Dave Mustaine shares some insight into the new track.
“How many times have you wanted to say this to someone? I know you want to! Deep down inside, if we had the balls, we would tell more people, ‘I don’t care’ more often.”
“Part of the main riff in this track had been floating around in my head since we did TSTD&TD, so I was pumped to start recording ‘I Don’t Care’ for this LP. I really love the guitar nuances in the track. There is the main rhythm riff, next, a very deliberate down-picking part, next, the octave chords with jump picking on octave notes (while still down-picking!). And the soloing and back and forth between me and Teemu is magnificent!!”
Italian metal fusionists NOVOMUNDO will release their first full-length album,The Cursed Cult, on March 1st, 2026.
NOVOMUNDO was born near Rome around 2012 with the idea to blend heavy and groovy music textures alongside various influences, rhythms, and instruments from all over the world. After some line-up changes over the years, the band rewrote and refined some of their previous material, releasing Echoes of Ego: four songs focused on mid-paced ferocity and exotic grooves, with themes exploring modern world decay, primeval instincts, and nightmarish visions.
The video of the first single“The Coven”is now availableHERE.
The Cursed Cult represents the band’s first full-length effort: a darker and more crushing take on their renewed sound. The album explores Voodoo culture, its symbols and meanings, interpreted through the lens of contemporary life. Fourteen tracks of ferocity and raw energy blend dark ambient passages with a rotten edge, fusing death-groove and 2000s metal influences enriched by modern tones and crust-core elements.
The album is a concept piece centered on Voodoo, its mysteries, rituals, and symbolic icons. Lyrically, it touches on slavery, prejudice, and death as a way to give value to life, among other themes. Across the tracks, listeners are guided through the pantheon of Voodoo deities, called Loa, exploring their stories and traits as metaphors to convey the album’s core messages. The soundscape of NOVOMUNDO evokes emotional instability and a sense of unease, symbolizing the fear stemming from ignorance and unfamiliarity.
Line-up:
Valerio Cristiani – Vocals Carlo Ridolfi – Guitar Fabio Ciccone – Guitar Fausto Idini – Drums
Track-list:
01 Son of Mawu 02 Deathless 03 Erzulie 04 Bokor 05 The Coven 06 Mojo 07 Vodun 08 OSFTG 09 Le Marriage de Brigitte 10 Warlord 11 God’s Violence 12 Maitresse La-Sirene 13 Papa Legba 14 Orishas
SLAYER’s iconic second studio album, Hell Awaits, is set to receive a 40th anniversary edition reissue via Metal Blade Records next Spring!
Formed in 1981, SLAYER assaulted the world with a new hybrid of metal and punk – heavier, faster, and darker than the rest and set a new standard, defining not only a genre, but an attitude. Throughout SLAYER‘s history, the band never faltered in unleashing their extreme and focused aural assault, and repudiating temptations, SLAYER always chose to remain crushing and brutal, steadfastly refusing to cater to the mainstream.
“It’s the record where SLAYER became SLAYER.” That’s what Kerry King says about Hell Awaits. He knows of what he speaks. As the band’s guitarist, co-songwriter, and co-lyricist, he was in the trenches with vocalist/bassist Tom Araya, guitarist Jeff Hanneman (R.I.P.) and drummer Dave Lombardo, creating what has become one of heavy metal’s greatest albums.
A significant departure from SLAYER’s 1983 debut, Show No Mercy and every SLAYER album that came after it, Hell Awaits is both an outlier and a solidification of form. Show No Mercy was the mission statement, but Hell Awaits is a more developed and intricate execution of SLAYER’s speed, chops and aggression.
Released in April of 1985 by Metal Blade Records, Hell Awaits was the pinnacle of an action-packed thrash year that saw debut albums from the likes of Megadeth, Exodus, Kreator, Possessed, Destruction, Hirax, and Overkill. Heavily influenced by Mercyful Fate, the longer, more progressive arrangements on Hell Awaits marked a new era for SLAYER. Whereas most of the songs on Show No Mercy were less than four minutes long, three of Hell Awaits’ seven tracks go beyond the six-minute mark.
