"Slay Utterly"" by Carrion Vale

Melodic death metal force of nature CARRION VAEL returns with a vengeance on their fifth album, Slay Utterly, to be released through Unique Leader Records on January 16, 2026. Though raw and ferocious at their core, the band weaves intricate technical nuances throughout the album. Punchy riffs and rhythms drive the intensity home, while memorable lead guitar lines and powerful vocal performances leave a lasting impact. Lyrically, Slay Utterly goes above and beyond to immerse the listener in CARRION VAEL's fascination for history and true crime.

CARRION VAEL's technical prowess may take the spotlight on this album, but they are storytellers at their core. Each song on Slay Utterly explores the story of a different serial killer. The perspective jumps between the killer themselves, and the experiences of the victims. On the whole, the album presents a collection of stories delving into the psyches of famous axe murderers, slashers, and other uniquely violent killers throughout history. 

Slay Utterly opens with "19(fucking)78", which instantly sets the tone for the album's intensity and nuance. Featuring layers of technical guitar parts, slam riffs, and clean vocals, the band leaves no skill in their toolbox unused. Lyrically, the song is set in 1970s California; a particularly violent time in history, given the presence of the Hillside Stranglers. The lyrics contemplate issues of nature versus nurture, as well as an obsession with control by any means possible.

Opening with ominous Spanish guitar arpeggios, "Truth or Consequences" tells the story of David Parker Ray, best-known as the Toy Box Killer. Living in the remote deserts of New Mexico, Ray built a soundproof bunker on his land, where he would kidnap women who were passing through. His number of kills remains unknown, though estimates are high. 

"1912" then presents itself as one of the more theatrical and progressive songs on the album. The lyrics tell of an unsolved axe murder that shook the small town of Villisca, Iowa on a hot June night in 1912. To this day, no one knows who really committed the strange and horrific murders of two adults and six children, but speculations abound. The lyrics explore each speculation, varying from train-hopping sociopaths, scorned business associates, or even evangelical madmen.

Fast, heavy, and catchy, "30 on 9" is a quintessential CARRION VAEL track. It delves into various aspects of the mystery of Jack the Ripper, ranging from his true identity, his victims, and the bloody details of his murders. He was believed to have murdered Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes on September 30th, with this date lending the song its title. 

Guitarist Ryan Kuder shines on "40 Echoes Upon the Parlor", with rapid-fire riffs and blazing lead sections throughout. Clean vocals make a notable appearance in the choruses, wailing spectrally above a mass of blast beats and growls. The lyrics tell of numerous smaller axe murder cases, referencing Lizzie Borden most prominently.

"Lord of 74" opens almost innocently and uncharacteristically for the band, with delicate piano notes and the sound of water dripping in the background. Low, mournful clean vocals build an atmosphere of remorse and anguish until the song explodes into the fury that defines CARRION VAEL. The song tells the story of Joseph Kallinger, a schizophrenic shoe cobbler from Philadelphia who believed that God had sent him to murder every person on Earth... and that with the help of his children, he could complete this task.

"Bisection 47" embodies unrelenting rage from the first note to the last. The song explores the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, better known as the Black Dahlia. She was found cut in half (bisected) from the waist, and the identity of her killer remains unknown. The murder has left its mark on history as one of the biggest true crime mysteries to date. 

The final track, "Black Chariot", was originally recorded for CARRION VAEL's album God Killer (2020). As a fan favorite, the band decided to update the song and re-record it for Slay Utterly. Despite the fact that it was recorded for a different album, "Black Chariot" picks up right where "Bisection 47" left off, with layers of vicious snarls and stunning lead guitar work.

About CARRION VALE:
In 2017, brutal melodic death metal storytellers CARRION VAEL set out on a mission to understand disturbing events that may baffle the sane. Each album and each song explores an aspect of true crime history, often focusing on the stories of individual serial killers and their victims. Though this conceptual focus underpins CARRION VAEL's songwriting, they seek to fully utilize all of their skills and talents to ensure that each song develops the sound it needs to tell its story. The band released their first album, Resurrection of the Doomed, independently in 2017, then signed with HPGD Records and released their 2020 follow-up, God Killer. Subsequently, the band signed with Unique Leader Records and released Abhorrent Obsessions (2022) and Cannibals Anonymous (2024). 

With their fifth album, Slay Utterly, on the horizon, CARRION VAEL are set to continue this journey into the monstrous side of the human psyche. Vicious, but surprisingly poignant in just the right dose, Slay Utterly presents an anthology of serial killer stories from significant points in history. The album is certain to enthrall fans of horror, history, and true crime with its vivid portrayals of the minds of both murderers and victims. 

CARRION VALE is:
Travis Lawson Purcell - Vocals
Alex Arford - Bass
Trenton Limburg - Guitar
Ryan Kurder - Guitar
Matt Behner - Drums

AGENBITE MISERY - Remorse of Conscience

AGENBITE MISERY is a New Hampshire-based trio whose debut album Remorse of Conscience is one of the most ambitious concept records to emerge from the modern extreme metal underground. Formed in late 2022 by guitarist Sam Graff, bassist Cam Netland, and drummer Adam Richards, the band began with a deceptively simple idea: to adapt James Joyce’s Ulysses into an experimental metal album. What emerged from that idea is a 55-minute odyssey of layered sonic aggression and literary depth, an album that blends blackened sludge, dissonant death metal, post-punk, ambient drone, and more into a singular, genre-defying statement of purpose.

The name AGENBITE MISERY is itself a reflection of the band’s literary roots, pulled from a line in Ulysses that references the 14th-century English devotional text Agenbite of Inwit. The phrase, literally “again-bite of inner wit,” or modernized as “remorse of conscience," became the perfect thematic and philosophical framework for an album steeped in grief, alienation, and the search for meaning in modern life. The band’s name was chosen because it reflects the deep, biting sorrow that pervades the novel and their music. Though the original pronunciation might have been “ah-jehn-bite,” the band opts for a harder, contemporary “ae-ghen-bite” as a nod to their mission of dragging ancient texts into the present.

Remorse of Conscience was written over the course of 2023 and recorded in 2024, entirely self-produced by the band, with mixing by Eric Sauter and mastering by Brad Boatright. The recording sessions were a direct extension of the trio’s collaborative ethos: a commitment to honesty, maximalism, and transformation. Each of the album’s eight songs adapts a chapter from Ulysses, using lyrics pulled directly from Joyce’s prose and reshaping them into brutal, beautiful sonic forms. The band sees each track not merely as a song but as a new translation, an attempt to convert stream-of-consciousness literature into aural energy.

The album opens with "Telemachean Echoes," a short, grinding burst of power violence and hardcore chaos that adapts the novel’s opening scene: Stephen Daedalus waking from a bitter dream of guilt and loss. The lyrics, shouted and whispered, move from internal shame to furious defiance: “Hyperborean scrotum tightening mother killer” to the repeated cry of “Let me be and let me live, Agenbite of Inwit.” It’s a blistering introduction to the world AGENBITE MISERY has constructed.

From there, the album spirals into "Cascara Sagrada," a disorienting piece of blackened death metal that explores the quiet horror of Leopold Bloom’s morning routine. Built on warped time signatures, sliding guitars, and sections that move from Slint-inspired indie to full-blown noise assault, the song captures the mundane terror at the heart of Bloom’s lonely life. Lyrics range from meditations on defecation to biblical hallucinations: “Captivity to captivity, multiplying dying being born everywhere, the grey sunken cunt of the world.”

