Italian melodic death metal force New Sun are set to bring the underground together for a special cause with “Metal Against Cancer,” a charity show taking place at Grindhouse Park in Padova on September 5, 2026. All proceeds from the event will be donated to support cancer research.
The event grew out of a collaboration between BBandBooster, a local music collective, and Alex, New Sun’s new vocalist, who came together with the idea of using live music to raise funds and awareness for cancer research.
With the support of AIRC (Italian Association for Cancer Research) and Grindhouse as the event venue, the evening will bring together four bands from across Italy, representing different sides of the modern heavy music scene:
Dead//fall – Cinematic Deathcore, Milan Deafbit – Ritualcore, Udine New Sun – Melodic Death Metal, Padova Ningen – Post-Metal, Venice
For New Sun, “Metal Against Cancer” is more than another live show. It is an opportunity to harness the energy of the metal community to make a real difference. With four bands coming together for the same cause, the event aims to celebrate music while raising funds for vital cancer research.
About New Sun
Born in the Italian underground, New Sun delivers a crushing blend of Death, Groove, and Black Metal. Their debut album, Hanged’s Fate, is a heavy journey through the human condition, exploring what happens when control collapses, and the road to rebirth begins. Driven by the standout single “Drag Me Down,” the record is a furious, liberating anthem about hitting rock bottom and breaking your own chains.
DAWN OF DESTINY have set a true milestone with “Ashes Over Tomorrow”: the band’s TENTH album! And if that alone isn’t reason enough to celebrate, there are a few more good reasons: in addition to Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear), Fabio Lione (Rhapsody Of Fire) is featured as a guest vocalist.
In addition, the album features 12 brand-new songs as well as two bonus tracks—though listeners on digital platforms will have to wait a little longer for them! In terms of content, fans can look forward to a wide range of tried-and-true themes, with lyrics about “depression, relationship conflicts, the apocalypse, putting on a facade, hiding one’s own feelings, and escaping reality”—all while consistently further developing the two-part lead vocals of Jeanette and Jens.
The album will be released on October 30, 2026, via El Puerto Records!
For over 25 years, DAWN OF DESTINY has been delivering symphonic power metal of the highest caliber!
Tracklist: 01 Still Here 02 Too Weak 03 Chasing Dreams (feat. Fabio Lione) 04 A Different Story 05 Ashes Over Tomorrow 06 Above The Noise (feat. Ralf Scheepers) 07 Leave Me Now 08 I’ll Find You In Time 09 When The World Ends Quietly 10 Those Moments 11 One Small Lie 12 Death Wears A Human Face (Bonus Track) 13 In Vain (Bonus Track) 14 Let Love Be The Last Light
Line-up: Jeanette Scherff: Lead & backing vocals Jens Faber: Lead & backing vocals, Piano Veith Offenbächer: Lead, Rhythm and clean Guitars Dirk Raczkiewicz: Keyboards & Synths Micha Marquardt: Bass Philipp Bock: Drums
New Finnish progressive rock band Kuumet has released the second single from their upcoming album to be released later this year. “Narcosis” speaks to a distinctly modern dopamine addiction that we encounter daily all around us. Various screens, work tasks, or even food function as first-aid kits. It seems neurons must perpetually supply the brain with an endless flow of pleasure and information, constant stimulation. Narcosis is thus a drug-induced stupor in which we perpetually live.
Lyricist Jussi Moilanen‘s thoughts about the song:
“1984 and Brave New World have come true: someone watches our work from behind screens, much like food delivery workers. We cannot endure even a moment of boredom—which would actually be beneficial to us—so we reach for something, whether immaterial or material remedy, that drags us into a dreamlike state.
I hope Kuumet’s music brings listeners to serenity state of mind. One can listen jazz influenced melodies, cinematic layers or massive walls of guitar. For a moment, one can be alive and free—at least within one’s own mind.”
–ISRC: FI3FC2654403 –Composition: Matti Mielikäinen, Jussi Moilanen, Anna-Kaisa Kettunen, Janne Koskinen, Vesa Ranta –Lyrics: Jussi Moilanen
Kuumet started in 2019 in the aftermath of a tribute gig for a Finnish prog legend. The band, which was put together at the initiative of Vesa Ranta (ex-Sentenced, The Abbey, Cemetery Skyline), who had once hung up his drum sticks at the time, ended up with players from Oulu, including The Aeon, THJKB and Hietaketu. Musically, Kuumet operates on the more prog side of rock, the songs may be rambling, but avoiding the pitfalls of indulgent gimmickry. The influences are most found in the legacy of the sprawling rock bands of the 1970s and the more melodic side of heavy rock that rose to prominence in the 1990s.
