ALBUM RELEASE: Zahna Releases New Album 'Break or Breakthrough'

September 5, 2026

Mexican-born heavy rock artist Zahna has released her new album, Break or Breakthrough, out now via XOVR Records, the label founded by Brian “Head” Welch of Korn. The ten-track record is Zahna’s third full-length studio album and her first full album release through XOVR. Listen to Break or Breakthrough HERE and watch an album sampler Below.

Produced and mixed by Kellen McGregor of Memphis May Fire, with co-writing and associate production from Cory Brunnemann of Through Arteries and mastering by Ted Jensen of Sterling Sound, Break or Breakthrough is the record that comes after survival.

Where Zahna's 2023 album Stronger Than Death was shaped by her near-terminal battle with kidney failure and subsequent transplant, Break or Breakthrough begins in the aftermath. The years that followed brought pandemic isolation, medical bills and financial pressure, lost momentum, family grief, betrayal, damaged relationships and faith pushed hard against its limits. Across the album, Zahna turns that fallout into ten tracks of hard rock force, metalcore intensity, dark pop atmosphere and ferocious vocal power, moving through rage and forgiveness, destruction and deliverance, grief and love, and the brutal work of rebuilding a life once the immediate fight to survive is over.

Sharing his thoughts on Zahna's album release, Brian 'Head' Welch says

"We are so happy for Zahna as she finally releases Break or Breakthrough to the world! This isn’t just another album title. Zahna and her team literally lived through it.

While facing so many obstacles, heartbreaks, and difficult moments while putting this album together, Zahna had every reason to break to pieces and give up. Instead, she chose to push through the pain and turn it into something powerful.

I have so much respect for Zahna and crew, and I can’t wait for the world to hear this amazing work of art!"

Speaking on the her journey creating Break or Breakthrough, Zahna shares:

“Two years of work, thousands of lessons, and one great adventure culminated into this moment. 'Break or Breakthrough' will always be the stone in the slingshot. I can’t wait to see the ceilings it will shatter, and the walls it will bring down.”

The album’s emotional and spiritual extremes have been revealed piece by piece throughout its release campaign. “Defiler”, featuring Brian “Head” Welch of Korn, introduced one of its darkest confrontations with spiritual corruption. “The Archer” arrived as a battle cry for truth, justice and the reckoning that follows when evil can no longer hide. On title track “Break or Breakthrough”, the fight turned inward as Zahna explored a damaged relationship finding its way back through vulnerability, humility, grace and forgiveness.

Most recently, “Love & Loss” pulled the record into its rawest territory. Written following the sudden death of Zahna’s father-in-law, a major musical mentor to both Zahna her husband and drummer Patrick Madsen, the song sits inside the disorientation of grief and the questions that surface when loss shakes the foundations of everything you believe.

Patrick Madsen plays drums throughout Break or Breakthrough, making the record an intensely personal collaboration as well as a musical one. Together with Kellen McGregor and Cory Brunnemann, Zahna built an album where its considerable weight never comes at the expense of melody, detail or emotional precision.

“Defiler” has also carried Zahna’s momentum deep into active rock, earning support across SiriusXM Octane, Music Choice, HardDrive Radio and stations across the country. The track remained on the active rock chart for over a month and reached the Top 20 on SiriusXM Octane.

With more than 20 million streams already to her name, Break or Breakthrough arrives at the point where Zahna’s intensely personal world is connecting with an increasingly broad heavy music audience.

ABOUT ZAHNA

Zahna is a heavy rock artist, vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and vocal coach whose music combines hard-hitting rock, metalcore intensity, dark pop atmosphere and deeply personal storytelling. First emerging as the vocalist of alt-rock band ILIA, she launched her solo career with Red For War and later released 2023’s Stronger Than Death, an album shaped by her experience surviving a near-terminal battle with kidney failure.

Her new album, Break or Breakthrough, will be released September 4 via XOVR Records, the label founded by Brian “Head” Welch of Korn. Produced and mixed by Kellen McGregor of Memphis May Fire, with co-writing and associate production from Cory Brunnemann of Through Arteries, the album explores spiritual warfare, endurance, freedom and the possibility of life after crisis.

Zahna has amassed over 20 million streams and continues to build growing support across SiriusXM Octane, Music Choice, HardDrive Radio and active rock radio. Beyond music, she is a vocal coach, a passionate advocate for those living with chronic illness, and an artist whose work pulls from faith, anime, literature, gaming and visual storytelling. Across every chapter,Zahna’s mission remains clear: to create songs with substance, honesty and enough fire to help people keep going.

Zahna Drops Latest Single & Music Video "Love & Loss"

August 7, 2026

Heavy rock artist Zahna has released her new single “Love & Loss”, taken from her upcoming album Break or Breakthrough, set for release September 4 via XOVR Records, the label founded by Brian “Head” Welch of Korn. Stream “Love & Loss” HERE and watch the accompanying video Below.