The centerpiece of the album’s first half is the 13-minute "A Charitable View of Temporary Insanity," a devastating doom-sludge epic based on Bloom’s experience at a funeral. Lurching between minimal ambient textures and towering funeral doom riffs, the song reflects on loss, failure, and the strange bureaucracy of death. The vocals echo with grief: “If little Rudy lived, if I had seen him grown, my son, me and his eyes,” while the final line offers a glimmer of hope: “The blood sinking in gives earth new life.”

At the edge of genre, "Whatness of Allhorse" reimagines post-punk and industrial through a metal lens. With deadpan vocals, massive drum machines, horror-synth textures, and a blackgaze-style climax, the track adapts a scene where Stephen Daedalus debates Shakespearean theory with literary elites. The chaotic freedom of that conversation translates into a song full of bold choices and layered absurdity. “He left her, and gained the world of man,” we hear before the song explodes into shimmering tremolo guitars and a final scream: “But I’ll survive.”

"Bellwether and Swine" brings the record back to pure metal, a pummeling, riff-driven anthem inspired by Bloom’s argument with a xenophobic Irish nationalist. The song weaponizes the tropes of epic metal to mock toxic patriotism, stacking sludgy power chords over blast beats, while spoken word passages echo Old Testament imagery. The narrator’s bile is palpable: “Begob, he got as far as the door. Begob, always some bloody clown or other.”

With "Circe," the band returns to black metal, this time with a psychedelic bent. The chapter in Ulysses this track adapts is a hallucinatory descent into Dublin’s red-light district. The song mimics this spiral with hypnotic guitar lines, overlapping time signatures, and an atmosphere of dread. At the climax, we’re given one of the novel’s most haunting images: “A white lambkin peeps out of his waistcoat pocket.” It’s a fever dream of guilt and memory.

"The Twice-Charred Paths of Musing Disciples" offers a brief, contemplative interlude. Inspired by the penultimate chapter of Ulysses, the piece uses dungeon synth textures and ambient layering to conjure the quiet moment when Bloom invites Stephen to stay the night, and is turned down. The central melodic motif is taken from actual sheet music printed in the text, adapted into a modern drone setting.

The record closes with the monolithic "Mnesterophonia," a sprawling, droning epic that mirrors the novel’s final chapter, told from Molly Bloom’s perspective. Drawing on indie rock, doom, and freeform noise, the track builds from intimate to immense. The lyrics pull from Molly’s internal monologue as she drifts into sleep: “When I put the rose in my hair and how he kissed me and I thought well as well him as another…” The final lines of both book and album, “Yes, I will, Yes”, are screamed over a wall of sound, sealing the record with one of the most powerful emotional moments in modernist literature.

Though Remorse of Conscience is steeped in literary references, its emotional core is universal. At every turn, AGENBITE MISERY seeks to translate not just words but the raw human experience: grief, desire, disconnection, hope. In doing so, they’ve created something greater than a concept album, it’s a reinvention of what metal can do.

There is no other band like AGENBITE MISERY, and no album like Remorse of Conscience. This is a project that refuses to compromise, refuses to simplify, and refuses to be easily categorized. Instead, it dares to ask the same question Ulysses once did: can we still find truth, beauty, or meaning in the wreckage of the modern world? And their answer, it seems, is a resounding Yes. Yes, we will. Yes.

AGENBITE MISERY is a New Hampshire-based trio that fuses literary ambition with the visceral force of experimental metal. Formed in 2022 by guitarist Sam Graff, bassist Cam Netland, and drummer Adam Richards, the band emerged from a shared academic background in literature and a mutual devotion to the most extreme and boundary-pushing corners of heavy music.

At its core, AGENBITE MISERY is a project rooted in transformation. Their work doesn’t merely incorporate influences, it dismantles them, reshapes them, and recontextualizes them within a vision that is as cerebral as it is punishing. Their sound weaves together elements of black metal, sludge, death metal, post-punk, ambient, and noise rock, unified not by style but by intent: to confront, to immerse, and to challenge.

Individually, the members bring a history of musical experimentation: Sam Graff and Adam Richards were longtime collaborators in the avant-garde project UNDER GREEN SUNS and the Boston metalcore outfit VICARIUM, while Cam Netland previously fronted the Connecticut stoner/black metal band COAGULATE. Together, they’ve forged something entirely distinct, a collective voice that draws from their diverse histories but refuses to be defined by any one genre or scene.

AGENBITE MISERY exists at the edge of metal and the margins of modern art, translating abstract ideas into concrete sound with unrelenting force. Whether performing live or recording in isolation, their ethos remains constant: dig deeper, aim higher, and never repeat what has already been done.

AGENBITE MISERY is:

Sam Graff – Guitars / Vocals / Synth
Cam Netland – Bass / Vocals
Adam Richards – Drums / Vocals

Connect with AGENBITE MISERY:

GORE. Go Back in Time With GOT-Inspired "Wrath" Video

Texas metal quartet GORE. — vocalist Haley Roughton, guitarist Alex Reyes, bassist Devin Birchfield, and drummer Wills Weller — dropped their latest EP, titled IF YOU DO NOT FEAR ME... earlier this year. Get it here.

The band has also shared the video for "Wrath." Watch it below. 

You will transported to a medieval moment in time, as singer Haley Roughton does battle with an archer and beyond in this gripping cinematic footage. It's giving Game of Thrones vibes.

"The 'Wrath' video is fully leaning into the 'Disney Princess Metal' vibe that the song brings," says Roughton. "I get to be a damsel in distress that gives her soul to a man that was supposed to save her, but ends up stealing her soul away for corruption. I haunt his every waking move afterwards, and eventually cause him to go mad and kill his comrades. This is by far one of the coolest music videos I've ever seen and I'm so grateful that it happens to be ours!"

"'Wrath' is the culmination of resentment, cynicism and fear that was made from the experiences in A Bud That Never Blooms," the band has said about the song. "Between the societal turmoil of 'Doomsday,' the death of romance in 'Babylon,' and the familial heartbreak in 'Heaven Is Above Me,' the human condition can wreak havoc on what was supposed to be stability and peace."

The new EP follows GORE.'s Spinefarm debut, the A Bud That Never Blooms EP (2024), which saw the band tipped as a "Band You Need To Know" by Revolverand described as "cutting-edge modern metal at its most vulnerable" by NME in their 2025 Essential Emerging Artists list.

ABOUT GORE.:
Haley Roughton leads the charge in Gore., a band that brings a distinctly feminine perspective to the heavy music scene. Debuted in 2023 with guitarist Alex Reyes, bassist Devin Birchfield, and now drummer Wills Weller, the Texas-based trio quickly made waves with their emotionally raw and unapologetically vulnerable sound. Their signing to Spinefarm solidifies their place in the industry. Gore.'s A Bud That Never Blooms EP serves as a deeply personal exploration of the complexities of femininity. Tracks like "Babylon" confront the painful realities of womanhood, while "Doomsday" reflects on the desensitization to violence and suffering in today's world. With plans for more music in 2025, Gore. are poised to continue challenging norms and expressing the full spectrum of feminine experience through their powerful sound.

New Miserable Experience (Feat. Members of Rivers of Nihil, ex-Revocation, Rosetta) Share "The Devil We Know" Video —

New Miserable Experience, featuring an all-star cast with members of Rivers of Nihil, Rosetta, ex-Revocation, and Model Prisoner, have revealed their new single "The Devil We Know."

"The Devil We Know" is taken from the band's new album Gild The Lily, due January 23 via Pelagic Records.

Pre-order Gild The Lily and stream "The Devil We Know" here.

Watch the new video below:

New Miserable Experience are a Philadelphia-rooted collective that reshapes heavy-music rigor into expansive, melody-forward songs through alternative synth-rock. What started as a file-trading collaboration between vocalist/bassist David Grossman (ex-Rosetta) and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Mahesh Kost (Model Prisoner) expanded into a full band that now includes Rosetta drummer Bruce "B.J." McMurtrie Jr., technical-metal bassist Brett Bamberger (ex-Revocation), and guitarist Brody Uttley (Rivers of Nihil). 
  