“Jeff and I were still trying to figure out who we were as musicians, and we were both infatuated with Mercyful Fate’s Melissa album during the writing process for Hell Awaits,” King says. “That’s why there’s so few songs and most of ‘em are pretty long. That’s the only time anything like that ever happened with us.”
Tom Araya’s performance is similarly impressive. The vocalist spat lyrics a mile a minute on the likes of “Kill Again” and “Praise Of Death.” “I don’t recall the songs being hard to sing,” he says. “Singing fast and clearly has always been something that I strived for.”
The reissue arrives May 15th, 2026 in three physical formats and digitally. Preorders are available now at: metalblade.com/slayer.
Find all details below:
3 LPs total: 7-track Hell Awaits + 18-track live bonus audio (Live From Bochum 1985):
– 60-page book (12” size)
– Hell Awaits album (in gatefold sleeve, 1xLP) mastered and restored from original 1985 production tapes by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony in February 2025. Vinyl color = Fire Splatter
– Live From Bochum 1985 (in gatefold sleeve, 2xLP) – 18 live tracks never before released physically or digitally
Mosh the Rock Island MetalFest, proudly presented by Royalty Entertainment, is now accepting band submissions for its 2026 lineup! Applications are open until November 30th, so don’t miss your chance to be part of this epic event, taking place on August 9th at FRED MILNE PARK in Sooke, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, Canada.
This all-day, open-air festival is a celebration of metal and hard rock, welcoming fans of all ages to a family-friendly atmosphere filled with heavy riffs and high energy. Mosh the Rock extends heartfelt thanks to the local community for their incredible support and can’t wait to bring the noise back to Sooke in 2026!
Bands from all subgenres of METAL are encouraged to apply. Send your EPK, including photos, music links, bios, and more to: MoshTheRock26[@]gmail[.]com.
Following the overwhelming success of its inaugural year in 2025, Mosh the Rock 2026 is already shaping up to be even bigger and louder!
Founded by Royal Savoie, event promoter, music manager, and host of THRASHCAN on 101.9 FM CFUV.CA in Victoria, BC, Mosh the Rock made its debut with a killer lineup featuring bands from across British Columbia, including: Torrefy (Victoria), Thirteen Goats (Vancouver), Yegg (Nanaimo), Mutual Trauma (Victoria), Dead After Dark (Penticton), Burnt Lung (Vancouver), Pharm (Kelowna), Cybörg (Victoria), Joker’s Revenge (Nanaimo), Blacktop Social (Nanaimo), and Wolf Venom (Sooke).
Get ready for Mosh the Rock2026 is coming, and it’s going to be louder than ever.
Photographer: João Fitas (@joao.fitas) L-R – Bruno Martins (Bass), Daniel Rodrigues (Drums), Ricardo Pereira (Lead Vocals), Pedro Quelhas (Guitar), Luís Dias (Guitar)
Cover EP Angels, Blood And Enemies Out In Feb 2026
Portuguese melodic death metal force Moonshade has unveiled their latest single, a thunderous, emotionally charged cover of Stromae & Pomme’s “Ma Meilleure Ennemie.”Accompanied by a lyric video, the track will be featured on their upcoming three-song EP,Angels, Blood And Enemies, set for release in February 2026.
Inspired by an unforgettable scene from the Netflix series Arcane, Moonshade’s cover strips away the original’s trip-hop shell and rebuilds it with their signature blend of epic, brutal, and atmospheric metal. The band’s connection to Arcane and League of Legends runs deep, with members Pedro and Ricardo being longtime Stromae fans.
Watch the lyric video for “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” created by Jöel Martins from Titanforged Productions (Wolfheart, Analepsy, Dark Oath).
“We annoyed the rest of the band to exhaustion to make this cover happen. But they’re always tolerant of our eccentricities, and now we have a metal version of this brilliant Belgian trip-hop artist. We wanted to highlight the song’s emotional intensity using our own sonic palette. We’ve never done covers before, and there’s probably not much overlap between our fanbase and Stromae’s. But we had fun, we’re proud of it, and that’s what matters. Moonshade’s fans are open-minded and adventurous, traits that make this cover EP a natural fit,” says vocalist Ricardo Pereira, who also performs clean vocals alongside drummer Daniel, adding layers to the song’s theme of love-hate duality.
