Courtesy Alex Pace
Audio By Carbonatix
A long list for a long month. Several fresh releases from local artists sprung up in March, including a nostalgic emo debut, freeform jazz and an unexpected comeback from a Denver black-metal supergroup (horns!).
These are our favorite picks from Colorado musicians this month:
Bobby Wiens
Focus
Denver jazz drummer and band leader Bobby Wiens shows off his freeform flow on his sophomore album, Focus, released via Denver’s Mighty Fine Productions on March 31.
Wiens, known for his rock-solid groove and natural feels, teamed up with trumpeter Gabe Mervine, pianist-keys player Tom Amend and bassist Seth Lewis to put together twelve original tracks of modern jazz that sounds both familiar and fresh. Songs “Hat Trick” and “Devoted Heart” will have you tapping your feet and snapping your fingers, cool cat.
Color Me Fatigued
If I’m Running Away…
Fort Collins emo trio Color Me Fatigued pushed out its debut album, If I’m Running Away…, independently on March 6, and other than having a cute cat on the cover, it rips.
Vocalist-guitarist April Crews, bassist John Zook and drummer Jacob Godbey share an affinity for that late ’90s/early 2000s hardcore emo era, and pack jagged hooks, noodly riffs and heartbreak sing-alongs into nine tracks. Opener “Nuisance” goes left, then right, then solo! While “17 Again” and “Escape Plans” are modern-day MySpace theme songs, you know, like the ones you’d only chose if you were passively trying to get your crush’s attention </3.
Insipidus
Nearest Dusk
Denver metallers Insipidus dropped ita proper debut, Nearest Dark, independently on March 5.
Vocalist-guitarist Yoav Daube, drummer Travis Hatley and Kane Pascarelli have certainly made a name for themselves recently, as the three-piece is up to play just about anywhere, which is why Westword tapped Insipidus the city’s Best Busking Metal Band of 2026.
On Nearest Dark, the death-prog power trio puts on a shredding showcase with polished renditions of previously released tracks “Impossible Choice,” “Todesmarsch (Kanada)” and “Red Sand,” first included on its 2024 and 2021 EPs.
New additions such as opener “A hill of ash” and “Suffer” see Insipidus explore melodic technicality in a way that’s reminiscent of the late Death era (think Symbolic and Sounds of Perseverance). While nearest Dark is certainly a guitar-forward record, with Daube’s virtuosic fretwork front and center across all seven songs, there’s enough space for each member’s proficiency to shine through, making it an overall bullet-proof tech-death tome.
Klo Karma
“Feel The Pain”
Denver singer-songwriter Klo Karma shared her first-ever single, “Feel The Pain,” independently on March 20. A graduate of Denver School of the Arts, Karma, 22, has been performing since she was a teenager, including at the Fillmore Auditorium for Dr. Jill Biden, National Western Stock Show and Buell Theatre with Kristin Chenoweth. Now, she’s looking to breakout. More music is in the works, but “Feel The Pain” offers a glimpse of Karma’s pop-infused sound paired with her country and electronic sensibilities, all extenuated by her commanding vocals.
shadow work
“Something’s Burning”
Denver psych trio shadow work is heating up. With a new album, run, rabbit, on the way this summer, the group shared lead single, “Something’s Burning,” independently on March 3.
Vocalist-guitarist Rafael Nava, bassist Joseph Szlanic and drummer Ben Zickau explore the singe of modern burnout as a DIY band oftentimes burning the candles at both ends.
“Where love, ambition and self-worth blur into the same uneasy fire,” shadow work shares. “Drifting through long drives, sleepless nights and inherited expectations, the lyrics question whether success and connection truly save us, or quietly hollow us out. Fire becomes both refuge and threat: something that builds warmth and meaning before leaving scars.”
Siege Perilous
Becoming the Dragon
NoCo power metal battalion Siege Perilous lays out an epic fate-fighting campaign on new record, Becoming the Dragon, released independently via its own banner Crunchtronic Records on March 27.
The LARP-loving five-piece’s first LP is its most immersive work to date, introducing a protagonist who is destined to slay an oppressive cosmic dragon. Spoiler: He defeats the nemesis by the third track, “As The Dragon Falls,” featuring former Rhapsody of Fire frontman Fabio Lione. But it’s what follows that that makes Becoming the Dragon such a mind-bending metal journey for the child of prophecy.
Siege Perilous brought in operatic singer Kristin Starkey (Temperance and Twilight Force) for somber ballad “Echoes of Home.” Vocalist Shaughnessy McDaniel, bassist Eric Fischer, drummer Mark Girard, and guitarists Scott Hancock and Ryan Flanagan rally the hordes on “Chieftain” and “Eschaton,” but Becoming the Dragon is best experienced in one shot.
Stormkeep
“Carnal Tapestries of Nailtorn Flesh”
Stormkeep announced its back and working on new music with the surprise release of single “Carnal Tapestries of Nailtorn Flesh” on March 18 via German label Vesperian.
The black-metal side project of members from Wayfarer and Blood Incantation, this corpsepainted Denver supergroup hasn’t been very active since its 2021 debut, Tales of Othertime, made a splash in dungeons across the scene, and understandably so, as both of the aforementioned local bands have been busy cementing themselves as international metal acts the past five years.
Stormkeep lives in the synth-heavy symphonic side of extreme music first occupied by acts such as Emperor and Dimmu Borgir, and the latest track honors that sinister Nordic spirit.
Tainted Blade
WRATH MADE FLESH
A new sound emerged from the underground, as Tainted Blade released EP WRATH MADE FLESH independently on March 27.
The brainchild of vocalist-guitarist Rory Rummings, who recruited his former Tricoma bandmates Riley Rukavina (drums) and Matt Ross (bass) back in 2024, Tainted Blade plays a sludgy style of death metal that’s gross in all the right ways.
Kicking off with the crust-coated “INHERIT THE SAVAGERY,” WRATH MADE FLESH (all caps, all the time) drags you into the mud, while “WILL OF IRON” and “THE CROWN OF BLASPHEMY” are more mid-tempo swamp stompers. Closer “SEPULCHRAL HAMMER” borders death-doom with its slower backbeat and syrupy riffage. For fans of NOLA sludge such as Crowbar and Eyehategod.
Velvet Daydream
Smoke & Mirrors
Velvet Daydream could easily be mistaken for a long-lost rock group. The Denver band embraces the retro sound, and style, of the 1960s and ’70s so well on sophomore album, Smoke & Mirrors (March 28), we’re not totally sure that the four-piece didn’t time hop from back then to 2026.
But Kaeden Keys (guitar and vocals), Ryder King (guitar and vocals), Jude Pfanstiel (bass and vocals) and Nick Schwartz (drums and vocals) are true to the hippie psychedelia of yesteryear, and aren’t afraid to fight off soulless AI knock-offs, to keep the spirit alive with flower-powered tracks such as “Love,” “Revolver” and “Next Time.” Peace, love and Velvet Daydream.
Want your music to be included in our monthly roundup? Email it to editorial@westword.com.
