PHORNAX Bring Fire, Hooks and Classic Heavy Metal Muscle on HELLFORGE
Updated: 7 days ago
The Brazilian heavy metal veterans return with soaring vocals, twin-guitar fire and an album that has worked its way into our regular rotation.
By Seth Metoyer | Metalcrawlspace.com
Every once in a while, an album comes through the Metal Crawlspace inbox that stops feeling like a submission and starts becoming something I keep going back to. PHORNAX’s HELLFORGE ended up being one of those records.
Released independently on July 17, 2026, HELLFORGE finds the Brazilian heavy metal band leaning into traditional metal while pulling in elements of speed and power metal, twin-guitar work, powerful vocals and a production style that feels big without sanding away the grit. The band described the record as a new chapter, and after spending some time with it, that description fits. There is a confidence running through the album that feels like a band reconnecting with what it does best and pushing that sound forward at the same time.
What grabbed me first was the production. The record sounds huge, but it still breathes. The guitars have weight, the drums punch through the mix, and the vocals sit high enough to carry the melodies without burying everything underneath them. A lot of modern metal production can flatten the personality out of a band in the pursuit of perfection. HELLFORGE keeps the polish while leaving enough dirt under the fingernails.
Then there are the riffs.
PHORNAX clearly knows how to write guitar parts that stick. There is melody throughout the record, but there is also a real sense of groove underneath it, which gives the songs more body than a straight traditional or power-metal approach might suggest. The twin-guitar work brings that classic heavy metal lift, while the rhythm section keeps things grounded and physical. The result feels familiar without coming across like a museum piece.
A Band With Some Miles Behind It
PHORNAX originally formed in 2009 around vocalist Cristiano Poschi and drummer Maurício Dariva, with guitarist Deivid Moraes later joining and helping shape the band’s developing sound. The group released “Silent War” in 2011, followed by a self-titled EP in 2012, before stepping away from the stage for more than a decade.
The band returned in 2024 with two sold-out editions of Phornax Fest and carried that momentum into the following year with the Silent War Tour. According to the band’s current Spotify biography, that run included dates alongside Tim “Ripper” Owens, Kiko Loureiro, Edu Falaschi and MasterPlan, giving PHORNAX a pretty substantial runway heading into HELLFORGE.
The current lineup also brings bassist Sfinge Lima and guitarist Eduardo Martinez into the fold, with Martinez joining Deivid Moraes to form the band’s present twin-guitar attack. That expanded guitar sound plays an important role on HELLFORGE. The harmonies and leads give the songs scale, while the riffs keep them from floating away into endless technical exercises.
There is plenty of musicianship here, but the songs remain the point.
HELLFORGE Stayed in Rotation
That became the thing I kept coming back to while listening to the album. PHORNAX has chops, but HELLFORGE works because the band understands hooks.
The vocals soar in all the right places, the choruses carry weight, and the guitar work has enough melody to stay in your head after the song ends. The riffs hit with that combination of groove and traditional heavy metal muscle that makes you want to crank the volume a little higher instead of simply admiring the playing from a distance.
I have kept the record in pretty steady rotation since it came in, and that tends to tell me more than a rating system ever could. When you find yourself reaching for an album again after the work part of listening is finished, something is clicking.
For me, HELLFORGE clicked.
“Hell’s Paradise” Lands on Crawlspace Cuts
One of the first tracks that jumped out was “Hell’s Paradise,” which PHORNAX submitted for consideration for our Crawlspace Cuts Spotify playlist. I gave it a listen, dug it immediately and added it to the playlist before the feature itself was even underway. At the time, I called it a banger, and I’m sticking with that assessment.
“Hell’s Paradise” gives listeners a pretty good snapshot of what PHORNAX does well across the album. The vocals have that big, soaring heavy metal presence, the guitars balance melody and muscle, and the song moves with enough groove to keep everything from becoming overly polished or rigid.
It also works as a strong entry point into the rest of HELLFORGE. If that track lands for you, there is a very good chance the rest of the record will as well. Especially Seeds of Strife, which is my favorite track on the album (so far).
Old-School Metal With a Pulse
Traditional heavy metal carries a long shadow, and bands working in that lane always have to figure out how much of the past they want to drag into the present. PHORNAX sounds comfortable with the language of classic metal, but HELLFORGE never feels trapped by it.
The speed-metal edges sharpen things up when the songs need movement, the power-metal influence gives the vocals and guitar lines room to climb, and the twin-guitar setup provides plenty of melodic firepower. Underneath all of that, the band keeps a strong rhythmic backbone running through the record, which is where a lot of its replay value comes from.
That balance gives HELLFORGE its identity. The album sounds like it knows exactly where heavy metal came from, while still sounding like it belongs in 2026.
PHORNAX Keep the Forge Burning
There is a sense throughout HELLFORGE that PHORNAX has returned with something to prove, and the album carries the energy of a band that has spent enough time away to know exactly how much this music means to them.
The production is strong, the vocals are one of the album’s biggest weapons, and the riffs hit that sweet spot between catchy and heavy. More than anything, the record has songs I wanted to hear again, which remains one of the simplest and most important tests any album can pass.
PHORNAX calls HELLFORGE a new chapter. From where I’m sitting, it sounds like they kicked the door open pretty hard.
HELLFORGE is available now through the band’s official streaming channels. Listen on your favorite digital and streaming platforms here.
Fans can follow PHORNAX through Spotify, YouTube and Instagram, with additional band information available through the group’s official website. The band’s original submission described HELLFORGE as a blend of traditional heavy metal, speed metal and power metal built around twin guitars, powerful vocals and a modern but organic production.
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