The single’s artwork, designed by Rui Carneiro (Lorna Shore, Polaris, Chelsea Grin), draws from Guido Reni’s Archangel Michael Defeating Satan, visually anchoring the EP’s title, Angels, Blood And Enemies. Carneiro also created the remaining two artworks for the EP, whose tracklist remains a mystery for now.
With Angels, Blood And Enemies,Moonshade invites fans into a new chapter, one of fearless reinterpretation, emotional depth, and genre-defying creativity.
If you love Insomnium, Heaven Shall Burn, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, or Omnium Gatherum, Moonshade’s sound will feel like home.
Mid-west Heavy Metal torchbearers SACRED LEATHER are back with the 3rd single, “Fallen Angel”, from their eagerly awaited, new album, Keep The Fire Burning, that’s due out December 12th via King Volume Records / Wise Blood Records. Forged in fire, the hellion five-piece have returned with a ferocious new song and video that delves into the mind of the prince of darkness.
Commenting on the track, bassist Magnus LeGrand says:
“When we wrote ‘Fallen Angel,’ it immediately felt like a callback to an era when metal songs had both hooks and teeth, something big, melodic, yet still dangerous. That track set the stage for what Keep the Fire Burning would become. Dee’s lyrics step inside Lucifer’s head, turning his fall from grace into something deeply human; the loneliness, the pride, and the weight of one’s own choices.
Visually, I wanted the video to conjure the haunting, biblical imagery found in the lyrics themselves, smoke, fire, and mystery, all wrapped in that classic ’80s metal grandeur. Think ‘Holy Diver’ meets ‘Dream Warriors,’ but filtered through our own world, with its own identity.”
SACRED LEATHER set the underground ablaze with their debut album, Ultimate Force. Seven years later the beast is back with a unrelenting, classic metal masterpiece that recalls a time when tight leather and heavy riffs ruled the world. The band recently released their explosive singles “Spitfire AtNight” and “PhantomHighways,” setting the tone for their headbanging followup.
1. Resurrection 2. Spitfire At Night 3. Phantom Highway (Hell Is Comin’ Down) 4. Wake Me Up 5. Fallen Angel 6. Flatline 7. Tear Out My Heart 8. Malevolent Eyes 9. Keep The Fire Burning 10. Mistress Of The Sun
Sacred Leather: Dee Wrathchild – Vocals Lynn St. Michaels – Lead Guitar Magnus Legrand – Bass Don Diamond – Drums Cvon Owens – Rhythmn Guitar
AboutSACRED LEATHER:
Forged in the fires of classic heavy metal and baptized in the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll rebellion, Sacred Leather stands as a defiant reminder that true metal never dies. Hailing from the American Midwest, the band delivers an unrelenting assault of twin-guitar fury, thunderous rhythms, and commanding vocals that channel the essence of leather, chains, and midnight highways.
Following their 2017 full-length debut Ultimate Force, which established them as torchbearers of traditional heavy metal’s resurgence, Sacred Leather return with their long-awaited sophomore album Keep the Fire Burning, due December 2025 through King Volume Records and Wise Blood Records. The album is both a declaration and a promise—rekindling the spirit that started it all while pushing their sound into sharper, more melodic, and more anthemic territory.
With Keep the Fire Burning, the band expands on their reputation for electrifying live performances and unflinching authenticity. Drawing from the steel-plated legacy of Judas Priest, Accept, and early W.A.S.P., Sacred Leather blend classic metal tradition with cinematic flair, evoking the neon glow of midnight highways and the danger of the unknown.
Time To Kill Records is proud to announce the signing of Portuguese power duo SOUL OF ANUBIS for the release of their upcoming third full-length album, set for 2026.
Formed in 2010 in Northern Portugal, SOUL OF ANUBIS have carved out a distinct place within the European underground thanks to their explosive fusion of thrash, sludge, doom and post-metal. Their sound channels the raw urgency of Mantar, the primal energy of early Mastodon, and the relentless drive of High On Fire and Black Cobra, yet remains unmistakably their own, a visceral blend of aggression and dynamic shifts that refuses to be confined to a single genre.