Each member of New Miserable Experience contributes a distinctive sonic fingerprint. The vocals act as the emotional center, delivering lines that feel confessional and immediate; synths and guitars are constructed with shimmering arpeggios and decisive motifs; percussion and production choices blend groove and tension within electronic nuance; and bass work often functions as a countermelody, lifting refrains and anchoring transitions. Together the five players emphasize careful craft over spectacle, shaping a song that rewards patient listening.

Across the twelve tightly arranged tracks of third album Gild The Lily, the band pares its palette to essential elements: clear melodies, precise dynamics, and richly textured production. The album trades overt bombast for craft, building emotional weight through small gestures and patient arrangements rather than moments of spectacle.

Elements of Gild the Lily combine alternative synth rock with chorus-tinted guitars, and a rhythm section that alternates between taut propulsion and roomy, reverb-soaked space. Elements of artists as lauded and disparate as Crosses, Ulver, The Black Queen, and more combine to irresistible effect.

NEW MISERABLE EXPERIENCE ARE: 
Josh Kost — Multi-Instrumentalist
Brody Uttley — Guitar
Brett Bamberger —Bass
David Grossman —Vocals
BJ McMurtrie — Drums

AGENBITE MISERY Announce Run Of New England Dates

New Hampshire experimental extreme-metal trio AGENBITE MISERY will embark on a four-date Northeastern tour this February in support of their forthcoming debut album Remorse of Conscience. The tour brings the band’s singular fusion of blackened sludge, dissonant death metal, post-punk, and ambient drone to four venues across New England and the Northeast.

  • 2/5 – Blue, Portland ME (with ERGI, INGRATE and BÜZEM)

  • 2/6 – Riverhill Grange, Concord NH (with IMIPOLEX, BENEATH PURGATORY and PERFECT SUFFERING)

  • 2/7 – AS220, Providence RI (with RHIZARIA, CAREGIVER and SATAN WEED)

  • 2/8 – O’Brien’s, Allston MA (with NORTH STAR THE WANDERER, GLOOMLURKER and HEXROT)

The tour is in support of their upcoming album, Remorse of Conscience. Remorse of Conscience adapts James Joyce's Ulysses into eight tracks that merge literary themes with extreme metal. Written in 2023 and recorded in 2024, the album was self-produced by the band with mixing by Eric Sauter and mastering by Brad Boatright. Each track reframes a chapter of the novel as aggressive, atmospheric sound. Highlights include “Telemachean Echoes,” a blast of power violence, “Cascara Sagrada,” a warped meditation on Bloom’s morning routine, and “A Charitable View of Temporary Insanity,” a funeral doom epic. The record concludes with “Mnesterophonia,” which transforms Molly Bloom’s final monologue into a cathartic crescendo.

Though rooted in dense literary reference, Remorse of Conscience aims beyond academia, toward the raw human experience at its core. With this album and their upcoming tour, AGENBITE MISERY present a project that refuses compromise or categorization, instead confronting the question of whether meaning can still be found amid the wreckage of modern life. Their answer is clear: Yes, we will. Yes.

About AGENBITE MISERY:
AGENBITE MISERY is a New Hampshire-based trio that fuses literary ambition with the visceral force of experimental metal. Formed in 2022 by guitarist Sam Graff, bassist Cam Netland, and drummer Adam Richards, the band emerged from a shared academic background in literature and a mutual devotion to the most extreme and boundary-pushing corners of heavy music.

At its core, AGENBITE MISERY is a project rooted in transformation. Their work doesn’t merely incorporate influences, it dismantles them, reshapes them, and recontextualizes them within a vision that is as cerebral as it is punishing. Their sound weaves together elements of black metal, sludge, death metal, post-punk, ambient, and noise rock, unified not by style but by intent: to confront, to immerse, and to challenge.

Individually, the members bring a history of musical experimentation: Sam Graff and Adam Richards were longtime collaborators in the avant-garde project UNDER GREEN SUNS and the Boston metalcore outfit VICARIUM, while Cam Netland previously fronted the Connecticut stoner/black metal band COAGULATE. Together, they’ve forged something entirely distinct, a collective voice that draws from their diverse histories but refuses to be defined by any one genre or scene.

AGENBITE MISERY exists at the edge of metal and the margins of modern art, translating abstract ideas into concrete sound with unrelenting force. Whether performing live or recording in isolation, their ethos remains constant: dig deeper, aim higher, and never repeat what has already been done.

AGENBITE MISERY is:
Sam Graff – Guitars / Vocals / Synth
Cam Netland – Bass / Vocals
Adam Richards – Drums / Vocals

Connect with AGENBITE MISERY:
Bandcamp: https://agenbitemisery.bandcamp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574211514876#
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agenbitemisery/?hl=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwjOZilhkqTRkZHpJJwlbhw
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6dYQgCtNvpvNWwfQ06LQQZ
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/agenbite-misery/1716987132
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@agenbite.misery
Ampwall: https://agenbitemisery.ampwall.com/

PARADISE LOST UNVEILS NEW VIDEO FOR 'SALVATION' FROM ACCLAIMED NEW ALBUM 'ASCENSION'

Icons of goth and doom, PARADISE LOST have revealed a new music video for the song ‘Salvation’ from the band’s widely acclaimed new album, Ascension. Directed by longtime collaborator Ash Pears, the stunning, cinematic portrayal of one of 2025’s most haunting tracks provides further evidence of their unyielding creative vision decades into the band’s legendary career.

Commenting on the song and video, vocalist Nick Holmes states:

"Salvation embraces the belief in a higher power and seeking forgiveness for a lifetime of transgression, typically prompted by the approach of death or a significant crisis. However, the video, and given that it is Christmas, takes perhaps a more optimistic view. It portrays the connection between two individuals committed to upholding a beacon, a symbol they will protect until their last breath and pass on for others to embrace. Whether this force is ultimately good or bad will always remain a mystery."

PARADISE LOST’s first album in 5 years, following 2020’s acclaimed Obsidian, was produced by the band’s revered guitarist Gregor Mackintosh and mixed/mastered by Lawrence Mackroryand is adorned with artwork by renowned British artist George Frederic Watts’ classic painting The Court of Death (1870-1902). Their latest, critically lauded masterpiece soaked in misery and grief, soars with song’s like ‘Tyrants Serenade,’ ‘Serpent on the Cross’ and ‘Silence Like The Grave,’ that take listeners on an unforgettable journey through morose despair forged in soundscape of massive riffs and searing solos.

PARADISE LOST will embark on the second leg of their “Ascension of Europe” tour in February. Tickets are on sale now at: https://tix.to/Ascension

Purchase/Stream Ascension: https://paradiselost.bfan.link/ascension

About PARADISE LOST:

More than three decades into their career, and with over two million albums sold, PARADISE LOST remain the undisputed kings of metal’s dark side. Formed in Halifax in 1988, the band quickly became noted as the pioneers of gothic metal through their early groundbreaking albums like 1991’s aptly-titled Gothic, a mixture of heaviness intertwined with shadowy melody and atmosphere.  

Never a group to remain creatively static, across their career they’ve explored a myriad of avenues of dark music, from sludgy doom-death roots, to conquering the metal mainstream with the enormous, lush sounds of 1995’s Draconian Times, to more experimental, electronic leanings, leaving an influence on a trail of artists as varied as CRADLE OF FILTH, HIM, GATECREEPER and CHELSEA WOLFE.  

