULTURE album of late. I wouldn’t be surprised if this new album set this Portuguese bunch on a trajectory toward the upper echelons of modern metal. I’ve only lightly touched on the first and last few tracks of the album – and the rest is every bit as good. “Loss” is easily one of the best metal albums of 2026 so far, whichever unholy tenets of metal it may best subscribe to.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Luminary
- Submerged
- Hellbound
- Uncontrolled
- Phoenix
- Cyclone
- LBRNTH
- Nomad
- Stardust
Lineup
Guilherme Henriques – vocals, guitars
Sonja Schuringa – guitars
Lucas Ferrand – bass
Diogo Mota – drums
Label
Century Media