On stage, the duo are known for their fierce and magnetic performances, delivering an unfiltered surge of heaviness that connects with audiences on a deeply physical level. Over the years, they have performed extensively across Portugal and beyond, building a loyal following through their intensity and authenticity.
The upcoming album promises to push their sonic boundaries even further, expanding upon their trademark blend of massive riffs, dark groove, and emotional gravity, while highlighting a newfound sense of urgency and compositional versatility.
More details on the release will be revealed soon.
Finnish thrashers Indemon have released a music video for their song “Abuse.” The track is taken from their critically acclaimed debut album, Reclaiming Chaos, which was released last June via Inverse Records.
“Abuse show’s the narrator’s perspective on the conflict in which they want to break free from a person, yet at the same time want to keep that person under their control. The narrator has an obsession with control.
Alternatively, it could be that the other person does not exist at all, and the narrator is actually a voice inside the listener’s head, a kind of inner demon, telling the listener how it wants to get rid of them, while simultaneously keeping them in its grasp.”
Metal Blade Records has teamed up with renowned artist Vince Locke to create designs for exclusive merchandise that the legendary label will sell for Erik Rutan – guitarist in Cannibal Corpse and famed Producer at MANA RECORDING STUDIOS – who suffered severe damage by Hurricane Helene in 2024.
The below items are Erik Rutan approved and available for fans at this location: metalblade.com/erikrutanwith all money collected going directly to Rutan to help him replace studio and musical gear for a new MANA RECORDING STUDIOS – gear that Rutan has used to produce a massive list of metal albums over the last two plus decades at Mana Recording.
– Erik Rutan – MANA RECORDING STUDIOS Snap Back Hat
– Erik Rutan – Vince Locke (Signed Print) 11×17: Limited edition 60 signed prints, Vince Locke created and gifted this image, signed by both Vince and Erik
– Erik Rutan – MANA RECORDING STUDIOS T-Shirt
– Erik Rutan – Vince Locke Original Design T-Shirt: Vince Locke created and gifted this image.
About Erik Rutan – Producer | Guitarist | Visionary:
Erik Rutan is one of extreme metal’s most respected and multi-dimensional forces, renowned not only for his blistering guitar work and songwriting in legendary bands Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel, and Cannibal Corpse, but also as a prolific producer and founder of Mana Recording Studios, where he’s helped shape the sound of death metal for decades.
Rutan began his career in the late ‘80s with Ripping Corpse, appearing on their influential Dreaming With The Dead (1991), then playing as a touring guitarist with Morbid Angel for Covenant (1993). Rutan then joined permanently to record the classic albums Domination (1995), Entangled In Chaos (1996), and Gateways To Annihilation (2000). In 1997, he formed Hate Eternal, taking on guitar, vocals, and full creative control.
In 2002, Rutan left Morbid Angel to focus on Hate Eternal and Mana Recording Studios. The band’s discography: Conquering The Throne, King Of All Kings, I, Monarch, The Perilous Fight, Fury & Flames, Phoenix Amongst The Ashes, Infernus, and Upon Desolate Sands – has cemented Rutan’s reputation as a technical innovator and one of death metal’s most uncompromising architects.
Equally revered behind the console, Rutan opened his recording studio in 1999 and founded Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida. The studio has since become a premiere destination for extreme music, hosting sessions for a who’s who of death metal as well as other styles of music.
His production, engineering, and mixing credits include a staggering list of landmark albums: Cannibal Corpse (Kill, Evisceration Plague, Torture, Red Before Black, Violence Unimagined, Chaos Horrific), Goatwhore (A Haunting Curse, Carving Out The Eyes Of God, Blood For The Master, Constricting Rage Of The Merciless), Krisiun (Conquerors Of Armageddon, Forged In Fury), Soilent Green (Confrontation, Inevitable Collapse In The Presence Of Conviction), Madball (Empire, Rebellion), Into The Moat (The Design, The Campaign), Tombs (Savage Gold, The Grand Annihilation). Agnostic Front, The Mountain Goats, Vital Remains, Belphegor, Through The Eyes Of The Dead, Rivers Of Nihil, Ether Coven, Aeon, Ephel Duath, Nile, Black Fast, Lizzy Borden, as well as the entire Hate Eternal catalog among many others.