Now, in 2025, the Yorkshire quintet return with their staggering 17th album, Ascension, a record that sees their crown continue to gleam as it underlines just how they attained their position. Produced by guitarist Gregor Mackintosh at Black Planet studios in East Yorkshire, with drums and vocals captured at NBS and Wasteland studios in Sweden, its 10 tracks traverse the multitude of sounds in the band’s arsenal, from full-bore heavy metal to sky-high melody, all the while keeping a minor-key melancholy that remains irresistible.

Follow PARADISE LOST:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | X | Youtube | Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp

ZP Theart (ex-DragonForce, ex-Skid Row) Drops First New Single in 13 Years With "Dark to Light"

ZP Theart has carved out one of the most distinctive vocal paths in modern metal. He first exploded onto the scene as the founding voice of DragonForce, shaping the band's trademark blend of turbo-charged guitars and sky-high melodies. Across albums like Valley of the Damned, Sonic Firestorm, Inhuman Rampage, and Ultra Beatdown, his vocals became the backbone of a sound that pushed the power metal group into the global spotlight and to RIAA Gold and Platinum certification. The era-defining anthem "Through the Fire and Flames" became a worldwide phenomenon, appearing in video games Guitar Hero III, Fortnite, and even the movie Minions 4, while their single "Heroes of Our Time" earned a Grammy nomination, cementing Theart as one of metal's most recognizable frontmen.

After his departure from DragonForce in 2010, Theart launched I AM I, exploring a more hard-rock-driven sound, and briefly joined NWBHM veterans Tank, adding his intensity to their 2015 album Valley of Tears.

In 2016, he surprised many by stepping into American hard rock as the new vocalist for Skid Row. Initially touring with the band, he became their official frontman in 2017 and spent several years performing internationally, injecting fresh energy into their revered live shows. He also ventured into gaming-inspired metal, lending his voice to Riot Games' virtual band Pentakill as the character Karthus on their 2014 album Smite and Ignite, proving his versatility across mediums.

He now shares the video for his new single "Dark to Light," which first new music in 13 years. It was worth the wait. 

Watch the video below:

"This single marks my first solo release, and stepping into this new chapter has been incredibly energizing," Theart says. "I've been collaborating with the ridiculously talented Swiss writer and producer Syndrone and it has opened the door to a sound I've been wanting to explore for a long time. I'm beyond excited to reveal everything I have planned for you all in  2026. Merry fucking Christmas!"

From speed-metal pioneer to hard-rock frontman to digital-era metal icon, ZP Theart has spent more than two decades proving he can command any stage and any genre. His return isn’t just a comeback, it’s the next chapter in a legendary career built on relentless energy and intensity, a visceral force of vocal power and a presence that demands attention, ready to set the world on fire once again.

Capsize Share "The Fracture" Video

Last month, Capsize announced their return with "The Fracture," their first release since signing to Roux & Ruin Records.

The song, produced by Matt Good (From First To Last, Asking Alexandria), twists melody and misery into one — a dark anthem that reminds everyone why people can't seem to look away.

Now they share the official, self-shot video. Watch it Below.

"This song is about taking responsibility for everything in my life, even the things that are out of my control," Daniel Wand previously share about the song's meaning. "I've found holding myself accountable is the only way I've been able to make sense of the aftermath when things fall apart in any category of life. It's about feeling empty from it, and still trying to find some kind of light at the end of the tunnel by being candid about internal struggle. More than anything, I hope it connects with people who can find it relatable, who stuck in their own self-destructive cycles and helps them feel less alone in what they're going through and maybe taking on a similar route to process what they're are going through."

As for the accompanying visual, Wand says, "Maintaining full creative control has always been essential for us. By filming and editing 'The Fracture' ourselves, we were able to shape the visual identity exactly as we envisioned it. Although we've produced in-house content before, this video represents a new level of intention and execution, and we're incredibly proud to share it."

After several years of sporadic single drops, Capsize fans can look forward to a new physical release, on deck for 2026, with more details to be revealed shortly. The next release will be the band's first since A Reintroduction: The Essence Of All That Surrounds Me, which arrived in 2016 via Equal Vision Records.

For now, fans can revel in the melodic maelstrom of "The Fracture."

Caliban Drop "Dear Suffering" (Feat. Andreas Bjulver) Live in Cologne 2025" to Celebrate "Back From Hell (Deluxe Edition)"

Before embarking on the Darkness Over X-Mas tour, Caliban are releasing "Dear Suffering" (Feat. Andreas Bjulver of Cabal) Live in Cologne 2025 (Live Video)."

The song is part of the digital Back From Hell (Deluxe Edition). For the release, the band didn't only capture some songs from their home show in Cologne last summer, but also recorded "Anthem," a brand new song, as well as two cover versions: "You Only Live Once" and "Shout."

The band comments,"'Anthem' feels like the perfect final song in terms of message and vibe — but it's not a goodbye. It's the exact opposite. It's our message to you: A 'thank you' for every year, every moment, every step we've shared together… and for all the ones still to come. You're the reason this band exists. Without you, we're nothing."

Watch "Dear Suffering" (feat. Andreas Bjulver of Cabal) Live in Cologne 2025 (Live Video) below. 

Stream the deluxe edition here.

After a seven year break CALIBAN are also bringing back their very own Darkness Over X-Mas Tour 2025:
Special Guests: Mental Cruelty, Doomcrusher & Strength
12/27 — Saalfeld, DE – Klubhaus (low ticket warning!)
12/28 — Frankfurt, DE — Das Bett
12/29 — Oberhausen, DE — Kulttempel

For over two decades, Caliban has stood as one of the defining forces in metalcore. With their latest album Back From Hell the German band continues to evolve their sound while staying true to the intensity and emotion that have defined their career. Led by founding members Andreas Dörner (vocals) and Marc Görtz (guitar), the band’s current lineup includes new vocalist and bassist Iain Duncan, whose clean vocals, songwriting skills and diverse perspective and experience bring a fresh dimension to their already powerful dynamic. Complemented by longtime drummer Patrick Grün and guitarist Denis Schmidt, Caliban's formidable lineup is poised to deliver a relentless and emotionally charged experience that reaffirms their status as metalcore pioneers.

CALIBAN ARE:
Iain Duncan — Bass + Vocals
Patrick Grün — Drums
Andreas Dörner — Vocals
Marc Görtz — Guitar
Denis Schmidt — Guitar

AMORPHIS Return To The Fray With New Single "Crowned In Crimson"

Finnish metal icons AMORPHIS present “Crowned In Crimson”, a powerful and emotionally charged new single, which also serves as the main theme song for the upcoming action feature Son of Revenge – The Story of Kalevala, premiering in Finland on January 16, 2026.

A striking father–daughter vocal collaboration between AMORPHIS frontman Tomi Joutsen and his daughter Iida, “Crowned In Crimson” presents the band at their most cinematic. The track’s sweeping dynamics and melodic depth echo the sonic identity of AMORPHIS’ massively successful 2025 studio album Borderland, while introducing a new layer of intimate storytelling that fits seamlessly into the band's unmistakable sound world. The lyrics, penned by long-time collaborator Pekka Kainulainen, bring the tragic hero Kullervo to life with vivid emotion and mythic weight.

For decades, AMORPHIS' music has breathed new life into the ancient stories of the Kalevala for fans around the world and now, with Son of Revenge – The Story of Kalevala, audiences will finally see those mythic visions brought to life on the big screen.

Songwriter and guitarist Esa Holopainen comments:

“Director Antti Jokinen got in touch with us and briefly told us about his ambitious film project. We arranged a meeting with him, during which we were able to see visual material from the film and go through the script. Antti hoped that Amorphis would create the film’s theme song — a project we agreed to immediately.”