The songs also reveal the band’s fascination with cinematic expression.
Kuumet’s debut album Nova depicts the struggle of modern man in time: it contains dystopian images, addictions and death, but also glimpses of hope here and there, whether in the form of a bright exploding supernova or the belief that life continues after man.
While many things may be uncertain these days, one thing is clear: Electric Knights Of Eternal Rock Fury, the upcoming album from Finnish hard rock band HÄ/DA, set for release in October, is poised to be one of the standout hard rock records of the year.
The band proudly channels the spirit of AC/DC, mixing crunchy riffs with loads of catchy, pop-flavored melodies.
Need proof? Check out “Gone In November,” the band’s brand-new single released today. It comes with a cool sci-fi-style music video.
“Gone In November is, at its core, a love song. The lyrics tell the story of a man haunted by a wanderer’s soul. The restless traveler finds himself hitting the road again just after meeting the guiding star of his life. Still, the narrator insists that he will return to orbit around his new love. Believe it if you will,” says vocalist Antti “DeeAa” Heikkinen.
–ISRC JHF2600006 –Composition: Juho Hämäläinen/Antti Heikkinen –Lyrics: Antti Heikkinen –Arrangement: Juho Hämäläinen/Antti Heikkinen
HÄ/DA’s debut EP, (Almost) 20 Minutes Of Love (2025), received radio support from FM and online stations across several countries, including the United States, France, England, and Scotland. The first single from the forthcoming album, Workingman’s Blues, also gained international radio exposure following its June release.
The band’s lineup includes guitarist Juho “Hässi” Hämäläinen, known from the AC/DC tribute band Dirty Deeds Indeed and the hard rock group Rane Rautiainen & Paha Kaksonen, and vocalist-guitarist DeeAa, who also fronts the heavy rock band Mosfite. The two musicians previously played together in the Finnish rock band Brutaali Magneetti in the late 1990s.
For the fans of: AC/DC, The Darkness, Airbourne, Rhino Bucket, The Cult.
Jotungrav’s debut album “Elegi” (Swedish for “elegy”) sees the band veer more towards progressive melodic death metal, while not entirely abandoning its original source of inspiration; blackened folk metal. Grand orchestrations and dark, melancholic passages are still present in every song to varying degrees, but the album as a whole amps up the grandeur and heroic lead melodies that can be found on Jotungrav’s earlier material. However, “Elegi” is not a collection of folky drinking songs you’d expect in a tavern, but rather an atmospheric musical journey, where norse paganism and spirituality meet both ancient and modern philosophy.
Jotungrav aims to always evolve musically, with no predetermined goal for any of its releases. What can be heard on “Elegi” is a result of organic experimentation over a year of composing, where the final songs are simply brought to life the way they present themselves. The themes of the album follow the same path, and center themselves around philosophical ponderings on humanity, suffering and perseverance, with the norse pantheon of gods in the background.
The album was composed in multiple stages, with some songs being almost completely rewritten. Initially the seven or eight minute songs evolved over time, some stretching to over ten minutes in runtime. As such the songs feature calm acoustic interludes that tone down the intensity between blazing blast beats and grandiose orchestral melodies. “Elegi” is a package that offers much for fans of Finsterforst, Moonsorrow, Wolfheart and Rotting Christ, to name a few.
–Composed & lyrics by Matias Stenman –Mixed & mastered by Teemu Leskinen –Album cover by Matias Stenman
BIOGRAPHY:
Jotungrav is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Matias Stenman, which incorporates elements of black metal and folk metal within a progressive metal framework. The project got its initial start in 2015, but most of the material composed back then ended up being discarded. It was in the summer of 2022 when the single Drängen was finished when Jotungrav finally materialized, with the help of fellow Sargassus members Matias Rokio, who provided percussive arrangements to the song, as well as Teemu Leskinen, who took on the mixing and mastering duties. Initially Jotungrav was a slowly progressing musical effort, but with time the project managed to accumulate enough material for a second single, Ulven, while working on more material for future releases. Both musically and thematically Jotungrav draws inspiration from early 2000s–2010s viking/pagan metal scene and mythology. The lyrics have a philosophical and symbolic focus on humanity. The songs evolve into vast soundscapes while maintaining a raw and genuine feel to them, paying homage to the early days of folk metal. As Jotungravi has developed, the band has moved closer to progressive, melodic folk metal, with the black metal influences familiar to the band playing a smaller role in the music. On the latest album “Elegi,” the songs stretch into even longer and more dynamic epics that take the listener through wartorn landscapes of the ancient world.