Following the spiritual confrontation “Defiler”, the sharpened battle cry of “The Archer” and the hard-won restoration of “Break or Breakthrough”, “Love & Loss” is the fourth single released from her upcoming album and pulls Zahna into one of the album’s most vulnerable spaces. Built on the ache of sudden grief and the exhaustion that follows a year of relentless personal upheaval, the track finds her standing in the wreckage, staring into the void, and asking the questions that faith does not always answer neatly. Written after the sudden passing of Zahna’s father-in-law, the song traces the shockwaves that move through a family after loss, when the foundations shift, certainty starts to fracture, and even survival begins to feel like something that has to be questioned before it can be chosen again.

Speaking on the track, Zahna shares:

“Love & Loss" is a song about being in so much pain you begin to question everything you believe, and start to look outwardly for the answers instead of inwardly. I wrote the song about my Father-in-law who passed away very suddenly. I saw how the fall out of him leaving the earth, shook the foundation for so many of us in the family. That same year, all hell broke loose in so many different ways in my life. I was so tired of fighting in every sense of the word.

“Love & Loss” is a cry for understanding in the midst of hopelessness and grief. It's a song that begs the question if this life is really worth living, and if there could really be a purpose and design in what seems to be random chaos. I guess that what I’ve learned, is that experiencing loss only leaves you behind with one thing, and that is a deeper sense of love, which ironically stings more in the absence of everything else. And when the absence is the void, you still scream out.

The new single deepens the emotional scope of Break or Breakthrough, an album shaped by spiritual warfare, endurance, freedom, grief, reconciliation and the possibility of life after crisis. Across the record, Zahna builds with the intensity of someone treating rock music as a vessel for survival and catharsis, where every heavier moment carries consequence and every melody feels pulled from somewhere deeply vulnerable and authentic.

For Zahna, signing with XOVR Records marks both a milestone and a mission. Having long hoped to work with someone like Brian “Head” Welch, the partnership has given her the space to build an album rooted in trust, detail and purpose. Break or Breakthrough was produced and mixed by Kellen McGregor of Memphis May Fire, with co-writing and associate production from Cory Brunnemann of Through Arteries.

Zahna’s recent momentum has already carried into active rock. Her previous single “Defiler” has been spinning across a growing list of active rock stations across the country including SiriusXM Octane, Music Choice and HardDrive Radio, exploding onto the chart after just a few weeks at the active rock format where it remained for over a month whilst also hitting Top 20 on the SiriusXM Octane chart.

With "Love & Loss" now out in the world and Break or Breakthrough arriving September 4, Zahna continues to reveal an album built not around easy victory, but around the brutal, beautiful work of staying alive, staying honest and finding love still burning in the absence.

ABOUT ZAHNA

Zahna Announces New Album 'Break Or Breakthrough'; Drops New Single 'The Archer'

May 15, 2026

Heavy rock artist Zahna has announced her new album, Break or Breakthrough, set for release on September 4 via XOVR Records, the label founded by Brian “Head” Welch of Korn. The announcement arrives alongside her new single “The Archer,” which premiered on May 14 on SiriusXM Octane.

Stream “The Archer” HERE

Watch the visualizer Below

Pre-order Break or Breakthrough HERE

Pre-Save Break or Breakthrough HERE

Built on cinematic tension, sharpened melodic hooks and Zahna’s ferocious vocal command, “The Archer” introduces the next chapter of an artist who has turned profound personal trial into hard-won resilience and purpose. It is heavy, devotional and deeply human, pulling from the same world of spiritual warfare, freedom and deliverance that sits at the heart of Break or Breakthrough.

“The Archer” is an anthem to the taunting Goliath in your way! It’s a song about evil being unable to hide anymore, and the reckoning that unfolds afterwards."

The new album finds Zahna stepping into her most fully realised creative era to date, expanding the visual world, symbolism and emotional stakes that have become central to her work. Across her songs and videos, Zahna builds with the intensity of someone treating rock music as a vessel for survival, confrontation and release, where every hook lands with purpose and every heavier moment feels earned.

For Zahna, signing with XOVR Records marks both a milestone and a mission. Having long hoped to work with someone likeBrian “Head” Welch, the partnership has given her the space to build an album rooted in trust, detail produced the record.

Zahna’s recent momentum has already carried into active rock. Her previous single “Defiler” has been spinning across a growing list of active rock stations across the country including SiriusXM Octane, Music Choice, HardDrive Radio, explodingonto the chart after just a few weeks at the active rock format where it remained for over a month whilst also hitting Top 20 on the SiriusXM Octane chart.

With “The Archer” now out in the world and Break or Breakthrough arriving September 4, Zahna is entering a chapter built on purpose, survival and resilience. The arrow has been fired from the bow.