Director Antti Jokinen comments:

"Amorphis’ music feels like strength wrapped in beauty – heavy enough to shake the landscape, yet poetic. Their music really lifts my spirit into the world of Kalevala myths and its characters. Exactly what I was looking for, when thinking about the theme song for my film. I'm very pleased they agreed to do it."

With its haunting vocal interplay, soaring melodies, and unmistakable AMORPHIS atmosphere, “Crowned In Crimson” stands as a monumental addition to the band’s catalogue and a compelling preview of the cinematic world of Son of Revenge – The Story of Kalevala.

Watch the video for “Crowned In Crimson” directed by Antti Jokinen below;

“Crowned In Crimson” is out now on all digital platforms, listen to it here: https://amorphis.rpm.link/crownedPR
 

About the movie:

Son of Revenge – The Story of Kalevala is an upcoming Finnish historical fantasy film directed by Antti Jokinen and written by Jokinen and Jorma Tommila. Based on the Finnish epic poetry The Kalevala, the film tells the story of Kullervo, a tragic anti-hero marked by vengeance, sorrow, and supernatural power, with Elias Salonen in the title role. Set in 12th century North Karelia and primarily filmed in Nurmes, the film premieres on January 16, 2026.

See the movie trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfZBjEs_NcI

About AMORPHIS

With Borderland, released in September 2025 as their latest album, the title couldn’t have been chosen more fittingly. Throughout their career, spanning over more than three decades, AMORPHIS have been an ever-evolving act, wandering on an exciting boundary-pushing path. From their sinister death metal debut Karelian Isthmus over genre-defining mid-90s melodic death works like Tales From The Thousand Lakes and Elegy as well as the melodic 2000’s grandeur ofEclipse or Skyforger to records combining the very best of all prior eras to refreshing new soundscapes (f.e. Under The Red Cloud or Queen Of Time): Whatever this group works on promises long-range success. With 2022’s Halo, the Finn’s were rewarded for their researching musical approach once again the sextet took home two awards from the prestigious Emma Gaala (“Band of the Year” & “Export of the Year”). The impact of Halo became a driving force for what’s to come. Rather than rushing into a follow-up, the band chose to step back from live performances and focus fully on their next chapter. The result is Borderland - a meticulously crafted opus that builds on their celebrated recent era, while seamlessly weaving in new, timely elements. It’s a bold, organic continuation of their journey, shaped by experience and guided by vision.
 

AMORPHIS are:
Tomi Joutsen | vocals
Esa Holopainen | guitars
Tomi Koivusaari | guitars
Olli-Pekka “Oppu” Laine | bass
Santeri Kallio | keys
Jan Rechberger | drums & percussion

Bullet Release "Chained By Metal" Video // "Kickstarter" Out 1/9

NEW ALBUM KICKSTARTER OUT JANUARY 9 — PRE-ORDER

The Swedish powerhouse band Bullet have released the video for the new single "Chained By Metal" .

The song appears on their upcoming studio album Kickstarter.

 

The band says, "It was about time our small but relentlessly dedicated fan club the 'Bullet Bastards' got a song dedicated to them. Our fastest one on the album and maybe the only one able to carry the title of 'Chained by Metal.' Warm and appreciating yet hard as steel is our brothers and sisters of metal and once you become one of them it is hard to let go. You'll become chained by metal in unbreakable links of steel! That's what the song is about and a perfect song to promote as one of the singles for the album. This song shows the range of what Bullet and the new album Kickstarter is all about!"

Watch the music video below;

Kickstarter will be released on January 9 through Steamhammer as CD digipak (including. poster), LP gatefold version, and digital, and can be pre-ordered here.

More info about Bullet's upcoming live shows here.

POWER PALADIN Unleash First Single "Sword Vigor"

Icelandic metal collective POWER PALADIN returns with force, steel and fire as they present their brand-new single “Sword Vigor”, the first taste of their upcoming studio album Beyond The Reach Of Enchantment, due out on March 27, 2026 via ROAR – a division of Reigning Phoenix Music!

“Sword Vigor” delivers classic heavy metal spirit wrapped in epic power metal form, driven by galloping riffs, soaring melodies and a strong sense of heroism. The track continues the band’s fantasy-driven narrative universe and serves as the next chapter in an ongoing saga of trials, destiny and triumph. Fans of GLORYHAMMER, TWILIGHT FORCE, and DRAGONFORCE will feel right at home.

The band comments: “‘Sword Vigor’ is a roaring NWOBHM-inspired power metal anthem — the blazing sequel to the saga begun in Kraven the Hunter. When all hope seems lost for our hero, salvation descends from the heavens: a warrior who has mastered the ancient and furious art of Sword Vigor.” 

Accompanying the single is an official music video that captures POWER PALADIN’s love for classic heavy metal, combining a tongue-in-cheek attitude with a straightforward, no-frills approach.

Stream / Download “Sword Vigor”: https://powerpaladin.rpm.link/swordvigorPR

Watch the official video below :

And if you’ve ever wondered how power metal bands come up with these epic lyrics, POWER PALADIN have the answer - and it involves a healthy dose of humor. To find out what rhymes with fire - and where hobbits come into play check out the following video the band just posted on their Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/p/DSSEYXcjKVU/ 

With their new offering Beyond The Reach Of Enchantment, POWER PALADIN take the next step in their musical journey. The album features eight epic tracks, each unfolding like a chapter in a sweeping saga of power, mystery and adventure. 

Building on the success of their debut With the Magic of Windfyre Steel, the band delivers a more mature and refined sound while fully retaining the energy and spirit that defined their early days. The album was mixed by Haukur Hannes (AUÐN, DYNFARI) and mastered by Frank de Jong (BLEEDING GODS), resulting in a production that is both powerful and crystal clear.

Once again, POWER PALADIN pay homage to their influences - IRON MAIDEN, DIO and HELLOWEEN - while confidently carving out their own place in the modern power metal landscape. The album artwork, created by James Child (Astral Clock Tower Studios), perfectly captures the adventurous and fantastical essence of the record.

Pre-Save / Pre-OrderBeyond The Reach Of Enchantmenthere:
https://powerpaladin.rpm.link/enchantmentPR

About POWER PALADIN:
Formed in Iceland, POWER PALADIN emerged from a shared passion for classic heavy metal, soaring melodies and fantasy-driven storytelling. Since their inception, the band has blended the spirit of traditional power metal with the raw edge of NWOBHM influences, forging a sound that feels both nostalgic and fresh.

Their debut album With the Magic of Windfyre Steel quickly established POWER PALADIN as a rising force in the international power metal scene. With Beyond The Reach Of Enchantment, the band further expands their musical and lyrical universe, proving their dedication to epic songwriting, strong hooks and timeless metal values.

POWER PALADIN is:
Atli Guðlaugsson (vocals)
Bjarni Þór Jóhannsson (guitars)
Ingi Þórisson (guitars)
Einar Karl Júlíusson (drums) 
Bjarni Egill Ögmundsson (keyboards) 
Kristleifur Þorsteinsson (bass)

More on POWER PALADIN:
Website: https://www.powerpaladin.is/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/powerpaladinice 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerpaladinice/ 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@powerpaladin 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PowerPaladinOfficial

Gluecifer Release "I'm Ready" Video

Twenty-one years after their last studio album, the Norwegians laid the foundation for their brand new album Same Drug New High (out January 16 via Steamhammer). Now, "I'm Ready" is the next taste of what's to come from the album.

Singer Biff Malibu says, "It's one of the last songs we wrote for the record. Captain Poon had worked out a chord structure that fell into place really fast, and that we felt had a kind of happy and positive ring to it. I threw in some lyrics on the same note, and the song sort of wrote itself from there." 
 
