Finland’s I, Cursed, who combine angry and furious death metal and grindcore, will release a new Heretical Onslaught EP on September 11th 2025. The EP will be released in cooperation with Finnish record labels Inverse Records & Meara Music which is also an agency and event producer based in Ulvila.
-ISRC: FI-HZL-25-00016 -Music & lyrics composed & written by Ville-Veikko Laaksonen -Produced & arranged by I, Cursed -Engineered by Ville-Veikko Laaksonen, Nico Brander & Jesse Simola -Recorded at Firefield Avenue & Soft Neon Audiovisual Studio Mixed & mastered by Jerkka Perälä -Single cover by Jerkka Perälä
The band comments: “Nothing From The Ruins is, as its name suggests, Brevity is the Soul of Wit. Nothing From The Ruins clocks in at barely a minute, being the EP’s most instant chaos in all its brutality. ”
Combining angry and furious death metal and grindcore, I, Cursed, from the Pori / Ulvila area, is a brutal dredging of Ville-Veikko Laaksonen and Eero Haula, known from Atlases, Marto and Oceanwake, among others, which is fed to the Finnish metal scene in an atonal coldness. I, Cursed’s music is a mix of something old and familiar, the HM-2 sound of Swedish grind, and somewhat more modern and crushing production. The line-up of the band in July 2024 is completed by guitarist Nico Brander from Marto and drummer Arttu Leppänen from Atlases and Marto. FFO Coldworker, Gadget, Nasum & Rotten Sound.
Deströyer 666 continue to take no prisoners. K.K. and his roving gang of black thrash bullies have been hammering the European festival circuit this summer. Now, the band are announcing their return to the U.S. for a blistering run of dates leading up to Metal Threat. They’ll be joined by Ares Kingdom and Adorior.
Deströyer 666 2025 U.S. Tour Dates October 1 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon [TICKETS] October 2 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex [TICKETS] October 3 – Houston, TX @ BFE Rock Club [TICKETS] October 4 – Chicago, IL @ Metal Threat [TICKETS]
Last year, Season of Mist reissued Six Songs With The Devil, which was Deströyer 666’s first demo. The label also reissued To The Devil His Due, a compilation of the band’s out-of-print EPs. Both releases, along with their latest album Never Surrender, are now available for order.
DESTRÖYER 666 continue to do what they are best at: kicking ass and hammering out heavy metal that is slamming straight into the face. No compromise, no sell out, no bullshit!
DESTRÖYER 666 don’t do whiny nostalgia but simply stick to their old school roots, which are reaching straight down into the golden age of metal while allowing themselves to sound fresh and remain relevant. The band originally started out as a solo project of BESTIAL WARLUST guitarist KK in Australia in 1994. As early as with debut album ‘Unchain the Wolves’ (1997), fast-tracked towards international acclaim.
The even stronger second full-length, ‘Phoenix Rising’ (2000) had the Australians relocating to Europe to be able to satisfy the soaring demand for touring and festival shows. After a round of line-up changes, third full length ‘Cold Steel… For an Iron Age’ (2002) cemented the band’s excellent reputation.
After a hiatus caused among other issues by disenchantment with the business, DESTRÖYER 666 returned with ‘Defiance’ in 2009 and followed up on this success with the rough and gritty ‘Wildfire’ (2016) seven years later that saw them touring and performing at all the relevant metal festivals worldwide on a regular basis again. The Australians filled the gap between the latest albums with the hard-hitting EP, ‘Call of the Wild’ (2018) that comes with a distinct taste of an unrepentant classic flavor.
The outlaws from down under deliver another pummeling and relentless lesson in aggression with full length number 6(66). ‘Never Surrender’ is a furious assault of black thrash, chainsaw riffs, and warlike drums, offering no moment of reprisal as it rages on for 40 unyielding minutes.
Please welcome Texan hateful death metal outfit CALCRAFT to the Lifeforce Records roster!
