UK progressive metal force Exist Immortal return with their long-awaited new EP Afterglow, out today, 11th September, via Seek & Strike. Marking the release with a fresh glimpse into the record’s darker emotional territory, the band have also unveiled new single ‘Something, Somewhere’, a raw, restless track that sits firmly in the uncomfortable space between regret, uncertainty and the things we’re not quite ready to confront.
“The rawest, most restless track of the EP. It sits in the uncertainty, the regret, the second-guessing, the things you can’t quite bring yourself to face and doesn’t rush to fix any of it. The honest opening of our story,” the band explain.
For Exist Immortal, Afterglow is the beginning of a new chapter for the band. Shaped by upheaval and personal struggles, it’s a record that reflects where they are now, with a renewed sense of purpose moving forward.
For over a decade, Exist Immortal have established themselves as one of the UK’s most distinctive progressive metal acts, combining crushing metalcore, intricate technicality, soaring melodies and contemporary pop sensibilities into a sound that refuses to sit neatly within genre boundaries. Hailing from the South East of England, the band have continually evolved while retaining a focus on music that hits with equal measures of emotional weight and sheer physical force.
That evolution reaches a new level on Afterglow. Written during a period of profound upheaval that saw the band navigate a line-up change, personal and health challenges and a period in which their future was genuinely uncertain, the five track EP became an exercise in creative renewal and ultimately, a reaffirmation of why the band exists in the first place.
“Afterglow is the sound of us finding out what this band actually is,” the band explain. “We wrote and rebuilt it through a period of real upheaval, a lineup change, personal challenges, health challenges and a stretch that tested whether we’d keep going at all. Somehow it came out the most assured, most deliberate thing we’ve ever made.”
The resulting record is Exist Immortal at their most focused. Stripping away anything unnecessary, Afterglow is colder, heavier and more deliberate than its predecessors, with sharper songwriting, greater dynamic impact and a newfound confidence running through every moment. Technical precision sits alongside huge melodic hooks and expansive atmosphere, while every riff and arrangement serves a clear purpose.
Away from the studio, Exist Immortal have built a formidable international reputation through relentless touring across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Their explosive live show has seen them perform at Download Festival, Bloodstock Open Air, MetalDays, Euroblast, Maximum Rock Festival and Complexity Fest, while sharing stages with progressive heavyweights including SikTh, Textures, LANDMVRKS and Cynic. In 2022 they headlined the main stage at UK Tech-Fest, before following it up with sold-out headline tours of Mexico and Japan, further cementing their status as one of the UK’s most exciting modern progressive metal exports.
Now, with a renewed creative vision driving them forward, Exist Immortal are entering their most compelling era yet. Afterglow doesn’t simply mark the band’s next chapter, it redefines who they are, with a sound that leans cold, precise and deliberate, built on taut songwriting, dynamic arrangements and an uncompromising approach that balances technical mastery with memorable hooks and immense weight.
Feel good rockers Sweet Electric have released their sophomore album ‘Something Something Disco’, out now.
The 5 piece party rockers are based in Cologne Germany, but fronted by Australian mad man and former front man of Massive, Brad Marr. Sweet Electric formed in 2022 and in the band’s short history, have already racked up multiple international tours, performed live on national TV for Rockpalast and built a loyal following of like minded classic and modern rock n roll fans.
Recent tours across Europe and the UK – including dates with Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons, Smith/Kotzen, The Lazys and Hayseed Dixie – helped the band hone their unique craft. Festival showstoppers at Stonedead, Call of the Wild, Hard Rock Hell, Dong Open Air, Sinner Rock, Zeigelei festival, Bully on Rocks, Bouge Ton Cube and Showbike Aquitaine bolstered a reputation for blistering live rock.
Their debut album The Monsters Are Rising made waves on the NWOCR scene and upcoming release ‘Something Something Disco‘ looks set to expand on this in fine, full on rock fashion! New single ‘Long Way Back’ is taken off the band’s upcoming second full length album, out now. The band will then be heading out on the road, touring along side The Lazys and then Hayseed Dixie.
Sweet Electric are a kick ass rock band, have amassed a legion of rock n roll fans along the way and are now gearing up for the release of their new album and tours across the EU & UK. Make sure you catch them when they’re near you!