At a time when the world's inflationary desire for change seems to stop at nothing and no one, GLUECIFER appear to be the proverbial solid rock.

The Norwegian band, one of the most successful in its country, who immediately returned to its former strength after a reunion in spring 2018, continues to play a passionate melange of irresistible punk rock, traditional rock 'n' roll and dazzling glam elements — just the way the fans want to hear it. The new studio album, Same Drug New High, the group's first in more than 20 years, leaves no doubt that founding members Biff Malibu (vocals) and Captain Poon (guitar), plus long-standing bandmates Raldo Useless (guitar), Danny Young (drums), and Peter Larsson (bass), sound not only more mature and skilled, but also more versatile and determined than ever.

Watch the video for "I'm Ready" below. 

Stream the single and pre-order the new album Same Drug New High here. 

PRODUCT VERSIONS:

*Limited LP Edition / STEAMHAMMER exclusive - Limited to 300 copies
(incl. splattered red/black/white Vinyl and LP insert) - Order here
*Limited LP Edition / FLIGHT 13 exclusive - Limited to 300 copies
(incl. gold Vinyl and LP insert) - Order here
*Limited LP Edition / EU & UK exclusive - Limited to 300 copies
(incl. translucent red Vinyl and LP insert)
*Limited LP Edition / NORDICS exclusive - Limited to 500 copies
(incl. translucent clear Vinyl and LP insert)
*Standard LP Edition 
(including black vinyl and LP insert)
*CD Edition
(in a Digipak)
*Digital Edition
(Stream & Download)

Since they got together in 1994, Gluecifer have played hundreds of shows and released a total of five albums plus countless singles, EPs, and compilations. After an extensive farewell tour, the band broke up in 2005. But Gluecifer have never been forgotten by their fans. As a result, their 2018 comeback was not only met with huge acclaim, but was also celebrated by numerous concerts throughout Europe, including appearances at renowned festivals such as the Azkena Festival in Spain, Hellfest in France, and Tons Of Rock in Norway. So it comes as no surprise that their extensive fanbase started to clamor for new songs and another studio album almost immediately. Gluecifer have fulfilled that request at last with Same Drug New High, which was composed, produced, and mixed in their hometown of Oslo.

The new recording will be supported by an extensive European tour in spring 2026 — scheduled to kick off in Sweden on the album’s release date — and take Gluecifer to Germany, Norway and Spain.

More info about Gluecifer's upcoming live shows here. 

GLUECIFER LINEUP:

Biff Malibu — Vocals
Captain Poon — Guitar 
Raldo Useless — Guitar
Danny Young — Drums
Peter Larsson — Bass

LAPTOP re-envisions TOM WAITS' holiday anthem "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis"

NYC artist Laptop presents their first holiday release: a winter transmission that sits oddly and perfectly within the band’s catalog. Tom Waits’ 1978 classic “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis” is recreated as a deadpan jazz-robotic confession, equal parts heartbreak and smirk, performed as if a soul adrift at 2 AM in search of a payphone that still works. This feels like a postcard from every December that ever went wrong—and the small, stubborn hope that things might just go right anyway.

In the early 2000s, Laptop released three cult classic albums on Island Records, with frontman Jesse Hartman having got his start as a teenage Voidoid with Richard Hellbefore co-founding the indie rock band Sammy and releasing albums via Fire Records and Geffen Records. Hartman recently revived the band, driven by a dual-frontman dynamic with his son Charlie, this track reveals the intimate, lonely, late-night side of this project, sitting with you after the party ends and winter blows in under the door.

For Jesse Hartman, this song is personal. He has been playing this song since he was 13 years old at the family piano, long before Laptop existed, long before forming Sammy and long before joining Island Records. Hartman shares, “This was the first song that showed me you could mix sadness and humor in the same line. It basically formed me. This song is the blueprint for Laptop whether I knew it or not.”

While Laptop and Waits are both artists obsessed with doomed characters, disappointing heroes, and the poetry of failure, Hartman’s version is a departure from Waits’s gravel-and-whiskey delivery. This take leans into Laptop’s signature swing between warmth and machinery: jazz chords, cold synths, more groove, and Hartman’s dry, controlled, emotionally sideways vocal. It’s not whispered or fragile, it’s performed with the same unsentimental elegance that defined Laptop’s early-2000s covers (Billy Joel) and deep cuts (“We Never Made It to Venice”).

The basic tracks were recorded in Valencia in 2023, engineered by Iñaki Ariste Aznar, with Hartman on bass and drums by Mike Desmerais (Brian Eno, The Winkies). Upon their subtle, modern rhythmic bed beneath the retro-jazz harmony, Hartman finished the song in New York this Thanksgiving, pulling the performance into the present moment. Family members fill the edges of the arrangement with warmth: Odetta Hartman(backing vocals), Camellia Hartman (violin), Ben Jones (keyboards), and friend Billy Aukstik (trumpet). Just like a frozen street corner dressed in unexpected color.

“Waits wrote one of the great American monologues. This character isn’t just down on her luck, she’s inventing better versions of her life while she’s telling it. She’s lying, but she’s lying to survive. I didn’t want parody. I wanted to show the hope inside the hopelessness,” says Jesse Hartman.

This is standalone offering, outside the song cycle leading to their 2026 album “On This Planet”, which produced the singles “Indie Hero”, "Additional Animals", "I Don't Know" and “Weirder”. But it fits the themes Hartman has been exploring lately: aging, reinvention, myth-making, and the personal fictions we tell ourselves to get through the night. The holiday backdrop adds a chill: this is a Christmas song for people who can’t quite afford to believe in Christmas.

Musically, the track is Laptop stripped and rebuilt: a chiming electric piano, an icy synth pad, and a rhythm section that feels like a jazz band learning to operate inside a drum machine. Hartman delivers the lies, the hope, the heartbreak, and the punchline with the kind of detached affection that made Laptop an indie cult favorite. The final confession (“I need the money to pay my lawyer”) lands with dry humor and real ache.

As of December 12, this single can be found on major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp, where the band's latest singles are also available. Laptop's forthcoming album "On This Planet" is slated for release in Spring 2026 via Hurricane Cove Records.

CREDITS

Jesse Hartman - vocals, guitars, bass
Edward Douglas- keyboards, synths
Charlie Hartman - vocals
Odetta Hartman - vocals
Camellia Hartman - violin
Billy Aukstik - trumpet
Ben Jones - keyboards
Mike Desmarais - drums
Lluisen Capafons – congas, additional percussion
Recorded by Iñaki Ariste Aznar (Valencia), Edward Douglas (NYC), Jesse Hartman (NYC/Nevis)
Mixed by Jesse Hartman, Edward Douglas
Produced by Jesse Hartman
Engineered by Edward Douglas
Recorded in Valencia, Spain (Summer 2023), Final overdubs and edits in New York City (2025)
Written by Tom Waits (ASCAP)
Published by Jersey Girl Music (Admin by Wixen Music Publishing, Inc.)
Released by Hurricane Cove Records
Video concept, direction, cinematography & editing by Jesse Hartman
Cover artwork by Jesse Hartman & Scott Ratner
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR

ESHTADUR Releases Epic Symphonic Melodeath Single, "Fire Above Mountain Below"

Colombian blackened melodic death metal force ESHTADUR has released their latest single, "Fire Above Mountain Below", off of their latest album, Symphonic Crows – Live at the Santiago Londoño’s Theater. Grandiose symphonic elements provide a powerful backdrop for ominous riffs and snarling vocals. In signature ESHTADUR fashion, "Fire Above Mountain Below" balances crushing heaviness with a catchy, cinematic earworm of a chorus.