In 2019, after years of collaboration, Rutan joined Cannibal Corpse as touring guitarist and then in 2021 became a full-time guitarist, making his recording debut as a member with Violence Unimagined and also Chaos Horrific. He contributed rhythm and lead guitar as well as songwriting on three tracks for each album, while also producing, engineering, and mixing the albums, earning widespread acclaim. “Erik’s influence and musical knowledge have elevated everything around us,” bassist Alex Webster said. “He brings a work ethic and vision that’s unmatched.”
Despite his commitments to Cannibal Corpse, Rutan remains devoted to Hate Eternal and Mana Recording Studios. “Hate Eternal is my life’s work,” he told Premier Guitar, “and producing – that’s where I channel a different part of my creativity. I want to help bands create the best version of themselves.” With a legacy that spans multiple roles and generations, Rutan continues to define and redefine the sound of extreme metal, both onstage and behind the scenes in the studio.
About Metal Blade Records:
Founded upon owner Brian Slagel‘s enduring drive to find great bands and get their music out to as many people as possible, since 1982 Metal Blade has brought wave after wave of powerful, innovative, and often genre-defining music to the ever-hungry metal masses. It is this ethos that has seen Metal Blade build up a stunning and diverse catalog, weather the various storms facing any independent label, and in an age of declining record sales boast the most successful years of its existence as it celebrates its fourth decade.
Metal Blade Records launched Metallica, Slayer, Armored Saint, Fates Warning, GWAR, Cannibal Corpse, Amon Amarth, Whitechapel, The Black Dahlia Murder, Cattle Decapitation, and dozens more genre giants, shaping four decades and counting of hard rock, metal, and extreme music culture. Brian Slagel worked as a record store clerk when he founded Metal Blade in 1982, reserving a spot for a young Lars Ulrich on his Metal Massacre compilation series.
From the blackened mines of Bergslagen and rising from the ashes of the now‑defunct band Maniak, Sweden’s ZADISM emerge as an unholy force bent on obliterating restraint.
Guided by the spirit of the early Brazilian underground (you know the ones – disfigured riffs, filthy production, uncompromising aggression) and the savage blueprint laid down by the German thrash metal pioneers at the dawn of the scene, this duo brings a sound steeped in raw violence and fury.
Their debut EP Under Sadistic Law, out 21st of November via De:Nihil Records and Dala Destroi Records, is a concentrated dose of extremity: short, brutal and unrelenting. ZADISM don’t just honour the relics of the past, they inject them with fresh, virulent energy and drag them screaming into the present.
The first single “Under Sacred Soil” is now streaming at THIS LOCATION.
RICHMOND, Va. – Lamb of God, who recently released their first new music in three years with the single “Sepsis,” have shared a riveting live video capturing the song’s explosive debut in front of tens of thousands of fans at Aftershock Festival.
Directed by Sam Shapiro and Kevin Garcia, the performance took place just one day after the song’s release. Before launching into the three-and-a-half-minute track, Randy Blythe introduced it, saying, “This song is about a national sickness,” as John Campbell, Mark Morton, Willie Adler, and Art Cruz, joined in as the crowd erupted.
Produced by longtime collaborator Josh Wilbur, “Sepsis” arrived last month alongside a grainy, lo-fi performance video that offered a moody, unfiltered look at Richmond’s underbelly.
Earlier this week, Lamb of God announced the return of their annual Headbangers Boat cruise. The 2026 edition features the GRAMMY® Award-nominated band with an assortment of special guests, including Zakk Sabbath, The Dillinger Escape Plan, In Flames, GWAR, The Haunted, D.R.I., 200 Stab Wounds, X-Cops, Mark Morton, and more to be announced soon.
