US heavy metal veterans AXEMASTER release their highly anticipated new album “Of Beasts And Plagues” today via Cosmic Fire Records.
For fans of true heavy metal driven by power, determination and heart, “Of Beasts And Plagues” marks a triumphant return. After years of dedicated work, AXEMASTER are ready to unleash a record that captures the essence of their legacy while pushing forward with renewed energy and intensity.
Formed in the 1980s, AXEMASTER emerged during one of heavy metal’s most raw and defining eras. Over the decades, the band built a strong reputation in the underground through numerous releases, earning a loyal international following. Despite lineup changes and shifts within the music industry, AXEMASTER have remained committed to crafting authentic heavy metal filled with character and emotion.
Today, the band continues this legacy with a sound that seamlessly blends classic US metal with elements of thrash and doom. Heavy riffing, driving rhythms, aggressive yet melodic vocals, and a darker, more intense atmosphere define “Of Beasts And Plagues”. The album stands as one of the band’s strongest creative statements to date – firmly rooted in the spirit of 1980s metal, yet refreshed with a modern edge.
With a history spanning over three decades, AXEMASTER have released 11 official records across multiple international labels and have seen their music featured in films, compilations, and countless publications worldwide. Since their return in 2010 under the direction of founding member Joe Sims, the band has continued to evolve while honoring their roots, sharing stages with acts such as Sebastian Bach, Grim Reaper, Halloween, Riot, and more, and appearing at major underground festivals across the US.
Tracklist: 01. The Plagues Among Us…. 02. Murder of Crows 03. The Dark Side 04. Kissed With a Fist 05. Clinging to Life 06. Terrortory 07. Forsaken II 08. Dealers 09. Danse Macabre 10. Machine 11. Dagon Rising 12. Shadows Cast
With “Of Beasts And Plagues”, AXEMASTER once again prove their enduring relevance and passion – delivering a record that speaks to both longtime fans and a new generation of metal listeners alike.
“Of Beasts And Plagues” isout nowvia Cosmic Fire Records and is available for purchaseHERE
Line-up: Joe Sims – Lead Guitar Jenson Kozar – Bass Adam Windisch – Drums Geoff McGraw – Vocals
The award-winning Nordics Kings of the Blues, Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado today release their stunning new album, Live at Cecil Hotel via Provogue/Artone Label Group. Order/StreamHERE.
To celebrate the release they have released the video for a hauntingly atmospheric live version of ‘Never Givin’ In.’ At nearly 11-minutes long, a hauntingly sinister intro gives way to a post-apocalyptic Sons of Anarchy soundtrack fed through an Ennio Morricone filter, that tantalises as it drags the crowd along. The goosebump-inducing version was originally seen on 2020s Come On In, which has gone on to become a staple of the band’s live shows.
Talking about the release of the album Risager says, “The album really has that killer live energy which is always difficult to create in a studio. When you’re standing in front of such a wonderful crowd in your own hometown, you instinctively give everything you got.”
Set against an Art Deco backdrop of the Hotel Cecil in their hometown of Copenhagen, it perfectly suits the smooth, smoky blues of Denmark’s hardest-working band. The show was recorded at their sold-out performance on 29 November 2025, one of the band’s final shows on their House of Sticks winter tour, and saw the band fully flexing their sophisticated might.
The eight-piece band adorned the high stage – Thorbjørn Risager (Vocals, Electric Guitar), Emil Balsgaard (Organ, Keys), Joachim Svensmark (Electric Guitar), Kasper Wagner (Baritone Sax), Hans Nybo (Tenor Sax), Peter W Kehl (Trumpet), Søren Bøjgaard (Bass), and Martin Seidelin (Drums, Percussion) . The curtains are raised. As the lights are dimmed, the band’s neon logo draws your attention. The drape-flanked room catapults you to another place and another time. That’s where the Danish sensations draw you in.
Live At Cecil Hotel proves to be a special moment.” A sold-out show still sends a tingling sensation through a band. “It’s humbling. Truly. We’ve built this step by step over many years, often far from home. To see “Sold Out” means people have chosen to spend their evening with us. That’s not something I take lightly,” he says.
Irish metal troupe SINK today unveil their debut single, the massive ‘One Mind’.
A heady mix of nu-metal, industrial, hardcore, the quintet’s first release is an impressively confident, swaggering track – belying the young band’s entry into the scene.
The band comment: “As our debut single, ‘One Mind’ is the perfect example of SINK‘s combined songwriting abilities to create something unapologetically passionate, catchy, and emotive.
“The track plays with different potential meanings, and works around the idea of learning how to speak, even when you feel as if you can’t. ‘One mind’ is a subjective term – for example, being stubborn and in one mind about something; the world holding one collective mind; that all humans are the same and connected; or one mind meaning one person.”
With distinctive riffs and catchy vocal hooks, matched with intense live performances, SINK formed in Dublin, Ireland in late 2025, forming from the ashes of local bands – each respectively making waves within the alternative scene.
SINK‘s philosophy is refreshingly no-limits – and their passion shows in every note, lyric, and live show. SINK is a project from the heart, born purely from the desire to reach people, moving their primal instincts with powerful songs and energetic performance.