Vocalist and guitarist Jorg August comments, "The shapes that can be explored with a symphonic orchestra reminds me of why I enjoy music so much: the character and the intensity of 40 people giving the music their all. That's very ritualistic and powerful. This new live album is something I wanted to do for so long."

Watch the official video for "Fire Above Mountain Below" below:

Symphonic Crows – Live at the Santiago Londoño’s Theater is out now on the ESHTADUR official Bandcamp page: https://eshtadur.bandcamp.com/album/symphonic-crows-live-album

About ESHTADUR: 

ESHTADUR was founded in the fall of 2005 by Jorg August, releasing the Timo Be Timo demo with a sound in the vein of COVENANT, DIMMU BORGIR, and OLD MAN’S CHILD. Since then, they have released a pair of EPs and four powerful full-length albums. ESHTADUR, meaning "the rebellion of angels," can be most closely likened to bands such as SEPTIC FLESH, BEHEMOTH, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, CARACH ANGREN, and the like. Like their scene counterparts, the band embodies a deathly melodic atmosphere that reaches into realms of darkness and despair through the decay of humanity. It seeks to rebel, in its darkened way, embracing the abject reality.

Their rich touring history includes performances across Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. They have shared the stage and toured with CRADLE OF FILTH, VADER, GRAVEWORM, SEPULTURA, ABORTED, and DECAPITATED, the last three at Rock al Parque 2016. Their 2017 release via Bleeding Music Records, Mother Gray, is an expression of planetary death and putrefaction. The scathing release saw the band touring eight countries in Europe through 2018, and then visiting the United States for the first time for the Gray America Tour, including dates in Mexico. The band’s latest album, From The Abyss, was released via Blood Blast Distribution and physically distributed by Hateworks in Latin America.

In 2022, the band toured in support of BATUSHKA and DIABOLICAL, visiting Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland. In 2023, ESHTADUR performed at 70000 Tons of Metal, being the only band from Colombia to do so. They then embarked on a North American tour with SUMMONER’S CIRCLE, visiting New York, Kentucky, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, South and North Carolina, and Virginia.

After conquering 19 shows in the United States, ESHTADUR was invited as a guest of honor to the largest music festival in Latin America, Rock al Parque, supporting IN FLAMES from Sweden. The Crows from Colombia delivered a magnificent concert with Pereira’s Symphonic Orchestra at the Santiago Londoño Theater at the end of the year. This live concert was released on Pro Tape for collectors by Mutilated Records. 

In 2024, the band united forces with GRAVEWORM for a Latin American tour, visiting Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Colombia. ESHTADUR also performed at the 17th edition of Grita Fest in Manizales, Colombia, supporting HATE and EXODUS. Now the crows are gathering mist forces once again, ready to fill your soul with darkened despair at their next visit.

Bizarrekult Announces Absorbing New Album 'Alt Som Finnes'

True to the spirit of black metal, Roman V. started Bizarrekult as a lone wolf. Moving to the genre’s birthplace in Norway twenty odd years ago inspired him to bend but not break with tradition. Bizarrekult’s previous albums reflected on his childhood and changing place within the larger world, all while honing a grim yet luminar vision for the future. His upcoming third album also emerged from a deep personal crisis. Only this time, on Alt Som Finnes, he’s not alone in confronting all there is.

Today, Bizarrekult is announcing Alt Som Finnes by premiering the frighteningly tense video for the album’s lead single with No Clean Singing. While “Blikket Hennes” is tormented by never-ending self-doubt, Dødheimsgard vocalist Yusaf “Vicotnik” Parvez leads Roman out of its mental labryinthe - if only for a moment.  

“I was not ready for all of this”, Roman says about Alt Som Finnes. “None of us are, when the time comes. But at the end of this journey, it seems to have all been worth it. The music gave me hints as to where to go and what can be”.

Watch the video for “Blikket Hennes” below.

Alt Som Finnes comes out February 20, 2026 on Season of Mist Underground Activists.

Pre-order & Pre-save

https://orcd.co/bizarrekultaltsomfinnes

Available formats

CD Jewelcase

12” Vinyl (Black)

12” Vinyl (Purple, black and white marbled)

In keeping with Norwegian tradition, Bizarrekult can be as cold and raw as early Darkthrone, as eerily melodic as Enslaved, or as blistering in its beauty as Borknagar. Alt Som Finnes (All There Is) upholds that classic, manic energy of old-school black metal. “Blikket Hennes” buzzes like a mind plagued, hounded by sharp twisting riffs, pained screams and a steady pounding of double bass.

“Your conscience never sleeps’”, Roman explains. “It judges and evaluates everything you do. You will never be able to get away from it; it will pierce you day and night, for good and bad”.

As the punishing headwinds behind “Blikket Hennes” signal a change in the atmosphere, like a break in the clouds, Dødheimsgard vocalist’s Yusaf Parvez appears from behind the torrential melody with soothing cleans. It’s a welcome respite before the mental fog returns.

The video for “Blikket Hennes”  was directed by Natalia Drepina (@mourneress). It stars Pavel V. Boldyrev (@somebodyawful) and Natalia Drepina.

No one emerges unscathed from Alt Som Finnes. But while riddled with regrets, album closer “Tomhet” breaks new ground as the first Bizarrekult song sung in English. “Am I alone like this? No, we are many”. It’s a damning realization, but also a call for all of us to become something greater.

Line-up
Roman V. — Vocals
Ignat P. — Guitars & Bass
Alexander P. — Drums

Production Credits
Recorded at Seaside Room.
Produced, mixed & mastered by Miguel Tereso at Demigod Recordings, Portugal.

Guest Musicians
Yusaf "Vicotnik" Parvez (Dødheimsgard) — Vocals on "Blikket Hennes"
Lina (Predatory Void / Cross Bringer) — Vocals on "Drøm”
Kim Song Sternkopf (Møl) — Vocals on "Tomhet"

Cover Art
Gravestench Art (https://www.instagram.com/gravestench_art/)

Photography
Radmila Volchenkova

Available Formats
CD Jewelcase

12” Vinyl (Black)

12” Vinyl (Purple, black and white marbled)

Pre-save & Pre-order 

https://orcd.co/bizarrekultaltsomfinnes

Follow Bizarrekult
Bandcamp: https://bizarrekult.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bizarrekult/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizarrekvlt/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Cj4Bc1WpdNZhGcKyQfWci/
Apple Music:https://music.apple.com/artist/bizarrekult/1455860457 Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/artist/11699593

GOATSILK Unleashes “SEPARATE” — A Devastating New Chapter In The Bands Future

“Separate” marks a powerful new chapter for GOATSILK, showcasing the band’s ability to blend aggression, atmosphere, and melody with a sense of urgency. The single dives into the emotional weight of breaking away from situations and relationships that no longer move you forward. Rather than leaning on shock value or theatrics, “Separate” focuses on raw honesty balancing heavy guitar work, a dense low-end pulse, and vocals that deliver intensity without sacrificing clarity.

The track highlights GOATSILK'S continued evolution, refining their sound into something heavier, sharper, and more intentional. “Separate” stands as both a personal statement and a preview of what’s coming next from the band — a louder, more defined identity built on conviction and craft.

For outlets seeking a modern heavy track with emotional depth and strong production, “Separate” delivers a compelling listen that resonates beyond its hooks and heaviness.

BIO:

GOATSILK is a modern heavy band blending metal and hard rock with a focus on powerful vocals, dynamic guitar work, and emotionally driven songwriting. Formed by vocalist/guitarist Jhode Romero, the band features members with a long history in the heavy music world, including former and current players from Motograter, Embryonic Autopsy, Flaw, Eva to Adam and Kobra and The Lotus  Known for their high-energy live shows and tight musicianship, GOATSILK consistently pulls 200–800 fans depending on the market. Their sound builds on raw intensity and modern heaviness while still keeping melody and atmosphere at the forefront.

