BraveWords Records Announces the Digital Release on Bandcamp of Power Metallers ILIUM “Scythe Ballet”

September 14, 2026

BraveWords Records has announced the Bandcamp digital release of Australian (Newcastle, New South Wales) fantasy power metallers ILIUM's 2026 album, Scythe Ballet.

The band states: “The response to the physical release has been fantastic, and so we are happy to announce that from today, the album is available digitally via Bandcamp through BraveWords Records. Other digital services will be announced later this year, however Bandcamp is the most direct and immediate way to support the band.”

Ilium need no special introduction, as the adventurous and progressively developed power metal they have been delivering has become their very own sonic trademark through the years. However, with their new album, they have managed to take their music to a whole new level. Adam Smith on guitar, bass and keyboards, Jason Hodges on guitar, and Tim Yatras on drums join forces with vocalist Giles Lavery (Warlord, Alcatrazz, Jack Starr, Dragonsclaw), and the result is an amazing full-length that perfectly captures the definitive Ilium sound.

Is this the “thinking man’s power metal”? Yes, it is. Not only because of the song structures, which explore new progressive dimensions, and not only because of Lavery’s vocals, which bring a fresh wave of inspiration to the entire album, but mainly because of the overall songwriting, which ultimately becomes the album’s greatest feature. And that practically means that Scythe Ballet is an album you simply won’t be able to stop listening to.

Complex, exotically melodic and still so damned catchy, Scythe Ballet marks the return of a band with a truly special musical character and is an album that should not be missed, especially by those who are searching for something more in their daily metal listening.

Stream or Download: ilium-bwr.bandcamp.com/

Mixed and mastered by Thomas Mergler

Band members:
Giles Lavery - vocals
Jason Hodges - guitars
Adam Smith - guitar, bass, keyboards
Tim Yatras - drums

Links:

www.facebook.com/iliumofficial
www.facebook.com/GilesRLavery

Postpunk-Shoegaze stalwarts A SHORELINE DREAM reflects on two rich decades on ‘20’, announcing 'Waiting' album

September 13, 2026

Twenty years since their debut album ‘Avoiding the Consequences’, Colorado postpunk-shoegaze outfit A Shoreline Dream mark the milestone with '20', a dark and deeply introspective single that looks back on the distance traveled while questioning what remains ahead. It also previews their new album ‘Waiting’, released via Latenight Weeknight Records.

With brooding lyrics, '20' turns the anniversary into something far more personal than a celebration. This is a head-on confrontation with time, uncertainty, sacrifice, and the weight of devoting so much of one's life to music. Hitting it hard and merging genres into one loaded number, this blast of "melodispych cave-of-the-well sound", as it has been called, is an appropriate way to celebrate the nearly 120 tracks the band has released to date - cavernous offers rooted in waves and inner-eye soundscapes.

Formed in 2005 and based in Barnum, Colorado,A Shoreline Dream is aduo of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ryan Policky and guitaristErik Jeffries. For just over two decades, Policky and Jeffries have built a catalog approaching 120 released tracks while developing a sound rooted in shoegaze, psychedelia, post-punk, and expansive guitar-driven experimentation.

“The track '20' just somehow came together so fluid and was just all my favorite sounds combined into one memory of our sound. Paying homage to our original vibes from way back when. I love goth. Love darkwave. Love huge walls of any genres sound, and this was trying to hit them all at once. Why not do something big at such a crazy place to be in this music career of ASD," says frontman Ryan Policky.

This single arrives on the heels of ‘Legacy’, which similarly reflects on the time, choices, and sacrifices behind one of Colorado’s longest-running independent music projects. A sludging, bass pumping song that reflects thoughts agout all that has been sacrificed - so many of the normal everyday life milestones achieves in the band's sometimes tragic, yet rewarding, legacy.

As they near this 20th anniversary, A Shoreline Dream look at that history from a deeply personal perspective. Years spent writing, recording, producing, and refining A Shoreline Dream's music have often meant choosing the demands of the creative process over many of the conventional milestones of everyday life. The song considers what remains when so much of a life has been devoted to making music, and whether the work itself ultimately becomes the legacy.

The release comes during one of the band's most prolific periods. Rather than treating 2026 as a year of reflection, A Shoreline Dream committed to releasing singles every month, while developing new material towards ‘Waiting’, the band's second full-length album of 2026, which will include nine tracks.

Their current creative roll follows a significant period of collaboration with Ride frontman Mark Gardener. Through A Shoreline Dream's partnership with Shameless Promotion PR, Policky and Gardener connected for a series of recordings that resulted in five co-produced and performed songs, the most recent of these appearing on the album ‘To Where They Have Gone’, released in February.

That relationship is part of A Shoreline Dream's love affair with the UK music community. The band has worked extensively with Ulrich Schnauss and has also collaborated with members of Engineers, Chapterhouse, Rocket Girl Records, and mastering engineer Mark Kramer (Urge Overkill, Bongwater, Shimmy Records).

“2026 has been the year of true sonic inspiration, and the first time I’ve found myself in a constant music writing mode. After working with Mark Gardener, my mind has been humming melodies to me daily," says Ryan Policky.

That renewed creative momentum has also been shaped by the world outside the studio. The response has been to make music that provides an alternative to that noise: music that is melodic, heavy, expansive, and immersive.

“It’s been a brutal human climate, and the distractions are so overwhelming in the media / toxic social media world. I’m f’ing over it. I just want explosive and melodic tunes to distract from this insane world, and these songs are exactly that. The tales of dealing with a world in chaos I hope resonate with all those out there looking for new musical vibes and explosive soundscapes. We have come back to the original feeling of A Shoreline Dream," says Ryan Policky.