Oct 14 – Waterfront – Norwich UK+ Oct 15 – The Brook – Southampton UK+ Oct 16 – The Junction – Cambridge UK+ Oct 17 – Union Chapel – London UK+ Oct 19 – O2 Academy 2 – Oxford UK+ Oct 20 – Komedia – Bath UK+ Oct 21 – Corporation – Sheffield UK+ Oct 22 – Boiler Shop – Newcastle UK+ Oct 23 – Brudenall Social Club – Leeds UK+ Oct 24 – KKs Steelmill – Wolverhampton UK + Oct 27 – O2 Academy 2 – Liverpool UK+ Oct 28 – Old Fire Station – Carlisle UK+ Oct 30 – St Lukes – Glasgow UK+ Oct 31 – Oran Mor – Glasgow UK+ *Supporting The Lazys +Supporting Hayseed Dixie
Scandroid delivers an electrifying new take on Celldweller’s “Jericho,” reimagining the fan favorite as an energetic fusion of post-punk, gothic rock, and retro-futuristic synthwave. The cover pairs soaring synthesizers, heavy guitars, driving rhythms, and cinematic atmosphere to create a bold, upbeat interpretation that is all Scandroid. Balancing dark melodies with anthemic energy, “Jericho” Scandroid transforms the original into a vibrant new experience while maintaining the sonic identity of the original.
“My next single is a Scandroid cover of Celldweller’s ‘Jericho.’ I wanted to approach this song by mashing retro styles I loved, like punk, post-punk, and new wave into something that is clearly and uniquely different from the original Celldweller version of the song.” – Klayton, (Scandroid)
Fans can stream “Jericho” now on all major DSPs. For the full Lost Horizon experience, including bonus tracks and early access to upcoming singles from the album, the Lost Horizon Season Pass is available exclusively on EVEN.
Scandroid is the brainchild of Klayton, an artist and producer hailing from Detroit, MI, best known for his multi-genre project Celldweller. Scandroid serves as Klayton’s nostalgic undertaking, drawing inspiration from sounds of the ‘80s, ‘90s, and beyond.
The self-titled debut Scandroid album (2016) and sophomore album Monochrome (2017), each received critical acclaim with #1 iTunes Electronic Album charting, plus Top 5 Billboard Electronic Album Sales Charting. Scandroid’s success has spawned tens of millions of online streams, over 500,000 global monthly listeners and 250,000 worldwide followers and a collection of remixes from respected artists, including: Dance With The Dead, PYLOT, Lazerpunk, Daniel Deluxe, GosT, Makeup and Vanity Set, Waveshaper, Fury Weekend, Volkor-X, VHS Dreams and more.
Scandroid is my musical destination that allows me to explore the sounds that defined some of the best times of my life.” – Klayton
Between 2018 and 2020 Klayton created the ambitious Scandroid double-album The Darkness and The Light as the project’s 3rd studio album. Between 2020-2022 Klayton released multiple Scandroid collaborations including original songs with Essenger, 3FORCE, Fury Weekend, and DEADLIFE.
Klayton has announced Lost Horizon will be his most ambitious Scandroid album yet. Based in the year 2525 the release is set to include a wide range of creative multi-media tie-ins. With a world-building novella already written by award-winning authors Joshua Viola and Sean Eads, other plans for Scandroid’s fourth studio album include expanded physical formats, including Mini-Disc, cassette, CD and vinyl. The album is expected in 2027.
Conclusions is the first single from the Helsinki-based alternative metal band Fatal Divine‘s Epiphany EP, set for release in early 2027. The members of the band are talented 17-19 aged music students of Sibelius-lukio Upper Secondary School and Pop and Jazz Conservatory.
“Song is inspired by a famous optical illusion called “My wife and my mother-in-law”. The song is about the process of the human brain experiencing an optical illusion and learning how to look past it. Song features vocal harmonies and powerful chords, and an epic guitar solo.”Oskar Lehtimäki, lead composer and lyricist, tells about the creation process of the song.
–ISRC: FILV22600002 –Composition: Oskar Lehtimäki, Max Lehtimaja, Jetro Lehto, Onni Pennanen ja Taisto Tolvanen –Lyrics: Lehtimäki –Arrangement: Lehtimäki, Lehto, Pennanen, Lehtimaja ja Tolvanen –Recording: Juha Kapiainen –Mixing and mastering: Janne Tolsa / Note On Studio –Label: Levypirtti –Cover art: J. Patrikainen –Logo: Jussi Karjalainen
2024 founded Fatal Divine has received positive feedback for their live shows, characterized by great energy and tight playing.