First Round Pre-sale Signups are available now through Nov. 18 at 11:59 pm eastern. Second Round Presale Signups will conclude Nov. 23 at 11:59 pm eastern. Public on-sales begin Nov. 25 at 2:00 pm eastern, exclusively at headbangersboat.com.
Lamb of God tour dates:
May 14 – 17 Columbus, OH Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival July 24 – 27 Plovdiv, BG Hills of Rock July 27 – 31 Râşnov, RO Rockstadt Extreme Fest August 1 Wacken, DE Wacken Open Air August 5 – 9 Lisbon, PT Vagos Open Air August 6 – 9 Kortrijk, BE Alcatraz Open Air August 7 Walton-on-Trent, UK Bloodstock Open Air August 12 – 16 Dinkelsbühl, DE Summer Breeze August 13 – 15 Sulingen, DE Reload Festival August 14 – 16 Eindhoven, NL Dynamo Metalfest October 30 – November 3 Miami, FL Headbangers Boat
Tickets for all shows are available now via Lamb of God’s website.
Lamb of God is Randy Blythe (vocals), John Campbell (bass), Mark Morton (guitar), Willie Adler (guitar) and Art Cruz (drums). Formed in 1994, the Richmond, Va.-based band has released nine critically-acclaimed albums, received five GRAMMY® Award nominations, sold over 3 million albums, packed arenas around the world, and tallied over one billion streams and counting.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative forces in modern heavy music Lamb of God’s most recent collection, Omens, arrived in late 2022 , marking their sixth consecutive album to debut in the Top 15 of on the Billboard 200. Kerrang! noted that the album finds the band “as reliably heavy, violent, and pissed off as ever,” and Consequence said the “album will break you down to nihilistic pieces.”
With the album Babylon now out for just over a month, DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG can celebrate not only impressive chart positions in several countries, but also a wave of acclaim from both fans and the international music press.
Among the album’s many praised moments, “Beyond The End Of Time” has emerged as a clear favourite, a near-eight-minute epic that closes the album on a deeply emotional and timeless note.
“Beyond The End Of Time” would also still fit into an era in which people once sang about princesses. The harmonious band accompaniment creates space for the emotional vocals of Udo, Peter and Manuela. Although almost eight minutes long, the piece remains captivating, constantly sets new accents and can even put the listener into a trance-like state.
As the closing statement of Babylon, “Beyond The End Of Time” feels like both a reflection and a promise, a song that bridges the past and present of heavy metal with heart and conviction. It’s no surprise that fans have taken to it as one of the standout moments of the band’s new chapter.
DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG (DATOG) was originally launched in 2020 as a one-off charity project, but quickly developed a momentum of its own and formed into a band consisting of:
Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals
Peter Baltes – bass, lead & backing vocals
Manuela “Ella” Bibert – lead & backing vocals, keys
We are truly humbled and grateful to receive our fourth GRAMMY nomination. After 40 years together, it still means so much to be recognized by the music community. When we began writing ‘Night Terror,’ it felt special to us on a personal level — so to see it resonate in this way is something we don’t take for granted. Thank you to the Recording Academy for this honor, and congratulations to all of the nominees this year.
Dublin, Ireland-based Pagan metal legends, PRIMORDIAL, today unveil their Live In New York City full-length. Recorded earlier this year at Ridgewood, New York’s TV Eye, the stunning collection spans the band’s now legendary catalog with tracks from Spirit The Earth Aflame, The Gathering Wilderness, To The Nameless Dead, Redemption At The Puritan’s Hand, Exile Amongst The Ruins, and their most recent release, How It Ends.
Comments vocalist A.A. Nemtheanga, “Live In New York City, a title that sort of speaks for itself, something every band probably wants in their discography, right? Who knows, we may not be on this mortal coil for that much longer. When might some new music be on the horizon? Who can tell? But when we heard the results of this incredibly well mixed show which captured perfectly the passion, commitment, and fury of a special night, something that doesn’t happen often, we thought, what the hell, let’s put it out there.’
“Victory is traditional in the true meaning of the word, traditional metal in sound but also steeped in traditional Irish music at the same time. An epic rabble rouser, a warrior’s journey, death, sacrifice, and path to the otherworlds set in some distant Celtic past….”