Named after England’s infamous executioner William Calcraft, the band delivers gore-drenched riffs and horror-fueled lyrics inspired by Giallo, French, and American slasher films. Every song is a tale of madness, execution, and cinematic slaughter.
Debut single out Mid-September! Album to be released late November via Lifeforce Records!
GRAMMY® Award winning bassist David Ellefson (Ex-Megadeth) and acclaimed metal vocalist Jeff Scott Soto have once again joined forces and are set to release their highly anticipated second album “Unbreakable” out on August 15, 2025, via Rat Pak Records.
Today, the powerhouse duo unveiled the official music video for “Shout,” the album’s second single. The video delivers a hard-hitting performance piece that captures the raw energy, chemistry, and sonic force the pair have become known for.
“Shout is another call to those who refuse to take smack from anyone and everyone. This is our war cry theme to the world we live in today, most around the world have something to stand up for or shout about and that’s what this song represents!” says Soto.
Ellefson adds, “In a world of division and negativity, we chose to take the approach with this song that we are better together. Standing united, our voices can and will be heard.”
The duo Ellefson-Soto is joined by Italian guitarist Andy Martongelli and Paolo Caridi on drums and features 11 studio tracks with guest appearances from Tim Ripper Owens (KK’s Priest) and Burning Witches front-woman Laura Guldemond.
Recorded at Rogue Studios in Wembley UK, by Alessio Garavello and produced by Chris Collier (Mick Mars, Korn, Flat Black) “Unbreakable” is a sonic assault packed with catchy riffs, melodic vocals, and thoughtful lyrics that blends their classic metal roots with modern rock intensity.
“This album digs even deeper,” says Ellefson. “It’s heavier, more personal, and shaped by everything we’ve experienced on and off the stage.” Soto adds, “The energy we poured into this one—it’s the sound of two lifetimes colliding in riffs, rage, and redemption.”
Ellefson further comments, “One of the things I like most is I feel like you can hear a real sense of brotherhood on our records, that we’re really in the creative process together as a band. The consistency of our sound has remained intact while allowing us to further build upon each other’s strengths from our debut album. It’s an honest, organic approach that blends well and lets us explore new sounds and musical paths. At the end of the day, I don’t think there is anything that an artist desires more than that!”
“Unbreakable”drops August 15, 2025, and will be available on all major streaming platforms with limited edition autographed Vinyl, CD & Cassette bundles exclusively through Rat Pak Records.
TRACK LISTING
Unbreakable
SOAB
Shout
Hate You, Hate Me
Poison Tears (Featuring Laura Guldemond of Burning Witches)
Ghosts
Vengeance (Featuring Tim Ripper Owens of KK’s Priest)
DRAGONFORCE and pop culture have always gone hand in hand—so frontman Marc Hudson’s latest collaboration with the hit anime TV show “Dan Da Dan” is total perfection! The charismatic singer lends his voice to Hayashi in the English dub of the Netflix show, delivering an impressively commanding exorcism through the power of heavy metal music. Episode six of season two of “Dan Da Dan”—episode 18 overall—released on Netflix and Crunchyroll on August 7, 2025.
MARC HUDSON about the collaboration: “I’m beyond thrilled to announce that I had the incredible opportunity to be a voice actor in Dan Da Dan—one of my all-time favourite anime series! I play the role of the vocalist for Hayashi in Season 2, Episode 6, and getting to perform the exorcism song as part of the character was an absolute blast. After making Starbound Stories, an album deeply inspired by anime, I was so happy to be invited to actually sing on an anime—it felt like everything had come full circle. This show is wild, creative, and full of heart, and it was a real privilege to be a part of it. As the vocalist of DRAGONFORCE, I’ve had the chance to perform on some amazing songs and albums, but this was a whole new and exciting experience. I can’t wait for everyone to see the episode!”
[Credit: Dan Da Dan]
Marc Hudson just released his latest album with Grammy-nominated extreme power metal band DRAGONFORCE via Napalm Records last year. Warp Speed Warriors stands as the legendary band’s most ambitious and innovative release to date. On it, founding guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, singer Marc Hudson, bassist Alicia Vigil, and drummer Gee Anzalone explore a wider range of varying musical styles than ever before, evolving their sound throughout the exciting musical journey while still staying true to their roots.