Fatal Divine: Vocals – Lehtimaja, Guitar and backing vocals – Lehto, Guitar and backing vocals – Pennanen, Bass and backing vocals – Lehtimäki Drums – Tolvanen
“There is need for revolution, so unravel our foundations”
Dutch witch rock artist, singer and producer Annicke Shireen, known from her work with Heilung, Pure Reason Revolution and SHIREEN, announces her debut solo album DELIRIUM, set for release on Friday, the 13th November 2026. Bringing together alternative rock, folk, synthpop and grunge, often with a darker edge, Annicke’s music is built around haunting vocals, heavy riffs, layered harmonies and electronic textures. Across her solo work, she explores themes including love, hurt, obsession, personal growth, neurodiversity and feminine rage.
The first single, ‘Come To Light’, is released today and opens up the more expansive and cinematic side of DELIRIUM. Combining alternative rock with spacious, Celtic-influenced vocal layers, the track gradually builds before breaking open into a key change and soaring guitar solo. Its ethereal vocal arrangements draw on the atmospheric sound associated with artists such as Enya, while the lyrical subject comes from a much heavier place.
Annicke Shireen about her new single: “‘Come To Light’ is the first single from DELIRIUM and its musical openness reflects the subject of the song. I wrote it from frustration with the state of the world and the things society has learned to accept as normal. I believe it’s a time of transformation, but we first need to see it all, to the point that we cannot unsee it.
The track carries that tension beneath its more expansive sound: it feels open and almost weightless in places, while the lyrics deal with much heavier material. For me, sometimes the first step toward change is simply allowing something to come to light.”
Annicke has developed a career that moves between music, performance and visual art. She joined Heilung as a singer and makeup artist in 2018 and has toured and recorded with the group since, including a performance at The Game Awards in 2023. She has also appeared on stage with Wardruna and continues to work with SHIREEN alongside her solo projects.
Her solo work brings those disciplines together. Annicke writes and produces her own music while creating the visual world around it, from music videos and styling to stagewear. She holds a degree in fashion design and has worked with custom-made clothing inspired by folklore, avant-garde design and dark fairytales. She designed th first draft of Senua’s armour for Ninja Theory’s Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga, and created costumes for the 2017 arthouse feature Kill Mode. Annicke’s visual approach has long been closely connected to her music. Rather than treating visuals as an addition to the music, she uses them to build a recognisable world around each project. She has produced music videos for SHIREEN and her solo work that reached millions of views (‘UMAI’ 6.3 million views and ‘So Human of You’ 1.7 million views)
Her debut solo album DELIRIUM moves across ten tracks between alternative rock, metal, synthpop, folk and dreamy grunge, while maintaining a recognisable core of heavy guitars, layered vocals and moody synths. It’s concept grew out of Annicke’s interest in how we construct our understanding of reality, particularly through the perspective of a neurodiverse mind. DELIRIUM looks at the frameworks people inherit and the expectations they learn to live by: ideas about femininity, relationships, belonging, emotional behaviour and what is considered “normal.” Rather than presenting fragmentation or difficult emotions as things that need to be fixed, Annicke explores what can be learned from them.
That idea connects the album’s different subjects. DELIRIUM moves through love and obsession, personal growth, female empowerment, anger, belonging and the difficulty of trying to find change in yourself while the world around you seems to be set in its ways. Annicke is particularly interested in the relationship between feminine rage and what she describes as a softer kind of revolution: not necessarily becoming louder for the sake of it, but questioning why women are so often expected to make themselves smaller, more agreeable or easier to accept. The album’s title reflects that tension. Annicke originally considered calling the record Hysteria, but chose DELIRIUM as it was more fitting to the genre of the album. For her, DELIRIUM describes the uncomfortable point at which the framework you have been living inside stops making sense.
Annicke Shireen about her debut solo album: “DELIRIUM is about the moment when the framework you have been living inside no longer fits. It’s the magic of the moment where we stop being acceptable and start becoming ourselves. I wanted to explore that uncomfortable space between losing control and finally taking the power back.
