By: Nat Heck

Purchase physical and digital copies on Bandcamp.

Released on October 30th, 2026 via The Flenser.

Despite my lack of consistent articles on this site, 2026 has been an exceptional year for the brand of heavy music that I love. We got new records from Portrayal of Guilt, Chat Pile, Truck Violence, and a new record from The Blood Mountain Black Metal Choir. I was late to the party, but I also found Crippling Alcoholism this year. All this to say that, when it comes to new music, I think 2026 has been full of heavy hitters. Then, the new Genital Shame record, Wellness Plan, released last week. For those with a memory of this site, I have gushed over both Gathering My Wits and Chronic Illness Wish on this in the past. Needless to say, I was excited.

I was fortunate enough to receive my tape of Wellness Plan a few days before the actual release, but finding time to listen to it at the appropriate volume with a toddler proved daunting. Luckily, my chronic mental illness worked in my favor for once. I have been having trouble sleeping and typically waking between two and three in the morning. I decided to take advantage of this by hooking my headphones up to my stereo, pulling up a bean bag, and immersing myself in the record.

I feel describing this experience in a track by track breakdown as I’ve done in previous reviews does the record a disservice. In my mind, Wellness Plan is more than a collection of songs. Waves of emotions, such as acceptance, despair, and hope, washed over me that morning, reminding me of Dawson’s unique ability to make truly beautiful black metal that works as a large coherent work from start to finish.

In “Down Titration Strategies”, Dawson taps into the quagmire that can be rumination, “I rue the day that / I became addicted to the past / and enamored with fate / like lacerating myself / these works will help out. / But I knew what it was, / Now I’m stricken for good.” Paired with the idea of titration, a process most of us suffering from mental illness are well acquainted with, creates a powerful sense of grief and resignation about past events that cannot be changed.

Dawson taps into the resignation of persistent suicidal ideation, often in a conversation with someone who seems to be inside herself, in an honest way I’ve never heard before with lines such as “It’s a blank pressure / And I’m fresh out of days – / I’ve seen it. / Thank you for helping me, / But I’m going away” and “Always take you with me / to censure my words / and worsen my grief. / It’s unfair to us both / But I’ve figured it out.”

When it comes to the music, Wellness Plan, like Chronic Illness Wish, takes the Genital Shame aesthetic and pushes it even further. Wellness Plan is ambient, melodic, aggressive, restrained, beautiful, and hideous. At this point, I struggle to categorize this as black metal at all, as I feel that tag is simply too limiting for such an expansive aesthetic. The instrumentation is more lush than ever, incorporating more acoustic guitars and synthesizers, especially on what is the standout track for me “Gorecki Peace”.

Something rarely talked about in reviews is production, but I think it’s worth mentioning here. To my ears, I much prefer the production on Wellness Plan, as I find it to be a little warmer and smoothed out than the previous releases. I don’t say this to disparage the prior production but to highlight the strength of it on Wellness Plan.

Once again, I’m blown away by Genital Shame. Wellness Plan is the most beautiful record I’ve ever heard under the very broad black metal umbrella. Personally, it’s also a record that released at a time that I needed it. I can’t recommend this one highly enough.

Stream and purchase Wellness Plan on Bandcamp.

For fans of: The undefinable

Perfect for: Melancholic reflection at three in the morning

Favorite track: “Gorecki Peace”

Rating: 10/10