Herman Li on Warp Speed Warriors: “After four years of creative incubation, we are beyond excited to release what we believe to be our most ambitious and grandiose record yet. This album showcases multiple facets of our artistic abilities, and we invite metal aficionados from every corner of the genre to discover something captivating within its layers. We can’t wait to share this chapter of our musical journey with you, it’s going to be EPIC!”
Likewise, Marc Hudson put out his solo debut via Napalm Records in 2023. Starbound Stories is an outstanding musical adventure balanced between power metal, video game soundtracks, Japanese music and even pop influences, showcasing virtuosity throughout all of its grand instrumentation. For the album, Marc Hudson again worked with ex-DRAGONFORCE bassist Frédéric Leclercq who has since moved on as a member of thrash legends Kreator and extreme metal supergroup Sinsaenum.
LORD OF THE LOST indulge in darkness with the complex “Bazaar Bizarre”, the latest single off their upcoming studio album OPVS NOIR Vol. 1, out this Friday, August 8, 2025 via Napalm Records. Appropriately opulent, the album opener “Bazaar Bizarre” immediately proves the bands’ sonic recalibration, re-adding their early edge to create somber mysticism in irresistible guise. LORD OF THE LOST hauntingly unite the children of the night in a sophisticated anthem, reassuring: No one lost behind.
“Bazaar Bizarre” ornately crafts a new doorway into LORD OF THE LOST’s ever expanding universe – a testament to their ability to constantly uncover new angles while staying true to their roots. Following the success of their #1 album Blood & Glitter(Official German Album Charts) and their celebrated appearance in the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, LORD OF THE LOST continue to push boundaries with unmatchable versatility. OPVS NOIR Vol. 1 is the first album of an exciting album trilogy, featuring several strictly limited special editions.
Chris Harms on “Bazaar Bizarre”: “‘Bazaar Bizarre’ is too long, too complex, and too weird to be an album opener—almost like a mix between an acoustic hidden-object painting by Hieronymus Bosch, Apocalypse Now, and the underground troll market from the Hellboy universe. Everything hurts and is somehow eerie, but at the same time too fascinating to want to escape. We could’ve picked a simple and accessible song to kick things off—but we didn’t want that. We wanted a long cinematic trailer for the ears, one that instantly makes it clear what kind of world all three parts of OPVS NOIR will drag you into. And ‘Bazaar Bizarre’ captures that perfectly—sonically, and in the music video, also visually—covering the full spectrum of our upcoming trilogy.”
What is the essence of LORD OF THE LOST in 2025? That is one of the questions OPVS NOIR Vol. 1 fearlessly begins to answer. Once again, the band proves not only musical excellence but also masterful craftsmanship: produced by Chris Harms, recorded, mixed, and mastered at the legendary CHAMELEON STUDIOS in Hamburg, the 11 tracks hit with a force and brilliance that immediately transport us into a dark yet colorful ballroom. From there, the tone is set: Dark Wave Metal on an amphitheater scale.
Chris Harms about the album: “Darkness, melancholy, loneliness – all words that often have negative connotations, that we may associate with danger, sadness and loss, and not without reason. But darkness can also be security, melancholy the warm and sentimental feeling of our memories, and loneliness becomes necessary silence, peace and inner contemplation. OPVS NOIR is a travel guide, or perhaps also a travelogue, through the dark sides of our inner world, which so often move precisely in the area of tension between what we emotionally categorize as positive or negative. And with Vol. 1, all of this is just the beginning of this 3-part journey…”
Get your copy of OPVS NOIR Vol. 1 HERE – First Limited Editions Are Already Selling Out!