Lineup

• Jhode Romero – Vocals / Guitars

• Jeremiah Bundy – Bass

• Rich Brown – Guitars

• Marcus Lee – Drums

COLD SLITHER Set the Season on Fire with New Single “Cobra Claws Are Coming To Town”

Reigning Phoenix Music, in collaboration with Hasbro, is proud to announce the most chaotic Christmas anthem ever to slither down a chimney: COLD SLITHER’s new single “Cobra Claws Are Coming To Town.” Fresh from the momentum of their self-titled album, released earlier this year, the Dreadnok-driven metal outfit returns with a holiday track packed with sleigh bells, sabotage, and seasonal pandemonium. The track is accompanied by a high-octane holiday video produced by none other than Torch himself (whose alter ego is known as Ross Sewage). 

As the band explains in their own words:

"Well... Along with the persistent pestering by Torch and Ripper, Cobra Commander now has a new scheme to ensnare the masses with a... Ugh... Christmas song.

“Cobra Claws Are Coming To Town” arrives as both a gift and a warning. This is holiday spirit the COLD SLITHER way: loud, unhinged, and ready to storm every playlist from now until the new year. Lock your chimneys. The Cobra Claws ride tonight.

Watch Below:

Listen HERE: https://coldslither.rpm.link/clawsPR

Fronted by the enigmatic Zartan alongside his ruthless Dreadnok bandmates Torch, Ripper, and Buzzer, COLD SLITHER is a declaration of war. Their sound combines old-school heavy metal with anarchic energy, venomous vocals, punishing riffs, and an atmosphere steeped in apocalyptic chaos. Also, a special thank you to Frank Todaro who serves as the enigmatic voice of Cobra Commander. 

Connect with COLD SLITHER:
Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | X | RPM


Featuring 10 original tracks and a remastered version of their cult-classic single “Cold Slither,” the album plunges into dystopian metal with themes of swamp-born menace and Cobra-fueled power. TheCold Slither album is available across digital and vinyl formats.

Order HERE:
https://coldslither.rpm.link/albumPR

HUMANNESS TEST announces the release of their newest single, "Prima Facie"

Progressive heavy outfit HUMANNESS TEST announces the release of their newest single, "Prima Facie," the seventh track to emerge from the ongoing Humanness Test project.

The phrase prima facie translates to “at first sight” or “based on first impressions,” a fitting lens through which the band invites listeners to experience the track. What will people think when they first hear it? For HUMANNESS TEST, the answer lies in a piece that stands firmly on its own, one that honors the foundation already built while opening the door to the project’s evolving future.

An instrumental composition written by Maurice Taylor and Chris Lucci, "Prima Facie" began with a bass riff that sparked deeper exploration. The dynamic interplay between bass and drums drove the track’s growth, expanding organically through layers of guitars and keyboards. The single features standout performances from international collaborators Francesco Finori (Italy) on keyboards and Pedro Ricardo (Portugal) on lead and rhythm guitars. Ultimately, the track reflects the creative partnership Taylor and Lucci have nurtured over three decades.

As Chris explains: “There’s definitely a synergy within progressive music, and this track is the result—something that truly sounds like us. You can hear the influence of other bands, but ultimately it’s a reflection of how we write.”

"Prima Facie" showcases the band’s distinctive blend of progressive sensibilities, heavy grooves, and collaborative musicianship, serving as a clear next step in the unfolding narrative of Humanness Test.

About HUMANNESS TEST
Having recently emerged into the heavy music scene in 2024, HUMANNESS TEST produces a dynamic sound that traverses progressive rock and metal realms while also drawing from more traditional heavy subgenres. RUSH, PORCUPINE TREE, and DREAM THEATER are but a few sources of influence and inspiration across the HUMANNESS TEST's musical direction. Appealing to audiophiles and musicians alike, HUMANNESS TEST celebrates the individual creativity and irreplaceable 'human' element of music created by those with a love for their craft. This feeds into the band's inclusion of a diverse array of musicians from around the globe throughout their releases. Beginning in 2024, and continuing over the course of 2025, HUMANNESS TEST are releasing a series of compelling and captivating singles. 

HUMANNESS TEST is:
Chris Lucci (Drums)
Maurice Taylor (Bass, Guitars) 

CREDITS
Music by Maurice Taylor and Chris Lucci
Produced by Chris Lucci and Maurice Taylor
Mixed and Mastered by Chris Lucci
Maurice Taylor (Bass, Guitars)
Chris Lucci (Drums, Guitars)
Guest Musicians: Francesco Finori (Keyboards)
Pedro Ricardo (Lead and Rhythm Guitars)

Links:
Website: https://www.humannesstest.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humannesstest
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humannesstest/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@humannesstest
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HumannessTest

CARRION VAEL Premieres New Single “1912,” Inspired by the Villisca Axe Murders

Richmond, Indiana’s technical melodic death metal powerhouse CARRION VAEL returns with a vengeance with the release of their haunting new single “1912,” a fresh glimpse into their fifth studio album, Slay Utterly, arriving January 16, 2026 through Unique Leader Records.

Recorded across three sessions at The Armory Studios with engineers Jack Daniels and Elisha Mullins and mastered by Jeff Dunne, Slay Utterly is a concept-driven exploration of infamous murderers, slashers, and violent historical figures. Each track delivers a vivid depiction of humanity’s darkest corners through CARRION VAEL’s blend of technical precision, melodic intensity, and razor-edged aggression.

“1912” stands among the band’s most stylistically expansive works to date. Nearly theatrical in its opening moments, the song broadens and intensifies as it progresses, guiding the listener through shifting moods and escalating tension. The band notes that this track is “the most vast when it comes to styles” and was crafted to make the listener feel every stage of its growth.

Lyrically, “1912” centers on the still-unsolved Villisca axe murders, which shook the small town of Villisca, Iowa on a sweltering June night in 1912. Two adults and six children were brutally killed as they slept. The assailant moved silently through the home, leaving no survivors and vanishing without a trace. More than a century later, the case remains open to speculation, and the song explores several of the most discussed theories, from roving train-hopping sociopaths to disgruntled business associates to evangelical madmen. The truth remains unknown.

With “1912,” CARRION VAEL transforms one of America’s most chilling mysteries into a dynamic and emotionally charged melodic death metal narrative, setting the tone for the scope and ambition of Slay Utterly.

About CARRION VALE:
In 2017, brutal melodic death metal storytellers CARRION VAEL set out on a mission to understand disturbing events that may baffle the sane. Each album and each song explores an aspect of true crime history, often focusing on the stories of individual serial killers and their victims. Though this conceptual focus underpins CARRION VAEL's songwriting, they seek to fully utilize all of their skills and talents to ensure that each song develops the sound it needs to tell its story. The band released their first album, Resurrection of the Doomed, independently in 2017, then signed with HPGD Records and released their 2020 follow-up, God Killer. Subsequently, the band signed with Unique Leader Records and released Abhorrent Obsessions (2022) and Cannibals Anonymous (2024). 

With their fifth album, Slay Utterly, on the horizon, CARRION VAEL are set to continue this journey into the monstrous side of the human psyche. Vicious, but surprisingly poignant in just the right dose, Slay Utterly presents an anthology of serial killer stories from significant points in history. The album is certain to enthrall fans of horror, history, and true crime with its vivid portrayals of the minds of both murderers and victims. 

CARRION VALE is:
Travis Lawson Purcell - Vocals
Alex Arford - Bass
Trenton Limburg - Guitar
Ryan Kurder - Guitar
Matt Behner - Drums