CROP Announces New Album S.S.R.I, New Single "Alone" Out Today

Lexington, KY’s heaviest export, CROP, has announced the release of their highly anticipated sophomore album S.S.R.I, due out August 22, 2025 via Third House Communications. Alongside the announcement, the band has dropped the album’s first single, “Alone”—a soul-crushing breakup song that cuts deeper than heartbreak and settles into the kind of emotional void that never really closes.

“Alone” is a brutal meditation on what it means to lose someone twice—once in the relationship, and again in the realization that their presence offered no real solace. 

Backed by thunderous guitars, unrelenting drums, and vocals that walk the line between raw power and quiet devastation, “Alone” captures the emotional core of S.S.R.I—an album steeped in grief, clarity, and the jagged edge of survival. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jason Groves, S.S.R.I builds on the massive sound CROP introduced with their self-titled 2021 debut, and dives even further into the chaos of identity, loss, and mental disintegration.

The seven-track record features emotionally heavy tracks like “Formaldehyde,” “10-56,” and “Break,” and pairs crushing riffs with deeply introspective lyrics, reflecting the band’s evolution from local underground staple to national force.

Known for their blistering live shows and rising reputation in the doom and heavy grunge scenes, CROP has performed at Maryland Doom Fest, RPM Fest, and shared stages with WEEDEATER, CONAN, REZN, BONGZILLA and more. With S.S.R.I, the band delivers not just an album, but a fully immersive psychological and sonic experience.

About CROP:

Formed in 2020 in Lexington, KY, CROP is a four-piece heavy band steeped in the grit of 90s grunge and sharpened by the weight of modern doom. Their sound is both relentless and reflective—massive walls of distortion colliding with lyrics that cut deep. With Marc Phillips on vocals, Zach Hunter on guitar, Braun Dabney on bass, and Andrew Beauvier on drums, CROP crafts songs that explore grief, isolation, existential dread, and the fight to stay human in an increasingly fractured world.

Their debut album CROP (2021) introduced audiences to their brutal honesty and raw sonic identity. With their follow-up S.S.R.I (2025, Third House Communications), the band has expanded both emotionally and sonically, delivering a record that is as vulnerable as it is heavy. Known for cathartic live performances and a growing presence on the underground festival circuit, CROP has shared stages with heavyweights like WEEDEATER, CONAN, and BONGZILLA, while earning praise from outlets like LEO Weekly and Riff Zealot.

For CROP, the music is a confrontation—a refusal to look away from the darkest corners of life, and an insistence that even pain deserves to be heard at full volume.

CROP is:

  • Marc Phillips – Vocals

  • Zach Hunter – Guitar

  • Braun Dabney – Bass

  • Andrew Beauvier – Drums

Connect with CROP:

OCEANS OF SLUMBER Cover "Alone"

This time last year, Oceans of Slumber gifted fans a sneak peak at their new album with the piano medley "Poem of Fire". The Texas trailblazers of progressive metal have never bowed to convention, but on Where Gods Fear to Speak, they reached dark, cinematic new heights. This year, the band toured North America with Lacuna Coil and New Years Day before topping the charts at college radio and critics' year-end lists.  

Today, Oceans of Slumber are putting a bow on 2024 with one of their cherished covers. Their faithful-but-still-groundshaking rendition of "Alone" was recorded at Houston's Southwing Audio during the same session as last year's fiery piano medley.

Watch Oceans of Slumber cover Heart's #1 hit "Alone", below.

Where Gods Fear to Speak is out now on Season of Mist

Order & Stream

https://orcd.co/oceansofslumberwheregodsfeartospeakalbum

While originally written in 1983 by proven hitmakers Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, "Alone" wasn't inducted into the pop culture cannon until it became a popular cover. Valerie Stevenson and John Stamos recorded the song for the short-lived rock band CBS sitcom Dreams the year before sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson turned it into Heart's second Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper.

Oceans of Slumber remain faithful to the spirit of Heart's beloved power ballad. Underground metalheads will always recognize him as the drummer for grindcore legends Insect Warfare, but Dobber Beverly is also a classically trained pianist who composed every note on Where Gods Fear to Speak. His nimble fingers dutifully recite the song's gentle opening, twirling amidst Cammie Beverly's solitary calls like snowfall.            

"Dobber heard me sing 'Alone' one night at karaoke and thought it'd be cool for us to cover it", Cammie remembers.    

Of course, Oceans of Slumber aren't ones to play directly to the script. Chris Kritikos cranks the power chords to a truly heart-pounding level, while Semir Ozerkan lays down a headbanging bass line. A classic, high-flying, heavy metal guitar solo from Alex Davis clears the runaway for Cammie, whose booming cleans could fill the loneliest of nights.            

"When we got together, we decided to make our version of 'Alone' heavier by leaning into Oceans of Slumber's sound", Cammie continues. "By the time we finished recording, it felt like we'd really transformed the song, giving it new weight and energy while still keeping its heart intact". 