The band’s inspirations are broad, and shine through. Each of the five members bring unique influences to the table from classic hip-hop (Nas, MF DOOM) to a wide range of alternative (Twenty-One Pilots, Turnstile, Bring Me The Horizon) – never boxing themselves into one specific sound.
Watch SINK live:
4th Jul Dublin, The Soundhouse (supporting Venom Inc.) 23rd Oct Dublin, SinE (supporting Brake Loose) 24th Oct Drogheda, The Watchtower – McHughs (supporting Brake Loose) 25th Oct Belfast, Voodoo (supporting Brake Loose)
Karahka’s new single “Summer Hell” is a burst of aggressive stoner rock that flirts with punk and hard rock. The band spices things up with a touch of metallic edge, resulting in a uniquely aggressive form of rock.
“Summer Hell” is a wryly self-ironic story about the band’s chaotic summer schedule. The “summer hell” breaks loose when gigs are double-booked, one member has scheduled a holiday trip, another has a dentist appointment, and someone is working night shifts.
The new single marks another step toward Karahka’s third album, scheduled for release in early 2027. A substantial amount of material has already been written, and the album’s overarching theme is now clear. The record will consist of stories in which circumstances push people to the brink of madness and what can happen at its worst.
“Summer Hell” represents the lighter, tongue-in-cheek side of that theme.
“The upcoming album will also feature glimpses of hope in the midst of a mad world. Close relationships and communities can carry you through, even when reality feels chaotic. The families and communities we grow up in can either break your mind or help you survive,” says guitarist Juuso Vettenranta.
Formed in 2020, Karahka is a prolific band. Their debut album Dark Side of the Night was released in 2024, followed by their second album Modern Fanfares in December 2025.
The first single from the upcoming album, “Temptations,” was released earlier this spring.
Line-up:
Jaan Lehti – drums, vocals Juuso Vettenranta – guitar, backing vocals Mikko Teittinen – guitar, backing vocals Ari Enqvist – bass, vocals
Colombian crossover heavyweights Poison The Preacher have unveiled their explosive new single, ‘Things I Want’, featuring guest vocals from Jem Siow of Australian hardcore sensation Speed. The track serves as the title track from the band’s forthcoming EP, Things I Want, due for release on 17th July via Seek and Strike.
Never ones to be confined by genre boundaries, Poison The Preacher have spent the last several years forging a sound that fuses thrash, hardcore, death metal and Latin-infused aggression into something uniquely their own. Emerging from Bogotá’s vibrant underground scene, the quartet have rapidly established themselves as one of South America’s most exciting heavy exports, and Things I Want sees them pushing far beyond straightforward crossover worship into territory that is both deeply personal and sonically devastating.
Accompanied by a video celebrating their hometown, ‘Things I Want’ serves as both a declaration of intent and a tribute to the city that shaped them.
“The title track is a love letter to Bogotá,” explains the band. “We wanted the video to capture all its chaos and all its glory, the things that have made us love it and hate it in equal measure. Everything we’ve experienced, from our best moments to our worst, happened in this city, and we wanted people to take a piece of where we come from with them.”
Mixed and mastered by Charles Toshio (Sunami, Big Boy, Spy, Gulch), the EP captures Poison The Preacher at their most ambitious and uncompromising. The new single is further elevated by a guest appearance from Jem Siow, a collaboration born from the band’s recent tour dates with Speed across Latin America and a friendship forged on the road.
That refusal to stay in one lane has become central to the band’s identity. Poison The Preacher’s sound crashes together pit-starting hardcore grooves, razorwire thrash riffs, death metal violence and moments of unexpected melody and atmosphere, music designed equally for hardcore kids and metalheads. “This is metal made for hardcore kids, but this is also hardcore made for metal-heads,” says Carrera. “With this new release, those lines between genres have blurred more and more.”
While Things I Want hits with all the violence fans have come to expect, its thematic focus digs far deeper. Inspired by obsession, ambition and unattainable dreams, the EP’s striking artwork features a mutilated Daruma doll, traditionally a Japanese symbol of perseverance and fulfilled goals, with one eye violently torn away.
“The EP talks about broken dreams, toxic purposes, things that you would give your entire life to, but they may never become true,” Carrera explains. “It’s a testament to obsession and ambition, in both a good and a bad way. It’s okay to have a purpose, to have a dream that you want with all your heart, but you can’t let it consume you and destroy your life.”
That emotional honesty arrives at a pivotal moment for the band. Their 2025 debut album Vs The World earned widespread praise across the metal press for its explosive collision of crossover thrash, hardcore and Colombian musical identity, with critics highlighting the band’s ferocity, musicianship and refusal to sound like anyone else. Publications including Metal Hammer, Distorted Sound, Metal Temple and Dead Rhetoric praised the band’s ability to merge old-school crossover intensity with modern heaviness and distinctly Latin American influences, while their live reputation has continued to grow through shows alongside acts including Suffocation, Agnostic Front,In Flames and Overkill.