ASD's 'Waiting' album arrives not as a retrospective statement, but as a marker of where they stand now. With Policky and Jeffries having maintained their creative partnership through changing musical landscapes and an evolving industry, 'Waiting' is their response to reaching the 20-year milestone by a band looking back without standing still. While ‘Legacy’ and '20' acknowledge an event-filled journey, ‘Waiting’ points firmly toward what comes next.

As of September 11, '20' is available from digital music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp, where 'Legacy' can also be found. The ‘Waiting’ album will be released on October 16th.

CREDITS
Written & produced by Ryan Policky
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Ryan Policky
Distributed by The Orchard
Copyright Latenight Weeknight Records, LLC
Cover art and photography by Ryan Policky
Publicity by Shauna McLarnon for Shameless Promotion PR

SLEEP HEMPISPHERES OUT DIGITALLY TODAY

September 3, 2026

Sleep's Hempispheres is out digitally now and physically on October 30 via Third Man Records.

LISTEN & PREORDER "HEMPISPHERES" ON LP OR CD

W.A.S.P. - BONUS TRACKS and B-SIDES Digital Release Out Now on All Digital Platforms

February 14, 2025

Madfish Music announces the digital release of Bonus Tracks & B-Sides from the W.A.S.P. The 7 Savage boxset.

Purchase or stream the digital release of Bonus Tracks & B-Sides - https://orcd.co/wasp_bonus_listen

W.A.S.P. has always been a band that embraced the raw power of heavy metal while pushing the boundaries of its creative vision. Bonus Tracks & B-Sides, the final disc in The 7 Savage box set, is a treasure trove for die-hard fans, offering a glimpse into the unpolished, experimental, and daring side of W.A.S.P. This collection compiles rare tracks, dynamic covers, and deep cuts that showcase the band’s versatility and passion for their craft.

Kicking off with the incendiary “Animal (F**k Like A Beast),” the disc immediately reminds us why W.A.S.P. carved their name into the annals of rock history. This controversial anthem, unapologetically provocative, set the tone for the band’s rebellious spirit.

Among the gems, “Paint It Black” and “Mississippi Queen” highlight the band's knack for reinterpreting classics with a ferocious metal edge, paying homage to their influences while making the tracks undeniably their own. Similarly, their take on Jethro Tull’s “Locomotive Breath” and Led Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks” demonstrates their ability to merge technical mastery with unrelenting energy.

Original tracks like “Savage” and “Flesh and Fire” ooze with the raw, theatrical intensity that defines W.A.S.P.’s signature sound, while “D.B. Blues” offers a playful departure into an unexpected, almost tongue-in-cheek territory.

The haunting “Phantoms In The Mirror” and the reflective “The Eulogy” offer a darker, more introspective tone, contrasting beautifully with the thunderous “War Cry.” And then there’s “The Story Of Jonathan (Prologue To The Crimson Idol),” a sprawling 16-minute opus that provides a deeper dive into the conceptual world of The Crimson Idol, revealing the depth of Blackie Lawless’s storytelling ambition.

Bonus Tracks & B-Sides isn’t just a collection of outtakes—it’s a celebration of the chaos, creativity, and charisma that made W.A.S.P. one of the most electrifying bands in rock history.

Crank it up and let the beast roar one more time.

BraveWords, Sleaze Roxx, Metal Insider and The Metal Voice all picked the Album ONE Alive tour as one of the best tours in 2024. W.A.S.P. are bringing the Album ONE Alive tour to South America, Europe and the UK in 2025. Dates and tickets are available at WASPnation.com/tour

About W.A.S.P.
Few Bands in the history of Rock N’ Roll have ever incited the love, the hate, the raw emotional effect this Band has had on the world. From the very beginning, in the small venues of Los Angeles California, and later to the numerous countries worldwide that banned these Winged Assassins from performing live, the Band’s unique style of Shock and Rock caused Religious organizations, Local City Councils, Parliaments, and the Washington D.C. Senate to hold hearings in an effort to bar this group from selling records and trashing stages everywhere they played.

The band’s founding member, frontman Blackie Lawless, has led the group as its lead vocalist and primary songwriter since its beginning. His unique brand of visual, social and political comment took the group to worldwide heights and sold millions of records alongside a legacy of sold out shows across the globe for 4 decades.

https://www.waspnation.com
https://www.facebook.com/W.A.S.P.Nation
https://twitter.com/waspofficial
https://instagram.com/waspnationofficial
https://youtube.com/@WASPNationOfficial
https://www.tiktok.com/@waspnationofficial
https://www.bandsintown.com/a/7553

The Contortionist Release Career-Defining Live Set Digitally

July 24, 2023

Stream/Get Here

(July 21, 2023) – Progressive rock band The Contortionist release their recent live box set, Retrospective: Live from Atlanta, today on all digital service providers. This definitive collection features 31 tracks of live audio recordings from the band’s 2021 live-stream performances. The 3 live streamed performances cover every facet of the band’s career, including a full album performance of the critically acclaimed full-length Clairvoyant as well as an entire set focused on the band’s heavier catalog.

About the release, guitarist Cameron Maynard, says, “When we initially conceived this project, our objective was to give something to our fans amidst the inability to physically perform to a live audience. As it turns out, we were so happy with the end result that we thought it would only be appropriate to release in a more tangible way.”

Keyboardist Eric Guenther, adds, “This is the best representation of The Contortionist to date, and to us, the recording that defines the identity of this band and how we sounded in the first 10+ years.”

Earlier this year, the band released the collection as a limited edition, physical box set and released two videos taken from the live-stream performances, for tracks “Clairvoyant,” and “Geocentric Confusion.” Watch them below.

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