Lineup
Cammie Beverly - vocals
Dobber Beverly- drums, piano
Semir Ozerkan - bass
Alex Davis - guitar
Chris Kritikos - guitar, synth

Recording
Audiovision Studios in Bogotá, Columbia
Assistant engineering at Audiovision by Deyra Castillo and David Dueñas Piña

Production
Produced and engineered by Joel Hamilton
Mixed by Joel Hamilton at Studio G in Brooklyn, New York
Additional engineering by Chris Kritikos
Assistant engineering by Justin Termotto

Artwork
Giannis Nakos - Remedy Art Design

Biography
Dom Lawson

Follow Oceans of Slumber
https://oceansofslumber.com/
https://oceansofslumber.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/oceansofslumber/
https://www.instagram.com/oceansofslumber/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/user/oceansofslumber
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2JSza6IRxLr1Ez3wqKd0SY?si=aWrsTRHCSCemMNRQaSk5tw

Pre-order & Stream

​https://orcd.co/oceansofslumberwheregodsfeartospeakalbum

Available Formats
Digital Download
CD Digipack
2X12" Vinyl Gatefold (Black)
2X12" Vinyl Gatefold (Translucent Red)
2X12" Vinyl Gatefold (Translucent Clear)
2X12" Vinyl Gatefold (Orange with Black Splatter)
2X12" Vinyl Gatefold (Translucent Orange)
2X12" Vinyl Gatefold (Color-In-Color Translucent Orange)
2X12" Vinyl Gatefold (Color-In-Color Translucent Red)

Global Doom Supergroup MMXX Share New Single, "Alone", Featuring Mick Moss of Antimatter

Announce 'The Next Wave' EP Out April 14th

Pre-Save HERE

 

Global doom metal supergroup MMXX have announced their new EP 'The Next Wave' will be released via Candlelight on April 14th.

Ahead of this the band have released their first single and video, "Alone", which features guest vocalist Mick Moss (Antimatter, Sleeping Pulse). 

Check out the official lyric video, "Alone", feat. Mick Moss 

Born during the initial worldwide lockdown and incubated as the seasons passed, doom metal supergroup MMXX began as the sound of global isolation. Not unlike the pandemic itself, MMXX has long harboured an unseen chapter: 'The Next Wave'.

First single, "Alone" is an anthemic five-minute funeral march featuring the unmistakable Mick Moss (Antimatter, Sleeping Pulse). The full three song EP includes the metallic and driving "Isolation" featuring Mikko Kotamäki (Swallow the Sun), and the melancholic and ethereal "Echoes" featuring Alicia Nurho. 

'The Next Wave' EP will be released on vinyl by Candlelight and like its 2022 full-length predecessor 'Sacred Cargo', contains stunning artwork from Portuguese fine-art photographer Henri Prestes.

Comments the band: "The pandemic proved an especially inspiring and creatively prolific time for MMXX. Our desire to keep 'Sacred Cargo' short enough to fit on a single vinyl, and our preferred sequencing of songs meant we had a few songs from the 'Sacred Cargo' session left. As you will discover, they are by no means inferior, and we are pleased they will soon join our previous album as the ultimate epilogue to a global collaboration originating in the epicentre of pandemic isolation." 

At the core of MMXX is Andrea Chiodetti (ex-The Foreshadowing) on guitars and keys, Jesse Haff on drums (Daylight Dies and Gökböri) and Egan O’Rourke on bass (Daylight Dies). Together they channelled inspiration for composition after composition to collaborate with a geographically, culturally, and stylistically diverse collection of celebrated vocalists and musicians from around the world.

MMXX’s debut offering, 'Sacred Cargo' (2022), displayed the project’s signature multifarious approach to doom metal with upcoming EP, 'The New Wave', building upon the foundations laid by its predecessor with a newfound conviction.

MMXX are:

Andrea Chiodetti - Guitar/Keys

Jesse Haff - Drums

Egan O’Rourke - Bass

WYLD RYDE Release Insightful Official Music Video for Poignant "Alone"!

Louisville, KY Heavy Classic Rock band WYLD RYDE has released the official music video for their newest single, "Alone," the fourth track off of their most recent EP, Gasoline Alley. Shot by Mufaro Matose (CEO of Matose Visuals from Cincinnati, Ohio) in the band's hometown of Louisville, KY, "Alone" was filmed in several locations, from band members' homes to the tour bus, ending the night as footage of the band performing a local festival, showcasing the audience, encapsulating the life of a touring rock n' roll band and the resulting strains it can put on relationships left behind at home.

"'Alone' is from our second EP entitled Gasoline Alley, and our third full length video from this EP. This is as close to a ballad as we have ever written. The song is about life on the road going from town to town. What it's like and the pressure it can put on relationships at home." - WYLD RYDE

Hailing from Louisville, KY WYLD RYDE brings Hard Rock and Heavy Metal into the new era with great hooks, arrangements and a heavy, razor sharp modern edge that is sure to please fans all over the world. Members Chief-Lead Vocals & Guitar, Tommy Blitz-Lead Guitar & vocals, Mick Watkins-Bass Guitar & Vocals and Kidd Vicious-Drums.

"We are from the ghettos of Louisville, Ky which is A top 10 violent city in the United States. Growing up we faced adversity from a very, very early age. Our neighborhoods are extremely crime ridden from violence to drugs. Just making it out was a blessing as lots of our friends and family died from gun violence and drugs. Our music is loved not just nationally, but globally with fans all over the world buying Wyld Ryde music and swag in such places as Germany, England, Canada Norway and Australia to name a few."