Now, with Things I Want, Poison The Preacher are preparing to take that momentum worldwide. The band will spend July touring across Europe, including appearances at both Wacken Open Air and Obscene Extreme Festival, landmark moments for a band becoming one of Colombia’s most vital heavy exports.
“It’s a huge achievement for us to be the first Colombian band to be directly booked by Wacken Open Air and Obscene Extreme,” says Carrera. “The live show is the most important part for us. The energy is different, it’s going to make you love us or love us even more.”
If Vs The World introduced Poison The Preacher as a rising force, Things I Want feels like the sound of a band fully kicking into overdrive, more dangerous, more ambitious and more emotionally fearless than ever before.
EUROPE & UK: UNDEAD TIME SUMMER TOUR 2026
01-04.07 Obscene Extreme, CZ 05.07 Cluj-Napoca, RO @ Flying Circus 06.07 Bucharest, RO @ Expirat 10.07 Trnje, SI @ Trnje Festival 11.07 Maribor, SI @ Dvorana Gustaf 12.07 Graz, AT @ Wakuum 14.07 Nuremberg, DE @ TBA 15.07 Basel, CH @ Quarterdeck 16.07 Charleroi, BE @ MCP Apache 17.07 Antwerp, BE @ Music City 18.07 Monheim, DE @ Sojus 7 19.07 Esch-sur-Alzette, LU @ MK Bar 20.07 London, UK @ Helgi’s Bar 22.07 Manchester, UK @ Star and Garter 23.07 Newcastle, UK @ Trillians 24.07 Burnley, UK @ Sanctuary 25.07 Glasgow, UK @ Ivory Blacks 29.07 Wacken, DE
Australian/Finnish dark progressive gothic metal collective THE ETERNAL have unveiled a brand-new video for their latest single, “Existing To Expire.” The song is the second track to be released from the band’s highly anticipated eighth full-length studio album, Obscured Horizons, which will be released worldwide on September 18 via Reigning Phoenix Music.
Following the acclaimed first single, “Lament For The Hollow,” “Existing To Expire” offers another powerful glimpse into what is shaping up to be THE ETERNAL‘s most immersive and definitive work to date. Expanding on the emotional weight, cinematic scope and haunting atmosphere that have become hallmarks of the band’s sound, the new single further reveals the depth and ambition of Obscured Horizons.
“Existing to Expire explores that moment where you confront the weight of your own disillusionment—when truth and illusion blur to the point that you feel stripped of clarity and left in the dirt. For me, it’s about reclaiming agency after that collapse. There’s a strong sense of breaking free from passivity, which speaks to an internal turning point, a refusal to simply exist in a state of decay. In that sense, ‘existing to expire’ isn’t just about mortality, it’s about recognising a cycle of stagnation and choosing to rise from it, even when identity itself feels like it’s dissolving.”
Following the widespread acclaim of their 2024 full-length Skinwalker and the evocative companion EP Celestial, THE ETERNAL return with Obscured Horizons, an album that stands as both culmination and evolution.
Where Skinwalker was hailed for its emotional weight, cinematic scope and seamless fusion of melancholic atmosphere with crushing heaviness, and Celestial further expanded the band’s sonic palette with its introspective depth and dynamic intensity, Obscured Horizons pushes even further into uncharted territory. The album refines THE ETERNAL‘s signature blend of doom-laden textures, progressive sophistication and haunting melodic resonance, while embracing a broader, more expansive sound that feels both intimate and monumental.
At its core, Obscured Horizons is an exploration of disillusionment, fractured identity and the struggle to reclaim clarity in a world saturated with distortion. The album moves through states of emotional collapse, liminal transition and existential unrest, confronting deception, both external and internal, before emerging into renewal and self-awareness. Rather than surrendering to decay, Obscured Horizons charts a defiant ascent, refusing numbness, rejecting illusion and ultimately reclaiming light from the shadows that threaten to eclipse it.
With Mark Kelson (vocals/guitars) and Richie Poate (guitars) in Melbourne, alongside Niclas Etelävuori (bass; ex-Amorphis/Flat Earth) and Jan Rechberger (drums; Amorphis) in Helsinki, THE ETERNAL remain a truly international collaboration, unified across continents yet bound by a singular artistic vision.
Their sound continues to resonate with listeners drawn to the emotional gravity of dark metal while carving a path distinctly their own. As they enter a new creative chapter with their gaze fixed firmly on the unseen, Obscured Horizons represents a bold statement from a band continuing to evolve while remaining true to its artistic identity.
Obscured Horizons Tracklist:
Lament For The Hollow
Existing To Expire
Colours Fade
Harmony Breaks
I’ve Seen The Dream
Liminality
Obscured Horizons
Yesterday’s Gone
Awaken
THE ETERNAL Australian Live Dates, with AMORPHIS: September 23, 2026 The Croxton Bandroom, Thornbury, VIC September 24, 2026 The Triffid, Newstead, QLD September 25, 2026 Liberty Hall, Moore Park, NSW September 26, 2026 The Basement, Belconnen, ACT
THE ETERNAL is: Mark Kelson / Guitar & Vocals Richie Poate / Guitar Niclas Etelävuori / Bass Jan Rechberger / Drums & Percussion
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 