OPVS NOIR Vol. 1 tracklist:
Bazaar Bizarre
My Sanctuary
Light Can Only Shine In The Darkness (& Within Temptation)
I Will Die In It
Moonstruck (& Stimmgewalt)
Damage (feat. Whiplasher Bernadotte)
Ghosts (feat. Tina Guo)
Lords Of Fyre (& Feuerschwanz)
The Things We Do For Love
The Sadness In Everything (feat. Anna Maria Rose)
Dreams Are Never Alone
OPVS NOIR is not only a musically exciting step but also a bold one! This becomes clear when looking at LORD OF THE LOST’s immediate past: support for IRON MAIDEN on two European tours, followed by their first North American shows in over a decade, sold-out headlining tours, participation in the final of the EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2023, a #1 chart entry with the previous album Blood & Glitter, celebrated performances at the biggest festivals worldwide – they even had the honour of meeting King Charles in person. Hand on heart: How easy would it have been to keep riding this wave of success just a little longer? But that’s not how LORD OF THE LOST operates – the only constant remains change.
Everything is new, yet every note feels familiar. Behind each chorus awaits a surprise, in every line, a new door opens to further uncharted paths within the LOTL universe. This band takes the expectations of its ever-growing fanbase and molds them into songs that transcend genre boundaries – and turn moments into monuments that carry us all along: No one lost behind!
OPVS NOIR Vol. 1: To be continued…
LORD OF THE LOST Live 2025
LORDS OF FYRE CO-HEADLINE TOUR LORD OF THE LOST & FEUERSCHWANZ w/ The Dark Side Of The Moon 02.10.25 DE – Berlin / Columbiahalle 03.10.25 DE – Leipzig / Haus Auensee 04.10.25 DE – Offenbach / Stadthalle 10.10.25 DE – Hanover / Swiss Life Hall 11.10.25 DE – Fürth / Stadthalle 17.10.25 DE – Munich / Zenith 18.10.25 DE – Düsseldorf / Mitsubishi Halle
UK + IRELAND TOUR 30.10.25 UK – Wolverhampton 31.10.25 UK – Manchester 02.11.25 UK – Glasgow 04.11.25 UK – Belfast 05.11.25 IE – Dublin 07.11.25 UK – Bristol 08.11.25 UK – London 09.11.25 UK – Southampton
FESTIVALS 10.08.25 UK – Derbyshire / Bloodstock Open Air 19.10.25 NL – Den Bosch / The Rock Circus 01.11.25 UK – Whitby / Tomorrows Ghosts Festival
LORD OF THE LOST Live 2026
DARK WINTER TOUR – USA & CANADA 2026 Co-Headliner Tour w/ The Birthday Massacre Special Guest Wednesday 13 19.01.26 US – Baltimore, MD / Baltimore Soundstage 20.01.26 US – Philadelphia, PA / Theatre of Living Arts 21.01.26 US – New Haven, CT / Toad’s Place 23.01.26 US – New York, NY / Webster Hall 24.01.26 US – Worcester, MA / The Palladium 25.01.26 CA – Montreal, QC / Beanfield Theatre 26.01.26 CA – Toronto, ON / Phoenix Concert Theatre 28.01.26 US – Cleveland, OH / House of Blues 29.01.26 US – Cincinnati, OH / Bongart’s 30.01.26 US – Detroit, MI / St. Andrews Hall 31.01.26 US – Chicago, IL / Concord Music Hall 02.02.26 US – Minneapolis, MN / First Avenue 04.02.26 US – Denver, CO / Summit Music Hall 05.02.26 US – Salt Lake City, UT / The Complex 07.02.26 US – Los Angeles, CA / The Fonda 08.02.26 US – San Francisco, CA / UC Theatre
Australia 2026 19.02.26 AU – Brisbane / Crowbar 20.02.26 AU – Melbourne / Max Watts 21.02.26 AU – Sydney / Crowbar 22.02.26 AU – Adelaide / Lion Arts
LORD OF THE LOST are: Chris Harms – Vocals, Guitar Pi Stoffers – Guitar Benjamin “Benji“ Mundigler – Guitar, Synths Klaas Helmecke – Bass Gerrit Heinemann – Piano, Synths, Percussion Niklas Kahl – Drums
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 ) 