I wanted to give words to the beauty of a mind that does notalways move according to the expected rules. Rather than presenting fragmentation as something that needs to be fixed, I wanted to shed light on the wisdom, knowledge and power inside it. The songs of my debut album give shape to feelings of rage, grief, fear, euphoria and love, and I believe music is the best medium to speak from heart to heart.”
Tracklist: 1. Paper Skin Rite 2. Heresy 3. Come To Light 4. False Gods 5. How To Cure A Feeling 6. Not Your Mother 7. Loud Hag 8. To Belong 9. The Circle 10. Queendom
Upcoming live dates: Oct 14, 2026 – Online – Listening Party Oct 23, 2026 – Ede NL – Astrant Oct 31, 2026 – Capelle aan den IJssel, NL – Capsloc Nov 12, 2026 – The Hague, NL – Grey Space (record release show)
Line-up: Annicke Shireen – Vocals Davy Knobel – Guitars Jos Driessen – Bass Wouter Macare – Drums & Percussion Kati Rán, Anna Baumann – Backing vocals
Acclaimed Canadian cellist and composer Raphael Weinroth-Browne releases his highly anticipated third solo album Empyrean today, alongside the unveiling of its mesmerising final single, ‘Murmuration’ as he prepares to join Einar Solberg on his forthcoming European tour later this month. Created through Weinroth-Browne’s distinctive combination of live-looping, layered cello and effects, the track transforms the instrument into a vast, ever-shifting soundscape, with insistent rhythms and soaring melodic lines moving together in constant motion.
Originally composed for UK contemporary dance company James Wilton Dance and their production BACH Reimagined, ‘Murmuration’ draws inspiration from both J. S. Bach and trailblazing saxophonist Colin Stetson, its cyclical arpeggios forming the backbone of a piece that feels simultaneously organic, orchestral and otherworldly. Like the flock of birds from which it takes its name, multiple individual voices converge into a single, constantly evolving whole, gathering momentum before ultimately dissolving into an endless horizon.
Comments Raphael:“‘A murmuration is a large flock of birds that soar and swoop together in synchrony, forming one unified ever-changing shape. When I play this piece I am reminded of birds diving and ascending over ocean waves, always in motion, with many individual parts moving as one collective whole. The way in which my compositions come together with live looping feels very similar, with multiple voices interweaving, forming a movement trail with sound. In this piece, insistent rhythms pulse with unrelenting drive while soaring lines reach ever higher, as if to touch the untouchable. At the end, the rhythms fall away and all the voices are unified, fading into an endless horizon.
“The simple but effective setting for the music video for ‘Murmuration’ recalls the Empyrean cover artwork with its shimmering gold stars and cathedral arch set against a backdrop of oceanic blue.”
The track offers a fitting introduction to Empyrean, an album rooted in Weinroth-Browne’s fascination with transformation, impermanence and the space between the composed and the unpredictable. Across its pieces, the cello becomes less a traditional classical instrument and more a vehicle for creating entire worlds of sound, moving between intricate composition, ambient textures, repetition, distortion and experimentalism.
‘Murmuration’ arrives alongside the album’s release and follows the previously unveiled ‘Dissolution’, a mesmerising deconstruction of the Sarabande from Bach’s Sixth Cello Suite which gradually fractures from Baroque elegance into distortion, noise and near-abstract sound. Together, the two recent tracks capture the extraordinary breadth of Empyrean, music that can begin with a single cello voice and expand into something far larger, stranger and more elemental.
The origins of new album Empyrean itself are as cinematic as the music it contains. In 2024, Weinroth-Browne was commissioned by James Wilton Dance to compose an 80-minute score inspired by the music and legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach. What emerged became BACH Reimagined: a touring multidisciplinary work exploring immortality, artistic transcendence and the pursuit of the sublime through creation.
Rather than simply reinterpret Bach, Weinroth-Browne entered into dialogue with him across centuries. The resulting compositions fuse the purity and mathematical elegance of Baroque counterpoint with distorted textures, electronic ambience and towering rhythmic weight. Tracks such as ‘Speed of Light’ and ‘Dissolution‘ plunge Bach-inspired motifs into vast storms of noise and metallic tension, while the meditative ‘Sanctum‘ evokes Sufi mysticism and devotional stillness.