Line-up: Vocals, guitars, bass, melodica, banjo, harmonica, orchestrations, composition: Matias Stenman Drums, drum arrangements: Matias Rokio Mixing and mastering, guitar solo on the track “Segern”: Teemu Leskinen
Progressive trailblazers Enslaved have officially announced their forthcoming studio album, Mið, set for release on October 30 via Nuclear Blast Records. Throughout their 35 year journey, across 17 albums, the Norwegian vanguard have continually redefined the boundaries of progressive black metal, weaving Old Norse histories and sacred traditions into complex modern soundscapes. With their latest offering, Enslaved turn their gaze toward the fundamental concept of the axis: the middle, the origin, and the infinite reach of the present moment.
Alongside this news, the band have unveiled the transcendant new single ‘Solar Will‘, both a paean to a divine spark, and a testament to the album title’s fundamental concept: a centre whose reach is infinite. It’s accompanying video was created by Kolibri Media, long term partners of Enslaved based in Bergen.
Guitarist Ivar Bjørnson stated:
“There have been sun cults as long as Magic Man has been around (at least). The Sun is a nurturing and terrifying parent that can grant as well as obliterate life totally. Such a classic and awe-inspiring object of our worship and myths requires classic and awesome riffs, Bonham-esque drum grooves and blistering melodic flares celebrating its horrific glory. This is what that sounds like to me: “Solar Will”!”
Voicalist / bassist Grutle Kjellson adds:
“Solar Will explores archetypal conflicts, those that manifest in nature, the cosmos, mythology, and, above all, within the human mind. In this instance, the central struggle is expressed through one of the enduring rivalries found in Norse mythology, embodied by two important, though often somewhat overlooked, figures within the pantheon. Readers familiar with the Norse mythological tradition will likely recognize the identities rather instantly, yet I shall refrain from naming them, allowing each reader the opportunity to engage with and decipher the lyrics on their own. After all, perhaps this is one of the essential functions of lyric writing: to invite interpretation and cultivate a sense of wonder? The conclusion, or more precisely, the absence of one, suggests that, for human beings, chaos and dreams are at least as significant as the realities we perceive through our senses. Ultimately, the work advocates not for resolution, but for the acceptance, assimilation, and shaping of these often contradictory forces.”
1. Non-Being 2. I Am Ice (featuring Johan Sara Jr) 3. Solar Will 4. Mountain 5. Spirit Helper (featuring Kevin Kicking Woman) 6. Parting 7. Tales of Trees 8. I Miðju
Enslaved live in 2026
18 Sep 26 NO – Sortland @ Sortland Jazzfestival 2026 29 Oct 26 NO – Bergen @ Kulturhuset – Album Release Show 30 Oct 26 NO – Oslo @ Big Dipper – Signing Session / Meet & Greet 31 Oct 26 NO – Oslo @ Oslo Spektrum w/ Dimmu Borgir & Satyricon
Enslaved live in 2027
27-30 May 27 US – Baltimore @ Maryland Deathfest 2027
Never faltering, Norway’s iconic Enslaved continue to exist as one of the most original and dependable components in our scene’s indestructible backbone. Possessing the reputation as one of the most riveting live acts around, they never fail to offer us talent of the highest calibre, always doing justice to their signature black/progressive sound. Enslaved was formed in 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson, releasing their first demo Yggdrasill in the summer of 1992, their legendary mini-album Hordanes Land coming out in 1993, and with their debut full-length Vikingligr Veldi arriving in the spring of 1994.
It’s a rare and remarkable feat that 35 years and now 17 albums in, Enslaved’s horizons still continue to expand. Every stage of the Bergen band’s evolution, every new phase entered, has felt like an organic act of discovery and renewal. Their journey has been at once a commitment to a promise that found its embryonic form in the Norwegian black metal scene they emerged from, and a willingness to challenge both orthodoxy and themselves from the off to make that potential manifest.
Enslaved’s new album, Mið, an Old Norse word for ‘centre’, or ‘middle’, marks another departure, and another new beginning. The band have always dealt in states of transition, nor least on the thematically linked, mythology-steeped rites of passage that were 2020’s Utgard and 2023’s Heimdal. What lay beyond, however, was… unexpected.
Mið is an album that sheds light on harmonies and dialogues embedded all around us: between the ways of the past, and how they can bring enlightenment to the present, between small kernels of truth and their ability to project onto the most universal on canvases, and between band members relying on instinct and each other to create a record that galvanises on every possible level.
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