Photo by Stephanie Cabral
Watch PRIMORDIAL’s video of “Victory Has 1000 Fathers, Defeat Is An Orphan” from the performance HERE.
PRIMORDIAL’s Live In New York City is available digitally at: metalblade.com/primordial. A physical edition will be available via Eisenwald at a later date.
PRIMORDIAL Live: 11/09/2025 Damnation Festival – Manchester, UK 12/05/2025 Sala Revi Live – Madrid, ES 12/06/2025 Mouco – Porto, PT 12/07/2025 RCA Club – Lisbon, PT
Massachusetts-based hardcore label 1126 Records is pleased to welcome Alabama’s WIELDED STEEL to their crushing roster!
WIELDED STEEL is a ferocious Alabama metalcore outfit forged in blood, sweat, and feedback. Born from the sweltering heat and grit of the deep South, the band channels raw violence through downtuned riffs, bone-breaking breakdowns, and war cry vocals. Their sound is a brutal hybrid of metalcore chaos and old-school death metal precision, a hardcore collision influenced by Terror’s unrelenting aggression, Dehumanized’s crushing technicality, and the merciless ferocity of Dying Fetus.
In celebration of their signing, today WIELDED STEEL drops a video for the new track “Your Words Mean Nothing,” showcasing the DIY Alabama hardcore scene.
Comments vocalist Jesse Clark, “‘Your Words Mean Nothing’ is a song about the empty promises of prosperity that are slung around by the ruling class, to try and keep poor people docile and accepting. How they attempt to use identity politics to pit people against each other and keep them distracted and angry. It’s also about how those politicians, and billionaire CEOs, that engineer and profit off of the suffering of the working class are just people. People that can be made to face consequences. There are more of us than there are of them.”
Watch WIELDED STEEL’s video for “Your Words Mean Nothing” HERE. Stream/purchase the track HERE.
Next week, WIELDED STEEL will join Surfaced for a short run of live dates. See all confirmed dates below.
WIELDED STEEL Live w/ Surfaced: 11/11/2025 Vino’s – Little Rock, AR 11/12/2025 Howdy – Kansas City, MO 11/13/2025 Dumb Records – Springfield, IL 11/14/2025 Sequence – Indianapolis, IN 11/15/2025 The Jolly Lama – Lansing, MI 11/16/2025 Dirty Dungarees – Columbus, OH 11/17/2025 Arcane Workshop – Nashville, TN 11/18/2025 Mad Malts – Huntsville, AL
Metal Nerds Inc. has joined forces with RFK Media to deliver the new 44-page comic book/graphic novel KEELWORLD, in which the Metal Cowboy undertakes a journey through time, from the Hollywood heyday of the 80s to the post-apocalyptic future.
THE SONG: A Metal Cowboy classic, “The Last Ride” is a fast-paced anthem that combines the musical energy of Keel’s metal spirit with the southwest roots that have characterized his work for the past 30 years. A thunderous drum groove courtesy of Mike Vanderhule (Y&T) provides the foundation for Ron’s guitars and vocals, the solo section pits Rascal Flatts’ Travis Toy on dobro against Keith Roberts’ relentless guitar licks, and the lyrics are some of Ron Keel’s best (“Inside and out I’ve earned these scars, from the Sunset Strip to the cowboy bars”).
All links to the CD, downloads, and streaming platforms are one click away at: http://lnk.to/thelastride.
THE VIDEO: Inspired by the comic book and created by Jason McCorriston/McCardy Media, this clip brings the story to life in stunning fashion, recreating the glory years of yesterday amidst the threat of a future ruled by A.I. – available to view exclusively at http://youtube.com/@ronkeelrfkmedia.
THE COMIC BOOK: Published by Metal Nerds Inc. and distributed by RFK Media, this project was written by Brett Monro and Morten Kristiansen, with four different artists bringing each era to life; Francesco Iaquinta, Andrey Portilla, Mauro Bueno, and EV Cantada created distinct visions of yesterday and tomorrow. The book also includes an autographed two-sided pull-out poster, and it’s available at http://rfkmediashop.com.