“At its core,” Weinroth-Browne explains, “Empyrean is about the search for the sublime. As artists, we spend our lives trying to create something that transcends the everyday, if only for a split second, as if to glimpse eternity through a keyhole.”
Captured at Union Sound Company in Toronto immediately following the sessions for 2025’s critically acclaimed Lifeblood, Empyrean finds Weinroth-Browne operating at the peak of his creative powers. The album was recorded and engineered by Darren McGill (Rush, The Dirty Nil), mixed by Adam Noble (Leprous, Katatonia) and mastered by Robin Schmidt (Leprous), resulting in a sound both immense and intimate, every bow stroke preserved with almost tactile immediacy. Artwork comes from London-based printmaker and collage artist Cally Conway, discovered by Weinroth-Browne in Brighton during the BACH tour.
Watch the videos for previous singles ‘Speed of Light‘, ‘Reflection‘ and ‘Evocation‘, and discover Raphael’s breathtaking standalone interpretation of Sleep Token’s ‘Fall For Me’ released last month, showcasing yet another side of his remarkable artistry.
The new release follows a run of widespread critical acclaim. His 2020 debut Worlds Within was praised as “masterful” and “a stunning example of less being more,” while 2025’s Lifeblood saw Raphael further expand his sound into rich cinematic territory, earning praise as “a triumph of vision and virtuosity” and “the most ambitious album of Weinroth-Browne‘s career.”
That same fearless boundary-pushing has made Weinroth-Browne an essential figure within modern progressive music. His cello work can be heard on hundreds of studio albums, including Woods of Ypres’ Juno Award-winning W5: Grey Skies & Electric Light and across many major film and TV soundtracks. Viral interpretations of Opeth, Katatonia and Steven Wilson have drawn direct praise from the artists themselves, further cementing his reputation as a boundaryless interpreter and composer.
Since joining Norwegian prog visionaries Leprous in 2016, he has performed over 200 shows worldwide and contributed to three of their studio albums, helping redefine the role of cello in progressive heavy music. Beyond Leprous, he has shared stages with Evanescence, Apocalyptica and Devin Townsend.
As a solo artist, Weinroth-Browne has become an ambassador for what the cello can be in the 21st century. He has made waves at prestigious festivals such as the Cello Biennale Amsterdam and the International Cello Festival of Canada and has opened for artists ranging from Polish neoclassical pianist Hania Rani to Nordic folk ensemble SKÁLD and Danish prog metal masters VOLA.With a busy year of live performances, including a recent European tour with Earthside and an upcoming run alongside Einar Solberg, Raphael Weinroth-Browne continues to expand the possibilities of the cello. With Empyrean arriving later this year, he further cements his reputation as one of the instrument’s most adventurous and distinctive modern voices.
Catch Raphael Weinroth-Browne live on the following dates:
September 18 – The Garage, London, UK (solo and with Einar Solberg) September 19 – Café de la Danse, Paris, France (solo and with Einar Solberg) September 20 – Le Rex, Toulouse, France (solo and with Einar Solberg) September 21 – La Rhapsodie, Biarritz, France (solo and with Einar Solberg) September 22 – Mouco, Porto, Portugal (solo and with EinarSolberg) September 23 – República da Música, Lisbon, Portugal (solo and with Einar Solberg) September 25 – Be Prog! My Friend, Barcelona, Spain (with Einar Solberg) September 26 – L’Ampérage, Grenoble, France (solo and with Einar Solberg) September 27 – Euroblast Festival, Cologne, Germany (with Einar Solberg) September 29 – Hype Park, Kraków, Poland (solo and with Einar Solberg) September 30 – Lido, Berlin, Germany (solo and with Einar Solberg) October 1 – Gebläsehalle, Neunkirchen, Germany (solo and with Einar Solberg) October 2 – Werkk Kulturlokal, Baden, Switzerland (solo and with Einar Solberg) October 4 – ProgPower Europe, Baarlo, Netherlands (with Einar Solberg) October 7 – Queens Hall Arts Centre, Hexham, UK (BACH Reimagined with James Wilton Dance) October 23 – Guelph, ON – Silence October 24 – Guelph, ON – Silence October 29 – Toronto, ON – Burdock Music Hall November 6 – Ottawa, ON – Carleton Dominion Chalmers Centre November 12 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Pumpehuset – supporting Lamentari
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