I’m just driven to create stuff and entertain people,” Ron Keel explains. “Everything we do at RFK Media – the radio station, the movie stuff, the comic book, of course the albums and songs, and whatever else the future holds, it’s still all about the music. The music is our wheels, and without that there wouldn’t be any Last Ride.”
The Finnish progressive thrash metal band Krateros is set to release their debut EP Lost in Translation on January 30th 2026 via Inverse Records. The first single ‘Linguicide’ is unleashed today and it’s available on all essential streaming services: https://push.fm/fl/krateros-linguicide
The band comments: ” “Linguicide” is the first taste of our upcoming EP “Lost in Translation.” With its catchy groove and memorable guitar melody, it is arguably the most “commercial” track from the EP, yet it contains a great blend of all the elements that make our music what it is. Musically, the song is the oldest one on the EP, with the first demo going as far back as February 2020. Lyrically, the song went through two or three rewrites before finding its final form. Some of the discarded ideas have since been used in songs meant for future releases. As a product of our times, “Linguicide” deals with cancel culture and the death of independent thought, whether through self-censorship or outside pressure.”
Krateros – Linguicide (Single 2025)
Track list:
1. Linguicide
Composed & lyrics by Saku Rekonen
Cover art by All4band Design
Krateros – Lost in Translation (EP 2026)
Track list:
1. Tomb Service
2. Linguicide
3. The Performer
4. Uticensis
5. Comatose Waltz
Cover art by All4band Design
BIOGRAPHY:
Krateros is an emerging metal band from Helsinki, Finland, founded in 2023 and led by vocalist/guitarist and main songwriter Saku Rekonen. The band’s music combines influences from old-school thrash metal bands such as Annihilator, Exodus, and Megadeth with more contemporary acts like Trivium, Machine Head, and Stam1na, all the while being filtered through a progressive lens
The band’s first EP, Lost in Translation, releasing through Inverse Records, is a response to a perceived lack of riffs that seems to plague the metal scene of the 2020s.
Danish black metal band ORM delivers their fourth album, GULD, out today through their long-running allies at Indisciplinarian.
With GULD, ORM marks another important step in their musical development, building on their characteristic epic and progressive approach to black metal, this time in a more direct and intensified format with five shorter and more concise compositions. Musically, GULD is ORM’s most focused and uncompromising album to date.
The five songs, which range from six to twelve minutes, are built around intense riff structures, relentless rhythmic shifts and complex melodies that weave in and out of each other like a musical kaleidoscope. The album moves between furious aggression, deep sorrow, and ominous calm, placing ORM in a field of tension between traditional black metal and progressive elements drawn from both death metal and classic metal.
Thematically, GULD explores modern humanity’s self-destructive cultivation of negative emotions; a vain and manipulated pursuit of perfection and recognition that leads to fear, isolation and downfall. The album uses frameworks inspired by folklore and fables to portray human vanity, envy and self-deception as universal forces that have haunted mankind’s stories throughout history. Gold becomes a symbol of both wealth and decay, an alluring but poisoned promise that can never be fulfilled without a heavy price.
Listen to ORM’s crushing GULD today on Bandcamp HERE and all other streaming services HERE.
GULD is out now in three vinyl formats – 500 on Black, 150 on Red Gold, and 150 on Bio White – a CD digipak of 200 copies, a cassette run of 100 copies, and digitally at the Indisciplinarian webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE.
GULD was produced by guitarist/vocalist Simon Sonne Andersen and ORM, mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Obituary, Internal Bleeding, Vastum), and completed with artwork by Asger W. Krogh and photography by Lasse Høgh.
ORM was formed in 2015 and released its eponymous debut album in 2017, introducing the band’s melodic and ambitious approach to black metal.
ORM unites human synergy and analog craftsmanship – both in their music and in their visual expression, where collage artist Asger Krogh’s tactile artwork stands in contrast to today’s AI-driven aesthetics and emphasizes the album’s physical and organic undertone.
With GULD, ORM once again demonstrates their ability to combine extreme music with deep thematic layers and artistic ambition, cementing their position as one of Europe’s most visionary black metal bands.
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